Beast Coast "Escape From New York" **RSDBF 23**

$

26

RECORD STORE DAY BLACK FRIDAY 2023 EXCLUSIVE RELEASE!
Since its inception, Black Friday has turned the day after Thanksgiving into the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Traditionally, Black Friday has been about super-cheap prices on mass-produced goods and primarily takes place in malls and big box stores. But we really like the idea of a shopping season, especially when that shopping is all about, at its heart, a way to show the people you like that you like them. (And a way for them to show you, too. Gift-GETTING is also awesome!) So we created RSD Black Friday. 

We work year-round to shine a light on the independent businesses in your local community that sell you records and other things that make you happy, make you smile, make you sing, bring you comfort, bring people together. Everything you find in a record store (or on a record store’s website) would make a great gift for someone, and it may feel a little extra nice to wrap up and give (or get!) a little something knowing its purchase helps a local, independent store. 

There are artists, labels, managers and distribution companies who feel the same, and we’ve put together a list of titles for the gift-giving season that will be available at participating record stores. They come out on RSD Black Friday (this year 11/24) but may be available at record stores throughout the rest of the year, because record stores are the best place to go with a Holiday Wish List.

The collective has completed many tours together, and its debut album Escape From New York comes across as a collection of high level cyphers from Joey Bada$$, Nyck Caution, Kirk Knight, CJ Fly, Flatbush Zombies & more. Not surprising as the Brooklyn natives, a lot of them friends since childhood, have never shied away from the lyrics-centered tradition of New York hip-hop.

Their distinctive voices and skills on the mic, as well as NY-centric storytelling drive the album, and the chemistry is undeniable. The production is tight, but this is also where the supergroup shifts away from musically, perhaps what the title of the project is alluding to. Erick Arc Elliott, Power Pleasant, Sam Wish, and Tyler Dopps lay down slick, bouncy instrumentals as opposed to boom bap, and it's refreshing and fun to hear the group expand its sound. Check out "Distance," "Left Hand," "Snow In The Stadium," "Far Away," and "Coast/Clear."

The RSD Black Friday edition features 2LPs on translucent orange color and a Beast Coast Sticker.