Diggin' In The Digits

For this edition of "the real HHN" where we explore projects just outside of the Hip-Hop purview, we get into the works of Bryson Tiller's "T R A P S O U L" and Gorillaz' "Plastic Beach". TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:41) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Royce Da 5'9" - The Heaven Experience 38 Spesh - Gunsmoke Ric Wilson, Chromeo & A-Trak - CLUSTERFUNK Dizzy Wright - Live at Daddy Mac...

We finish off our Women's History Month celebrations with an artist that was so close to blowing up - but with a shelved 2nd album - lost steam. It seems that whenever a female shows talent with a solid first album, it still doesn't solidify their foundations. But through it all, Rah Digga continues to shine regardless of the industry pulling the rug from under her. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundu...

For our third WHM retrospective, we look at another one-and-done artist in Sweet Tee; with an additional conversation on the unique place 80s Hip-Hop artists are historically. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:49) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Nix Northwest - Xin's Disappearance M83 - Fantasy U2 - Song’s of Surrender 100 Gecs - 10,000 Gecs Unknown Mortal Orchestra - V EST Gee - Mad Lil Pump...

We continue our Women's History Month celebrations with a look at the one & done work of Ms. Melodie: The first lady of BDP and an essential cog in the lives of many, including KRS-ONE & Big Daddy Kane. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:09) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Nathan Kawanishi - Splashes Of Ink (Antithesis)  Tank and The Bangas - Pretty Poems The Hoodies - What Pressure Ma...

We begin our Women's History Month celebrations with the First Lady of No Limit: Mia X. Her music was unmistakably 'No Limit' but when looking past the hits, came some of the best creative cuts of the 90s. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:47) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) 9th Wonder - ZION VIII slowthai - UGLY Neak - Die Wurzel Female All-Stars - Fa To The World Che Noir & Big Ghost Lt...

We boot up Contemporary Cool once again and for Volume 9 we look at the barely talked about work "7 Days Of Funk" and the blueprint for collective collaboration in The Silhouettes Project. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:42) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) New Sector Movements - These Times  Vic Spencer & 38 Spesh - Greenthumbs Meets Trigger Fingers Gorillaz - Cracker Island Braxton Coo...

We continue with Part 2 of our RZA retrospective with a look at his solo work which - whilst it may deliver less than desired - is an interesting creative wrinkle to one of the most versatile artists of his generation. Weekly Music Roundup - (1:05) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Hi-Tek - Panorama Apartments (1994 Mpc 60ii) Wesley Joseph - GLOW Nappy Nina - Mourning Due Kelela - Raven Bktherula -...

We reach the last solo retrospective of Wu-Tang Clan members, finishing with the leader of it all: RZA. In the first of a two-parter, we talk about RZAs leadership as the head of the Wu dragon and his unprecedented production run. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:49) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Coldxman - Amor Fati Nejma Nefertiti & Zenati - Rapoeira (EP) Backwood Sweetie - Sweetie S...

Off the back of Lil Yachty's new album, he made a comment about "wanting to be seen as an artist". This led to responses like this. We broke down the multi-layered conversation that is decades old and spans genres: Labels, eras, the leaders of said eras and what happens when they do something different. 200 episodes without missing a drop, thanks for being on this journey with us. Charlie's 2018 p...

The brief but beautiful life and career of Capital STEEZ is one of incompletion. Seeing someone so young, with deeply rooted ethics and beliefs, end his life just as the career was about to go somewhere - whether it be up or down - will forever leave more questions than answers. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:26) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Hi-Tek - Glen Orchard Drive (1993 Mpc 60) Bro...

The Wu Lead-off Hitter. INS - Inspectah Deck - has some of the most iconic bars in the Wu-Tang discography, but as much as we all love to "bomb atomically", Deck's solo work contains the least amount of Wu involvement out of all solo Wu discographies. And like Masta Killa, U-God & Cappadonna, it's not as talked about. Weekly Music Roundup - (00:41) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) El Train - C...

We cover one of the most influential Hip-Hop groups of All-Time in Three 6 Mafia; rulers of Memphis, led by DJ Paul & Juicy J's legendary production. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup (0:52) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Skyzoo & The Other Guys - The Mind Of A Saint AntsLive - Just A Matter Of Time (EP) 21 Lil Harold - After the Curse 03 Greedo - Free 03 BabyTron - Bin Reaper 3 - New Tes...

