What's up world?! I must tell you that I'm LOVING saluting these amazing hip-hop labels that have meant a lot historically to the culture and to those that are currently still impacting the game or have the potential to be huge. Whether underground or mainstream, these labels have or currently are impacting the game in substantial levels. This salute goes to Stones Throw Records, a label created by Peanut Butter Wolf and his late friend and business partner Charizma, and became the home to such artists as Quasimoto, Guilty Simpson, Homeboy Sandman, and R&B crooner and Grammy Award winner Aloe Blacc. The label is relatively slept-on by the mainstream, by is highly revered to the underground and for indie artists. In 2014, Peanut Butter Wolf released a documentary chronicling the rise of Stones Throw with My Vinyl Weighs A Ton, named after his own compilation release. If you have not checked out the documentary, it's well worth the viewing. With that, let's begin with the best releases from this celebrated label.
15. Oh No- The Disrupt
Madlib's baby brother Oh No, has made almost as much noise as his highly esteemed brother. More recently known for being half the duo Gangrene with The Alchemist, he was a solo guy before it all, and his his debut was 2004's The Disrupt. A very promising album, Oh No showed his excellent production abilities, as well as his fairly decent mic skills as well. With cuts like "Right Now", "Move", and "The Ride", it was clear we were on to something, and he was about to not just be Madlib's little brother much longer.
14. Homeboy Sandman- Kindness For Weakness
One of the underground's most checked for lyricists is Queens emcee Homeboy Sandman. Already applauded for albums like The Good Son and First Of A Living Breed, he delivered Kindness For Weakness earlier in 2016. Already considered one of the year's most overlooked albums, Homeboy continues his knack for wordplay and storytelling with poignancy and clarity. While tracks like "Heart Sings" and "Eyes" are quite fantastic, it's the reflective and spiritual "God" that really captivates the listener about HS. Arguably one of his top two or three albums, this album deserves to have several spins.
13. Rasco- Time Waits For No Man
Cali native Rasco has been known in the underground for quite some time now. Before he became part of Cali Agents with Planet Asia, he dropped his debut album, Time Waits For No Man. The album is lyrical hunger personified, and with cuts like the Defari/Dilated Peoples-assisted "Major League", "Take It Back Home" and "View To A Kill", it isn't hard to see why this is among Stones Throw's most talked about albums during its day.
12. Homeboy Sandman- Hallways
One of Stones Throw's most versatile emcees is Homeboy Sandman, and his second full length album on the label was Hallways, and it served every bit as great of a listen as anything we had heard from him. The first single "Refugee" was just a taste of the excellent penmanship and vision HS would provide on the album. Already acclaimed, Sandman continued his excellent work and keeps progressing towards being considered one your favorite emcees' favorite emcees.
11. Peanut Butter Wolf- My Vinyl Weighs A Ton
The creator and owner of Stones Throw Records released his own compilation album, My Vinyl Weighs A Ton, and it was a highly acclaimed success. With performances by Planet Asia, Rasco, and Lootpack among other emcees and DJs, this album became known as one of the most important albums in the history of the label, and served as one of the true pillar albums for their upbringing. He later was behind the documentary of the same name, which documented the growth and history of the label, but the album itself is critical excellence, and showed that PBW was just as good of an artist/DJ as he was a visionary.
10. Homeboy Sandman- First Of A Living Breed
Queens emcee Homeboy Sandman released his first Stones Throw album, First Of A Living Breed, and it was definitely a great album. Sandman had started to really establish himself as a formidable lyricist based off his prior albums of Actual Factual Pterodactyl, Nourishment, and especially his breakout album The Good Son. With First Of a Living Breed, tracks like "Mine All Mine", "The Ancient", and "4 Corners" are all cuts that show dexterity and versatility, yet all show how talented of a penman he is also.
9. Lootpack- Soundpieces: Da Antidote
One of the first truly shining moments of Stones Throw came with Lootpack's Soundpieces: Da Antidote. Consisting of DJ Romes, Wildchild, and producer extraordinaire Madlib, this was one of the first truly acclaimed and exciting projects to emerge from the burgeoning label. Very innovative and imaginative production from Madlib, and excellent mixing by Kut Master Kurt, this was pound for pund one of the late nineties best kept secrets, and it provided cuts like "Verbal Experiments" and "The Anthem" an avenue to present unapologetic true, authentic hip-hop.
8. Strong Arm Steady & Madlib- In Search Of Stoney Jackson
Cali-originated trio, Strong Arm Steady, was well known in underground circles, primarily by collabs with the likes of Defari, Xzibit, Tha Alkaholiks, and others. The crew of Mitchy Slick, Phil Da Agony, and Krondon handled their business as solo artists before coming together as a group, and were among the nicest crews out of LA underground. They delivered an album with the production talents of Madlib, In Search Of Stoney Jackson, that was as red hot as anything the two acts have put out. Madlib's eccentric, yet occasionally brilliant, production were just as important and essential as the often times fluid and steady flowing chemistry of SAS. Many consider this their overall best album, and with Madlib behind the boards with the production he presented on cuts like "Cheeba Cheeba" and "Needle In the Haystack", it's not hard to see why.
