Diggin' In The Digits

One of New York's many voices of the streets, Cormega's jail stint and on/off professional relationship with Nas stunted his 90s but in the 00s he went independent, came out swinging and is still swinging to this day.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (3:19)
Ben:

• Arca - XXXXX
• Editors - Surface, Echo & Sound
• Kasabian - ACT III

Charlie:

• H31R (JWords & Maassai) - AIR FLOW
• JONES - Come Up For Air
• Treasure Bloom - LOVESICK
• Goya Gumbani - Bean Pie
• K.Zia - HOMEFREEQUENCIES - ACT I
• The Midnight Hour (Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad) - The Midnight Hour: Lost Tapes JID028 
• Cordae & Anderson .Paak - Heavy Is The Crown
• Shocka - CONSCIOUS GRIME 2

Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (14:04)

The Realness - (21:32)

The True Meaning - (33:47)

The Testament - (42:41)

Born and Raised - (50:23)

Mega Philosophy - (54:06)

The Realness II - (56:20)

Lighter Note - (1:03:32)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved.

Music - "Pizza And Video Games" by Bonus Points (Thanks to Chillhop Music for the right to use)

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @The5thElementUK
ChillHop (Twitter) - @Chillhopdotcom
Bonus Points (Twitter) - @BonusPoints92

Other Podcasts Under The 5EPN:
"What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor
In Search of Sauce
Black Women Watch...
5EPN Radio
The Beauty Of Independence

In a new yearly series, we take a look back to 2016 and give our Top 10 albums of 2016 (in different ways) and talk about 2016 as a whole from the sounds to the releases.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:24)
Ben:

• Che Noir - It Takes A Village

Charlie:

• Leon The God - Water, To Grow 
• KenTheMan - I Love 304s
• TSHA - Mi Casa
• JHart - The Full Fantasy
• NAO - Autumn
• Gotts Street Park - Somewhere Between
• Grace Carter - When Saturn Returns 
• The Allergies - Beneath This Sun
• Rachel Chinouriri - I think I spoke too soon
• Joyce Wrice - MACHIKO

The Top 10s - (12:20)
2016 Reflections - (1:05:16)

Charlie's Top 10
Common Retrospective
ATCQ Retrospective
Kano Retrospective
Kid Cudi Retrospective

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved.

Music - "Pizza And Video Games" by Bonus Points (Thanks to Chillhop Music for the right to use)

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @The5thElementUK
ChillHop (Twitter) - @Chillhopdotcom
Bonus Points (Twitter) - @BonusPoints92

Other Podcasts Under The 5EPN:
"What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor
In Search of Sauce
Black Women Watch...
5EPN Radio
The Beauty Of Independence

We finish our #UKBHM celebrations with Krispy 3, a Lancashire trio that actually took their work past the early 90s and became a bridge of sorts between the 1st generation of UK Hip-Hop artists and the 2nd.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (0:58)
Ben:

• The Avalanches - No Bad Memories

Charlie:

• Oscar #WorldPeace - TELL ME SORRY
• Strange Fruit Project - Beautiful Rage
• Sunset Tim & Heather Grey - Earl Grey
• Les Mamans Du Congo & Rrobin - WA SANGI
• Tamera - Undeniable
• ALA.NI & Adrian Younge - Proud of Me
• ovrkast. - STRIKING
• Dani Offline - Lover's Discourse 
• Nyota Parker - WHAT IS A TIMELINE?

Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (10:29)
Krispy 3 (Self-titled) - (17:09)
Can't Melt The Wax - (27:20)
From The Country - (35:42)
Lighter Note - (51:23)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved.

Music - "Pizza And Video Games" by Bonus Points (Thanks to Chillhop Music for the right to use)

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @The5thElementUK
ChillHop (Twitter) - @Chillhopdotcom
Bonus Points (Twitter) - @BonusPoints92

Other Podcasts Under The 5EPN:
"What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor
In Search of Sauce
Black Women Watch...
5EPN Radio
The Beauty Of Independence

Our UKBHM series throughout the month of October continues with rapper, producer and DJ Overlord X who used his background in the latter to fully produce and rap on two studio albums with inventive sample usage and energetic Hackney-based (tinged with American) delivery.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (0:54)
Charlie:

• Kaia Laurielle - Transcending
• Labrinth - You&I
• GAÊ - FAÍSCA
• Master Peace - if i don't love you, who will? 
• Hermanos Gutiérrez - Los Ojos Del Condor
• Ceebo - Bloccstar
• Pleasurewood - Electric Telepathy
• Essa & J-Felix Present: The Fifth Foundation
• Awon, Confidence & J Ferra - The Process
• Kofi Stone - The Last Flower To Bloom
• Richard Spaven - Light of Day 
• BALTHVS - Manifest

Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (12:28)
Weapon Is My Lyric - (18:23)
X Versus The World - (31:06)
Lighter Note - (43:00)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved.

