Diggin' In The Digits

Hello DITD listeners! I have a bonus episode for you, coming via my Podcast "What's Good?". I talk to Dallas born & raised EB Rebel now sharpening their craft in New York City. We get into their beginnings, talented & gifted programs; their queerness, being 'genre-less' and of course their Top 5. Thank you for listening! If you want to contribute to the show, whether it be sending me quest...

The story of Boss is one of subversion, devastatingly low levels of luck and an astronomical talent. How we only have one album and some hard-to-find mixtapes from such a skilled MC? TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:19) Ben: KiLLOWEN - six missed calls  Charlie: 1,000 UK Artists - Is This What We Want? KiLLOWEN - six missed calls The Doppelgangaz - Dumpster Dive, Vol. 2 REASON - I Love You Ag...

For the 16th Contemporary Cool, we get into what many consider to be Lupe Fiasco's best album and a J.PERIOD remix of Kendrick's "GNX". TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:48) Charlie: NAO - Jupiter Smif-N-Wessun - Infinity  Kelela - In The Blue Light Amindi - Luvr-but it's on guitar (live) Tetsuo & Youth - (8:00) "J.PERIOD Presents - REINCARNATED" - (39:34) Lighter Note - (52:36) Thanks for...

Boogie Down Productions - led by KRS-One - was an inventive group of the time, taking KRS' superior lyrical ability and combining it with production that was initially highly dynamic at first. With five albums, the death of Scott La Rock marring the history and plenty of lore, it makes for an iconic story in Hip-Hop history. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:57) Ben: Drake x PARTYNEXTDOOR - $o...

The story of Poor Righteous Teachers isn't a well documented one, but the music speaks volumes with great production throughout, thought and dexterous lyrics soaked in 5% teachings and an embracing of Toasting that really sets them apart from their more popular peers. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:54) Ben: Larry June x 2 Chainz x The Alchemist - Life is Beautiful JPEGMAFIA - I LAY DOWN MY...

For this Hip-Hop Neighbours we get into two 00s debut albums. One from Linkin Park, the band that successfully balanced the Hip-Hop infused Rock of the time and Amp Fiddler who quietly took all his experience (experience that made J Dilla into J Dilla) to make a solo debut decades after he started his music career. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:48) Ben: Madlib x MF DOOM - Madvillainy Demos...

You ever wondered what Kurtis Blow's music - that is not named "The Breaks" - is like? Well, it can be done by looking at Hip-Hop through the lens of Disco and not R&B or Soul. Music aside, the story of Hip-Hop cannot be told without naming Kurtis Blow. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:43) Ben: Boldy James - Permanent Ink Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (3:02) Kurtis Blow - (14:36) Deu...

For our 300th episode, we wanted to do a retrospective that was fitting for our 300th. So we landed on one of the most significant groups in Hip-Hop history. Possibly THE most significant. RUN-DMC - in no uncertain terms - brought Hip-Hop to a new stratosphere in popularity and dedication to creating full bodies of work. Combine that with their unmistakable style and you have one of the most iconi...

Allegedly - for our 21st edition of DITD Bites - we get into a reckoning that is long overdue for the music industry, off the back of Charlie's State of The Hip-Hop Union article : (Allegedly) Acknowledging that Sean Combs (allegedly) did some bad shit and we should endeavour to not prop up people like him. We also go on tangents (Allegedly) related to other people, Streaming, Social Media and Maj...

Happy New Year! We kick-off 2025 as we like to do, by talking about our favourite albums from the year that passed. Our Top 2 Albums of 2024. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:17) Ben: Lil Baby - WHAM Consequence - Movies on Demand Charlie: Hermanos Gutiérrez - Sonido Cósmico Konkolo Orchestra - Future Pasts Charlie's No. 2 - (5:26) Ben's No. 2 - (28:03) Charlie's No. 1 - (51:58) Ben's No. 1 -...

With it being the last episode of the year, we do our customary look through the Metacritic Album Score Review, looking at the works that were highly acclaimed and the works that were roasted into oblivion. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:02) Charlie: Novine - Daydreaming Sophye Soliveau - INITIATION SOUFSIDE KATHLEEN - Everything Under My Sun Kneecap - Fine Art Liana Flores - Flower of the...

The story of Coolio is... a lot. But you know what isn't a lot? The variety in his discography once the 00s came around! Tracks appearing in more than one body of work and derivative tropes plaguing that weird decade would severely taint his first three albums that were bursting with personality and obviously "Gangster's Paradise". Lucky for him, it didn't. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (2:02...

