Hip Hop Sampler

With the original Hip Hop Sampler 2LP released as a Promotional Only set in 1994 and limited to 1250 copies, it was obviously a highly sought-after item. Not surprisingly, it was bootleged at the beginning of 2002, twice again late 2002 and now in 2003.

Bootleg #1

The first bootleg to appear:

• The original comes in a gatefold sleeve, while the bootleg comes in a standard sleeve. Both versions are plain white.
• Another sleeve difference is the fact that the original has a sticker on the front and back, while the bootleg is missing the back sticker.
• The vinyl labels look quite different when compared. Note that the bootleg does not come with any Capitol Records or Grand Royal logos.
• The catalogue number found on the sticker on the front cover states "SPRO-79481" for both issues. This number is not actually used on the vinyl of either version, but the original does have similar numbering "SPRO-79461", "SPRO-79463", "SPRO-79472" and "SPRO-79473". The bootleg however uses "BB001" as the catalogue number on every side of the two 12"s.
• The vinyl runout groove of the original has the "SPRO" catalogue number and the name "Wally" (which features on quite a few Beastie Boys records) etched into it, as well as "Mastered by Capitol" printed in it. The bootleg simply has "BB001" etched onto each record.

Bootleg #2

A close copy of the original, but still with noticable differences:

• Again this version come in a standard white sleeve as opposed to a gatefold one.
• The front sleeve has a sticker but it is a poor duplication. It is quite dark and the printing is not as fine as the original.
• The back sleeve sticker is a lot smaller on the bootleg (12cm/4.5") than on the original (17cm/6.75"). Again the printing is not as fine.
• The vinyl labels are near perfect on this bootleg. Only slightly less quality than the original, the only noticable difference is the fact that the original has 2 ridges running around the middle of the label while the bootleg only has one.
• The etchings on the bootleg runout groove has "SPRO 79461/79463" while the original has "SPRO 79461".
• This bootleg is also missing the "Wally" etching and "Mastered by Capitol" stamp.

Bootleg #3

The bootleg with the most blatant differences:

• Another non-gatefold sleeve, this version has printed images unlike the stickers used in all the other versions.
• The logo is used on both sides instead of a track listing.
• The front cover also has text printed on the top ("Limited Edition Promotional Double Vinyl") and bottom ("Includes remixes by Soul Assassins-Dust Brothers-Buck Wild-Large Professor"), which is not present on any of the others.
• The vinyl labels are extremely similar to Bootleg #1, but not exact. A slightly different font is used between the two.
• Again, this bootleg is more similar to Bootleg #1 with the etchings. It has "BB-001" but much larger than the other bootleg.

This bootleg is simply a cutdown version of Bootleg #3:

• This version is exactly the same as Bootleg #3 except that it comes in a plain white die-cut sleeve. The vinyl-labels and etchings are identical.

Other Bootleg Samplers

The two Bootleg Sampler style 12"s to the left are both imitations of the original Hip Hop Sampler. The first one entitled "Instore Sampler" actually containing 8 tracks, all of which are found on the original Hip Hop Sampler. The other Bootleg continues the martial arts theme on the vinyl label and features 11 tracks with a lot of them featured on the original. Where as the original was two 12"s, these both are single 12"s and come in generic die-cut sleeves (Black for the first one and White for the second).