Vinyl Athletes

Mayor Hawthorne “I Need You” 12″

Vinyl Athletes — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:23:46 +0000

I had to buy this record just off the strength of the artwork and the production alone! It’s such a good record musically but the artwork makes this one a little more special. The cover art is created by Freegums out of Florida and is also etched into one side of the vinyl.

Our Shop Is Running Again

Vinyl Athletes — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:06:36 +0000

After a long hiatus our online shop is back up. Perfect timing too! since the vinyl market has been steadily declining since Serato stepped on the scene haha but hey what can you do right? For those that still buy vinyl I will be adding more product as the days go on. Latest edition to the store is this sealed copy of Black Moon’s “Instrumental Beats Part 2″. Peace.
Vinyl Athletes Store

Cleaning Your Records With Glue pt.2

Vinyl Athletes — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:37:20 +0000

So after discovering and viewing a few videos on youtube about cleaning your records with glue, I decided to give it a shot. I grabbed a beat up copy of Gang Starr’s “Militia II” 12″ promo to test out this unorthodox method of cleaning your records, and well it’s definitely not a miracle cure. I mean, a beat up record is still a beat up record, but it does look and play cleaner. A lot less noise is coming from the record now than before so it’s definitely worth a try. I’m gonna try it next time with a far less beat up record than this one but also on that has more dirt and mold and see how it goes.

Kardinal Offishall Instrumentals

Vinyl Athletes — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 01:58:52 +0000

Here’s one of those oddball records that I was really surprised to stumble upon today. It’s a Canadian promo on MCA Universal containing nine instrumental tracks off Kardinal Offishall’s “Quest For Fire: Firestarter Vol.1″ LP. I knew there had to be some good beats on this one, so I picked it up for less than five bucks. As it turns out, there are about three really nice beats on this double LP. And upon further investigation as to who were behind the beats-one of the three standouts is produced by Saukrates, while another one was produced by Mr. Attic. Two familiar names in the Canadian Hip Hop scene with strong production skills. So it’s definitely a nice piece of wax to have in your collection. Peace.

Cleaning Your Records Using Wood Glue?!

Vinyl Athletes — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:50:23 +0000

There are many ways to clean records-most of which involve various liquid record cleaning solutions sold online or in record stores. But I’ve always stayed away from those cleaning solutions though as they’ve always seemed to leave a cloudy film on the surface of the vinyl. Soap and water works pretty well and of course lighter fluid is great for cleaning gummy substances off your records. But I’ve never seen this method before. It logically makes sense to clean deep down in the grooves of your dirty records, but I’m not so sure on how it leaves the surface vinyl. I’m gonna try it on trash records first before I even attempt this method on rare pieces of wax. Gotta love youtube.

Question & Freddie Joachim’s Limited Edition “Study Guide” 10″

Vinyl Athletes — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:57:45 +0000

I’ve been meaning to pick this one up for a while now from one of a small number of online retailers carrying the record. But I’ve been preoccupied with many other vinyl purchases at the moment. Mostly from Ebay-You know how that goes haha. But finally I was able to grab a copy through a local retailer the other day so I’m really happy about that.
So let’s get into it. If you’re a frequent visitor to this site, chances are you’ve already been exposed to Freddie’s music as I’ve posted a few things by him in the past.
And unfortunately for me though most of Freddie’s music has only been available in digital format, so as a vinyl junkie and fan of Freddie’s Jazz influenced beats, I had to grab a copy of this 10″. Here you’ll find 6 cuts off Freddie and Question’s “Study Guide” CD split between the two featured producers. And like the CD, this 10″ is also limited. Question-another producer I’m now gonna keep my eyes and ears open for, also delivers some really nice beats on this one as well. I love the reworked Tribe influenced “Find Another Way” just to name one of his 3 impressive cuts. Highly recommended!

www.freddiejoachim.com

Marley Marl “In Control Vol. 1″ Limited Edition 2xLP

Vinyl Athletes — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:18:39 +0000

Traffic Ent. has recently given Marley’s classic LP the proper reissue treatment on colored wax. This version pressed on two LPs (one Blue, one Pink) also comes with two slipmats for just under $30. A pair of slipmats alone will run you at least $20. Essential!

Black Sheep “Silence Of The Lambs” Instrumentals

Vinyl Athletes — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:39:31 +0000

Black Sheep’s first album consisted of some of the best sample based Hip Hop production of the 90’s behind clever rhyme displays and comedy relief unlike any other group at that time. And looking back now at the production of Black Sheep and the amount of samples they use to create the great music on the first two albums. You know deep down in your heart that this would be almost-if not impossible to release music like this on a major label today. So I’m excited about this release to finally see after 20 years Black Sheep beats on wax! Mista Lawnge presents some of the lost beats from Black Sheep’s first two albums on “Silence The Lambs, Vol. 1″. Hopefully volume 2 will feature more incredible beats from the classic first album compared to this one. But I can’t complain. Soon to be available on Vinyl and digital format. Keep your eyes peeled.

J Live “The Way That I Ryme” 12″

Vinyl Athletes — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 23:05:31 +0000

When most artists from the 90s have fallen off by now, J Live is still going strong and carrying the true school torch since about 1995 when his first single, “Longevity” dropped. A fitting title to a legacy of good music from J Live. Now he’s back with a new single produced by a couple of guys I’ve never heard before. The first track, “The Way That I Rhyme” fades from the background into the foreground with a hypnotic chant before the beat drops under J Lives signature story rhymes. That beat is bananas. If that wasn’t enough for you, on the B side you’ll find a mellow track called “Poetry In Motion”. Another track that I thoroughly enjoyed. To tell you the truth, The audio clips online really don’t give this song the true justice it deserves. In the car the beat hits so hard driven by a heavy bass line and sparse piano hits over some nice drum programming. I’m really happy he’s back with such a strong record! J Live, one of the best yet! Highly recommended!

Grooveman Spot “Change Situations” Instrumental LP

Vinyl Athletes — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:59:35 +0000

Grooveman Spot’s new album just dropped on wax and the funny think about the whole releases is that the instrumental album popped up first. Full length instrumentals on Planetgroove Japan out now.