Diggin' In The Digits

The rare DITD episode that sticks to the reason we started the podcast in the first place. Around the time of our ATCQ retrospective late last year, we had a conversation off wax about sampling and how it took a dip after the landmark Biz Markie case. Ben got inspired and got some numbers on sampling and how much the frequency of artists getting samples has dipped due to all of the red tape. By th...

Welcome to "Contemporary Cool", a new DITD series where we pick two contemporary albums each and talk about them in any way the albums warrant. In Vol. 1, we talk about the historically hated "Lasers" by Lupe Fiasco, the cultural reset that Skepta's "Konnichiwa" had on UK Rap/Grime, was Rocky's "TESTING" underrated? And Joey Bada$$' "ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$ which didn't get enough love when it dropp...

It's time for part 2 of our MF DOOM retrospective. This time, we look into his many collaboration projects. Some feature him heavily, some have him completely in the background but somehow, someway, the DOOM essence is always prevalent. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (2:24) Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (19:30) Mf EP - (30:04) Madvillainy - (34:47) THE MOUSE & THE MASK - (45:19) Unicr...

For this retrospective, we're doing something a little different from the usual. We're going to look at five solo projects from MF DOOM but instead of looking at the albums from our usual angles, we're going to look at it from the perspective of his aliases and the world he built using those aliases. If you're a DOOM noob like Charlie is in this episode, then it's definitely worth a spin. TIMESTAM...

On Volume 7 of DITD Bites: Why do people not do their due diligence when they claim to love something? Are Video Games more influential on the youth compared to music? And why are hot takes so prevalent in day-to-day Hip-Hop conversation? TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (2:35) Due Diligence - (19:29) Video Games & Youth Culture - (41:40) Hot Takes - (57:38) Lighter Note - (1:13:18) Extra Sh...

J Dilla is the patron saint of Hip-Hop production. The man that took a simple MPC and unlocked its true potential, making some of the greatest beats of All-Time, a seemingly endless vault and two classic albums in is last days. We go through five Dilla albums, varying in quality and shines a light on a little talked about the duality that Dilla holds from being a producer and an MC. TIMESTAMPS: We...

It's time for part 2 of our retrospective on A Tribe Called Quest. Going through their albums "Beats, Rhymes & Life, "The Love Movement" & We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service". We also get a little into their backstory mid-career & their legacy. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:47) Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (10:33) Beats, Rhymes & Life - (22:41) The Love M...

On the first DITD episode of 2021: A retrospective on objectively a Top 2 Hip-Hop group of All-Time, A Tribe Called Quest. This is part 1 where we get into their first three albums. All classics in their own unique way. TIMESTAMPS: Music Roundup - (1:40) Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (16:03) PIT&TPOR - (30:59) The Low End Theory - (44:20) Midnight Marauders - (58:14) Lighter Note - (1:18:...

It's the end of the year, so it's time to get reflective. Ben, Charlie and the rest of the 5EPN come through for this two-hour special, reviewing their 2020. Be sure to give the other shows under the network a spin. Thanks for rocking with us this year and we'll see you on the other side. TIMESTAMPS: Same 12 Notes - (4:12) "What's Good?" - (42:00) In Search Of Sauce - (1:12:08) Diggin' In The Digi...

It's time for another edition of "DITD Bites" to end 2020 on! In this one, we talk about disrespecting Kid Cudi, the relationship between Journalism & "Hip-Hop Twitter" and since it's our last recording of the year, (5EPN Special dropping 31st Dec) we give our Top 5 DITD episodes of this year & guess each other's Top 5. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:22) Topic Intro - (15:33) Kid Cu...

After three weeks of consuming all of Jay-Z's (solo) catalogue, we finally reach the last third of our Jay-Z retrospective and this is the most fun, the most confusing and the most enlightening stretch, all at the same time. We get into the masterpiece* that is "Kingdom Come", all the way to the future classic "4:44". TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:04) Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (18...

The Jay-Z retrospective continues with part 2. In this ep, we go from "The Dynasty" to "The Black Album" and it's from here that we start to notice patterns in Jay's methods, how he attempts to break those patterns (with varying results) and how if his career truly ended, it would've been a solid catalog. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:25) Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (21:06) The Dyna...

