The record industry has always treated hip-hop as a disposable commodity, so that even iconic work has gone without the slick packaging of archival rock and pop projects. Malden-based Get On Down is aiming to correct that, on the clever hunch that rap nerds are some of the geekiest collectors out there. Here's a sampling of this season's Get On Down crop.
NAS › Illmatic [Gold Disc CD] › $34.94 › Arguably the greatest rap album ever crafted, Illmatic resurfaces through Get On Down in an even iller incarnation. The gold CD alone is worth the bragging rights; in addition to the glisten, the gilded pressing makes for the highest quality transmission. And unlike prior Illmatic reissues, this time Nas fans get a 48-page book with lyrics, photos, and liner notes to set the mood for this trip down memory lane.
Related:
The Big Hurt: This month in rap ( . . . in 1992), Grinding gears with Wheelchair Sports Camp, The Big Hurt: The Week in WorldStar unsigned Artist videos, More 
- The Big Hurt: This month in rap ( . . . in 1992)
I'm overdue for a hip-hop news roundup, but it's all so lame.
- Grinding gears with Wheelchair Sports Camp
Unless you count Summer Jam and other shameless showcases of hack-rap sharecroppers, hip-hop never had a circus until B. Dolan stepped up to play ringmaster.
- The Big Hurt: The Week in WorldStar unsigned Artist videos
In my Year-in-Preview column, I predicted that we'd pass "peak hip-hop" in 2013, and the unsigned hype on the WorldStar hip-hop site would slow to a trickle.
- Boxed and Ready: CD Box Sets
Hey, the Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary isn’t the only ancient history to get hopped up about this year — here are some other treasures from the vaults.
- El-P keeps control of his alt-rap flow
When I interviewed El-P back in 2007, we had a meaty laugh over unfortunate scribes who'd pegged his sound "post-apocalyptic."
- Photos: A Terrible Beauty at Radio
A Terrible Beauty played Radio on Saturday, June 16, 2012.
- Letting it rip with Grey Valley Ghost
Rarely does the subject go into an interview with their own set of notes, but that's exactly what Grey Valley Ghost frontman/guitarist Madison Taylor did when he checked in from his hometown of Atlanta last weekend.
- Out: Beach Cops and Smart Cops team up for a punk patrol at the Rosebud
The impossible happened on Saturday, June 30, in the back lounge of the Rosebud Diner in Davis Square – for one night, at least, cops and punks were one and the same.
- The experimental fusion of Liars
When Liars first emerged a decade ago, their post-punk thrashing, no-wave abrasion, and feral howls felt dangerous — the sound of a zombie apocalypse before it was trendy.
- Musical literary stocking stuffers
The choices for books by and about rock stars are almost endless this season. Here are a few.
- Apocalypse, Now: Gifts for doomsayers
You still haven't started your holiday shopping? Don't bother.
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Topics:
Music Features
, Hip Hop, music features, box sets, More
, Hip Hop, music features, box sets, gift guide 2012, Less
