Back in August, we wrote that Numero Group had accused Kanye West and Jay-Z's label of doing soul crooner Syl Johnson dirty by sampling his vocals without clearing it with the sampling house. Now Johnson has officially filed a lawsuit against West and Z claiming unspecified damages for copyright infringement, unfair competition and fraud. more ›

Chicago-based reissue label The Numero Group recently moved out of its basement digs and will be selling "typical yard sale stuff" along with atypical yard sale awesomeness. more ›

In the sense that the iconic rappers' sampling house apparently didn't clear a sample of Syl Johnson's "Different Strokes" which appears on the duo's Watch The Throne record. more ›

The Hideout's excellent seasonal Soup and Bread benefit is returning for a special, all summer soup (read: cold) edition tonight to benefit the Garfield Park Conservatory. The Chicago landmark sustained heavy damage after last week's hail storm, with roughly half of its glass-paned roof shattered, and damage to some of the rare plants housed below. more ›

Recently, Numero Group wrote a blog post explaining why they decided not to participate in Apple's newly unveiled iCloud service. Will other labels follow their lead? more ›

After much anticipation for Record Store Day 2011, we decided to stop by the Stop Smiling storefront yesterday at 1371 N. Milwaukee Avenue to take a peek inside Numero Group's pop-up store and to say hello to a few friends. The storefront itself was packed with people, and there were tons of records up for grabs at every corner. Although there have been some negative sentiments that were floating around with regards to Record Store Day, they definitely didn't put a damper on the day's festivities as people were bustling in and out of the store with rare finds and eclectic records. more ›

Parallel Thought were such big fans of the Numero Group's first Eccentric Breaks & Beats mix they decided to try crafting their own funky dreamcoat from the threads of the label's catalog. Pop this in your virtual cassette deck and take a slow ride through the twilight underworld Parallel Thought constructs with some of the slinkiest building blocks known to man. more ›

If you're familiar with the work of the Numero Group, you know that they're very good a documenting the interesting and obscure artistic works that make up the backdrop of the cultural touchstones that mark Americana. Their latest creation, Celestial Navigations: The Short Films Of Al Jarnow. is no different. If you grew up in the 70's and 80's, you know the work of Jarnow, or at least his aesthetic. That's because Jarnow, among myriad other animators, mostly unknown, produced animated shorts as part of the Children's Television Workshop's innovative programming. more ›

If you missed the Eccentric Soul Revue last spring, or if you went and had such a great time pretending you were rolling around 1970's Chicago in a blue soft-top Monte Carlo with bench seats and options air conditioning, fear not! The one-of-a-kind live-action reissue is back! Chicago's very own Numero Group is bringing the amazing show back to the stage tomorrow night at Lincoln Hall. more ›

A little over a year ago, if you had a subscription to the Chicago Tribune, you would have come across a nine-page spread in the Sunday Magazine (you can see a PDF of it here). That nine page spread, published as a photo portfolio was a rare glimpse into the world of Chicago's the South Side nightclub scene, 1965-76. It was as much a visual document of the music and culture scenes in the city as it was about how a passion for photography and music brought photographer Michael Abramson and musician Corky Siegel to know Pepper's and Perv's House. more ›

By now you've probably heard the buzz that is Record Store Day. Born as a concept in 2007, Record Store Day, held the third Saturday of April, celebrates its second year of bringing together independent retailers and musicians tomorrow in cities worldwide. The current economic climate coupled with the shift to digital formats and purchasing make this an especially important year to band together and champion the cause of the Independents. more ›

Chicago's Numero Group, the record label that brings the lost voices of local soul back to life, is putting on the Eccentric Soul Revue at Park West Saturday night. It would be easy to say that this one-night live event is a stirring tribute to some of the less celebrated originators of Chicago soul, but the fact of the matter is that these old crooners still love to perform. An offshoot of Numero Group's Eccentric Soul: Twinight's Lunar Rotation, which dusted off more than 40 hits off the storied Chicago label, Eccentric Soul Revue is a veritable showcase of Twinight's hit makers, bringing The Notations, Renaldo Domino, Nate Evans, Kaldirons and local legend Syl Johnson together for one night, live on stage, and backed up by JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound. more ›

If you've ever dug through your dad's old soul records and wondered what it would be like to see one of the live shows that those classic artists performed at, your wait is over. more ›

Chicago's relentless soul-seekers, The Numero Group, will be screening their 30-minute documentary, tonight at Sonotheque, followed by "music from the Double-U Sound vault that includes ... rare cuts from the Numero archive for your listening pleasure into the midnight hour." more ›

If you've followed the hot jams and buttery heartbreak of the reissues Chicago's Numero Group has been releasing for he last few years, then you know the sweet sound and fascinating stories of some of our city's best, if little known, R&B talent. more ›