Luscious Jackson - Natural Ingredients [Indie Exclusive + 7"]

Grand Royal put out a lot of records in the nineties, but Natural Ingredients is the one that has aged into something close to a blueprint. Released in August 1994, Luscious Jackson's debut full-length is four downtown New York musicians building hip hop out of live bass, loose drums, and crate-dug samples, and doing it with more swing than most of the people making it on machines.

Jill Cunniff and Gabby Glaser trade half-rapped, half-sung vocals over Kate Schellenbach's drums, and the interplay is the whole appeal. "Citysong" is the mission statement, all bounce and street noise. "Deep Shag" turns a two-note bassline into a mood that lasted the rest of the decade. "Here" is the closest thing to a pop single, and it became the band's calling card. Vivian Trimble's keyboards give the back half of the record its warmth, and "Pelé Merengue" and "LP Retreat" show a group happy to wander.

Schellenbach had been the Beastie Boys' original drummer, which is how the band ended up on Grand Royal, and the connection makes sense: this is what that scene sounded like when it stopped trying to be loud and started trying to be cool.

The 2025 Capitol reissue pressed on light blue and orange swirl vinyl, with a bonus baby blue 7" pairing "Radiating" with the Aqua Magic Mix of "Deep Shag." Grand Royal.