Shout out to @wax33rpm for hosting this year’s #baseballvinylchallenge2 – our contribution was to challenge folks to feature a walk-off song they would play after hitting the game winning HR. This was a no brainer for us, as Primo Rick’s Kirk Gibson banger got overruled by The Kid, aka Ken Griffey Jr, and his famous walk-up song – “Hip Hop Hooray,” by Naughty By Nature. Before the NBA became synonymous with Hip-Hop, there was a hall-of-fame center-fielder playing in Seattle, who made baseball look and feel cool. Griffey Jr. brought all the swag – from wearing his hat backwards, to his gold-glove defense, and that silky smooth home-run swing. He’s the reason I became a Seattle Mariners fan (still am today), even though I grew up in L.A. 🤷🏻♂️ – I was at his jersey retirement ceremony a few years back and it was one of the best sports-related moments of my life. Also, shout out to the @seattlemariners for being one of the first franchises to introduce batters with a walk-up song. Even though the challenge called for a “walk-off” song – it’s all the same to me because anytime Junior came to the plate, chances were that ball was leaving the yard. Salute to “The Kid” for being one of the greatest to ever do it 👏🏼 #letthekidsplay#sodomojo#truetotheblue
First off, shout out to SF’s @originalsvinylfor giving us a genuine “what the fuck is this?!” moment back in early Nov of ‘18. The “this” we were asking about happened to be a beautifully crafted, curated collection of tracks courtesy of @ghostmcgrady . The landscapes painted by the beats and samples on this record are 💯 certified fresh. Although this release dropped in late 2018, it’s gotten plenty of spins to make it into our top five. #vibes
#3. Brandon Coleman – Resistance (2xLP)
2018 US Brainfeeder Pressing
Coming in at numero tres is this great “debut” double LP by @brandoncoleman . It’s a fresh throwback and feel good funk/r&b/soul record that we just wish had been dropped before the summer. No worries though, as we’ll be putting this instant classic in rotation for many summers to come. Coleman’s vocoder game is strong and @brainfeederrecords continues their 🔥 streak of releases.
#2. August Greene – August Greene (2xLP)
2018 Fat Beats Records Pressing
This collaboration project @augustgreeneband had been years in the making it seems, and damn was it worth the wait. One of the most underrated to do it (IMO), Lonnie Lynn @common gets busy on the mic – and when you got his rhymes accompanied by the talents of @robertglasper and @karriemriggins – you get a hiphop record that becomes timeless even when the subject matter is as current as anything else out there. We had to wait a minute for the record to drop on wax in 2018, but it’s one that we’re glad to own.
#1. Leon Bridges – Good Thing (LP)
2018 Columbia Pressing (U.S.)
There could only be one for 2018 and we had to go back to @leonbridgesofficialsophomore release, Good Thing, to find it. As we highlighted last year, many folks were caught a little off guard with the flip of the script from his debut album – but damn does this album hold water. This LP still has all the feels of yesteryear a la Sam Cooke, but the production value of today’s music (in a good way). Hats off to @rickyreed for steering the ship.