Diggin' In The Digits

At 21 years old, two rappers from Queens dropped one of the greatest albums in music history. But some forget that "The Infamous" wasn't Mobb Deep's beginning (Literally! It was their sophomore album!) and it certainly wasn't their end. So past the "capital C" Classic, what is Mobb Deep in totality? TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:22) Ben: Big L - Harlem's Finest Charlie: Saba - C0FFEE! Maka...

We finish our UKBHM series for the month of October with an artist of recent memory to see how Hip-Hop and the sheer amount of genre-bleeding in the early 2010s was displayed in spectacular fashion from Tinie Tempah, who went from Underground Grime MC to the most famous UK rapper in the space of a year and kept that title until Stormzy dropped "Vossi Bop". TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:05)...

Credit to the Nation - led by West Midlands native MC Fusion - was a clear-cut child of Public Enemy but compared to another PE child in Hijack , CTTN was probably more blunt in leftist messaging ( akin to Sistah Souljah ) along with Brummie & Patios accents to add texture to the unique nature of Fusion and his crew. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:53) Ben: Tame Impala - Deadbeat Charlie...

Yorkshire outfit Unique 3 made waves in the dawn of the 90s with a new subgenre "Bleep Techno", the first homegrown EDM subgenre in the UK. Their subsequent debut album blended not just their pioneering sound but also blended Hip-Hop to create a sound that was... Well... Unique for the time. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:02) Ben - Mobb Deep - Infinite Charlie - Jordyn Simone - NO DEMO LEFT...

Happy October and happy UK Black History Month! Our first of four retrospectives this month is dedicated to two sisters that fused Hip-Hop with the burgeoning UK House/Acid House movement of the late 80s/early 90s whilst also paying homage to their Caribbean roots through the music and most notably their memorable name. TIMESTAMPS Weekly Music Roundup - (0:52) Charlie: She Who Won't Be Named - Fro...

Hello DITD listeners! Charlie here. Just wanted to drop you my latest interview with upcoming Alt-R&B artist Kairos The Writer off the back of his recent EP release "AND STILL I LOVE". Enjoy! Intro Music - "Baxter" By Brock Berrigan Interlude - "Remedy" By Dezaulait ChillHop Music Other Podcasts Under The 5EPN: "What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor In Search of Sauce Black Women Watch... 5EPN Radio...

The Brooklyn-based Hip-Hop group Stetsasonic were one of the premier innovators of the 80s. At any given moment you could hear live instrumentation, sampling and beat-boxing. You could also hear elements of Jazz, R&B, Reggae & Rock. Considering their era, the creative foundations they laid is undeniable. Weekly Music Roundup - (0:42) Charlie: Kairos The Writer - AND I STILL LOVE FloFilz -...

The 00s was a unique moment in Hip-Hop history and American culture at large. A lot of the hallmarks of 00s Hip-Hop could be seen through Harlem's own DIPSET, led by Cam'Ron, Jim Jones , Juelz Santana & Freekey Zekey. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:02) Ben: Cardi B - Am I The Drama Destroy Lonely - </3 Charlie: Meduulla & Ethan Hill - Tabula Rasa The Last Artful, Dodgr - databrea...

On this edition of Contemporary Cool: Charlie gets to the bottom of why he's not that into Freddie Gibbs by spinning his debut album and Ben invites torture by having us talk about supergroup Slaughterhouse's poorly aged sophomore effort. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:54) Ben: Ice Cube - Man Up Jermaine Dupri - Magic City Charlie: Yoni Mayraz - Dogs Bark Babies Cry Steven Bamidele - THE CR...

The brothers in Prince Be & DJ Minutemix that make up the duo P.M Dawn have been - in hindsight - a marketing casualty. They forever hold the record of being the first African American Hip-Hop act to get No.1 on Billboard. But whilst that track & their debut album traffic in a Hip-Hop fusion, their works after that lean much more into R&B, creating a discography built on fluidity, deep...

In the Gang Starr/Guru/DJ Premier universe, there are plenty of artists that have made a name for themselves, some that haven't, and then in the middle is Group Home. With a classic debut and iconic tracks on said album, what did they muster up without Preemo on speedial? TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:50) Charlie: UMI - people stories Danni Baylor - Things About The World That Burden Me NO...

Another WG interview for you to step to! For this truly special conversation, we talk to Jazztronica multi-instrumentalist and Hip-Hop fan Anna Stubbs, AKA Kinzoogianna ahead of her album "The Clique Of '86" dropping 12th September. This nearly 90 minute conversation spans from her beginnings, living in California; being exposed to music early on and never looking back; taking Jazz in University;...

