Hip Hop reissues (how do you know?)

Mr_Delmont

With just about every early-mid nineties hip-hop 12" on a major label reissued.....how can you tell if you're getting an OG or a reissue?Sometimes I can tell from the 'Parental Advisory' logo. It???s a sure sign if the PA logo is a sticker rather then printed on. Some of the OGs around that time didn???t have PA stickers though.....they were just printed on. The 'smell method' doesn???t really work on records that were originally released like 10-13 years ago. Most used 12s around these parts just smell like a head shop anyway.Is the 'masterdisk' or 'SRC' stamp on the run out grooves a reliable way? Have some of these 12's never gone outta print?Thanks in advance.

volumen

A lot of the Def Jam stuff is easy cuz it's stamped on the front.



Somethimes you can do a "blue note" check and look for the newer label. example Eric B and Rakim original: yellow label reissue: red/pink.



On of the biggest give aways for most stuff (even newer) is the super glossy cover. Sure, people take good care of stuff but if it's blindingly shiney there is a good chance it's a re-issue. Even stuff that's well taken care of will dull and get a ding here and there. Just general appearance. Does it look so damb new it's never been played.



I just know what I know and that ain't much.

Brian

Is the 'masterdisk' or 'SRC' stamp on the run out grooves a reliable way?

If you know accurate information with the run out grooves, that's a good way. With nearly any pic sleeve bootleg, you can tell just cos the printing sucks. I'm sure someone will post the Spine Magazine link anytime now, but the differences covered in there apply to nearly everything else too.

johmbolaya

Matrix numbers will generally tell the story, knowing the handwriting, etc. Unlike the rock and jazz worlds, hip-hop matrix numbers have not been widely researched, so with a Def Jam 12", I don't know if there were different plants used to do their records. Tommy Boy, I would assume, would have one, at least until the late 80's. They eventually had some major label distribution through Reprise, although I don't know if that was a factor in the vinyl, since most major labels were trying their best to kill the format.

One would also have to do an A>B comparison and check an original next to one that's questionable. All of the "warehouse finds" have made it even more interesting, because while it's easy to say that a lot of records were never sold in the early 1990's, no one has ever really investigated where the "warehouse finds" are coming from, or whether that's code for "counterfeit pressing". With Tommy Boy ones though, it's probably easier to make a fake of a white label pressing than the stock copy, due to how the label is designed. You'd be able to distinguish a fake immediately by the blurred printing.

With Def Jam stuff on Columbia, I believe they had some kind of Columbia machine stamp into it, whether it's the matrix # itself or the Columbia "eye", rarely did any Columbia record ever go out without an identifiable mark. Very few indie labels had a "machine stamp", so it makes it a bit easier to make extra copies, especially if the pressing amount isn't (or hasn't been) documented.


N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton came out with two pressings, one with an advisory that was made by Priority, the other with the standard parental advisory. The first edition is the one Priority made.

p_gunn

Have some of these 12's never gone outta print?

a lot of wu tang stuff never went out of print... shit has been taking up 3 racks in Fat Beats since it came out...

volumen

Have some of these 12's never gone outta print?

a lot of wu tang stuff never went out of print... shit has been taking up 3 racks in Fat Beats since it came out...

Yea, so it's a hard call. I mean you caould say well there was the independant release before Loud picked them up. But really this stuff is still so new it's around. I don't really sweat the technique, I just play the beat.