BLACK FRIDAY RECORD STORE DAY 2014 PREVIEW
The 28th of November is fast approaching, better known as 2014 Black Friday Record Store Day! In preparation for the occasion, we at Traffic Entertainment Group have been hard at work getting some premium grade reissues from labels like Get On Down and Now Again Records ready for the event. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the releases we’ll be circulating in record stores:
THE JBs – THESE ARE THE JBs
(DELUXE LP)
Now Again Records, a golden standard for obscure and long-lost reissues, has dug up a veritable Holy Grail of deep funk music. In 1970, funk/soul legend James Brown entered the studio to record with an early incarnation of his new backing band The JBs, which at the time featured legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins among their ranks. The album, These Are The JBs, was never released commercially, prophesied the development of funk music and groups like Parliament/Funkadelic, and showcased Brown and his backing band at some of their instrumental finest.
Decades later, the album is slated to finally see release via Now Again, working alongside Universal Music Group. This deluxe reissue of These Are The JBs has been re-mastered for modern sounds, comes packaged in an authentic “tip-on” Stoughton jacket, and features an extensive booklet of liner notes and unpublished photos, featuring contributions from music historians Alan Leeds and Harry Weinger.
RAMMELLZEE & K-ROB – BEAT BOP
(12″ SINGLE)
The track “Beat Bop” is legendary among hip-hop heads, and represents 1980s rap at both its artiest and most experimental. The song came about due to a feud between graffiti artists Rammellzee and Jean-Michel Basquiat. The track was intended to release the growing tensions between the two of them, with Rammellzee and rapper K-Rob handling the stream-of-conscious lyrics, and Basquiat handling funk/disco-influenced production and art direction. “Beat Bop” was a surprise success, and has proven to be massively influential among hip-hop groups and artists from Beastie Boys to Cypress Hill to El-P.
Only the best reissue treatment can be expected for so influential a release, and Get On Down have gone the extra mile to re-release “Beat Bop” as a deluxe 12″ single. Working with hip-hop historian Noah Uman, the record features both the original and instrumental versions as A-Side & B-Side, and is pressed onto black and white-colored vinyl. The record also comes packaged in a high-quality picture sleeve of Basquiat’s artwork, and contains a 4-panel insert featuring interviews with the artists involved in its production, including Rammellzee, K-Rob, and several of the various session musicians who contributed.
RUN-DMC – CHRISTMAS IN HOLLIS
(7″ SINGLE)
Since its release in 1987, “Christmas In Hollis” by Run-DMC has become something of a standard during the holiday season. The Clarence Carter-sampling track was released as part of the charity compilation A Very Special Christmas, later getting its own A-Side release outside of the U.S., featuring cover art from the late media artist Keith Haring. A Billboard-charting hit, “Christmas In Hollis” has since been called one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time by outlets like Rolling Stone, MTV.com, SF Weekly, and numerous others.
Once its Get On Down with a seasonally appropriate reissue of a holiday hip-hop classic. Their take on Run-DMC’s “Christmas In Hollis” features the track pressed on 7″ (With the B-Side track “Peter Piper”) for the first time in over 15 years. It comes bundled in a re-creation of the original picture sleeve featuring Keith Haring’s artwork, (And the lyrics printed on the back cover!) as well as a playable “Audible Postcard”. A perfect gift for any hip-hop head this season.
VARIOUS ARTISTS – CHRISTMAS RAP
(LP REISSUE)
Speaking of “Christmas In Hollis”…
Around the same time Run-DMC’s holiday smash was released, hip-hop label Profile Records was also getting into the spirit of the season, with the release of their compilation Christmas Rap. A sterling example of truth in advertising, (And puns) Christmas Rap wore its title to a tee, featuring Christmas-themed hip-hop from a handful of old-school rap legends. Tracks from artists like Dana Dane, King Sun, Disco Four, The Showboys and more could be heard throughout. Run-DMC’s own “Christmas In Hollis” was even featured as the lead-off track.
Though Christmas Rap remains an essential holiday album to this day, it has never seen reissue in any format since 1987. Get On Down seeks to change that this Black Friday Record Store Day, with their special vinyl re-release. The whole album has been re-mastered front to back, and will run in a randomly distributed pressing of red vinyl and green vinyl.
AFRIKA BAMBAATAA – PLANET ROCK
(12″ SINGLE)
Finally rounding out our Black Friday Record Store Day releases, we have “Planet Rock”, the famed and revered breakbeat track from Zulu Nation-founder Afrika Bambaataa. “Planet Rock” is more than just one of the most influential hip-hop tracks of all time, but one of the most influential songs of all time in general, produced by Arthur Baker, and wrapped around a melody lifted from Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express.” Upon its release in 1982 it became a fixture of the New York club scene, and its influence can be felt in the work of modern hip-hop producers like The Neptunes and Timbaland, and is considered one of the earliest examples of electro-house music.
For such an unparalleled contribution to hip-hop, once again it falls to Get On Down to do a reissue proper justice, and the Boston boutique has failed to disappoint. The original track as well as its instrumental are has been reissued and are featured as the A-Side & B-Side, but of special note is the vinyl pressing itself. Their take on Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock” comes pressed on Glow-In-The-Dark vinyl, and comes housed in a custom-embossed Get On Down poly-bag. Perfect to literally light up any dance-floor, and a never-fail floor filler.
