Embers Record Store
Embers DC Dispensary is also a record store with a curated collection of hundreds of vinyl records. Our featured crate of the month, record of the week and High Fidelity playlists highlight the best in Hip Hop, Punk, Reggae, Soul, R&B and Jazz music.
Record of the Week
High Fidelity: Punk Vol. 1 Playlist
The High Fidelity Jazz Volume 1 Playlist
We’re digging into a really special intersection here, right where the technical brilliance of traditional bop meets the gritty, accessible groove of soul-jazz. It’s that fascinating era where artists like Dr. Lonnie Smith and Bobbi Humphrey took the sophistication of the conservatory and decided to give it a backbone you could actually dance to.
Listen to Coffee Cold by Galt MacDermot or Hummin’ by The Cannonball Adderley Quintet, and the lineage is clear — this is foundational to modern hip-hop. The fusion of jazz harmony with harder, groove-centered rhythms was deliberate, designed to reconnect the music with club audiences while maintaining musical depth.
And we can’t talk about this history without nodding to Washington, D.C., the hometown of the legendary Duke Ellington. Represented here with My Little Brown Book from Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, the recording features John Coltrane on tenor sax alongside Ellington’s piano.
From mid-Atlantic organ lounges to West Coast recording studios, this playlist traces the evolution of a sound that never stood still.
Built from the crates, not the algorithm.
- Les DeMerle – A Day In The Life
- Dr. Lonnie Smith – Spinning Wheel
- Gene Russell – Get Down
- Bobbi Humphrey – Jasper Country Man
- The Cannonball Adderley Quintet – Hummin’ (Live)
- Nathan Davis – Tragic Magic
- Cal Tjader – Lady Madonna
- Lou Donaldson – It’s Your Thing
- Jimmy Smith – Funky Broadway
- Freddie Hubbard – South Street Stroll
- Herbie Hancock – Fat Albert Rotunda
- Thelonious Monk – Black And Tan Fantasy
- Stanley Turrentine – Sunny
- Galt MacDermot – Coffee Cold
- Eddie Harris – Winter Meeting
- Duke Ellington, John Coltrane – My Little Brown Book
- Charlie Parker – Cool Blues
- Dizzy Gillespie – Kush (Live)
- Jeremy Steig – Waves
- Blue Mitchell – Flat Backing
- The Dave Bailey Quintet – Comin’ Home Baby
- Richard “Groove” Holmes – I Can’t Stop Dancin’
A Day in the Life – Les DeMerle
An explosive take on A Day in the Life turns the Beatles’ psychedelic closer into a rhythm-forward showcase anchored by a hard drum break and tense piano line. Les DeMerle’s version was later sampled by O.C. on Time’s Up, produced by Buckwild. O.C., from Brooklyn, is part of the Diggin’ in the Crates Crew alongside Lord Finesse, Diamond D, Showbiz & A.G., Fat Joe, and Big L — a crew central to mid-’90s New York’s jazz-rooted underground sound.
Spinning Wheel – Dr. Lonnie Smith
This is a Hammond B-3 explosion covering the Blood, Sweat & Tears hit from 1969, bringing that signature turban-wearing soul-jazz energy that defines the Blue Note era. A Tribe Called Quest went back to this well too, using those drums for Buggin’ Out in 1991, creating a distinct connection between jazz-funk and rap.
Tragic Magic – Nathan Davis
Carrying a deep, propulsive groove beneath its hard-bop edge — this rhythm that translates seamlessly into hip-hop. It was sampled on Who’s It On from Fear Itself by Casual, featuring Del the Funky Homosapien and Pep Love of Hieroglyphics. The production leans into that gritty, loop-driven West Coast underground feel, with Del — also known worldwide for “Clint Eastwood” with Gorillaz — delivering his signature off-kilter flow over the break.
It’s Your Thing – Lou Donaldson
A stripped down the Isley Brothers’ funk anthem, rebuilt it as a grimy, soulful jazz standard that leans heavily on the groove. The breakdown here is legendary in production circles, having been sampled largely by Brand Nubian for Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down in 1992.
Funky Broadway – Jimmy Smith.
Regarded as the king of the Hammond B-3, Jimmy Smith turns Funky Broadway — first recorded by Dyke & the Blazers and later a hit for Wilson Pickett — into a gritty organ showcase. The track highlights why the organ trio became a staple of ’60s soul-jazz clubs: tight, loud, and built for groove without a full band.
Sunny – Stanley Turrentine
warm tenor sax transforms Sunny into a moody, groove-driven instrumental. Written by Bobby Hebb in 1963 after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the death of his brother, the song was conceived as an affirmation of hope. Stanley Turrentine’s version was later sampled by Gang Starr on Code of the Streets and by Jalen Santoy on Foreplay.
Coffee Cold – Galt MacDermot
Coffee Cold was released in 1966 by Galt MacDermot, before his breakthrough with Hair. A standalone instrumental built on piano, bass, and drums, it leans into a tight soul-jazz groove. In 1999, Handsome Boy Modeling School sampled it on The Truth, featuring J-Live and Róisín Murphy, looping its piano line into late-’90s underground hip-hop.
