Podcasts by Diggin In The Digits

Diggin' In The Digits

Welcome to "Diggin' In The Digits", where Creator of 'Hip-Hop By The Numbers' Ben Carter and Director of 'The 5th Element' Charlie Taylor deliver entirely unique retrospectives behind Hip-Hop's biggest artists, stories

Further podcasts by The 5th Element Podcast Network/Hip-Hop By The Numbers

Podcast on the topic Musikrezensionen

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.244 - A Referendum On Celebrity from 2023-12-12T12:50

With the genocide/ethnic cleansing of Gaza/Palestinians ongoing, we have a conversation that we previously had in the heat of the protests in 2020 Listen

Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.243 - Large Professor from 2023-12-05T12:50

Large Professor is an interesting solo case in Hip-Hop history; an artist with a solid solo discography but his legacy is instead tied into being of service to a litany of legends. Where do you ...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.242 - Deltron 3030 from 2023-11-28T12:50

It's time to take a trip into the future - to the year 3030 - through the sonic landscape painted by a trio that combine to make Deltron 3030: Del The Funky Homosapien, Dan The Automator & D...

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Ep.241 - Contemporary Cool, Vol. 11 from 2023-11-21T12:50

For the 11th Contemporary Cool, we get into Bey & Jay's "EVERYTHING IS LOVE" & Hempress Sativa's debut album "Unconquerebels.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (2:20) (Ben = Bo...

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Ep.240 - Nujabes from 2023-11-14T12:50

The legacy of Nujabes is one of how music should feel. That essence of when you listen to it, it instantly feeds your soul; whilst dubbing Nujabes as "The Godfather of Lo-Fi" is fine, he should ...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.239 - Hip-Hop Neighbours, Vol. 9 from 2023-11-07T12:50

On the 9th edition of Neighbours, we get into two works wildly different in sound but share the fact of their sounds being reminiscent of their time, for better or worse... Post Malone's "Stoney...

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Ep.238 - #UKBHM 2023: Hijack from 2023-10-31T12:50

For our final UKBHM retrospective of the month of October, we cover late 80s UK group Hijack who were - like many of our subjects for this edition of UKBHM retrospectives - were ready to hit the...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.237 - #UKBHM 2023: Blak Twang from 2023-10-24T12:50

As Hip-Hop in the US was booming in the 90s, Hip-Hop in the UK were searching for a new voice after a good class in the late 80s/early 90s. Enter Blak Twang who was not just winning awards befor...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.236 - #UKBHM 2023: Lisa Maffia from 2023-10-17T12:50

Lisa Maffia - The First Lady of So Solid Crew - made a genuine attempt to go it solo. Her one and only album was clearly meant to provide a runway for more but media perception of her and chiefl...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.235 - #UKBHM 2023: So Solid Crew from 2023-10-10T12:50

UK Garage had a special moment from 99-02, it seemed that every notable Garage track was hitting the charts. But only one track hit no.1 and that was "21 Seconds" by So Solid Crew. They could've...

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Ep.234 - #UKBHM 2023: Derek B from 2023-10-03T12:50

In our first UK Black History Month retrospective of 2023, we get into the artist that attempted to put UK Hip-Hop on his back and carry it into the mainstream. Whilst in many ways he succeeded ...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.233 - Del The Funky Homosapien from 2023-09-26T12:50

Del The Funky Homosapien (Or Del Tha Funkee Homosapien; pick a lane) is a mainstay in the "Alternative" and Independent Hip-Hop scene. His voice is one of the most unique and always delivers whe...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.232 - DITD Bites, Vol. 20 from 2023-09-19T12:50

For the 20th Bites, we switch it up a little and talk about a TV show! After nearly 12 years, a hiatus and two versions, Top Boy is done after five seasons. We talk about the show in as many ang...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.231 - Hieroglyphics from 2023-09-12T12:50

Hieroglyphics hold a very interesting spot in Hip-Hop history. A collective that has been around for a couple decades now but still have a "if you know, you know" essence to them. From their mer...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.230 - Hip-Hop Neighbours, Vol. 8 from 2023-09-05T12:50

For this edition of Hip-Hop Neighbours, we get into two 00s classics in Craig David's "Born to Do It" and Gnarls Barkley's "St. Elsewhere".

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:05) (Be...

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Ep.229 - Souls of Mischief from 2023-08-29T12:50

Souls of Mischief are the rare group that - after 30 years - are still together and going strong. Along with a seminal Hip-Hop track and a relatively consistent discography overall, it's no wond...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.228 - Immortal technique from 2023-08-22T12:50

Immortal Technique is an essential artist to listen to. He stays ever-present with constant touring and putting his Leftist lyrics to the sword, genuinely doing work for people in the world that...

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Ep.227 - DITD Bites, Vol. 19 from 2023-08-15T12:50

In a very special DITD Bites, we get into Lizzo, Tory Lanez getting 10 years; REASON & Moosa's debate on wax and Hip-Hop turning 50.
 
TIMESTAMPS: 
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:24) (Be...

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Ep.226 - MC Ren from 2023-08-08T12:50

Whilst the stories of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and - for different reasons - Eazy-E are thoroughly documented, the story of MC Ren is something different from the others. From his embrace of Islam &...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.225 - N.W.A from 2023-08-01T12:50

The legacy of N.W.A runs so deep in Hip-Hop that it's hard to say something fresh about it; but their music still connects Ren, Cube, Eazy, Dre, Yella & Arabian Prince together into a fascin...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.224 - Masta Ace from 2023-07-25T12:50

It can be said that Masta Ace is underrated in many facets of the music but one that needs to be hailed forever is his unique long-form storytelling. Since "The Symphony", Masta Ace has continue...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.223 - Hip-Hop Neighbours, Vol. 7 from 2023-07-18T12:50

It's time for another Hip-Hop Neighbours, highlighting non-Hip-Hop albums that Hip-Hop fans can get into. For this one, we get into the work of Gil Scott-Heron and Chase & Status.

TIME...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.222 - The Roots from 2023-07-11T12:50

In this chunky episode, we get into the work of The Roots where whilst we would make an effort to bomb through discographies for the sake of time, we simply couldn't for The Roots because they s...

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Ep.221 - Tambo&Bones Interview from 2023-07-05T12:50

In a change of pace from usual DITD proceedings, Charlie was invited to see a play in Theatre Royal Stratford East called "Tambo & Bones", written by West Philly's own Dave Harris.

And...

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Ep.220 - Canibus from 2023-06-27T12:50

The story of Canibus is probably the best suited for a podcast built on retrospectives such as this. Whilst his music can easily be passed off as "rapper has verbal diarrhoea", the storyline com...

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Ep.219 - DITD Bites, Vol. 18 from 2023-06-20T12:50

On the 18th edition of DITD Bites: Tyler, The Creator hopped on Rap Radar recently and made some interesting quotes that we wanted to unpack. So we do that, getting into his beef with playlists,...

