Long Island Rap Blog Is Now Long Island Rap Records

I started Long Island Rap Blog in 2014 to document and promote the rap music and hip-hop culture of Long Island, NY, the place where I was born, raised and have lived for most of my life. Which is really just a fancy way of saying I started the site because I wanted it to exist and it didn’t. I wanted there to be a single platform where listeners could enjoy the sounds — and learn about the architects — of Long Island hip-hop's past, present and future. I like to think I have succeeded in that regard.

I now plan to redouble my efforts on LongIslandRap.com, to do more than just post text, audio and video. I still want to bring attention to Long Island rap, but I also want to help bring the music into physical existence, to put it in a form where it can be held, opened, and felt by listeners such as myself. Therefore, I am turning Long Island Rap Blog into Long Island Rap Records.

Moving forward, LongIslandRap.com will continue to function exactly as it has in the past. However, it will also provide a platform to sell physical copies of new and previously unreleased recordings from Long Island artists, namely cassette tapes. This format will enable Long Island Rap Records to materialize quickly and inexpensively. Rest assured, the site’s commitment to quality and originality will be not just upheld but intensified when it comes to the label side.

Long Island Rap Records’ first release will be I’m From a Little Place, the debut solo album from Andy Koufax of Massapequa, NY (by way of Wantagh). Andy previously released the Chin Music EP in 2013. Since then he has appeared alongside Armand Hammer (billy woods & Elucid) on “The Thousand Headed Man” off Willie Green’s Doc Savage and alongside Warren Britt on “We Are Not Afraid” off Britt’s With Laurel.

Additional tape releases from other Long Island artists are currently being planned and will be announced in the months ahead.

To everyone who has ever visited LongIslandRap.com, hit play on a song you found here, shared a post, left a comment, or submitted a release for consideration, thank you for helping this site grow into the platform it is today. I am grateful for every second you have spent here. I hope you dig our forthcoming releases as much as I do.

Peace,
Samuel "$bin♦" Diamond
Founder, Long Island Rap Records