Waves – Jeremy Steig
Howlin’ for Judy was recorded in 1969 by Jeremy Steig and released on his 1970 album Legwork. The track is built around a repeated flute riff over electric bass and drums, reflecting the late-’60s shift toward jazz-funk grooves. In 1994, the Beastie Boys sampled that flute line for Sure Shot, making it one of the most recognizable jazz samples of the decade.
About Embers High Fidelity
High fidelity is the high-quality reproduction of sound—the closest you can get to music in its purest form. Music shapes how we see the world and acts as a filter for connection, identity, and shared experience. At Embers, we carry that same spirit forward: more than a place to buy cannabis, we’re a space where music, art, and storytelling come together.
High Fidelity, the 2000 film starring John Cusack, unfolds inside a record shop—Championship Vinyl a place that becomes much more than retail. Music drives the conversations, the culture, and the sense of identity. The soundtrack moves through classic rock, soul, punk, indie, and folk, capturing the feeling of records spinning behind the counter and the community that forms around them.
At Embers, we’ve brought Championship Vinyl to life. We’re the High Fidelity soundtrack made real rooted in Hip-Hop, Punk, Reggae, Soul, R&B, and Jazz, the sounds that shape our crates, guide our curation, and spark conversations throughout the shop. Alongside global influences, we highlight DC artists who speak directly to our community, making the space a reflection of the city as much as the music.
Crates, vinyl, and shared discovery become our way of opening doors, creating connection, and building a culture that lives beyond the speakers.
Cultivated Crate of the Month
The February 2026 edition of The Cultivated Crate
This month’s selections span genres from hip-hop and soul to punk and jazz. We feature hit records like Run-D.M.C.’s *Raising Hell* and heavily sampled albums such as *Stand!* by Sly & The Family Stone. The tracklists represent pivotal moments in music history.
Our nation’s capital is well-represented through its musical diversity. The selections include jazz from Duke Ellington, the protopunk of Bad Brains’ *Rock for Light*, and the post-hardcore of Fugazi’s album, *The Argument*. These artists highlight Washington, D.C.’s significant, multi-genre impact.
From the soul of Aretha Franklin and The Staple Singers to the new wave of Blondie, this collection is built from classics. The Cultivated Crate for February 2026 is a cross-section of essential LPs, pulled directly from our shelves.
- Raising Hell — Run–D.M.C.
- Paul’s Boutique — Beastie Boys
- Stand! — Sly & The Family Stone
- Royal Rappin’s — Millie Jackson & Isaac Hayes
- The Stax Collection — The Staple Singers
- Aretha Now — Aretha Franklin
- Tapestry — Carole King
- The Stranger — Billy Joel
- Station to Station — David Bowie
- Autoamerican — Blondie
- Ramones — Ramones
- The Argument — Fugazi
- Rock and Roll Over — KISS
- Come Hell or High Water — Deep Purple
- Rock for Light — Bad Brains
- Live in Moscow — UB40
- Legend — Bob Marley & The Wailers
- Words of Wisdom — Dennis Brown
- The Big Apple Bash — Jay McShann
- This One’s for Blanton — Duke Ellington & Ray Brown
- Coltrane — John Coltrane Quartet
- Caravan — Art Blakey
- Run-D.M.C.’s 1986 album *Raising Hell* became the first platinum and multi-platinum rap album. Its crossover hit “Walk This Way” featured members of Aerosmith and was the first hip-hop song to break the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100.
- Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique, produced by the Dust Brothers, was built from hundreds of densely layered samples, including Sly & The Family Stone’s “Loose Booty” and the Ramones’ “Suzy Is a Headbanger.” Released largely before widespread sample clearance, the album later became a reference point as tightening copyright law made this collage-style production economically unviable.
- Sly & The Family Stone’s album *Stand!* contains the hit single “Everyday People” and the influential track “Sing a Simple Song,” which has been sampled by numerous artists including N.W.A. and Public Enemy. The track “I Want to Take You Higher” was famously performed at the band’s Woodstock set.
- The Stax Collection brings together the essential Stax-era recordings by The Staple Singers, highlighted by their first No. 1 hit “I’ll Take You There”—a track built on a reggae-inflected groove lifted from “Liquidator” by The Harry J. All-Stars, a connection that remains little known—alongside the protest anthem “Respect Yourself.”
- Aretha Now features Aretha Franklin’s hit cover of “I Say a Little Prayer,” originally recorded by Dionne Warwick. The album also includes “Think,” which Franklin co-wrote—a song that later gained a second life through its iconic performance scene in The Blues Brothers, cementing it as a pop-culture staple beyond its original release.
- Blondie incorporated disco, funk, and reggae into their album Autoamerican. The record features two U.S. No. 1 hits: the reggae-styled “The Tide Is High,” a cover of the 1967 rocksteady original by The Paragons, and “Rapture,” which became one of the first songs with a rap vocal to top the U.S. charts.
- “Hey! Ho! Let’s go!”—punk’s most enduring chant—Blitzkrieg Bop still echoes at concerts and sporting events alike. The song opens Ramones, released in April 1976 by the Ramones and widely regarded as one of the first true punk rock albums, recorded largely live in about one week at Plaza Sound Studios inside Radio City Music Hall for roughly $6,400.