Record Store Day Haul #3: The Brand New Heavies - Heavy Rhyme Experience: Vol. 1

Craft / Delicious Vinyl (2022, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

And this is a pretty on point mash up of Record Store Day and Ed Lover Dance Day.  This one came out on the second RSD Drop date this past weekend, I assume because it probably just wasn't able to get pressed in time for round one.  I loved this Brand New Heavies album when it came out in 1992 and this is one of the last few hip hop albums I had on CD as a youngster but had not yet replaced with the vinyl version.  There's not a whole lot of those left to find, but this was a big one.

The 'beats' are provided by The Brand New Heavies who bring a funk sensibility to the proceeding.  They are a full on band, live everything, setting the groove.  Then on top of that, we have some of the best MCs from 1992 joining the party.  Gang Starr shows up for arguably the best track on here, "It's Gettin Hectic."  We've got Main Source, Masta Ace, Kool G. Rap, Black Sheep and The Pharcyde all nailing their appearances.  And we have the omnipresent in 1992 Grand Puba whose "Who Makes The Loot?" probably is the one song battling Gang Starr for the title of best song on the record.  In all seriousness, I feel like Grand Puba made a guest appearance on just about every record that came out in '92.  Dude was everywhere.

I'm stoked this was finally rereleased.  I had been watching Discogs for a copy for quite some time, but it always seemed a bit too pricey and only ever seemed to be sold by overseas sellers.  But now I have a brand new, great sounding and appropriately orange copy.  Definitely worth checking out if you missed it the first time around.  I had no problem picking this up late into the morning on Record Store Day and I've seen more that a few websites still selling copies, so they're out there.

The Brand New Heavies - Heavy Rhyme Experience: Vol. 1:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kbd5OdFZI9a4W8xUJoKdFx65hnlJT5gV4