Diggin' In The Digits

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 -...

The trio of Naughty By Nature walked the tightrope better than anybody... Mainstream appeal but still Hip-Hop to the core; everybody and their grandmother has swayed to "Hip-Hop Hooray" and Naughty By Nature had the recipe for a few albums. But the tightrope walk didn't last forever. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:57) Ben: Paris Hilton - Infinite Icon Charlie: Ian Kelly - A Summer Pack With...

It's time for another edition of Contemporary Cool! For this one, we get into the Griselda project that arguably put them on the map in Benny The Butcher's "Tana Talk 3" & the absurdly stacked "D.I.T.C. - The Remix Project". TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:52) Ben: LL Cool J - THE FORCE Ransom x Conway - Chaos Is My Ladder 2 Sleazyworld Go - More Than a Shooter Charlie: Slowly Rolling Ca...

For the solo career of Guru, it is one that is - compared to Gang Starr - everything but consistent; mix it in with debates about how his relationship with Solar was in truth and you have a bit of a sad end to the life & career of one of the most distinctive voices in Hip-Hop. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:40) Ben: Big Sean - Better Me Than You Juicy J - Ravenite Social Club Doechii -...

The phrase "One of the Best Yet" has never been so apt. Maybe THE quintessential Golden Age Hip-Hop duo, Gang Starr started off with multiple iterations but once it was just the twosome of DJ Premier & Guru, it was over and it all culminated in projects from the late 80s to the late 2010s with the 90s work providing a shining example of what Hip-Hop was in the Golden Era. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Mu...

Brooklynite Jeru The Damaja is a rapper that practiced what he preached. Whilst dropping two iconic "All Killer, No Filler" albums of the 90s, he watched Hip-Hop go commercial and made a point to not get swayed. Instead, he continued as an independent voice and cultivate a dedicated fanbase that love him to this day. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:56) Ben: Denzel Curry - King of the Mischie...

Twista is a fascinating case study. With his first four albums that drastically aim in different directions - only to settle on riding the wave of the 00s Hip-Hop sound - (for better or worse) it creates a frustrating picture of one of the most talented deliverer of words that instead made a full-throated push for the mainstream. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:54) Ben: MAVI - shadowbox Benn...

Chino XL passed away at the age of 50 last week. So we pushed back the others to celebrate the career and artistry of one of the most respected names in the New York underground. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:48) Ben: JPEGMAFIA - I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU Q Da Fool - King George Charlie: Elsy Wameyo - Saint Sinner Badbadnotgood - Mid Spiral Samm Henshaw - For Someone Somewhere Who Isn't U...

The story of Ja Rule is one that can only be described as a contextual nightmare. Whilst we can boil it down to "He had hits then 50 took his soul " and call it a day, there's so much under that surface that deserves a look, including music that perfectly exemplifies how fucking weird the 00s were. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:07) Ben: Mustard - Faith of a Mustard Seed Rakim - G.O.Ds NETW...

King Tee's legacy is an underrated one. A West Coast darling, respected by his peers that put on a fair share of artists; you'd think his music would be more known? Especially when it's great for the most part! So was it a case of his peers just making better music or something deeper? TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:56) Ben: L'Orange - The Manipulation Charlie: Amindi - Luvr Chenayder - May...

We head to the West Coast to cover the story of Tha Alkaholiks, a fun, don't-take-too-serious group that produced some of the most underrated gems of the 90s and managed to drop albums well into the 00s. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:18) Ben: Rema - HEIS Juicy J x Xavier Wulf - Memphis Zoo Blu x Evidence - Los Angeles Zacari - Bliss Jay Worthy x Dam Funk - Magic Hour Isaiah Falls - Drugs n...

Albeit a bit late, we take stock of 2024 in Hip-Hop so far, trying not to talk about the whale in the room for as long as we possibly can and instead talk about literally anything else. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:29) Ben: 42 Dugg - 4eva Us Neva Them The Streets - Fabric Presents Charlie: Gary Clark Jr. - JPEG RAW Tyler Daley - Son of Zeus Stefflon Don - Island 54 Headie One - The Last O...

We kick back with another edition of Hip-Hop Neighbours, getting into the album that sent Jamiroquai into the stratosphere and a 90s UK Big Beat album from The Wiseguys, using both albums as foundations for a bigger conversations for music that's rooted in Black origin. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:35) Ben: Lupe Fiasco - Samurai Boldy James x Conductor Williams - Across the Tracks Lil Yac...