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Ep.218 - Wu-Tang Clan: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 11 from 2023-06-13T12:50

After 10 chapters, we've finally reached the conclusion of our "Book Of Wu" series. If you haven't spun the series, Listen

Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.217 - Mid-Year Report '23 from 2023-06-06T12:50

Happy June! We're nearly halfway through the year, which means it's time for our Mid-Year Report! How the 50th Year of Hip-Hop has been faring, what albums we rate so far an other general discus...

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Ep.216 - Chamillionaire from 2023-05-31T12:50

Houston's Chamillionaire was a child of 8 Ball & MJG, UGK and Geto Boys. His single "Ridin" was one of the most ubiquitous songs of the 00s. But after a couple of albums and a bevvy of mixta...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.215 - Wyclef Jean from 2023-05-23T12:50

After covering Pras last week, we thought it was a good a time as any to look into the Fugees member that seems to have no issue in dropping music on a consistent basis. With nine studio albums,...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.214 - Pras from 2023-05-16T12:50

Pras has been in the news in recent years, but not for anything music related. So since he was formally found guilty in a foreign influence case, now seems a good a time as any to listen to the ...

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Ep.213 - Is Hip-Hop Right Wing? from 2023-05-09T12:50

All answers begin with a question and sometimes that question needs to be blunt. But never fear, we try and break the question down as only we can. It's not a question that caters for a straight...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.212 - DITD Bites, Vol. 17 from 2023-05-02T12:50

For the 17th edition of DITD Bites we get into the AI Music debate and the concept of Video Essays/Documentaries, asking WHY do people like Trap Lore Ross make the videos they make.

TIMEST...

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Ep.211 - Jim Jones from 2023-04-25T12:50

When you look at Jim Jones' career, it's one of hard work and dedication to squeezing every benefit out of a deal. But hard work only gets you so far... Hard work can't get you a good solo disco...

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Ep.210 - Contemporary Cool, Vol. 10 from 2023-04-18T12:50

For the 10th edition of Contemporary Cool: We get into the works of Tink's 2013 tape "Winter's Diary 2: Forever Yours" and August Greene (Common, Robert Glasper & Karriem Riggins)

TIME...

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Ep.209 - DITD 4th Anniversary Special from 2023-04-11T12:50

Four years ago on April 10th, Diggin' In The Digits began. Since that Tuesday, we have dropped an episode every Tuesday. We've never missed a drop and have learnt so much over those four years. ...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.208 - Hip-Hop Neighbours, Vol. 6 from 2023-04-04T12:50

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".

...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.207 - Women's History Month '23 - Rah Digga from 2023-03-28T12:50

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...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.206 - Women's History Month '23 - Sweet Tee from 2023-03-21T12:50

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:<...

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Ep.205 - Women's History Month '23 - Ms. Melodie from 2023-03-14T12:50

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 &...

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Ep.204 - Women's History Month '23 - Mia X from 2023-03-07T12:50

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 ...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.203 - Contemporary Cool, Vol. 9 from 2023-02-28T12:50

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.

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Ep.202 - RZA: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 10 (Pt.2) from 2023-02-21T12:50

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 ar...

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Ep.201 - RZA: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 10 (Pt.1) from 2023-02-14T12:50

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 a...

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Ep.200 - "Rapper" or "Artist" from 2023-02-07T12:50

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 t...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.199 - Capital STEEZ from 2023-01-31T12:50

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 s...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.198 - Inspectah Deck: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 9 from 2023-01-24T12:50

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 a...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.197 - Three 6 Mafia from 2023-01-17T00:50

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 Roundu...

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Ep.196 - Gangsta Boo from 2023-01-10T12:50

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 Mafi...

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Ep.195 - DITD Bites, Vol. 16 from 2023-01-03T12:50

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...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.194 - Hip-Hop Neighbours, Vol. 5 from 2022-12-27T12:50

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".<...

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Ep.193 - 2022 Metacritic Album Score Review from 2022-12-20T12:50

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 fav...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.192 - Raekwon: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 8 from 2022-12-13T12:50

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...

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Ep.191 - Ghostface Killah: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 7 from 2022-12-06T12:50

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 ...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.190 - Our Dream Festivals from 2022-11-29T12:50

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 t...

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Weekly Music Roundup (15th-22nd Nov '22) from 2022-11-22T12:51

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 =...

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Ep.189 - Kanye&Black Celebrity W/ Dr. Joshua Wright from 2022-11-22T12:50

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 ...

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Ep.188 - Artifacts from 2022-11-15T12:50

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 ...

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Ep.187 - Kid Cudi from 2022-11-08T12:50

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 - (...

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Ep.186 - Yucking Ye's Yum from 2022-11-01T12:50

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 groun...

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Ep.185 - #UKBHM 2022: Estelle from 2022-10-25T12:50

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 fa...

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Ep.184 - #UKBHM 2022: Ghetts from 2022-10-18T12:50

Continuing our UKBHM celebrations with a retrospective on one of the most visceral storytellers and lyrical visualisers of the modern era. It took Ghetts 15 years of ups and downs to create his ...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.183 - #UKBHM 2022: JME from 2022-10-11T12:50

We continue our UKBHM celebrations with a retrospective on one of the most authentic voices in music: JME. Along with his brother Skepta, Listen

Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.182 - #UKBHM 2022: Cookie Crew from 2022-10-04T12:50

Happy October and happy UK Black History Month one & all! This is the third time we're doing this but for those not in the know. To celebrate UKBHM, we do retrospectives of four black UK art...

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Ep.181 - Prompts, Vol. 1 from 2022-09-27T12:50

This episode is a special one for a couple of reasons: 1st, it's our first live recording via Twitter Spaces. 2nd, it was to kick-start our new off-shoot: Prompts. Me, Ben and you guys talking a...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.180 - Main Source from 2022-09-20T12:50

Even though Main Source only lasted officially for five years - with two albums dropped - they certainly made their imprint in Hip-Hop history within that half decade; most notably, the album "B...

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Ep.179 - DITD Bites, Vol. 15 from 2022-09-13T12:50

On the 15th edition of DITD Bites, we get into the world of morals & ethics in Journalism and a special conversation of wider media and the response to the death of The Queen.

TIMESTAM...

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Ep.178 - Hip-Hop Neighbours, Vol. 4 from 2022-09-06T12:50

It's time for another edition of Hip-Hop Neighbours where we talk about non-Hip-Hop works that Hip-Hop fans love regardless. For this volume, we talk about the works of Tame Impala & KAYTRAN...

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Ep.177 - Hilltop Hoods from 2022-08-30T12:50

It's time to explore the world of Hip-Hop in Australia and there's no better place to look than the most popular Hip-Hop act in Australia. Hilltop Hoods, a trio that needed a bank loan to fund t...

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Ep.176 - Shabazz Palaces from 2022-08-23T12:50

If you were on a desert island and you had one artist's discography to spin, who would you pick? If you said your favourite artist, then sure. But think about a Shabazz Palaces where the music i...

