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-Ho…

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 Roundu…

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…

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 Spira…

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: Must…

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 M…

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 Wor…

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 Zeu…

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 Jame…

The story of 2 Live Crew is one of response. Response to reactionary pearl-clutching over their work which dared to talk out *checks notes* eating ass, among other things. This lead 2 Live Crew to lean all the way into being the flagbearers of the Miami Bass subgenre whilst getting everybody to free up their sexual inhibitions. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly M…

We finish our five-part miniseries on the Little Brother universe with Part 2 of our 9th Wonder retrospective, looking at a Blog Era Mixtape, a solo album bursting with features, another - albeit odd choice of - Remix album and a Supergroup EP. Capping off a beginner's guide to one of the best "Death, Taxes & (Artist Name) dropping" careers in rece…

With Little Brother now explored, we can now get into the work of the distant 3rd member: Producer 9th Wonder who has spent a couple decades now letting his music do the talking, with many of collaborators in tow. In the first of two parts, we do something a little different and pick out two projects each that exemplify 9th and his legacy. TIMESTAM…

We continue our LB miniseries with an exploration into the solo work of Rapper Big Pooh who - unlike Phonte - has dropped a lot of solo work in the past 20 years. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:20) Ben: Dave East x Mike & Keys - APT 6E Big Hit x Hit-Boy & Alchemist - Black & Whites Crimeapple x Big Ghost LTD - Bazuko Charlie: Wretch 32 - Mom…

After exploring the music & story of Little Brother, it's time to get into the breakaway works. We begin with Phonte who spends the 2010s sporadically dropping works with a style not too distant from LB and with familiar names in tow. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:52) Ben: Juicy J - Mental Trillness 2 Charlie: Halima - EXU Vince Staples - D…

We head to North Carolina where a trio blooms out of a larger collective to become one of the biggest "if you know, you know" acts of the 00s: Little Brother with Phonte, Big Pooh and for a time, 9th Wonder. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:52) Ben: Rapsody - Please Don't Cry Mach-Hommy - #RICHHAXXHAITIAN A Boogie - Better off Alone Rio Da Yun…

Ras Kass presents a discography that is vast, two iconic albums in the 90s, then a litany of mixtapes in the 00s and then continuing his consistent output in the 10s with a return to studio albums. So with such a gap between his 2nd & 3rd solo albums, does his story provide context? TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:42) Ben: Conway the Machine …

We return for Part 2 of our retrospective of Ice-T, where we left him off the back of his legendary four album run and the "Cop Killer" controversy; where would Ice take his art as he leaned more and more into other forms of media? TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:53) Ben: LeeV - Shadow Demon Boldy James - Trapper's Alley Partynextdoor - 4 Ahm…

In conjunction with "What's Good?", this is a special DITD episode where Charlie heads to West London to talk with Garage pioneer and co-founder of Heartless Crew: MC Bushkin. In anticipation of his film "The Story So Far" premiering @ Genesis Cinema the same day this episode drops, Bushkin talks his beginnings, notable moments in his Heartless Cre…

For this Hip-Hop Neighbours - linked to our Ice-T exploration - we cover the self-titled album Body Count and we also get into the first album from the UK based collective SAULT: "5". TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:57) Ben: Backwood Sweetie - Burn One Berner - The Farmer's Market Gangrene - Heads I Win, Tails You Lose Hus KingPin - In a Stat…

We stay in the West Coast AND the late 80s/early 90s to do a two-parter on one of the most authentic voices to ever represent Hip-Hop: Ice-T. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:55) Ben: NappyHigh - Burgundy Future x Metro Boomin - We Still Don't Trust You Charlie: DRAGG - Mixed Feelings NappyHigh - Burgundy Nia Archives - Silence Is Loud Terri W…

This week, we celebrate DITD's 5th birthday with a pop quiz from Ben, thoughts on the Pod in general and yes, we talk about the Cole response to Kendrick. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:46) Ben: J.Cole - Might Delete Later GloRilla - Ehhthang Ehhthang Chris Patrick - The Calm Doja Cat - Scarlet 2 Claude Charlie: Dizzy Wright - Harsh Reality …

After exploring The Conscious Daughters last week, it seemed fitting to explore the career of their biggest advocate and one of the most controversial voices in 90s Hip-Hop: Paris. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:01) Ben: Beyoncé - COWBOY CARTER Bfb Da Packman - Forget Me Not Rico Nasty - HARCORE DR3AMZ Roc Marciano - Marciology Charlie Paolo…

To finish our Women's History Month celebrations, we stay in the West Coast to talk about a duo that oozed chemistry and confidence, only to be washed out by the industry changing direction. We talk The Conscious Daughters. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:48) Ben: Future x Metro Boomin - WE DON'T TRUST YOU SiR - HEAVY Elbow - Audio Vertigo Jo…

We continue our WHM celebrations with a trip to the West Coast, but not Oakland or Los Angeles. For the first time, we head to Sacramento for the story of Marvaless and the litany of Sac Town representers that come with her through her discography. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:56) Ben: yeat - 2093 Kembe x Hippie Sabotage - Sleep Paralysis …

Continuing our WHM celebrations during the month of March, we get into another artist with one solo album, no longer with us after her passing in 2022: Hurricane G TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup: (1:17) Ben: MIKE - Pinball ScHoolboy Q - Blue Lips Cookin Soul x Raz Fresco - Bakin' Soul Kaiser Chiefs - Easy Eighth Album MGMT - Loss of Life KYLE - S…

Happy March one & all! You know what that means... Women's History Month on DITD is back and to kick off this year's set, we begin with the one & done Sister Souljah who took the political climate of her time to produce one of the most honest & politically scathing records in Hip-Hop history. No timestamps for this episode as we don't have a WMR or…