It is finally here. Noted Jay-Z scholar, Ben. And Charlie, just along for the ride, finally get into the (just music) retrospective of Jay-Z. In the first of three parts, we tackle his late 90s output, from "Reasonable Doubt" to "Vol. 3", discussing how a weak commercial result for his debut set a tone for what came after it. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (2:36) Topic Intro/Ben's Research Hou...

This is probably the most free-flowing episode we have ever done. What began as a simple episode about artists falling off became a wide ranging conversation about falling off in the Social Media age where it's... Kind of, impossible to fall off??? It's so free-flowing we're not even going to add super-specific timestamps because why perform such a futile task? TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (...

The list of people that Pete Rock has worked with over the decades is astonishing. The list gets even crazier when you peep the artists he's remixed! But when you get into his solo work, you not only get a glimpse at how many fire rappers he can get to go over his beats, but you also see Pete Rock dipping into his often forgotten rapping ability! Pete Rock has an outstanding career that embodies t...

It's time for another Volume of DITD Bites! This time we talk about the place Hip-Hop has in a "Post-Truth" world, how to go about removing an artist from your listening habits and jumping at the chance to shit on The Grammys once again. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (2:28) Hip-Hop & "Post-Truth" - (19:06) How to 'cancel' - (44:10) Grammys continue bullshitting - (1:01:22) Lighter Note -...

Kano was a lyrical prodigy from day 1. Everyone knew he had the talent and he could've easily cashed in and spat all the bars known to man. But he decided very early in his career that he wanted to be an album artist. This gave him the room to experiment and while the results vary in quality, it is now clear that he's put in the work to become a better artist than his talent initially showed. TIME...

Continuing our #UKBHM miniseries, we go to an artist that has been doing it for over 20 years, evolving every facet of his artistry, even though his style was unique from day 1. Roots Manuva takes his earthy London voice, laces it with patios, writes dense, poetic bars and drops it all on Hip-Hop/Dub Reggae beats with electronic elements. Wacky right? We go through his discography, explaining how...

" I'm that same little girl that grew up next door to you / Went through all the things a teenage girl goes through " Ms Dyamite's debut album "A Little Deeper" made two waves. The first was immediate: The critical & commercial praise, making her a unique voice in UK music. Just from the first lyrics on her breakout song "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee", you knew she was keeping it real from the beginning. The...

Dizzee Rascal was a trailblazer & early champion of UK Rap and the genre that would eventually be known as Grime. But Dizzee didn't just stop with what Charlie calls the "Illmatic of Grime/UK Rap", he sought to push boundaries, help sow the seeds of making rapping mainstream and even collab with US Hip-Hop legends YEARS before it became common practice. We explore Dizzee's music ahead of his n...

It's October, which means it's UK Black History Month! We decided to celebrate with five retrospectives on five legends of UK Black Music. We begin in the true roots of UK Hip-Hop, a bridge between the Windrush Generation, their children and their children's children, all through the prism of music. We begin our celebration with the Godfather of UK Hip-Hop, Rodney P and chart the links between the...

Big Sean has been one of the biggest rap stars in the past decade. Regardless if you think his bars are corny or whatever. Sean's status is solidified. But listening back to his work; from the objectively cringe but subjectively funny "Finally Famous" & "Hall of Fame", to the more mature "I Decided" & "Detroit 2". A lot of opinions change, a lot of opinions are solidified, and our technolo...

Another Bites session is in full effect ladies & gentlemen! Three topics on deck for this one. First: Mashups. Why they're so cool as a concept but also why they're not seen as events more. Second, TDE. As of recording, TDE is seemingly holding some of their artists back when their new albums are ready to go. Let's ponder why. And lastly. Past Kanye pissing on his Grammy, there's another reaso...

Capone-N-Noreaga is that duo that you've heard of but rare that you've listened to their work post-War Report. (Depends on your age, of course.) But the story behind the duo is one of loyalty, keeping each other in the loop no matter what and doing a decent job at evolving as artists whilst keeping their unique style & motifs. We get into their albums and ask a question that could've been a ga...

Nas' new album "King's Disease" is an interesting piece of work from someone that has nothing really to prove. The themes, whilst widespread, are very surface level. Black excellence, money, cars, all wrapped up in his new package the 'King's Disease' and 'The Cure' to said disease. (And he still finds time to shit on black women whilst also calling them 'Queens'...) We break down the themes of th...