7. Guilty Simpson- O.J. Simpson
Detroit rhyme animal Guilty Simpson is well known in the underground circle, primarily because of his affiliation with the late Dilla and collabs with Black Milk, Elzhi, and the late Sean Price. He had previously dropped the searing Ode To The Ghetto (see later), but his follow-up, his collab with Madlib O.J. Simpson, was every bit as hard as anything he had done prior. The very convenient, yet slightly controversial, title was named after Madlib's real name (Otis Jackson) and Guilty Simpson's stage name, thus O.J. Simspon. Nonetheless, the album was filled with the typical street-centered grittiness that makes Guilty Simpson who he is. Plenty of dope tracks to go around, the partnership between Madlib and Guilty is evidenced and makes the producer/emcee chemistry between them a worthwhile listen.
6. Quasimoto- The Further Adventures Of Lord Quas
By 2005, we had become familiar with Madlib's helium-voiced blunted out alter ego Quasimoto. Quasi's debut album, The Unseen, was a widely praised album that established Madlib's innovative approach to being a creative emcee. Quasi's follow-up album, The Further Adventures Of Lord Quas, continued the eccentric, yet intriguing, work of Madlib's alter-ego. The story became more of Madlib's very adventurous production that more times than not, really works out well. This became almost as big of a cult classic as The Unseen, and deserves to be credited with being as big a part of the acclaim of Stones Throw as any other release.
5. Guilty Simpson- Ode To The Ghetto
Guilty Simpson's debut album, Ode To The Ghetto, was everything we thought it would be: raw, lyrical, gritty, and full of talent worthy of being among the upper ranks of Detroit mic destroyers. With crazy production from the likes of Dilla, Oh No, Madlib, and Black Milk, there was simply no shortage of heat throughout this very dope release. Little to no filler material, every cut serves a purpose, and cuts like the ominous sounding "I Must Love You" and the Random Axe-assisted "Run" are very well-proportioned for this album.
4. Quasimoto- The Unseen
The much talked about debut album from Madlib's weeded-out, helium-pitched alter ego, Quasimoto, is still considered a very important piece of indie/underground hip-hop. Developing a wide cult following, Lord Quas became a big fixture within the alternative hip-hop circles, and it definitely became an album that would be considered an acquired taste. Filled with plenty of psychedelic head trips, and was reportedly recorded while Madlib was hooked on shrooms for about a month, it's a spaced out yet wildly imaginative album that has continued to stand the test of time.
3. J Dilla- Donuts
The late great James Yancey is known as one of the most revered and decorated producers of all-time. Changing the landscape of the hip-hop producer, J Dilla was a treasure, and inspired everyone from Pete Rock to Kanye West behind the boards. His instrumental album, Donuts, is widely considered the greatest hip-hop instrumental album ever released in hip-hop. Many of the beats on the album have ended up getting used by artists like The Roots, MF Doom, Slum Village and more. This album officially marked his legacy in stone, and now years after his death from complications of Lupus, Dilla's instrumental jewel of an album is as relevant and essential now as it was when it was released just a couple weeks after his death. The most timeless piece of the Dilla discography.
2. Jaylib- Champion Sound
When the word got out that two of the most revered and decorated producers in all of hip-hop would get together to do a collab album, mouths were just watering. The album finally dropped in mid-late 2003 and it met every expectation. Deemed a classic, and rightfully so, the concept had Madlib rhyming over Dilla's rich sampling and Dilla rhyming over Madliberator's quirky, yet ingenious, production. Celebrating the best efforts from each one, this album became a center piece of Stones Throw, and quickly became the album they were known for up until that next year. Never-ending standouts, Jaylib became a duo that constructed a seminal album that could easily rival any exceptional debut of that decade.
1. Madvillain- Madvillainy
The album that officially made Stones Throw a more known label. One of the most landmark albums in the history of indie hip-hop, Madlib and MF Doom collaborated on what would become a masterpiece of a project. Some of the most bizarre, yet brilliantly sampled, production ever from Madlib was the most beautifully designed backdrops for the quirky, yet clever, rhymes of Doom. Easily comparable to the likes of De La Soul Is Dead, Aquemini, and Critical Beatdown, this is a classic that takes a while to fully absorb, but once you get past how unique this album is, you also realize how fully special this album is, and with insane cuts like "Fancy Clown", "All Caps", and "Figaro", this album is unlike most albums you may ever hear. The song structure is set up to where they're mostly 2 minute cuts with no hooks, just Doom rhyming his metal-faced ass off over some of the most left-field production (filled with elements of pseudo-Jazz and world music) Madlib has constructed. One of the top two, if not the best, album of the entire decade, Madvillainy is still Stones Throw's magnum, opus, as well as a career defining album for Doom and Madlib.
Stones Throw Records is a very important piece of hip-hop, as it's seen as one of the truly refreshing labels made for artists to be who they are unapologetically and unabashed. As a result, artists were promoted to push their creativity and originality, without any A&Rs or "machines". Truly a label for the artist, all shouts to Peanut Butter Wolf and the late Kharisma for this fantastic label and its roster. Until next time cats!
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