Downtown Records & Tapes

I miss when Downtown Records was on E 4^th. The old white guy was spinning gangster rap records. He is who I hope to be like when I hit my 60’s and 70’s. The peak of life. They carried some of the best Mix CD’s ever that I could usually only get when visiting family in NYC. DJ Evil Dee XXL is still one of my favorites! I remember last time I was there, they had a lot of XXX DVD“s. I guess you have to change with the times.

The last time i saw this place it was at 415 Prospect. The whole e.4^th development sort of had no room for a hip hop music store. They started on Euclid Ave around the 500 block. That is where i fell in love with this shop. It was 1994. Hip hop was actually listenable then. Every Saturday, my graffiti-​writing, hoodie-​wearing wannabe ass would drive downtown from Lake County to hang out here. I’d spend my weekly stipend on vinyl singles and lps. They’ve mostly been sold on ebay for a tidy sum. But I do treasure my memories of being the only white kid in there on a weekend, while most of my peers were smoking pot and making unwanted babies. The Euclid locale was there for at least five or six years. The staff was always really friendly. I met Method Man there and he signed a picture i drew of him. That was pretty surreal to see some larger than life mtv star just hanging out.
I only went to the e.4^th spot a few times as i had moved on to different musical tastes. I have no idea if they even sell vinyl anymore. Must stop in.