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Ep.175 - Camp Lo from 2022-08-16T12:50

If you ever need a story of resilience, look no further than the career arc of Camp Lo; who began with a classic debut, chose to go independent, have their work suffer because of it and at their...

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Ep.174 - DITD Bites, Vol. 14 from 2022-08-09T12:50

We get into another Bites where we talk about goings on in the Hip-Hop/music world. For this one we get into the Beyonce/Kelis/Neptunes sample controversy and looking into The Notorious B1, an a...

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Ep.173 - Contemporary Cool, Vol. 8 from 2022-08-02T12:50

In Volume 8 of Contemporary Cool: We look at the works of Rico Nasty, Megan Thee Stallion, Curren$y & The Alchemist and Kojey Radical.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (0:53) ( Listen

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Ep.172 - N*E*R*D from 2022-07-26T12:50

It is a tale as old as time. When you're as experimental as an N*E*R*D that simply refused to be labelled and went out of their way to be different; sometimes, it just doesn't hit. But when it h...

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Ep.171 - The Neptunes from 2022-07-19T12:50

One of the most prolific names in Hip-Hop production, The Neptunes: Pharrell Williams & Chad Hugo, could work with anybody in the mainstream and somehow make it a bop. They are responsible f...

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Ep.170 - Mid Year Report '22 from 2022-07-12T12:50

Half the year has gone by. Time flies when you're having fun, but then we start thinking about social media and then get sad. But whilst we admittedly get bogged down on that, we do recap the ye...

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Ep.169 - Evidence from 2022-07-05T12:50

Since the 90s, Evidence has been steadily building one of the most consistent careers in Hip-Hop history. Whether it's in a group, duo or solo, Evidence always manages to produce solid work, wit...

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Ep.168 - Dilated Peoples from 2022-06-28T12:50

One of the more satisfying retrospectives, Dilated Peoples - consisting of DJ Babu, Evidence & Rakaa Iriscience - have one of the most consistent discographies in Hip-Hop history. Along with...

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Ep.167 - Cappadonna: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 6 from 2022-06-21T12:50

We continue our "Book Of Wu" series with the large solo discography of the 10th member of the Clan, Cappadonna, whose story and place within the Clan gives a lot more for conversation than his d...

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Ep.166 - Internet Anonymity from 2022-06-14T12:50

Anonymity in Hip-Hop Twitter, like everywhere on the Internet, is something worth putting thought over. Is it an issue to have anonymity for accounts that have genuine sway over Internet discour...

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Ep.165 - Hip-Hop Neighbours, Vol. 3 from 2022-06-07T12:50

For this edition of Hip-Hop Neighbours, we explore two bands with connective tissue to Hip-Hop in one way or another: Rage Against The Machine & Red Hot Chili Peppers.

TIMESTAMPS:
W...

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Ep.164 - Kendrick Lamar, Part. 3 from 2022-05-31T12:50

We finish our three-part retrospective of Kendrick Lamar with a dialogue on his latest album "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers", looking at the body of work from multiple angles and detailing i...

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Ep.163 - Kendrick Lamar, Part. 2 from 2022-05-24T12:50

We continue our retrospective on Kendrick Lamar, talking about his album run from "Section. 80" to "DAMN." with a challenge to say things about the albums that we haven't already.

TIMESTMA...

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Ep.162 - Kendrick Lamar, Part. 1 from 2022-05-17T12:50

With the landmark release of his last album under the label that helped take him to the highest of music heights and his future looking fascinatingly uncertain, we begin a three-part retrospecti...

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Ep.161 - Contemporary Cool, Vol. 7 from 2022-05-10T12:50

It's time for another Contemporary Cool and for this one, we get into projects by Add-2, Noname, A$AP Ferg & K.A.A.N.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (0:56) (Ben = Bold / Charlie...

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Ep.160 - Masta Killa: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 5 from 2022-05-03T12:50

Masta Killa is the most mysterious member of the legendary group. Whilst most of the group went to major labels, MK went independent, took the longest to drop his debut solo album and hasn't got...

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Ep.159 - Hip-Hop Neighbours, Vol. 2 from 2022-04-26T12:50

In a low-key iconic* episode of DITD, we do another Volume of Hip-Hop Neighbours, (which is mistakenly called by a former name throughout the episode) going off our mini-convo about Calvin Harri...

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Ep.158 - Black Star from 2022-04-19T12:50

With the long-awaited 2nd Black Star album on the horizon, we thought it would be a good opportunity to look back at the first album and how Talib Kweli and then named Mos Def managed to produce...

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Ep.157 - 3rd Anniversary Special from 2022-04-12T12:50

On the 11th of April 2019, we began this little Hip-Hop centred Podcast. And whilst we have evolved from what we initially sought it to be, we have not missed a week since. For this anniversary ...

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Ep.156 - DITD Bites, Vol. 13 from 2022-04-05T12:50

On this episode of DITD: Our 13th edition of DITD Bites. Talking about the future of Hip-Hop, why DJ Drama is a legend & DJ Khaled is, DJ Khaled. And our three favourite music scenes going o...

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Ep.155 - Women's History Month '22 - Foxy Brown from 2022-03-29T12:50

Foxy Brown was one the rawest talents ever seen in Hip-Hop. Who else could do Mafioso bars, luxury bars & sexual bars? Her three official albums deserve praise but it can't be overlooked how...

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Ep.154 - Women's History Month '22 - Yo-Yo from 2022-03-22T12:50

In a modern context, it's hard to find the entirety of Yo-Yo's music. You won't even find her name in the Wikipedia "list of people from Compton, California" even though she was one of the first...

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Ep.153 - Women's History Month '22 - Lil' Kim from 2022-03-15T12:50

The story of Lil' Kim is one of the most rinsed in Hip-Hop history. But somehow, there is always something to discover when it comes to the story of Kim and especially when it comes to her music...

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Ep.152 - Women's History Month '22 - The Real Roxanne from 2022-03-08T12:50

The story of The Real Roxanne is forever attached to the subject of the last episode, but for someone that was brought into a beef of somebody's design, we got two very good albums out of it. An...

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Ep.151 - Women's History Month '22 - Roxanne Shanté from 2022-03-01T12:50

The career and life of Roxanne Shanté is a microcosm of being a female. You're talented, you're confident and you get punished for it every step of the way. For the first of five retrospectives ...

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Ep.150 - Clipse from 2022-02-22T12:50

Virginia Beach-based brother duo Clipse, No Malice & Pusha T were a significant piece of the small-but-influential alumni of Hip-Hop artists based in the state of Virginia. Tying themselves ...

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Ep.149 - Method Man: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 4 from 2022-02-15T12:50

Method Man is a unique being. Where people zigged, Method Man zagged. He did things differently and made the most out of every opportunity given. And while his music isn't consistently on the le...

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Ep.148 - DITD Bites, Vol. 12 from 2022-02-08T12:50

We're back with Vol. 12 of DITD Bites. Two topics today that are close to each other. Firstly, off the back of our Lighter Note on Joe Rogan, Ben tackles the Spotify side of the story. And Charl...

