Diggin' In The Digits

It's time for another Bites session! In this edition, we talk about Politics in Hip-Hop, the death of DatPiff & whether Streaming is the sole culprit for the dilution of modern music. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:38) Political Hip-Hop - (17:56) The Death of DatPiff - (35:11) Streaming & The Dilution of Music - (55:02) Lighter Note - (1:20:35) Thanks for listening. Below are the So...

Wyclef, Pras & Lauryn. Fugees were a trio bursting with youthful energy and creative flavour. Their first album was boastful and raw, their second album showed all three at their creative peaks. But behind the scenes, a mixture of label issues and personal back & forth (to put it lightly) put a timer on their lifespan as a trio. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:03) Topic Intro/Ben's R...

With the unfortunate passing of Shock G, we thought this was a good time as any to collectively get into his brainchild, Digital Underground and gain a new understanding of why Shock G was one of the most unique personalities in music history. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup: (1:44) Topic Intro/Ben's Research House: (17:22) Sex Packets: (26:23) Sons of the P: (37:03) The Body-Hat Syndrome: (46:20...

Death is inevitable, but it is always something that warrants a bigger conversation when we see a Hip-Hop artist die in their 20s. There's a systemic issue here and a broader issue with how society treats certain people. We try to dig into these issues in the only way we can: Existentially. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:18) Topic Intro - (18:49) Lighter Note - (1:15:07) Thanks for listenin...

It's time for some more "Contemporary Cool" and for this one, we went far and wide with our picks. Nas & Damian Marley's "Distant Relatives", Azealia Banks' "Fantasea", Apollo Brown & Boog Brown's "Brown Study" & Jay Rock's "90059". TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:40) Distant Relatives - (19:27) Fantasea - (32:52) Brown Study - (46:00) 90059 - (57:33) Lighter Note - (1:20:19) Tha...

Ladies & Gentlemen, DITD is two years old! We started this podcast two years ago as of the 11th and 105 episodes later, with NO OFF WEEK, we're still going and getting better. For this episode we reflect on the passing of DMX, reflect on ourselves, why we do what we do, compare work ethics and finish off with a couple of games that we hope you'll enjoy.  Thanks for kicking it with us, whenever...

After a month of celebrating women, we had to take some time to recognise women in the hurdles they face. Prepare for some necessary existential conversations that all come down to a lack of attention to the overall problems that we collectively have allowed to snowball so big that we don't even see the issue as abnormal. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:26) The Conversation - (18:47) Lighter...

We usually don't do artists this early but Ben thinks she's actually retired so here we are. But with that aside, Nicki Minaj, as the most commercially successful female Hip-Hop artist is a fascinating case study. Along with her pre-album history that is rarely harped on, Nicki has shown a genuine elevation in her artistry whilst also being one of the most bankable artists of the Century. So, sinc...

Eve is an interesting career to look at retrospectively. Unlike some of the other women we've covered so far, she didn't really pioneer in everything. But in her own way, she had a solid career, with a classic album and is a great rapper that have hanged with the best. And in something we'll talk about after March ends, that should be enough for people to focus on that. Luckily, we're not like eve...

MC Lyte is undeniably one of the most influential artists in Hip-Hop history. Your favourite female's favourite female. From Ms Lauryn Hill to Missy, to Kim. MC Lyte dabbled in many subjects and explored them with textbook confidence, an unmistakable voice and a matter-of-fact attitude. It's easy to say that her steadfast ways jeopardised her career in a changing Hip-Hop landscape but before she g...

Mary J Blige is one of the most influential artists of the past 30 years. Her catalogue is one of the most consistent and has nearly no dip in quality. We go through eleven of her albums and how they form one of the tightest "full circles" for an artist we have done so far. Strap in, foot is firmly on the gas for this one. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (2:11) Topic Intro/Ben's Research House...

Happy Women's History month one and all! If you have been a listener since last year, you know that since then we decided to dedicate the month of March to the women and this year we are doing it again. Up first, the first woman in Hip-Hop to go platinum, Da Brat. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:27) Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (21:00) Funkdafied - (37:36) Anuthatantrum - (45:03) Unres...

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...