Diggin' In The Digits

Def Jam WAS Hip-Hop for nearly 2 decades. Starting off with Russell Simmons & Rick Rubin, nobody could've predicted the heights Def Jam were going to reach. They were in lockstep with the growth of Hip-Hop itself. But once the new millennium came through, Def Jam started to lose grip of the rocket that was Hip-Hop, they started to miss out and eventually get left behind. Now Def Jam is just an...

The Nas/Jay-Z beef is one of the most notable beefs in Hip-Hop history. But for some reason, nobody talks about how *deep* the beef actually goes, and how, depending on who you are, it is technically still going! On one side at least. It's a popular beef but below the surface, its certainly an odd and at times, grim one. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (3:30) Topic Intro/Ben's Research House (H...

It has been nine years since Jay-Z & Kanye West did the collab album we could only dream of in years prior. Whilst some consider it a classic and some don't, it's undeniable that this is an important album for both artists. A fork in the road for both artists. We dive into the album, track by track, with WORLD EXCLUSIVE statistics from Ben. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:40) Topic Intro...

Mount Vernon, NY was never a hotbed when it came to Hip-Hop talent. If you were about Hip-Hop, you were usually born & bred in the Five Boroughs. But Pete Rock & CL Smooth were an anomaly. Their work, while slim pickings next to other duos such as OutKast & GangStarr are some of the highest quality works you can ask for. Two albums & one EP of wonderful Hip-Hop that epitomises the...

For this DITD Bites, we conversate on some recent phenomena. This year, labels have been implementing Deluxe Editions weeks, sometimes days after the initial album release, why are they doing this and why is it working? Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has commented on wax his opinions on the lack of streaming pay for artists and his answer, whilst unsurprising, are really worrying coming from him. Lastly, h...

The Streets, headed by Mike Skinner, is a British institution. Never has a musical concept gone so far as a poetically blunt force in commentary about regular life. Over the past nearly two decades, Mike Skinner has built a discography that covers all facets of life. From the colourful moments to the greyest monotony. From going clubbing and doing drugs to watching telly with the wife & kids....

Is 50 Cent a sociopath? A genius? An asshole? A troll? A trailblazer? Someone who changed the game as we know it? Let's just say that by the end of this episode, you'll say 'All of the above' and then some. Strap in, it's a wild one. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:26) Topic Intro - (11:21) Ben's Research Corner - (13:28) 50's Beginnings in Music - (23:11) Get Rich Or Die Tryin' - (40:06) Th...

Yasiin Bey/Mos Def is an enigma in every sense of the word. Who else chooses jail in a foreign country instead of just flying out? Who else pushes to talk about the current issue of the day instead of his career history? He's so principled, it's a surprise that he has four Studio Albums! Yasiin's career is a lightning rod for everything that's wrong with the music industry and through all the BS,...

In our 2nd edition of "DITD Bites", we only get into two topics out of the four we had and you'll understand why we only got to two, considering how bulky the topics are. The Five Elements of Hip-Hop (& their prevalence in the current landscape) and the good ol' conversation about misogynoir in Hip-Hop, after Janelle Monae tweets about it in depth. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:03) The...

Please, just listen to this one and make our pain worthwhile... TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:23) Topic Intro - (14:32) BEP's beginnings, "Behind The Front" & "Bridging The Gap" - (18:54) "Elephunk" & "Monkey Business" - (32:22) "THE E.N.D", Charlie's meltdown & no acknowledgement of the other one - (48:06) The slap in the face that is "MASTERS OF THE SUN VOL. 1" - 1:01:04 Ligh...

Lamont "Big L" Coleman could have been one of the greatest MCs in Hip-Hop history, he had the potential to be. That's a word you're going to hear a lot from the DITD duo as they look at what could've been for the Harlem born & raised spitter. He didn't just have the potential to have one of the greatest careers we've seen, he showed signs early that he could've been a top tier Hip-Hop business...

Warren G. We all know him for that one song, that one, amazing song. But when you look deeper than "Regulate", you start to notice that Warren G is one of the most underappreciated pioneers in Hip-Hop history and his story is worthy of its own film. Despite being one of the biggest architects in the moulding of celebrated West Coast subgenre "G-Funk", his calm persona along with a preference in be...