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Ep.147 - Eazy-E from 2022-02-01T00:50

Eric "Eazy-E" Wright was a shrewd operator in everything he did. And though we may not think of him as an early leader in the inevitable evolution of business in Hip-Hop, maybe it's worth seeing...

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Ep.146 - Xzibit from 2022-01-25T12:50

It is very easy to see Xzibit as the "Pimp My Ride" guy. But look past the glorious relic of 00s America and you find a rapper that could hang with the best of them, tooled up with top tier lyri...

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Ep.145 - U-God: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 3 from 2022-01-18T12:50

We continue of "Book Of Wu" series with one of the objectively lesser consumed of the group but with one of the most fascinating stories. Join us as we dig into the man that puts the "U" in "Wu"...

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Ep.144 - Hip-Hop Neighbours, Vol. 1 from 2022-01-11T12:50

Welcome to a brand new DITD miniseries, Hip-Hop Neighbours. Similar to "Contemporary Cool", we pick an album each to talk about but what's unique about "Hip-Hop Neighbours" is that we pick album...

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Ep.143 - Contemporary Cool, Vol. 6 from 2022-01-04T12:50

Happy New Year one and all! We kick off the New Year by taking one more quick look back at 2021 and talking about our two favourite albums of '21.

TIMESTAMPS:
Planet Her - (10:21)
Pi...

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The 5EPN Special 2021 from 2021-12-31T12:50

To end the year, hosts of the various 5EPN podcasts come together to reflect on the year that has been 2021, the podcasts themselves and finish with a fun team exercise.

To everyone that h...

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Ep.142 - ODB: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 2 from 2021-12-28T12:50

We finish 2021 with our 2nd chapter of "The Book Of Wu" (which hasn't been used as a name before so... Trademark pending.) which is all about the enigma, Ason Unique, the Ol' Dirty Bastard.

<...

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Ep.141 - GZA: The Book Of Wu - Chapter 1 from 2021-12-21T12:50

We finally begin what we are calling "The Book Of Wu". Basically, retrospectives on the original members of the Wu-Tang Clan, starting with the eldest and the only one to have some form of a car...

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Ep.140 - DITD Bites, Vol. 11 from 2021-12-14T12:50

We get into one of our most debated & enlightening DITD Bites yet. Talking end of year lists before the year even ends, Adele allegedly jacking from an independent artist and what constitute...

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Ep.139 - Dr. Dre&The Aftermath Album from 2021-12-07T12:50

One conversation that is considered consensus is that Dr. Dre's "The Aftermath" is, to put it lightly, not good. It's gotten to the point that you hear the negative thought about it and will mos...

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Ep.138 - Elzhi from 2021-11-30T12:50

After doing Slum Village last week, it was easy to be like Ben and go into this episode on eLZhi thinking that you would get the same stuff you heard on SV records, for better or worse.

Bu...

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Ep.137 - Slum Village from 2021-11-23T12:50

Slum Village is a group that has gone through many many lineups to the point where it's frankly surprising that so much change didn't dramatically affect the end product. So what can we owe the ...

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Ep.136 - Contemporary Cool, Vol. 5 from 2021-11-16T12:50

It's time for another Contemporary Cool where we highlight albums from the past 10 years that deserve some shine. For this edition we get into the works of Janelle Monáe, Yugen Blakrok, CyHi Da ...

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Ep.135 - AZ from 2021-11-09T12:50

It's practically consensus that AZ is one of the most overlooked lyricists in Hip-Hop history. But why is that? Is it for cynical reasons or is it simply because his best stuff is just that damn...

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Ep.135 - Doe Or Die from 2021-11-09T12:50

It's practically consensus that AZ is one of the most overlooked lyricists in Hip-Hop history. But why is that? Is it for cynical reasons or is it simply because his best stuff is just that damn...

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Ep.134 - DITD Bites, Vol. 10 from 2021-11-02T12:50

On the 10th DITD Bites, we talk about dudes going out of their way to say they don't listen to female artists; asking whether TikTok is ushering in a new version of Ringtone Rap and asking wheth...

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Ep.133 - #UKBHM 2021: Wiley from 2021-10-26T12:50

For the final instalment of our '21 UKBHM celebrations, we peep every album from the Godfather of Grime, Wiley. (With one omission that will be made clear at the end.)

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekl...

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Ep.132 - #UKBHM 2021: Akala from 2021-10-19T12:50

Akala is arguably one of the most intelligent people in this world we call Hip-Hop. From the lyrics to the concepts, to the lectures & books outside of the music. It's hard to even encapsula...

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Ep.131 - #UKBHM 2021: Skepta from 2021-10-12T13:06:36

There are those artists that are right on the frontlines of cultural phenomena. But there aren't many that have been in several like Skepta. From the growth of Grime, to the gold rush of the lat...

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Ep.130 - #UKBHM 2021: Monie Love from 2021-10-05T12:50

Happy UK Black History Month dear listener! If you weren't about last October, we will spend this month doing retrospectives on black UK artists only and for this episode, we cover a UK artist t...

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Ep.129 - Brand Nubian Rock The Set from 2021-09-28T12:50

It's rare you have a group that doesn't just stick to their morals but go deeper into them as they go. But here's Brand Nubian, dropping critically loved albums throughout the 90s and half of th...

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Ep.128 - Redman from 2021-09-21T12:50

This is one of those retrospectives where we thought we were just going to big up one of the least talked about legends in Hip-Hop. But once we got into that discography, we found much more than...

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Ep.127 - Entroducing.... DJ Shadow from 2021-09-14T12:50

This is probably our first retrospective where the artist in question is on the fringe of what is considered "Hip-Hop". But as with all elements of art, it is always worth getting out of our com...

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Ep.126 - Mach-Hommy&YOD Remove Lyrics? from 2021-09-07T12:50

In the light of Your Old Droog & Mach-Hommy having words with the likes of lyric hub Genius, Ben has been mulling over how protective (or unprotective) artists are with their work. Potential...

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Ep.125 - Bad Boy Records (Part 2) from 2021-08-31T12:50

We get into Part 2 of our Bad Boy retrospective, getting more testimony from more notable names, and some lesser-known names you may have never heard of before.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music...

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Ep.124 - Bad Boy Records (Part 1) from 2021-08-24T12:50

Bad Boy Records was a key cog in making Hip-Hop what it is today, for better or worse. But what about the many artists that were under Bad Boy? And how did they fare under it? Was it *really* a ...

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Ep.123 - The LOX from 2021-08-17T12:50

The LOX are one of the strongest groups in Hip-Hop history. Their bond is unbreakable, their chemistry is top-tier and their bars throughout their album discography illuminate all of that, even ...

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Ep.122 - Contemporary Cool, Vol. 4 from 2021-08-10T12:50

It's time for Vol. 4 of "Contemporary Cool". A wide range for this one. Ben picks two albums that go over an hour, whilst Charlie picks two projects that are 20 minutes combined. But there's mor...

