90s Tapes (2024, Reissue)
On Wednesdays, 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.
If you read the things I write on a semi-regular basis, you know that I have been singing the praises of the German record label 90s Tapes for some time now. They have embarked on a reissue campaign of 90s hip hop that's probably unrivaled in our time. They have been unearthing obscure indie albums, reissuing albums previously available as self released tapes and giving deluxe treatments to classic albums from the golden age. Every release really could be considered a deluxe version as the quality of everything they put out is the best of the best. Circle of Power gets the 90s Tapes reissue with a triple LP version of their 1993 self titled album.
Even though Circle of Power originally came out on Rumble Records, a label that only ever put out records by Circle of Power, its influence was felt enough over the years that I had discovered it well before 90s Tapes got their hands on it. I had been hoping for a reissue for quite some time, as it's original release on vinyl was a promo LP with no artwork that didn't contain all of the songs from the CD version. Getting triple LP version with the full track list (apart from a switched out intro that really is better than the original) and what appears to be everything the group released on singles and what not is even more than I could have hoped for.
Musically, Circle Of Power sit right in that sweet spot on early 90s hip hop that is everything I'm looking to listen to. Upright bass lines, jazz influences, rugged drum beats...it's the sort of record that really only could have come out in 92, 93 or 94. I love the production throughout and lyrically, these guys weave stories around the beats in a way that makes the end product even more satisfying. There's so much skill on display here that I'm really confused as to why Circle of Power didn't get more of an opportunity to shine when they were active. But that's OK, the album has been rereleased in its best possible version and I'm so excited to be able to add it to the shelf.
Circle of Power - Circle of Power:
https://90stapes.bandcamp.com/album/circle-of-power
https://90stapes.bandcamp.com/album/circle-of-power
