A couple of very influential releases today.
Eric B. & Rakim, "My Melody"
This is a track from Paid in Full, a groundbreaking record where Rakim raised the bar for MCs far beyond where it was before. It's a record where his rhyming still sounds fresh, a testament to how far he was ahead of the game. The beats haven't aged quite as well, but the record as a whole is still a great listen, and is one of the crucial records for understanding where hip-hop came from.
Belle & Sebastian, "Play For Today"
This song always reminds me more of The Beautiful South than it does a Belle & Sebastian song. But that's not necessarily a terrible thing.
Nots, "New Structures"
I picked this album (Cosmetic) up off a "best of 2016" list somewhere, and to my ears, it sounds a lot like Mission of Burma, which is a good thing. I don't think I spent much time with this, I think I'll do that today.
Massive Attack, "Lately"
Massive Attack melded hip-hop with club music, producing what would eventually be called trip-hop. This album, Blue Lines, is really ground zero for the scene, and still sounds pretty good.
NoFX, "Hit It"
This is from Maximum RockNRoll, a compilation of very early material from NoFX which has them basically just sounding like a Descendents knockoff. In looking up this release, apparently it was also unauthorized. Very skippable.