Mr Bongo started in 1989 as a small record shop underneath Daddy Kool’s Reggae Store on Berwick Street in London. They were the first shop to sell vinyl releases from independent hip hop labels such as Def Jam, Rawkus, Nervous and Big Beat outside of the USA. During their 30+ year history they became well-known for championing a wide-range of musical genres, but for many people, Mr Bongo will forever be associated with the golden age of hip hop and their Soho stores. Mr Bongo founder and MD, Dave Buttle, shares, "Hip hop will always be in the DNA of Mr Bongo and a couple of years back we decided to channel that into a Mr Bongo Hip Hop 45 reissue series. Our ambition was to release the best and most in demand cuts from the 80’s and 90’s on 7" in original picture sleeves. It’s a collection of our personal favorites, Bongo store anthems and undeniable classics. The series has featured artists such as Nas, Souls of Mischief, Rakim, Black Sheep, Gang Starr, Ultramagnetic MC’s, Cypress Hill - to name a few... To celebrate reaching release number 20 in the series we thought now would be a good time to showcase the catalogue in full. We called in DJ Chris Read to put together an exclusive Mr Bongo Hip Hop 45’s mix." You can listen to that mix below from the talented DJ Chris Read, whose mixes I've posted here plenty of times, so dig into the archives.