Houblon de Hanche

While almost all Americans stick with home-brewed hip hop, they're missing out on a large, untapped reservoir of foreign made music. One of France's premier hip hop instrumentalists is DJ Cam, who began recording jazzy downtempo music in the mid-nineties. His major label debut, The Beat Assassinated is a fusion of minimalist and dub reggae vibes combined with east coast, sample-driven production featuring guest vocals from dubber Otis and NY rap group Channel Live.


Broadcasting Live (featuring Channel Live)
L'invasion (feat. Dadou from KDD)

Swing It Babees

When House of Pain ruled the singles chart with "Jump Around", Da Bush Babees snuck in through the back door and generated buzz with their own anthem, "Swing It". This NY trio consisted of Jamaican refugees Kaos, Mister Man and toaster Y-Tee. These guys featured some of the who's-who of producers on their debut album Ambushed including Jermaine Dupri and A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheed.

One of my favorite hip hop cuts of all time, "We Run Things" evokes a nostalgic feeling of the days when hip hop stressed realness over sales every time I hear it.

Swing It
Just Can't Stand It
We Run Things (It's Like Dat)

A pair of Juggaknots

Another amazing duo who entered the hip hop game at the wrong time, Bronx producer Buddy Slim and emcee Breezy Brewin' make up the Juggaknots. After being put on the shelf by Elektra, they eventually released Clear Blue Skies EP on Fondle'Em Records back in 1996 which was criminally overlooked. This is a beefed up re-release of album featuring a bunch of new songs and remixes. They have a moody style similiar to their independent counterparts Company Flow and Darc Mind.

Take two No-Doz and don't sleep.

Trouble Man
Clear Blue Skies

You Blockhead!

Aesop Rock's producer Blockhead crafted this beauty of an album in 2004 showing off his composition skills. Straight outta Manhattan, Block utilizes obscure string samples and old drum breaks to create a melancholy orchestration. It's inevitable that I compare him to RJD2 and DJ Shadow since there are so very few instrumental hip hop artists that garner as much attention as them, but he has an ear for melodies and harmonies that few possess. This is one of my favorite chill albums, especially on a rainy day or a dreary winter night.

Enjoy.

You've Got Maelstrom
Sunday Seance
Insomniac Olympics