Announcing: J.Dilla “Ruff Draft – Dilla’s Mix.” Out now!

The canonical hip hop producer’s breakout release Ruff Draft restored to his original vision, out now, via Pay Jay Productions.

Guaranteed in stock at our web store at Rappcats: | J DILLA – RUFF DRAFT – DILLA’S MIX

Yes, that’s true – this release isn’t on Now-Again. But Egon, the creative director of the Estate of James “J.Dilla” Yancey – assembled this definitive reissue of Dilla’s Ruff Draft project with the same attention to detail afforded Now-Again’s resissues, and it’s coming out on Pay Jay, the label Dilla founded in the early 2000s and which Egon and Dilla’s Estate revived on behalf of his four heirs.

Originally released in small quantities on Mummy Records in 2003 as a vinyl-only EP and posthumously produced for reissued by Egon for Stones Throw in 2007 J. Dilla’s Ruff Draft was a bold declaration of independence from an artist 10 years into his career—an artist still cloaked in rookie hunger and ambition despite a operating at the peak of both his creative and technical talents. Though the EP would go on to attain legendary status following Dilla’s passing in 2006, the original edition of the album was marred by poor sound, resulting from lackluster vinyl mastering. The 2007 reissue was produced during a period when Dilla’s original mixes were thought to be lost, and the album was remixed by engineers Dave Cooley and Kelly Hibbert from the original multitracks. MORE

Posted in NewsApr. 16, 2018

Announcing: Lloyd Miller “Jazz at The University of Utah” and a limited edition sale from his archive

Available at our web store at Rappcats: Lloyd Miller’s Jazz at the University of Utah

Modal and Eastern Jazz by Spiritual Jazz maestro Lloyd Miller, originally issued in a run of 500 copies in 1967. This reissue – the first in a series focusing on Miller’s catalog on Now-Again – was overseen by Miller and pressed from new stampers made from the original metal parts.

Contains an extensive booklet detailing Miller’s amazing life in jazz and his worldwide travels by jazz historian Francis Goding. Also includes a download card for WAV files of the album and video of late 60s performances.

Also see: Lloyd Miller – Jazz at the University of Utah – The Deluxe Bundle MORE

Posted in NewsMar. 29, 2018

Announcing: Revolutionary, Spiritual Jazz – The Lightmen Plus One’s “Fancy Pants”

Available at our web store at Rappcats: The Lightmen Plus One’s Fancy Pants

Revolutionary, spiritual jazz from Houston, reissued for the first time – the second in a series of four expanded reissues of drummer and bandleader Bubbha Thomas’s lauded catalog.

Extensive booklet detailing Bubbha and his band’s story, replete with never-published photos. Presented in both the issued stereo and previously unissued mono mixes as a double LP. Download card for WAV files and videos of 1970s performances included.

Also see: The Lightmen – Free As You Wanna Be

Drummer, bandleader and activist Bubbha Thomas had toured America with R&B revues, served as a session musician for Peacock and Back Beat Records, and played straight ahead jazz with legends before the political and social upheaval of the late 1960s led him to a path first charted by Coltrane. Fancy Pants is his second LP with his Lightmen band and, like the deep-set, maverick jazz issued by the likes of Tribe and Strata East, is amongst the best of the 1970s jazz underground, a collective voice of resistance to the musical and cultural status quo.

This is the first time that Fancy Pants has seen reissue, and it is presented in both the issued stereo and previously unissued mono mixes as a double LP. This reissue was remastered from Bubbha’s original master tapes. Bubbha and his band’s story is told in great detail by Houston music and cultural historian Lance Scott Walker (Houston Rap / Houston Rap Tapes) and Now-Again’s Eothen Alapatt, in a booklet that contains dozens of unpublished photographs. Download card for WAV files and videos of numerous 1970s performances also included.

All four of Bubbha’s 1970s albums will see reissue as expanded albums, with previously unreleased mixes, alternate and unreleased versions, once per quarter, through the end of 2018. Watch a primer of what’s to come below.

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Posted in NewsFeb. 25, 2018

Egon’s First Pop Up Record Shop of 2018 – Selling Bubbha Thomas and his Lightmen Band’s Records

Available now at our web store at Rappcats: The Lightmen’s Fancy Pants.

Now-Again Records celebrated the reissue of The Lightmen Plus One’s Spiritual Jazz classic Fancy Pants with a pop-up record shop at Rappcats. The sale was hosted by Egon, with records sourced from Bubbha Thomas and his Lightmen bandmates – saxophonist Doug Harris and bassist Don Patterson’s collections – and contained both one-of-a-kind rarities and classic soul, funk, jazz and rock LPs and 45s that inspired Thomas and his band. And of course albums by the Lightmen band itself. Don Patterson himself was at the space, talking jazz and signing any copies of the albums purchased from the collections.

Also see: The Lightmen –Free As You Wanna Be MORE

Announcing: Ayalew Mesfin’s “Hasabe (My Worries)” – the last treasure trove of 70s Ethiopian Funk

Hasabe (My Worries), a Now-Again x Vinyl Me, Please release, the latter’s February 2018 Record of the Month. A variation of this album will see issue worldwide on Now-Again in late 2018.

Ayalew Mesfin is among the legends of the 1970s Ethiopian musical scene – his music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Ayalew was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of the country in 1974. Now, over 40 years later, his triumphant return – and the first time that his music has been presented in album form – gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history. Listen to his classic Ethiopian funk track “Libe Menta Hone” below.

Read more about this important release here. And watch a short film that introduces you to Ayalew’s story and his music:

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Posted in NewsJan. 23, 2018