A new year dawns as we remember the previous one…

Hand’Solo Records had a good year in 2024 starting with our first official co-release with another label as we teamed up with the legendary 90s indie rap distributor ATAK for their return with the compilation Smile When They Flash Their Knives, an EP of songs from their favourite hip hop artists. Hand’Solo released the Canadian variant of the cassette with bonus remixes from DJ Moves and The Dirty Sample. A European variant of the cassette was released by Pen Thief with their own bonus remixes, and ATAK released an American variant of the cassette with their own bonus remixes and the vinyl version. An excellent start to the year.

Next up was another collaboration from producer The Dirty Sample, this time with Fortunato, who dropped Blue Collar 2, his second collab album with Sean One, on Hand’Solo in 2023. The Coalition was released on CD and cassette, with the latter featuring a full remix of the album on the b-side. Expect the release of that remix album to digital platforms in 2025 with a video to drop prior. Until then, the only place to hear it is on the cassette, which is worth getting because it just looks dope, too!

Following shortly after that collaboration is another collab, this time from Epic & Rob Crooks. Nassau Manor is the first new album from Epic since he dropped Aging Is What Friends Do Together on Hand’Solo more than 15 years ago (and re-released on vinyl for the first time in 2023). Here he is joined by Winnipeg, MB rapper/producer Rob Crooks, a comrade of Epic on their Saskatoon Folk Rap Records label. It’s great to have Epic back with his quirky delivery and subject matter that you either love or hate. Expect more from Epic in 2025 with new album A library called Calder, a collaboration with producer Deadly Stare (aka Scott Da Ros of Triune Gods fame) dropping on Hand’Solo in the Spring, and a collab album produced by Comrade (aka Whatevski) dropping on Mo Gravy also in 2025 sometime.

Next up were back-to-back vinyl EPs from Mickey O’Brien. First up, his solo EP. Post Cards was written largely while on tour in Japan, Australia, Europe and across Canada, and is heavily influenced by his experiences and lessons learned during that world tour. Released on coke bottle clear vinyl with the Fresh Kils instrumentals on the b-side and as a CD package that includes 6 postcards designed by Ghettosocks and inspired by the songs on the EP. Either format is an excellent choice, but this might be one release where you want to pick up both the vinyl and the CD for the full package.

Mickey’s second EP of 2024 is with his good pals Max Moon and Johnny Bizness as the Nickel City supergroup Magick Show. Samhain is the group’s second EP, following their debut release Dark Night of the Soul in 2020. Like that debut, their sophomore EP is also a Halloween release although it delves deeper into the horrorcore aesthetic. The only physical format is on white vinyl with a black and yellow starburst effect. Like Post Cards, the instrumentals for the album are on the b-side, plus the vinyl also has the remix for second single “Morning Star”. The record also comes with a Ouija board insert containing the lyrics on the flip side and a download card that doubles as the pointer for the Ouija board.

The final release of the year is also a Halloween release. The Dirty Sample’s dark instrumental album, Beats To Murder Rappers 2, was released early for Cassette Week 2024 while Halloween (Oct 31) was the official release date and when the digital version dropped. The cassette, designed by Ghettosocks, looks awesome, and those who know the music of The Dirty Sample will also know it sounds awesome. Definitely worth adding to your collection if you like instrumental hip hop. Expect more collab projects and possibly another instrumental album from The Dirty Sample on Hand’Solo in 2025. He remains our favourite producer to work with.

Expect more dope music from Hand’Solo Records in 2025, including a few nice surprises.

In the meantime, Happy New Year, fam!