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Ep.121 - Biz Markie from 2021-08-03T12:50

Biz Markie was not the "Just A Friend" rapper. And he should not be known simply for the sample case. Because Biz Markie was so much more. A multi-talented artist that made music. Funny, invitin...

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Ep.120 - DITD Bites, Vol. 9 from 2021-07-27T12:50

It's time for another DITD Bites and for this one we get into the recent Kanye "DONDA" announcement and predictable non-drop. And then we get into how we individually listen to music.

TIME...

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Ep.119 - It's Halftime (Mid-Year Report) from 2021-07-20T12:50

On this episode of DITD: Half the year has been & gone and we thought it was worth taking stock of the releases, overriding stories on our minds and what we're looking forward to for the res...

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Ep.118 - LL Cool J, Part 2 from 2021-07-13T12:50

We continue our two-part series on LL Cool J, going through the rest of his discography from Mr Smith all the way to Authentic.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (0:55)
Topic Intro/...

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Ep.117 - LL Cool J, Part 1 from 2021-07-06T13:29:51

LL Cool J is more known for his acting and hosting duties these days. But LL has a catalogue that spans decades and that shouldn't be overlooked in the career of Mr Smith.

TIMESTAMPS:
W...

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Ep.116 - Jurassic 5 from 2021-06-29T12:50

Sometimes your audience is not explicitly in your backyard. Sometimes, it's across the pond and on the other side of the world. That's what happened for a Jurassic 5 that were gaining popularity...

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Ep.115 - Contemporary Cool, Vol. 3 from 2021-06-22T12:50

It's time for another volume of "Contemporary Cool" and for this one, we get into two debut albums, an underrated gem & an album from a clear-headed vet.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Ro...

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Ep.114 - Das EFX from 2021-06-15T12:50

The placement of DAS EFX in Hip-Hop history is an interesting one. They started off being inspired by Hip-Hop itself and after just one album, inspired several of their peers in the years after....

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Ep.113 - Digable Planets from 2021-06-08T12:50

Digable Planets weren't the first Hip-Hop group to use Jazz as a foundation for their Hip-Hop musical explorations, but there aren't many artists that took the essence of Jazz as seriously as Bu...

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The Beauty of Independence - Ep.4: LaLion from 2021-06-03T17:19:41

In DITD miniseries called "The Beauty Of Independence", Ben talks to Seattle rapper LaLion about being an independent artist.

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Ep.112 - The Pharcyde from 2021-06-01T12:50

The Pharcyde was another significant member of the "Alternative" Hip-Hop scene of the early/mid-90s, with back-to-back classics right out of the gate. But behind the scenes, the group bond wasn'...

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The Beauty of Independence - Ep.3: C-Scripture from 2021-05-27T17:00

In DITD miniseries called "The Beauty Of Independence", Ben talks to Malawian rapper C-Scripture about being an independent artist.

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Ep.111 - Drake&Kanye - Stimulus Packages from 2021-05-25T12:50

The term "Stimulus Package" has been implemented in two ways in recent years. The first, the money people have received during the pandemic.

The second? When mainstream artists hop on less...

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The Beauty of Independence - Ep.2: Dell Nellson from 2021-05-20T17:00

In a new DITD miniseries called "The Beauty Of Independence", Ben talks to Poet & Musician Dell Nellson about life as an independent artist.

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Ep.110 - DITD Bites, Vol. 8 from 2021-05-18T12:51:52

It's time for another Bites session! In this edition, we talk about Politics in Hip-Hop, the death of DatPiff & whether Streaming is the sole culprit for the dilution of modern music.

...

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The Beauty of Independence - Ep.1: Cal Scruby from 2021-05-15T15:50

In a new DITD miniseries called "The Beauty Of Independence", Ben talks to artist Cal Scruby about life as an independent artist.

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Ep.109 - Fugees from 2021-05-11T12:50

Wyclef, Pras & Lauryn. Fugees were a trio bursting with youthful energy and creative flavour. Their first album was boastful and raw, their second album showed all three at their creative pe...

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Ep.108 - Digital Underground from 2021-05-04T12:50

With the unfortunate passing of Shock G, we thought this was a good time as any to collectively get into his brainchild, Digital Underground and gain a new understanding of why Shock G was one o...

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Ep.107 - Death&Hip Hop from 2021-04-28T11:50:41

Death is inevitable, but it is always something that warrants a bigger conversation when we see a Hip-Hop artist die in their 20s. There's a systemic issue here and a broader issue with how soci...

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Ep.106 - Contemporary Cool, Vol. 2 from 2021-04-20T12:50

It's time for some more "Contemporary Cool" and for this one, we went far and wide with our picks. Nas & Damian Marley's "Distant Relatives", Azealia Banks' "Fantasea", Apollo Brown & Bo...

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Ep.105 - 2 Years Later, That Shit Worth 2 Million from 2021-04-13T12:50

Ladies & Gentlemen, DITD is two years old! We started this podcast two years ago as of the 11th and 105 episodes later, with NO OFF WEEK, we're still going and getting better. For this episo...

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Ep.104 - Women in Hip Hop Discussion from 2021-04-06T12:50

After a month of celebrating women, we had to take some time to recognise women in the hurdles they face. Prepare for some necessary existential conversations that all come down to a lack of att...

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Ep.103 - Women's History Month '21 - Nicki Minaj from 2021-03-30T12:50

We usually don't do artists this early but Ben thinks she's actually retired so here we are. But with that aside, Nicki Minaj, as the most commercially successful female Hip-Hop artist is a fasc...

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Ep.102 - Women's History Month '21 - Eve's That Girl (La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la) from 2021-03-23T12:50

Eve is an interesting career to look at retrospectively. Unlike some of the other women we've covered so far, she didn't really pioneer in everything. But in her own way, she had a solid career,...

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Ep.101 - Women's History Month '21 - MC Lyte As A Rock from 2021-03-16T12:50

MC Lyte is undeniably one of the most influential artists in Hip-Hop history. Your favourite female's favourite female. From Ms Lauryn Hill to Missy, to Kim. MC Lyte dabbled in many subjects and...

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Ep.100 - Women's History Month '21 - Mary J. Blige from 2021-03-08T12:50

Mary J Blige is one of the most influential artists of the past 30 years. Her catalogue is one of the most consistent and has nearly no dip in quality. We go through eleven of her albums and how...

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Ep.99 - Women's History Month '21 - Da Brat from 2021-03-02T12:50

Happy Women's History month one and all! If you have been a listener since last year, you know that since then we decided to dedicate the month of March to the women and this year we are doing i...

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Ep.98 - Sampling&Hip Hop from 2021-02-23T12:50

The rare DITD episode that sticks to the reason we started the podcast in the first place. Around the time of our ATCQ retrospective late last year, we had a conversation off wax about sampling ...