The Hip-Hop world bowed their heads on New Year's Day to commemorate the life of Memphis legend Lola Chantrelle Mitchell, better known as Gangsta Boo. Along with her membership in Three Six Mafia, The Queen of Memphis had her own career and her own legacy. We unpack that with this episode. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:05) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Nejma Nefertiti - Letters From The...

For the 16th edition of DITD Bites, we take stock of 2022 as a year. Mainly from a music perspective but we broach other topics. Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Music - "Pizza And Video Games" by Bonus Points (Thanks to Chillhop Music for the right to use) HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers 5E (Twitter) - @The5thElementUK ChillHop (Twitter) - @C...

For this Hip-Hop Neighbours, we cover the work of British group Soul II Soul and their classic "Club Classics, Vol. 1"; and Blondie's seminal track that was a flashpoint for Hip-Hop, "Rapture". TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Little Simz - NO, THANK YOU IYAMAH - Sometimes, I'm Speechless (EP) Lyric Michelle - MUSE (EP) Lizzie Berchie - Under The Sun (EP) Vinocio...

As the year winds down, we decided to go through the Metacritic rankings for Hip-Hop album scores this year. Some make sense, some don't; some even warrant a conspiracy toward how Metacritic favour certain types of work over another. This was right before Simz dropped "NO, THANK YOU" so she doesn't appear, same with Ab-Soul. We also dropped a visual version of this which you can spin here . Thanks...

We get to "The Chef" Raekwon, whose solo work gives Raekwon a stage to really shine as a lyricist with layers and storytelling chops that rival the best. Weekly Music Roundup - (1:08) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) SAULT - 11 SAULT - Untitled (God) Dezron Douglas - ATALAYA Lyriqs - Hillman Jay Prince & Tiny Spys - Adventures Of You (EP) Kamaiyah - Keep It Lit (EP) Kool G Rap - Last Of A Dyin...

There aren't many artists that came of age in the 90s that continue producing high quality bodies of work. Ghostface Killah is rarely credited with a consistent discography, but that is exactly what he has. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:56) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) BlaQ Chidori - White Melodies Side B Cal Scruby - Casino Metro Boomin - Heroes & Villains Reuben James - Piano Lov...

We all have our dream festival line-up. We took it a little further and devised our own festivals. From how many days, to the locale, to the line-ups themselves; our festivals were so eclectic that we only had one artist on both line-ups. Let us know which one you'd rather hit and how much you'd pay. Because in our world, this is all for free.99! TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:11) (Ben = Bo...

Along with our new episode with Dr. Joshua Wright, we wanted to still do our Weekly Music Roundup; so we did! And slapped it in as a bonus ep. Enjoy. Projects spun: (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) 38 Spesh - Beyond Belief  Dave East x DJ Drama - Book of David Hus KingPin - My Beautiful Dark Wave Fantasy Vado - Long Run 3 Busta Rhymes - The Fuse Is Lit Apollo Brown & Philmore Greene - Cost of...

In a special episode of DITD, we have our first guest host joining! Dr. Joshua Wright is a professor at Trinity Washington University in Washington, DC, a graduate of Howard University; host of "Woke History", a new podcast series on NPR One and a two-time author. ( Wake Up, Mr. West: Kanye West and the Double Consciousness of Black Celebrity , 2022 & Empire and Black Images in Pop Culture , 2...

Originally starting out as Graffiti artists, the group to be known as Artifacts kept the elements of Hip-Hop close to their chest. With three high-quality albums, including a Golden Age classic debut, the New Jersey natives leave a legacy embodied by other NJ legends after them. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:10) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Nas - King's Disease III Black Panther: Wakan...

The Kid Cudi influence is often stated softly - but in just over a decade - Kid Cudi has changed the game when it comes to subject matter and sound. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:58) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) LeeV - LEAVE ME BE DUSTY LOCANE - NIGHTMARE ON DA FIFTH Lecrae - Church Clothes 4 Boldy James x Futurewave - Mr. Ten08 Backwood Sweetie x Furious Stylez - Sweetie Got Stylez Sk...

So now that we're seemingly out of the "Ye" storm, it's a good a time as any to take in maybe the most self-destructive month any public figure has done. This conversations covers a lot of ground and zooms in and out frequently so buckle in. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:23) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Baby Keem - The Melodic Blue Deluxe Duke Deuce - Memphis Massacre 3 Westside Gunn -...

To finish our #UKBHM miniseries for another year, we look at an artist in Estelle with realised talent early on, a truly timeless song in her discography - but looking past that - has a truly fascinating discography and career arc that, at this moment in time, feels like a satisfying full circle. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:02) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Snoop Dogg & DJ Drama -...