We finish our Boot Camp Clik exploration with the talisman of the supergroup and co-founder of Duck Down Records: Buckshot. Covering his one and only solo record and the varied collab albums he produced in the 2000s/early 2010s. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:49) Ben: Offset - Kiari Ghostface- Supreme Clientele 2 BigXthaPlug - I Hope You're Happy Earl - Live Laugh Love Charlie: The Other Gu...

The trio of O.G.C. - Starang Wondah, Louieville Sluggah and Top Dog - never really had the highs of their Boot Camp Clik counterparts. But just because they never dropped a stone cold classic, doesn't mean they didn't drop quality music. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:09) Ben: JID - God Does Like Ugly Gunna - The Last Wun DJ Premier & Roc Marciano - The Coldest Profession Chance the Rap...

We have an interview for you to step to! For this one, we talk to long-time Music Industry leader and currently Intercept Music’s Vice President of Artist and Label Partnerships Jesse Flores. We talk about his beginnings in the industry, the state of the industry as a whole; the steady rise of independents; his Lighter Note & his Top 5. Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for a...

With the duo of Smif-N-Wessun, Tek & Steele started off as worthy members of the Boot Camp Clik, delivering a great debut album. And even with roadblocks galore holding them back over the years, they have produced a solid discography, maturing gracefully as a Hip-Hop duo. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:55) Ben: Metro Boomin - A Futuristic Summa Charlie: Homeboy Sandman & Sonnyjim -...

It's time for another edition of Hip-Hop Neighbours where we talk about albums not Hip-Hop, but close to it. For this one, we get into Roots Manuva & Wrongtom's Danchall/Dub remix album "Duppy Writer" & Katy B's debut "On A Mission". TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:58) Ben: Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo 2 Charlie: Heno. & Mad Keys - Healing Out Loud (EP) A. Billi Fr...

The group that started it all for the Boot Camp Clik , the trio of Black Moon - led by Buckshot - came in with a quintessential Hip-Hop Golden Age debut and sporadically dropped after that, with not much of a drop in quality compared to a stone-cold classic. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:59) Ben: Raekwon - The Emperor's New Clothes Charlie Ryder & Sengi - LONG RIDE HOME Farah Audhali &...

The duo of Rock & Ruck (Sean Price) make Heltah Skeltah, giving us yet another Boot Camp Clik membership that created a consistent quality discography! Not many misses when it comes to one of the best voices in Hip-Hop and a Sean Price that grows into himself as the years go by. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:58) Ben: Jackboys 2 Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out Boldy James x Nicholas Craven...

The six-man supergroup Boot Camp Clik has - from day 1 - been a unique blend of talent, culminating in four decent-to-great albums and poses to be in the mind for whenever we cover the groups/individuals that make the group. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:49) Ben: JID - GDLU the Preluxe Smoke DZA - On My Way to Berlin Charlie: SAMSON - UNDERSTOOD!? Madison McFerrin - SCORPIO The Doppelganga...

On July 2nd we will be exactly halfway through the 2020s! And whilst it's been an objectively terrible decade in many ways, there are some Hip-Hop gems that have come out. So, we decided to make our individual Top 5 Hip-Hop Albums of the Half-Decade and for once, we have NO overlapping works! So buckle in as we gush over 10 albums in a nearly 2 hour special! TIMESTAMPS: Honourable Mentions - (3:54...

One of the mainstays of the burgeoning Hip-Hop Underground of the 00s and beyond, Sean Price was a reality rapper with plenty of humour, iconic one-liners and a discography that have aged pretty well. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:49) Ben: Memphis Bleek - Apt 3D Che Noir - The Color Chocolate 2 Terrace Martin & Kenyon Dixon - Come As You Are Dave East & Young Chris - Fine Dining Da...

At 60 years old, Slick Rick dropped his 5th Studio Album and his 1st since 1999. He's a master storyteller, respected by everyone. So how TF is he still underrated?! TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:07) Ben: Lil Tecca - Dopamine Charlie -  Karl Benjamin - To What End? MRCY - VOLUME 2 Jords - Mixtape J edbl - Archives Mixtape Syf of Talking Knots & Sir Nebula - Gravity A-F-R-O - Crimson Fu...

G-Funk pioneer one of the most consistent dual artists in Hip-Hop history, it could be said that DJ Quik hasn't gotten the props his peers has, even though his quality of production and bars has (for the most part) been great, just as long as you jump over the mines labelled "Songs with oddly detailed sex bars". TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:49) Ben: Lil Wayne - Tha Carter 6 Little Simz -...

Whilst MC Shan spends a lot of his recent days lamenting the past in some form, he actually has a leg to stand on! Just not in the ways he thinks... TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:44) Ben: Rome Streetz & Conductor Williams - Trainspotting Bruiser Wolf - POTLUCK Masta Killa - Balance Charlie: Silas Short - LUSHLAND Rebecca Vasmant - Who We Are, Becoming Oddisee - En Route Premo Rice - Ba...