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Ep.96 - Contemporary Cool, Vol. 1 from 2021-02-16T12:50

Welcome to "Contemporary Cool", a new DITD series where we pick two contemporary albums each and talk about them in any way the albums warrant. In Vol. 1, we talk about the historically hated "L...

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Ep.96 - MF DOOM, Part 2 from 2021-02-09T12:50

It's time for part 2 of our MF DOOM retrospective. This time, we look into his many collaboration projects. Some feature him heavily, some have him completely in the background but somehow, some...

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Ep.95 - MF DOOM, Part 1 from 2021-02-02T12:51:24

For this retrospective, we're doing something a little different from the usual. We're going to look at five solo projects from MF DOOM but instead of looking at the albums from our usual angles...

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Ep.94 - DITD Bites, Vol. 7 from 2021-01-26T12:50

On Volume 7 of DITD Bites: Why do people not do their due diligence when they claim to love something? Are Video Games more influential on the youth compared to music? And why are hot takes so p...

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Ep.93 - J Dilla from 2021-01-19T12:50

J Dilla is the patron saint of Hip-Hop production. The man that took a simple MPC and unlocked its true potential, making some of the greatest beats of All-Time, a seemingly endless vault and tw...

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Ep.92 - A Tribe Called Quest, Part 2 from 2021-01-12T12:50

It's time for part 2 of our retrospective on A Tribe Called Quest. Going through their albums "Beats, Rhymes & Life, "The Love Movement" & We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service...

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Ep.91 - A Tribe Called Quest, Part 1 from 2021-01-05T12:50

On the first DITD episode of 2021: A retrospective on objectively a Top 2 Hip-Hop group of All-Time, A Tribe Called Quest. This is part 1 where we get into their first three albums. All classics...

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The 5EPN Special 2020 from 2020-12-31T12:50

It's the end of the year, so it's time to get reflective. Ben, Charlie and the rest of the 5EPN come through for this two-hour special, reviewing their 2020. Be sure to Listen

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Ep. 90 - DITD Bites, Vol. 6 from 2020-12-22T12:50

It's time for another edition of "DITD Bites" to end 2020 on! In this one, we talk about disrespecting Kid Cudi, the relationship between Journalism & "Hip-Hop Twitter" and since it's our la...

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Ep.89 - Jay-Z, Part 3 from 2020-12-15T12:50

After three weeks of consuming all of Jay-Z's (solo) catalogue, we finally reach the last third of our Jay-Z retrospective and this is the most fun, the most confusing and the most enlightening ...

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Ep.88 - Jay-Z, Part 2 from 2020-12-08T12:50

The Jay-Z retrospective continues with part 2. In this ep, we go from "The Dynasty" to "The Black Album" and it's from here that we start to notice patterns in Jay's methods, how he attempts to ...

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Ep.87 - Jay-Z, Part 1 from 2020-12-01T12:50

It is finally here. Noted Jay-Z scholar, Ben. And Charlie, just along for the ride, finally get into the (just music) retrospective of Jay-Z.

In the first of three parts, we tackle his la...

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Ep.86 - Can you Fall Off in the Social Media Era? from 2020-11-24T12:50

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 Medi...

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Ep.85 - Pete Rock from 2020-11-17T12:50

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...

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Ep.84 - DITD Bites, Vol. 5 from 2020-11-10T12:50

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 th...

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Ep.83 - #UKBHM 2020: Kano from 2020-11-03T13:13:58

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...

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Ep.82 - #UKBHM 2020: Roots Manuva from 2020-10-27T12:50

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 Man...

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Ep.81 - #UKBHM 2020: Ms Dynamite from 2020-10-20T12:50

"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...

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Ep.80 - #UKBHM 2020: Dizzee Rascal from 2020-10-13T12:50

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/U...

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Ep.79 - #UKBHM 2020: Rodney P from 2020-10-06T12:50

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 betw...

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Ep.78 - Big Sean from 2020-09-29T12:50

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 o...

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Ep.77 - DITD Bites, Vol. 4 from 2020-09-22T12:50

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. ...

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Ep.76 - Capone-N-Noreaga from 2020-09-15T12:50

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 loya...

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Ep.75 - Nas - King's Disease, I Cure This Shit With My Art from 2020-09-08T12:53:09

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, car...

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Ep.74 - I Don't Rust Like Def Jam from 2020-09-01T12:50

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 gr...

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Ep.73 - Jay-Z vs. Nas - You Traded Your Soul For Riches from 2020-08-25T12:50

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 techni...

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Ep.72 - Watch The Throne: The Gift&The Curse from 2020-08-18T12:50

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 ...

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Ep.71 - Pete Rock&C.L. Smooth from 2020-08-11T12:50

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 anomal...

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Ep.70 - DITD Bites, Vol. 3 from 2020-08-04T12:50

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 th...

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Ep.69 - The Streets from 2020-07-28T12:50

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 deca...

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Ep.68 - 50 Cent from 2020-07-21T12:50

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' an...

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Ep.67 - Mos Def from 2020-07-14T12:50

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 inst...

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Ep.66 - DITD Bites, Vol. 2 from 2020-07-07T12:30

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 Hi...

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Ep.65 - The Black Eyed Peas from 2020-06-30T12:30

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" & "Bridgin...

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Ep.64 - Put It On, Big L, Put It On from 2020-06-23T12:30

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 cou...

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Ep.63 - Warren G from 2020-06-16T12:30

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 H...

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Ep.62 - Eric B.&Rakim from 2020-06-09T12:30

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 S...

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Ep.61 - After Destruction, Became Creation from 2020-06-02T12:30

The murder of George Floyd is not the first of its kind and if we're being realistic, it won't be the last. The events that have transpired this past week have been, to some, shocking. But to so...

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Ep.60 - DITD Bites, Vol. 1 from 2020-05-26T12:30

For this episode of DITD, we're doing something a little different. We think about a lot of ideas as you can imagine but some of those ideas we think about aren't really worth the full episode. ...

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Ep.59 - Ice Cube from 2020-05-19T12:30

This is one of those episodes where we knew that we'd have plenty of things to talk about but once we both started listening to Cube's discography and just the solo discography,...

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Ep.58 - The Notorious B.I.G. from 2020-05-12T12:50

The Notorious B.I.G. Is there a more ubiquitous name to come out of Hip-Hop? Whilst you can throw out a few names for the sake of it, we can all agree any self-respecting Hip-Hop fan knows Biggi...

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Ep.57 - Big Pun from 2020-05-05T12:50

On Ep.57 of DITD: Big Pun is never talked about unless Fat Joe is in the room and that's a travesty because Big Pun deserves a conversation. In more ways than one...

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly ...

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Ep.56 - Outkast, Part 3 - André 3000 from 2020-04-28T12:50

Andre 3000 is objectively one of the greatest lyricists of all-time. For some people, he's Top 5 forever. Whilst all that superficial stuff goes on in Hip-Hop circles every day, Andre seemingly ...