We finish our Westside Connection miniseries with WC who is definitely the more humorous of the three and is an underrated influence on where the West Coast went in the 00s and beyond. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:45) Ben: Snoop Dogg x Dr. Dre - Missionary Roc Marciano x The Alchemist - The Skeleton Key Charlie: Iotosh - FOR THE PEOPLE Kota The Friend & Statik Selektah - Once In A Blu...

Before WC went solo and became one third of the Westside Connection , he was head of WC and the Maad Circle which featured a pre-solo Coolio, Big Gee and DJ/Producer Crazy Toones. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:54) Ben: Rossy - Milwaukee Made Me / Wisconsin Worldwide Charlie: Janset & IKHANA - PROBLEMS Shabaka - Possession Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (4:47) Ain't a Damn Thang Cha...

After covering Westside Connection last week, it was only right to get into the two artists not named Ice Cube. This week: Mack 10 whose easy style was good enough to make a pretty decent discography considering half the output was during the dreaded 00s. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:52) Ben: duke deuce - tribe Ice Cube - Man Down Pete & Bas - Mugshot Boldy James - The Bricktionary Ch...

The trio of Ice Cube, WC & Mack 10 comprised the group Westside Connection that dropped two albums filled with aggressiveness, anyone-can-get-it dissing and mentioned "Mount Westmore" before Cube, Snoop, Too $hort & E-40 got around to finally make that a reality. Whilst production was okay, their chemistry and lyrical ability raised the tide immensely. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0...

It's time for another Contemporary Cool in which Ben makes a YouTube video with his pick of Ab-Soul's "HERBERT" and Charlie gives love to Garage with DJ Spoony-led "Garage Classical". TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:57) Ben: Ab-Soul - Soul Burger ASAP Ferg - DAROLD Real Boston Richey - Richey Rich Natty - The Divine Trinity Charlie: Common Saints - Cinema 3000 Joshua Idehen - Mum Does The Wa...

With the Young Thug/YSL RICO trial done & dusted, we invited Music Journalist & 5EPN Alum Brandon Hill to come through to talk about the trial, sentencing; the wider ramifications of this trial to Hip-Hop (& more specifically Lil Durk) and the implied silencing of Young Thug through his future musical content. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:17) Brandon: Freddie Gibbs - You Only...

For the final UKBHM retrospective of this year, we look at the career and solo discography of sonic nomad Neneh Cherry who has traversed the UK music landscape from the 80s onwards to now with a penchant for always doing it differently than her peers. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:58) Ben: Kembe X - it's not that deep Nappy Nina - Nothing is my Favourite Thing DeJ Loaf - End of Summer Payr...

Before he was Congo Natty, he was Rebel MC and it is genuinely tough to decide which alter ego of dual threat Michael West is the most influential. As a Hip-Hop Pod, we cover Rebel MC and the three album run under that name, mixing Hip-Hop, House, Dance & Pop with samples from every Jamaican music genre to date. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:51) Ben: Benny The Butcher x 38 Spesh - Stab...

When UK Hip-Hop zigged, Demon Boyz zagged. Whilst they managed to get two albums out before their split, boy did they make effort to do it differently and incidentally became a key connection between Hip-Hop and Jungle.  TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:54) Ben: Rome Streetz - Hatton Garden Holdup XV & Mike Summers - Blog Era Is Dead  Iglooghost - Tidal Memory Exo Charlie: Layfullstop - R...

In our 2nd UKBHM retrospective for the '24 crop, we get into the group Hardnoise, (Now known as Son Of Noise) who - along with temporary label mates Hijack - brought an antagonistic edge to UK Hip-Hop. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:47) Ben: Tee Grizzley - Post Traumatic The Voidz - Like All Before You Jamie xx - In Waves Charlie: Mark Kavuma - The Dandy Lynda Dawn - 11th Hour Suni MF - yel...

For a bonus episode, an interview for you to step to! Charlie talks to UK DJ/Production duo The Allergies, talking their beginnings, how they gained/cultivated their taste; their new album "Freak The Speaker" and their Top 5. If you haven't spun a WG interview, here's a good gateway for you! Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Music - "Hold Please" & "...

We begin our 2024 edition of our UK Black History Month series with one of UK Hip-Hop's earliest success stories in MC Duke who was the guy in the late 80s, culminating in two albums of varying quality and the American vocal inflections that was plaguing the early years of UK Hip-Hop. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:47) Ben: Tara Lily - Speak In The Dark Charlie: Vacatixn - GEMINI FLOW Kamai...

The duo of Method Man & Redman seemed like an unofficial duo. They did a lot together in the late 90s/early 00s including "How High", two TV shows that got prematurely cancelled and of course the two "Blackout!" albums. But even with all that, it seemed like their partnership was more an "in the moment between friends" thing than genuinely building a musical legacy as a duo. Catch Up: Ep.128 -...