Diggin' In The Digits

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...

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...