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Ep.55 - Outkast, Part 2 - The Name Is Big Boi, Daddy Fat Sax from 2020-04-21T12:50

In Part 2 of our OutKast retrospective, we get into the solo career of Big Boi.

If you're one of those people that don't see Big Boi as a top tier rapper, this isn't the episode for you. W...

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Ep.54 - Outkast, Part 1 from 2020-04-14T12:50

OutKast is one of the most revered duos in Hip-Hop. Their music is timeless, effortlessly dips into other genre elements and lyrically stands the test of time.

In Part 1 of a 3-part minise...

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Ep.53 - DITD 1st Anniversary Special from 2020-04-07T12:50

Around this time last year, I DM'd Ben on a whim to pitch the idea of a Hip-Hop Podcast. He was up for it and gave it a year to see if it goes well. We planned to record a few Beta episodes to g...

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Ep.52 - Women's History Month '20 - Ms. Lauryn Hill from 2020-03-31T12:50

Ms Lauryn Hill has been an enigma once the turn of the century came around. A superstar talent discovered so early and lauded with praise and recognition in an even shorter amount of time.

<...

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Ep.51 - Women's History Month '20 - Salt-N-Pepa from 2020-03-24T12:50

Continuing our celebration of Women's History Month, the DITD duo turn their attention to another pioneer. Or should we say, pioneers?

We take a look into the background, music and legacy ...

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Ep.50 - Women's History Month '20 - Queen Latifah from 2020-03-17T12:50

Our Women's History Month celebration continues with another certifiable legend of Hip-Hop. The one & only Queen Latifah.

Queen Latifah came into Hip-Hop as one not to be messed with. ...

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Ep.49 - Women's History Month '20 - Missy Elliott from 2020-03-10T12:50

Missy Elliott has rightly been celebrated in the past few years. It's been wonderful to see such a modern legend get her flowers.

But after this episode, we hope you realise that we're sti...

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Ep.48 - The 2.4k Series (Pt.3 - Groups, Producers, Artists&Rappers) from 2020-03-03T12:50

Rejoice! We have finally come to the final part of our 2.4k Series! For the last instalment, we get into groups, (& duos...) Producers, Artists & Rappers.

For some reason, recency ...

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Ep.47 - The 2.4k Series (Pt.2 - Over/Underrated, Consistent&Year) from 2020-02-25T12:50

The bloodbath goes on! Our 2.4k Series continues with four more categories: Overrated, Underrated, Most Consistent & Best Year.

The overriding conversations for these? How we define th...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.46 - The 2.4k Series (Pt.1 - Mixtapes, Songs&Albums) from 2020-02-18T12:50

For those that follow Hip-Hop Numbers, you know that Ben took advantage of the viral sensation that 2.4k of you participated in. Listing off your All-Time favourites in several categories.

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.45 - The Billie Eilish Debate from 2020-02-11T12:50

Some time has passed since Billie Eilish made her comments on Rap. Hip-Hop has constantly had to defend itself from comments like these decades before Eilish was even born. It's a dead conversat...

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Ep.44 - You Think I Give A Damn About A Grammy? from 2020-02-04T12:50

The Grammys have been & gone and it's yet another year of disappointment.

But this year feels different. Not only can the Recording Academy not recognise Hip-Hop like it's successfull...

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Ep.43 - Mac Miller from 2020-01-28T12:30

A retrospective we didn't want to do at a crucial point in the subject's life & career. But due to his death and the recent posthumous release "Circles", this was the best time to dive into ...

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Ep.42 - The Death of the 3rd Verse from 2020-01-21T12:30

The third verse. What used to be something that made Hip-Hop special is now on life support. In recent years, entire albums have been dropping that have no third verse to be seen. One could say ...

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Ep.41 - DMX from 2020-01-14T12:30

DMX. Everybody knows DMX off the name alone. Even if you haven't heard a DMX album, you know what DMX sounds like. You may even know his motifs. "Rrrrr" "AR, AR" "WHAT!" "UH HUUUUUH!" "WHERE MY ...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.40 - Blogger Is King, Gossip Column Is Leading Ya from 2020-01-07T12:30

Think for a moment about where you get Hip-Hop news. Now think about where you get quotes from people of note.

Unlike the regular News Journalism we all know of, Music Journalism isn't so...

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Ep.39 - 2019 - What A Year, What A Year from 2019-12-31T12:30

Depending on who you are, 2019 was either a good year for Hip-Hop or a bad one. Factually, 2019 was a commercial dud. But look past the numbers and you will find plenty of artists taking centre ...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.38 - 2010s - A Decade Of Hits That'll Live Forever from 2019-12-24T12:30

The 2010s... It's been an interesting one for sure. The music landscape has shifted dramatically in the past 9-10 years. Hip-Hop is now a dominant force in the music world, it's become easier to...

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Ep.37 - Posthumous Albums from 2019-12-17T12:30

The posthumous album is something that we want and don't want in equal measure. When somebody says "Do you want never-heard-before music from an artist you like?", of course, you're going to say...

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Ep.36 - Question. How Many Faking They Streams? from 2019-12-10T12:30

Certifications are confusing. Simple as that. A lot of us claim to know a lot about it but in reality, past platinum plaques, we know nothing.

Charlie has been long done with the certifica...

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Ep.35 - Albums of the 2010s, Part 4 from 2019-12-03T12:30

Well. Here we are. The number 1 Album of the Decade. Throughout the past few weeks, Ben & Charlie have been going through their individual Top 10 AOTD's.

From albums about blackness, ...

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Ep.34 - Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of the 2010s Pt. 3 from 2019-11-26T12:30

It's time for Part 3 of our four-part series covering our personal Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of the Decade. On this episode, we cover our list from 4 to 2.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup ...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.33 - Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of the 2010s Pt. 2 from 2019-11-19T12:30

Our Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of the Decade continues! On this episode, we cover albums that are ranked 7 to 5 on our lists.

This episode went so long that we had to, for the first time ever,...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.32 - Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of the 2010s Pt. 1 from 2019-11-12T12:30

As 2019 and the 2010s winds down, the DITD duo begins a four-part series, counting down their Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of the decade.

This episode covers numbers 10 to 8. These lists are 100%...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.31 - You Don't Want To Test The Duo from 2019-11-05T12:30

The concept of a duo is an interesting one. You have one-time duos that catch a vibe and decide to make a project together. (The Throne, Drake & Future) You have homegrown duos that grow tog...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.30 - Ayo Peep This New DITD Mixtape from 2019-10-29T12:30

Mixtapes, in the classic definition, is a thing of the past. But since the turn of the Millenium, Mixtapes have evolved to become more and more about the artist and nothing to do with the DJ/Pro...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.29 - What is Hip Hop? from 2019-10-22T12:30

Hip-Hop as a genre of music is always evolving, constantly changing, year by year. But what about those artists or those albums that kind of straddle the Hip-Hop sound but takes significant insp...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.28 - Ice Cube vs. NWA&Pusha T vs. Drake from 2019-10-15T12:30

Beefs are some of the greatest things about Hip-Hop culture, watching two (or more) artists go at each other on wax. It's a win-win for every Hip-Hop fan. Even more so if the tracks are genuinel...

