Enjoy the late summer weekend even more by checking out this compilation of Stones Throw’s greatest gems as mixed by L.A. based KCRW’s Anthony Valadez.  As Valadez is already one of our favorite DJ’s, this homage of his to premier label Stones Throw Records gets an “Outstanding” from our humble yet slightly snobby team of music afficianados.  The mix has been released to help announce an upcoming event on October 6th, a KCRW-hosted outdoor screening of the new documentary Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton: This is Stones Throw Records against the backdrop of palm trees and of course, the infamous food trucks.

In addition to this weekend listen, read some of the DJ’s experiences with the label as mentioned on his page which provides a nice precursor to the new film:

In the late 90′s there was this time in the California hip-hop landscape that catered towards those who appreciated lyrics, rhymes and beats. Groups from the Bay Area began to experiment with an emphasis on production. Shadow, Hieroglyphics, Blackalicious all stood out but it was the obscure name of a gentleman by the name of Peanut Butter Wolf from San Jose who began to appear in the record bins around BeatNonStop and Aarons Records around Hollywood and on the liner notes of compilations and his own releases that always caught my eye. 

Step on Our Egos was the first 12′ of Wolf’s that I purchased and there was something about the production and authenticity that I appreciated. Next, Charizma’s 2003 releaseBig Shots struck my ear while a sophomore, hosting my weekly radio show on KCSN. The label moved to L.A. and the label manager Egon assisted me in getting all the new Stones Throw releases. I began to see first hand at just how important they valued their relationship with college radio and the DJ culture. They made the DJ’s feel connected to the brand. They began to push new artists on the roster who at the time made us scratch our heads only to get it and appreciate it 2 years later. Stones Throw began to develop it’s roster across the musical board with the traditional boom bap styles of Madlib, Lootpack to the obscure sounds of Gary Wilson and Koushik. When you bought or received a Stones Throw 12′ or album, you never knew what you were going to get. And this made record shopping and digging fun again.