Luscious Jackson - Let Yourself Get Down (Big Cat, 1992)

Lo-slung, shambling funky hip hop girlz.

This album was actually the first release on The Beastie Boys' Grand Royale label, appearing in the UK on Big Cat, the label that put out Pavement's first releases over here.

The Beastie Boys reference is kind of relevant as Luscious Jackson deal in a funky, indie hip-hop sound. Later records got smoothed-out a little but the sound on 'Let Yourself Get Down' is groovy but a little lo-fi. It has a relentless flow and some neat sub-bass action and should still be heard on the most discerning dancefloors.

Download Luscious Jackson 'Let Yourself Get Down' (indie, hip hop, funk, rap, mp3) (Mediafire)

Sly & Robbie 'Boops (Here To Go)' (4th&Broadway/Island Records, 1987)

The go-to rhythm section for dub-Reggae unleash their own tech-dub beast.

Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare have some track record, playing on an alleged 200,000 tracks in their four-decade career. They've played for Lee Perry and his Upsetters, Bunny Lee, Jimmy Cliff, Horace Andy, Peter Tosh as well as producing Culture's seminal 'Two Culture's Clash'. And then there's Grace Jones' 'Slave To The Rhythm' and her Jamaican excursions.

Producer by Bill Laswell of Material is no slouch either, being responsible for a strain of modern, gleaming dub. The mash-up of the two entities resulted in 'Boops (Here To Go)' with vocals by Shinehead.

'Boops' is a spectular piece of dub collage, sadly now most renowned for providing sample and inspiration for Robbie Williams' 'Rude Box'. Forget about that, though, and immerse yourself in its collision of influences.

Download Sly & Robbie 'Boops (Here To Go)' (dub, reggae, future pop, alternative mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip 'Fixed (Original Dizzee Rascal Sample Version)' (Unreleased, 2007)

Sharp as a splinter indie hip-hop in unreleased Dizzee Rascal-sampling version.

Indier-than-thou lyrics, fucked-about beats and Dizzee Rascal yelping - what more do you need?

This version was circulated before their album came out and features a sample from 'Fix Up Look Sharp' by Dizzee Rascal. Presumably he wouldn't give them clearance as this isn't the version that appears on their debut album 'Angles'.

Given that they pretty much diss him for cosying up to the "pop charts" maybe that's not such as surprise. Lord only knows what Scroobius Pip made of 'Bonkers' if he thinks that 'Fix Up Look Sharp' is commercial!

Dizzee-baiting aside, Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip represented a fresh sensibility in 'UK Hip Hop' - in the same vein as Ruthless Rap Assassins - fusing thoughtful lyrics with an eclectic sample pallette, taking in indie music influences like Radiohead's 'Planet Telex'.

It's also pertinent to point out that 'Fixed' also sampled 'The Big Beat' by hair-toting rock monster Billy Squier.

Good value.

Download Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip 'Fixed (Original Dizzee Rascal Sample Version)' (hip-hop, indie, alternative, indie dance mp3) (Mediafire)

Kruder & Dorfmeister 'High Noon' (G Stone, 1993)

Very deep shit from kings of dubbed-out, jazzy hip-hop flavoured instrumentals.

Very, very languid stuff. Brown slabs of moody keys slide over a brushed drum shuffle. Hasn't dated a day to my ears.

File alongside Red Snapper, DJ Shadow, Isolee 'Beau Mot Plage', Ultramarine 'Saratoga' and then forget about the filing and listen to 'Girma's Lament' by Karl Hector & The Malhouns.

Download Kruder & Dorfmeister 'High Noon' (trip-hop, downtempo mp3) (Mediafire)

Karl Hector & The Malhouns 'Girma's Lament' (Now Again, 2011) (mp3)

Don't know much about Karl Hector but I heard this head-turning piece of heavy funk-hop with a spy theme edge and a melancholy Afro-Beat brass chorus in Sounds Of The Universe yesterday and I can't get enough.

Don't know if it's contemporary or a reissue but it is damn good. File alongside The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

Download Karl Hector & The Malhouns 'Girma's Lament' (mp3) (Now Again Records)

Kiss AMC 'A Bit Of U2 (The Dancefloor Side)' (Syncopate, 1989) (mp3)

I don't just throw this together you know. Following on from the last post about Ruthless Rap Assassins is another example of the North Hulme Sound from the female duo Kiss AMC.

Indeed both acts' debut releases were either side of a Murdertone 12" in 1987 and Kiss AMC's self-titled track featured the Ruthless Rap Assassins.

'A Bit Of U2' is - as you might guess - based around a sample from a U2 track. It's the piano-line from 'New Year's Day' and they turn it into a vibrant celebration of everything they think is "top". The two sisters rap incessantly in parallel and spit out rhymes like the amazing "We listen to all kinds of music - we're not ashamed, We like indie pop - and bands with weird names".

The track is vibrant and fizzes with energy but allows enough space to let the lyrics take the limelight. This remix rolls along with a slightly 'Papua New Guinea' beat and array of nice production touches and samples.

It should have been a massive hit. But it wasn't.

Download Kiss AMC 'A Bit Of U2 (Dancefloor Side)' (mp3) (Mediafire)

Check out this site with info on the Ruthless Rap Assassins and sections and mp3s for Kiss AMC too.

Ruthless Rap Assassins 'And It Wasn't A Dream' (Murdertone/EMI, 1990) (mp3)

Ruthless Rap Assassins' 1990 debut 'Killer Album' is a feast of inventive music and skilled wordsmithery, bringing a distinctly UK (Mancunian, even) perspective to hiphop. I still love it to bits even now.

'And It Wasn't Dream' is a powerful piece. Based around a sample of Cymande's 'The Message', it tells of the experience of the band's parents. They came to the UK on the British Government's promise of prosperity and were needed to address labour shortages in the fifties.

As the sample intones "it wasn't a dream, this was a nightmare" as their parents encountered racism and found the UK wasn't the land of opportunity that they had been told. The chance to earn well and set themselves up was an empty promise.

It's a powerful but sensitively written track that takes in a host of sub-themes rather than just being a diatribe. It backed-up perfectly with a sympathetic track produced by famed Manchester producer Greg Wilson.

The Rap Assassins released a further album - 'Think! It Ain't Illegal Yet' - but it failed to breakthrough and they split. MC Kermit turned up in Black Grape with Sean Ryder later in the nineties.

'Killer Album' was recently reissued and is an essential purchase.

Download Ruthless Rap Assassins 'And It Wasn't A Dream' (mp3) (Box)

Check out this extensive site about the Ruthless Rap Assassins (and Kiss AMC).