Weekend Viewing: Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton

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—01. DVD and CD set.

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This spring Stones Throw Records released a feature-length film documenting the birth and evolution of the label, and the people that made it possible. Peanut Butter Wolf can be credited with Stone Throw's direction and success – financially and artistically – so it's no surprise to find him narrating. The film provides intimate insight into an otherwise quiet group of musicians, from the early days and the death of Charizma to a peek at the prolific work of Madlib and the latest wave of artists to be signed. It's an inspiring and emotional look inside one of the most impressive independent record labels of our time.

—Available at Stones Throw

Weekend Listening: Piñata

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—01. Vinyl LP.
—02. Freddie Gibbs.
—03. Madlib.

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It's hard not to be excited about any project involving Madlib, but add Freddie Gibbs' smooth, raw rhymes to the mix and you've got something special. Since hearing Thuggin' at the end of 2011, I had high hopes for future collaborations between the pair. Last week Piñata finally dropped and unsurprisingly it's one of the best hip hop albums in the last couple of years. An unlikely partnership on the face of it, the duo seem to balance one another out, with Gibbs clearly growing as an artist throughout the project.

—Rappcats
—Video: Thuggin'

Weekend Listening: Beat Konducta, Vol. 6

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—01. Madlib, the Beat Konducta.

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Lately I've been listening to Madlib pretty much non-stop. For some reason when I get hooked on an artist, it usually lasts a few weeks at a time, but certain things just stick even longer. Anyways, his Beat Konducta series are classic, and if you're not familiar with the tracks, you'd probably recognize a few sounds along the way.

—Stones Throw Records