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Ep.27 - The Drugs Keep On Callin' from 2019-10-08T12:30

Hip-Hop indulges in plenty of things we can consider negative. Money, sex, guns, gangs to name a few. But none of those has been as contentious as the conversation around drugs.

Back in th...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.26 - Dual Artists, Part 2 from 2019-09-30T16:00

In Part 2 of the DITD Mini-Series on "Dual-Disciplined Artists", the duo take a look at some notable D-DA's that have made the method their own. 

We create three designations: 

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.25 - Dual Artists, Part 1 from 2019-09-24T12:30

In a 2-Part Mini-series of DITD. The duo explores the concept of the "Dual-Disciplined Artist". (D-DA) An artist that produces as well as raps.

We all know that these days there are a plet...

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Ep.24 - 50 Cent vs. Kanye West from 2019-09-17T12:30

It's been over a decade now when in 2007, two of the biggest names in Hip-Hop literally went head-to-head, to see who was the commercial King.

50 Cent dropped "Curtis" and Kanye West dropp...

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Ep.23 - Come Talking That Trash, We'll Pull Your Card from 2019-09-10T22:30

"Trash" - Something that is of low quality.

There's a lot of words in the Hip-Hop lexicon that are used freely & frequently. "Classic" & "GOAT" have been think-pieced to death in r...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.22 - Common from 2019-09-03T22:00

The DITD "Retrospective" series continues with Chicago's own Common. On the back of his latest Studio Album "Let Love", Common has long solidified his place in Hip-Hop history. Multiple classics...

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Ep.21 - Storytelling from 2019-08-27T22:00

Storytelling is a foundation in how we communicate. It gives us the ability to inform others of the past. But past that very basic understanding, we can use Storytelling to however we see fit. W...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.20 - Snoop Dogg from 2019-08-20T22:00

The DITD duo continues their "Retrospective" series with one of the most visible figures in Hip-Hop history. Snoop Dogg.

There's plenty of ways to Listen

Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.19 - Dr. Dre from 2019-08-13T22:00

Dr Dre is a consensus Top 5 Producer in Hip-Hop history. Where some try to cement their legacy by either being business geniuses or creative geniuses, Dr Dre has done both. A residency on Forbes...

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Ep.18 - Chance's "The Big Day" from 2019-08-06T22:00

It's been a week since the release of Chance The Rapper's much-anticipated debut Studio Album "The Big Day".

But the responses towards the album have been... Mixed, to say the least. Ther...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.17 - I Was At XXL Just Trying To Excel from 2019-07-30T22:00

If you're into Hip-Hop in any format, whether you follow certain artists, writers, YouTubers or even just your mate that's really into Hip-Hop, you know about the yearly content dump that is the...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.16 - Nas' Raps Should Be Locked In A Cell from 2019-07-23T22:00

Nas has recently dropped "The Lost Tapes 2", which is considered a breath of fresh air, especially after the terrible project that was "NASIR".

So, in celebration of this, the DITD duo exp...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.15 - Some Make Millions, Others Make Memes from 2019-07-17T01:00

It's been a few months since Lil Nas X's explosion onto the mainstream. Since then, "Old Town Road" is now the longest-running No.1 Hip-Hop track on the Billboard Hot 100 and is quickly closing ...

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Ep.14 - Label Albums from 2019-07-09T22:30

One of the most anticipated releases of 2019 has come & gone. "Revenge of The Dreamers 3", led by J.Cole, has been received very well.

So well in fact, that it got Ben & Charlie t...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.13 - Nelly vs. Drake? Ride Wit Me, Through The 2010s&The Noughties from 2019-07-02T22:30

With the 2010s edging closer and closer to its end, it is a consensus thought to say that Drake has owned this decade from a commercial standpoint. He came around just before the start of the de...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.12 - Independence from 2019-06-25T23:00

In Part 2 of DITD's mini-series "Major vs Independent", we finally get to talking about the side that we cherish so much. The Independents.

As independent writers and Podcasters, we value ...

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Ep.11 - The Wyoming Sessions from 2019-06-18T22:00

Last year, Kanye West unloaded the clip. We knew that he was working on something, the hype train was picking up speed. He then announced three "albums" that we now know as "DAYTONA", "ye" &...

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Ep.10 - Major Labels from 2019-06-11T22:00

In a 2-part series, DITD tackles the one topic that has been clouding over every other topic Ben & Charlie has talked about so far on DITD.

Major Labels.

In the 90s, the US "Big ...

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Ep.9 - Revolution Means Change, Don't Look At Me Strange from 2019-06-04T22:00

In the times we live in right now, it could be said that we're in a golden age of protest. All around the world, there are protests of large numbers being held. They're so prevalent now, you cou...

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Ep.8 - The Women Got Something To Say from 2019-05-28T22:00

Episode 8 of DITD is all about the women. In the '90s, there was a healthy contingent of women getting the job done in the Hip-Hop space. There were many female Hip-Hop artists to name, some of ...

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Ep.7 - Mental Health - One Time 4 Your Mind from 2019-05-21T22:00

The subject of Mental Health is a conversation that has been increasing in volume in the past decade. Not just in society, but in Politics as well. (Although most National Jurisdictions are way ...

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Ep.6 - Andre 3000&Lauryn Hill - And Here You Are, A Rap Unicorn from 2019-05-14T21:30

"Rap Unicorn" - Phrase - A Hip-Hop artist that rarely drops music, but when they do, everybody listens.

E.g. Andre 3000 & Ms Lauryn Hill.

Ben & Charlie explore another angle ...

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Ep.5 - It's Hard Out Here For A Producer from 2019-05-07T21:30

Out of the Five Elements of Hip-Hop, two of them are based on music.

MC & DJ. Rapper & Producer. Both are important in equal measure.

So why is it that in this age, where the...

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Ep.4 - Love Thy Religious Bars from 2019-04-30T21:00

Religion and religious content is a staple in music. And when it comes to Hip-Hop, it's no different.

Since it's inception, there has always been a section of Hip-Hop culture that is dedic...

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Ep.3 - Youth Is A Gift, Age Is A Work Of Art from 2019-04-23T20:00

In recent Hip-Hop news, Dave East hopped on Instagram to call the viral Country/Hip-Hop track "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X "wack". Hip-Hop social media proceeded to swell up with defensive shots...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.2 - Everyone's A Critic from 2019-04-17T20:00

For Episode 2 of "Diggin' In The Digits", we talk about music reviewing and music criticism. 

In a perfect world, the average music consumer and the professional music critic would always ...

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Diggin' In The Digits
Ep.1 - Nipsey Hussle - All Money In from 2019-04-11T00:00

For the first episode of DITD, we wanted to take a deep dive into the numbers for Nipsey Hussle, who was recently taken from us.

Ben delivers three sets of statistics to highlight how grea...

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