10 Record Store Day 2024 Releases to Cop

If there’s a single phrase that describes the cocktail of anticipation and trepidation vinyl aficionados — and their soon-to-be-emptied bank accounts —feel in the weeks leading up to Record Store Day, it has to be the great (albeit fictional) philosopher Carl “CJ” Johnson’s catchphrase: “Ah sh*t, here we go again.”

Since its inaugural edition in 2007, Record Store Day has served up an annual cornucopia of limited-edition goodies, notable for both their collectability — most pressing runs are well below 5,000 — and the general rarity of the music on display, much of which either hasn’t been released on vinyl before, is returning in celebration of an anniversary or presents an alternate iteration of time-honored classics.

With almost 400 exclusive records releasing this Saturday, April 20, there’s a lot to sift through, so here’s a curated selection of 10 great drops that’ll be hitting the bins — from powerful live Sonny Rollins performances to the deluxe edition of Summer Walker‘s debut album. Remember: these records will only be available in-store, so check out a full list of participating retailers (as well as the entire drop calendar, if you’re so inclined) at the RSD website.

De La Soul – Live At Tramps, NYC, 1996

Record Store Day

Pressing Run: Unconfirmed

Recorded at New York’s members-only Tramps nightclub, De La Soul’s Live at Tramps LP is a nostalgic snapshot in time of the hip-hop group, rolling out on vinyl for the first time. In May 1996, just two months before dropping their Stakes Is High album, the trio of Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove and Maseo took over the venue for a set, during which they were joined onstage by Common, Mos Def and Jungle Brothers. At times, the performance is shaky and even awkward. Before playing their hit “Me Myself and I,” the group tells the audience that they “hate this song.” Other moments indicate De La Soul’s impressive balance of bars and sampling. It’s perhaps due to the latter, however, that this LP doesn’t exist on streaming services – the group was notoriously lax about clearing samples – making the physical record all the more worth splurging on.

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Piñata – 10 Year Anniversary Edition

Record Store Day

Pressing Run: 3,500

10 years ago, Freddie Gibbs was at a transitional point in his career. Known as a traditinal “gangster” rapper, he had left his deal with Interscope, signed with Young Jeezy‘s CTE World label and was searching for his next career chapter. Madlib, for his part, was (more amicably) ending his Stone’s Throw era and trying to increase the profile of his own Madlib Invazion label. The two vastly different artists came together at this shared transitional period in 2011, and, three years plus three EPs later, and cut a modern classic LP: 2014’s Piñata, a project that put Gibbs’ lyrical dexterity and storytelling ability on display over Madlib’s unmistakable beats and kicked off a creative renaissance for both parties. Now, it’s back in vinyl form with a new alternate cover and a half-speed master to celebrate.

Fun Boy Three – Extended

Record Store Day

Pressing Run: Unconfirmed

The Hypebeast audience may know Fun Boy Three best as the band that inspired the moniker of visvim‘s famed FBT shoe, but, during their brief three-year tenure as a group (1981-1983) Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding reduced the ska sound that they’d perfected as members of The Specials down to a more minimal ethos that was focused on vocals and percussion. Fun Boy Three had seven top 20 UK hits across their two albums, but it’s some of their more underground material that’s being spotlighted for Record Store Day, with Extended offering a compilation of all their ‘12 remixes, both dub and extended versions.

Lee “Scratch” Perry and the Upsetters – Skanking With the Upsetter

Record Store Day

Pressing Run: 875

Dub pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry was hard at work creating an entirely new genre of music in the early ’70s — with assistance from The Upsetters, his studio band — and some of his earliest dub recordings have been packaged up for Record Store Day 2024. Skanking With the Upsetter holds 12 of Perry’s early dub recordings from 1973 to early 1974, all on a transparent yellow vinyl that’s region-exclusive.