LIVE FROM LONDON, we get into one special work from a true "If you know, you know" group: Cymande. We also get the low down on Ben's 1st week in London. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:39) Charlie: Jordan Mackampa - WELCOME HOME, KID! dreamcastmoe - MOLLY'S SON The Silhouettes Project - The Silhouettes Project, Vol. 2 Joel Ross - nublues Kele…

We finish our Public Enemy three-parter with their most recent output with more friction from the inside and the outside but somehow, Public Enemy still continue to drop and tour the world; never dead, never deterred. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:00) Ben: Yeat - 2093 Conway x Big Ghost - Speshal Machinery the Chronic Edition 2nd Generation…

In our 2nd part of the Public Enemy retrospective, we see how PE should have imploded and become one of the many groups in the 90s to break up; but not only did they not break up, they kept dropping (to mixed results) and predicting the future of the music industry still to come to fruition. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:09) Ben: Little Sim…

In part one of three, we get into the beginnings of Public Enemy and their first three albums, two of which considered to be consensus classics and some of the most authentically Hip-Hop albums ever made. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:39) Ben: Skelbeats - What goes on in the Dark Lee "Scratch" Perry - King Perry Icewear Vezzo - Live from th…

TW: Lyrics/talk referencing Sexual Assault. After last episode's foray into the solo career of Kool G Rap, we now look into the work that he did before with DJ Polo: Three albums of ground-breaking work for KGR and his peers. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:31) Ben: Zaddytc - A LOT Fredo Bang - Yes, I'm Sad Elcamino - Here You Go Eldorado Red…

Kool G Rap: The ultimate "If you know KGR, you know ball". Whilst KGR never got the commercial success, his legacy as a lyrical pioneer is rooted deeply in your favourites and your favourites' favourite. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:07) Ben: Kid Cudi - INSANO C-Scripture - Penalty of Leadership Teezo Touchdown - How Do You Sleep At Night D…

The King Asiatic Nobody's Equal. Brooklynite Big Daddy Kane came through the 80s as one of the best freestylers in the Five Boroughs and once he got with Cold Chillin' and the Juice Crew, Kane would prove that he is one of the most complete rappers of all time. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:56) Ben: Westside Gunn, Conway, Alchemist - Hall &…

Kay-D – Ventura (Retroid Remix) Martin HERRS – Do We Love Each Other Ivan Gough, Marc Edwards – Believe (Luke Chable’s Bliss Abyss Remix) Paul Roux – Forever More Estiva – Meant To Be (Extended Mix) Gorgin – Principal Agent (Sunrise Version) Ten Ven, Daddy Squad – Together Forever (Ten Ven Forever Instrumental Extended Remix) Alan Dixon – Edge of F…

Happy New Year one and all! We hope that your year is full of progression, growth and 52 episodes of DITD! But before we go forward, we look back one more time to 2023, talking about our Top 2 albums of 2023. Ben's No.2 - (3:25) Charlie's No. 2 - (26:20) Ben's No. 1 - (39:08) Charlie's No. 1 - (1:00:11) Lighter Note - (1:11:27) Charlie's Top 10 Alb…

Happy holidays one & all! To celebrate, we keep it simple and review the Metacritic Hip-Hop album scores for the year of 2023. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:47) Ben: Conway x Wun Two - Palermo Wizkid - S2 Layzie Bone - Hypnotic Rhythms Charlie: Ruinz Ason - Airplane Mode (Deluxe) Morena Santi - Santi Sounds List Review - (4:55) Last minute …

The first two albums by J-Live are some of the most consistent works in Hip-Hop history. What's even more impressive is that they're both over 70 minutes. But what about the rest of his work as he walked through the desert that was the 00s Hip-Hop scene. Weekly Music Roundup - (0:57) Ben: Bas - We Only Talk About... Curren$y x Trauma Tone - Highway…

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 (You can listen here) and felt that we needed to have again: What is the place of our favourite entertainers/celebrities when it comes to issues as large as the ones happening in 2023? The answer ironica…

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 place someone like that in the annals of Hip-Hop history? (Check our Main Source episode for more LargePro) TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:00) Ben Co…

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 & DJ Kid Koala. Weekly Music Roundup - (0:58) Charlie: FloFilz & Bokoya - Soft Encounter Gianni Brezzo & Bokoya - Minari Backwood Sweetie & K!NG jvmes - Syzygy Lay…

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 = Bold / Charlie = Italics) J57 - If I Should Wake Before I Die André 3000 - New Blue Sun Drake - Scary Hours 3 Protoje & Zion I Kings - In Search Of Zion Skipp - Summer Of Love…

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 be recognised as something, higher. A person that linked Hip-Hop and Jazz as good as anyone, providing the perfect example of why knowing the roots always p…

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" and Groove Theory's self-titled "one & done" gem. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:52) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Suni MF - Hollywood The Alche…

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 US and make something of themselves but were stymied by the powers that be. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:08) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Chlo…

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 before his 1st album dropped, but his 1st album took nearly 20 years to actually drop! In the time between, Blak Twang crafter a solid solo discography that show…

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 chiefly her affiliation with So Solid, kept her career consistently in a state of friction. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:41) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Ital…

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 easily been a one-hit wonder but with their sheer numbers as a group, two albums and a whole lot of retrospective influence, So Solid will forever be noted…

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 both personally and for the genre, it was short-lived. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (0:57) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Lil Wayne - Before Tha Fix…

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 when the word "Feat." is next to his name. But does his solo discography tell us anything new about his artistry? Weekly Music Roundup - (0:52) (Ben = Bold / C…

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 angles as possible. TIMESTAMPS: Weekly Music Roundup - (1:02) (Ben = Bold / Charlie = Italics) Ehua - Clouds Heather Victoria - I Can't Make This Up Khazali - …