Where to get new Hip-hop releases

Hip-hop and rap music has been continually growing in popularity. The latest releases are available from a number of outlets and in a number of mediums. Digital downloads are also growing in an attempt by the music industry to combat the growing issues of piracy. This article will look at a couple of options to make sure that you get access to the hot new songs and latest releases.

iTunes

iTunes is the most popular digital download site. It holds a huge catalogue of unreleased songs and new tracks for account holders to download. Tracks can be selected individually or as complete albums and easily transferred to your iPod. Grouping artists and albums by genre It also allows users to search for artists and view the complete back catalogue of your chosen artist. So, if you are new to Hip-hop and rap music, you can look at artists whom you may not have heard of before, or in a while. Prices as of 12.08.11, it starts at 99p per track, but can also by bought as an album.

Amazon

Amazon offers both the opportunity to buy digital downloads and physical discs. By working in the MP3 format, the tracks can be downloaded to more devices, then to iTunes. They are cheaper with the ability to download an entire album for around £3 as of 12.08.11. Individual tracks are available from 69p "Dividing the track selection" into sub-genre such as Old school, Gangster, etc. The site also allows you to preview tracks, so you can try before you buy. With the discs again, the selection is divided by sub-genre, but you don’t get the option to preview tracks. Amazon also allows users to sell their old discs, so you might get some interesting bargains that you might not find elsewhere.

Other outlets

There are, of course, other outlets such as HMV and Play, most of the online services operate in very similar methods and allow the music to be played on any number of devices. Specialist magazines sometimes give away preview tracks on compilation discs; some of these have a good selection of tracks with the occasional unsigned artist making the cut. This allows fans the chance to discover artists that they might not, otherwise, be exposed to.