Eric B & Rakim were the gold standards of Hip-Hop for a good chunk of Hip-Hop's early years. They struck the first $1M deal for any Hip-Hop act. They got the first "5 Mics" rating from The Source and that's without getting into the actual music itself. We get into their beginnings, their incredible four albums that broke ground in their own unique ways, their breakup & temporary reunion an...

The murder of George Floyd is not the first of its kind and if we're being realistic, it won't be the last. The events that have transpired this past week have been, to some, shocking. But to some others, unsurprising. Hip-Hop artists and people in the music industry have responded in different ways. We give our thoughts on the events of the past, what we feel the duty of people of note in the mus...

For this episode of DITD, we're doing something a little different. We think about a lot of ideas as you can imagine but some of those ideas we think about aren't really worth the full episode. But that shouldn't stop us from talking about them, right? That's why we're doing what we like to call "DITD Bites". A large topic, condensed into little chunks. Hope you enjoy and as always, if you have so...

This is one of those episodes where we knew that we'd have plenty of things to talk about but once we both started listening to Cube's discography and just the solo discography, not even getting into Da Lench Mob or Westside Connection... Ice Cube should be talked about more. Four classics in four years and several more solid projects in the remainder. Ice Cube has consistently been top tier for o...

The Notorious B.I.G. Is there a more ubiquitous name to come out of Hip-Hop? Whilst you can throw out a few names for the sake of it, we can all agree any self-respecting Hip-Hop fan knows Biggie and what he was all about. One of the most naturally gifted rappers we've ever seen with an unmatched charisma & presence on the mic. The DITD duo gets into Biggie, from his beginnings, his glorious t...

On Ep.57 of DITD: Big Pun is never talked about unless Fat Joe is in the room and that's a travesty because Big Pun deserves a conversation. In more ways than one... TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:31) Topic Intro - (17:36) Capital Punishment - (31:22) Yeeeah Baby - (41:23) Other albums involving Big Pun - (51:26) Pun & domestic violence - (54:00) Lighter Note - (1:04:45) Thanks for list...

Andre 3000 is objectively one of the greatest lyricists of all-time. For some people, he's Top 5 forever. Whilst all that superficial stuff goes on in Hip-Hop circles every day, Andre seemingly goes through a mental quest. One where it's very easy to speculate. We do that in some fashion for this episode, because when you have a nearly 15-year stretch and only a few features sprinkled throughout,...

In Part 2 of our OutKast retrospective, we get into the solo career of Big Boi. If you're one of those people that don't see Big Boi as a top tier rapper, this isn't the episode for you. We're not going to waste time on this one making a case for Big Boi, his work speaks for itself. Instead, we take a look at his solo work. While they don't quite stack up to "Speakerboxxx", they're interesting wor...

OutKast is one of the most revered duos in Hip-Hop. Their music is timeless, effortlessly dips into other genre elements and lyrically stands the test of time. In Part 1 of a 3-part miniseries, the DITD duo discusses every OutKast album and rank them from best to... Not the best. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:40) Topic Intro - (17:59) A shoutout for Organized Noize -(20:40) "The South Got...

Around this time last year, I DM'd Ben on a whim to pitch the idea of a Hip-Hop Podcast. He was up for it and gave it a year to see if it goes well. We planned to record a few Beta episodes to get our feet on solid ground, but the 2nd one we recorded was solid, so we thought "F*** it! Let's pull the trigger." And now we're here, 53 episodes later, no off week, always coming through on Tuesday with...

Ms Lauryn Hill has been an enigma once the turn of the century came around. A superstar talent discovered so early and lauded with praise and recognition in an even shorter amount of time. And then after 2002, she fell back. Since then we've seen her now and again with a feature or single & touring again but nothing suggests that she is going to fully get back into creating a full body of work...

Continuing our celebration of Women's History Month, the DITD duo turn their attention to another pioneer. Or should we say, pioneers? We take a look into the background, music and legacy of the legendary Salt-N-Pepa. The trio of Hip-Hop women that dominated the mid-late 80s with their music and culturally still hold relevance as the rare all-female Hip-Hop group that genuinely made waves. TIMESTA...

Our Women's History Month celebration continues with another certifiable legend of Hip-Hop. The one & only Queen Latifah. Queen Latifah came into Hip-Hop as one not to be messed with. Lyrically she was (and still is) top tier, her first three albums are all classics in their own unique ways and outside of Hip-Hop, has carved a career in entertainment the average person would kill for. She's si...