Lil Wayne – Sorry 4 the Wait

Record Store Day

Pressing Run: 3,000

Lil Wayne released 2011’s Sorry 4 The Wait as an apology for the continuous delay of Tha Carter IV, wanting to satiate fans and give himself more time to work on his ninth LP. While the wait was certainly worth it – Tha Carter IV has since been certified five-times platinum – Wayne’s mixtapes are easily buried amid his prolific output. Making its vinyl debut 13 years later, Sorry 4 The Wait may be only one of 29 tapes the rapper has dropped, but it’s well worth a listen for its intimate unveiling of his inner turmoil. His first tape since being released from prison, the project, although still interspersed with bars about violence and sex features Wayne reflecting on his mortality and past struggles with codeine addiction. In true Mixtape Weezy, he raps over instrumentals of the latest hits, from Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” to Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls).”

Remi Wolf – Live At Electric Lady

Record Store Day

Pressing Run: 1,500

Remi Wolf’s raspy vocals are best experienced live but if you can’t make it out to a show, this vinyl of her Electric Lady performances is perhaps the next best thing. While Wolf is still in the early years of her career, she’s already established a wide-ranging discography that touches pop, funk and soul without committing to any particular genre. Available on vinyl for the first time, LP features all six of Wolf’s Electric Lady sets, including original hits such as “Liz” but also expressive covers of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” and Frank Ocean’s “Pink + White,” both of which see her bring a unique stylistic twist to a familiar track.

Sonny Rollins – Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings

Record Store Day

Pressing Run: 2,500

In between releasing “St. Thomas” — one of jazz’s most canonical songs — in 1956 and his famed self-imposed “exile” where he practiced his way into an entirely new relationship with his music while playing on the Williamsburg Bridge in 1959, Sonny Rollins took a European tour with bassist Henry Grimes and drummers Kenny Clarke, Joe Harris and Pete La Roca. The music played on that tour, directly before a transitional period in Rollins’ career, had only been available via bootleg in the past but now is available across Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings, a four-LP set. Across 26 tracks, Rollins plays rousing renditions of classics like “St. Thomas” and “There Will Never Be Another You,” and the project also contains multiple live takes of “Oleo,” “I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star” and more.

Summer Walker – Over It (Complete Set)

Record Store Day

Pressing Run: 2,500

Over It, Summer Walker’s commended debut, first dropped in 2019. Now, it’s celebrating its fifth anniversary with an extended vinyl re-release arrived as Summer Walker’s commended and long-awaited studio debut on the scene. First released in 2019, the project is celebrating its five-year anniversary this year and is getting a well-deserved extended re-release as Over It (Complete Set). The 2-LP offering is pressed on an eco-mix recycled vinyl and has been lengthened significantly to include the album’s live, acapella and instrumental versions of each track, all of which are making their vinyl debut.

Wilco – The Whole Love (Expanded)

Record Store Day

Pressing Run: 4,500

Originally released in 2011, Wilco’s The Whole Love marked the first project the band released under its own dBpm label. For the first time ever, an expanded iteration of the project is released across three LPs. The Whole Love (Expanded) includes all of the singles related to The Whole Love, including all of the album’s “deluxe” tracks – “I Love My Label”, “Message From Mid-Bar”, “Speak Into the Rose”, “Black Moon – Alt” and “Sometimes It Happens” – in addition to a selection of archival footage from The Loft, Wilco’s recording studio. Live in-studio performances and previously unreleased alternate mixes and demos have been tacked on to the extensive offering, with titles including “Art of Almost”, “Dawned on Me”, “Sunloathe” and “Cruel To Be Kind” with Nick Lowe.⁠

Young Thug – Jeffery

Record Store Day

Pressing Run: 6,000

Young Thug’s fourth studio mixtape JEFFERY impressed audiences around the world upon its 2016 release. Titled after the rapper’s birth name, Thug changed his stage name to Jeffery for nearly a week right around the time of the project’s release. At 10 tracks long – with titles including “Floyd Mayweather”, “Guwop”, “Riri” and even “Harambe” – the acclaimed LP sees Thug paying tribute to his “role models.” The only song not named after one of his idols is the closer, “Pick Up The Phone” with Travis Scott and Quavo, which marked pivotal commercial success for the rapper. The project’s cover art is also worthy to note; photographed by Garfield Lamond, Thug dons an Alessandro Trincone-designed dress, cementing himself as a rapper who can blur the binaries of genre and gender.