Rare, Underground & Out-of-Print Rap and Hip-Hop Album Database

The compact disc (CD) still remains the standard for music releases, but for underground record companies some albums may only have 100 - 1000 copies in existence.

At Rap Music Guide we focus on these rare albums, displaying their album art, barcodes, catalog numbers and matrix ring codes to help you identify between original releases, re-release's & bootlegs.

Cassette tapes made it possible for rap music to sweep the nation. Cheap and convenient, rap pioneers such as Too Short sold their first albums out of the trunk of their cars, coining the term "Trunk Tapes".

Tapes are also the only form of media some album were released on. These releases are considered to be "Tape Only" and are extremely valuable to rap collectors around the world.

Long-Playing (LP) vinyl records are the very first form of recorded rap music in the United States.

During the early era of hip-hop, the only way to have your music heard was to release your album on wax to have it played by DJs.

Rap Music Guide strives to deliver the most rare and hard to find records ever released.

As digital albums become the primary avenue for rap artists to release their music fast and economically, we strive to showcase only the best underground rap and hip hop albums released digitally.

Rap Music Guide pays close attention to the importance of all digital releases which were not distributed in a physical format, especially if the rap artists has previously released a retail ready album.