Music - "Pizza And Video Games" by Bonus Points (Thanks to Chillhop Music for the right to use)

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @The5thElementUK
ChillHop (Twitter) - @Chillhopdotcom
Bonus Points (Twitter) - @BonusPoints92

Other Podcasts Under The 5EPN:
"What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor
In Search of Sauce
Black Women Watch...
5EPN Radio
The Beauty Of Independence

Continuing our UK Black History Month retrospectives: Outlaw Posse were yet another UK Hip-Hop outfit that went down the American accent route, albeit on very comparable early 90s production. Whilst they sounded better than other examples we've covered in previous years, it really takes away from their potential USP of sounding British on comparable-to-US Hip-Hop production!

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (0:48)
Ben:

• Quavo - QROMELIFE

Charlie:

• ZADA - Heart of a Lion
• Late Again - I Dreamt I Was Awake
• Bawo - Surf's Up 
• sunandmoon (Ogi & Anoop) - "Tug Of War"
• JamesThe3rd - ACTA NON VERBA
• Jeff Darko - Heavy Water Blues
• Queen Millz - Outside The Box
• Audrey Powne - Bodies of Water 
• Leon Bridges - Happiness Anytime
• Jimetta Rose - MettaSun
• Lalah Hathaway - Made In Chicago
• Apollo Brown & Skyzoo - Luxury Tax

Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (12:26)

My Afro's on Fire! - (15:01)

The Oneness of Two Minds in Unison - (30:35)

My Afro's On Fire! Vol. 2 - (43:58)

Lighter Note - (54:23)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved.

Music - "Pizza And Video Games" by Bonus Points (Thanks to Chillhop Music for the right to use)

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @The5thElementUK
ChillHop (Twitter) - @Chillhopdotcom
Bonus Points (Twitter) - @BonusPoints92

Other Podcasts Under The 5EPN:
"What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor
In Search of Sauce
Black Women Watch...
5EPN Radio
The Beauty Of Independence

We kick off our 2026 edition of UK Black History Month retrospectives on an artist that recently left us. Derek "Sway" Dasafo was making waves in the UK in the early/mid 00s, winning awards before he even dropped his debut album. Staunchly independent from start to finish, Sway was deft in flow and mixed deep subject matter with humorous concepts within his works.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (0:48)
Charlie:

• Kareen Lomax - ijan 
• Emmy Meli - All About Love
• Kooley High - Clear The Air
• Chaka Khan - Chakzilla
• Ayanna Witter-Johnson - New Roots
• Kalisway - Unstoppable
• Thee Sinseers - Love Stories
• Jhene Aiko - Westside Whimsy
• Ezra Collective - Here Because of Hope

Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (13:14)
This Is My Demo - (20:24)
The Signature LP - (34:19)
The Deliverance - (49:50)
Lighter Note - (1:02:04)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved.

Music - "Pizza And Video Games" by Bonus Points (Thanks to Chillhop Music for the right to use)

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @The5thElementUK
ChillHop (Twitter) - @Chillhopdotcom
Bonus Points (Twitter) - @BonusPoints92

Other Podcasts Under The 5EPN:
"What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor
In Search of Sauce
Black Women Watch...
5EPN Radio
The Beauty Of Independence

Hip-Hop was not just built by Black people, there was also a Latin contingent that had a hand in the foundations of Hip-Hop. Enter Mellow Man Ace, Cuban-American pioneer of Latin Rap with a bilingual USP, wearing his inspirations on his sleeve and being an inspiration to many others, even the entire genre of Reggaeton.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (0:46)
Ben:

• Nemzzz - LOCKED IN
• Headie One - MMM

Charlie:

• Thandii & Regalado - Coco Okayo
• Premo Rice - Another Night at The Chateau
• Lusanda - By The Time I Wake Up
• Scattrbrain - Scattrbrain & The Unwavering Self Doubt
• Jourden - A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (9:04)

Escape from Havana - (14:34)

The Brother with Two Tongues - (25:13)

From the Darkness into the Light - (33:22)

Vengo a Cobrar - (40:46)

Restoring Order - (49:29)

Lighter Note - (59:24)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved.

Music - "Pizza And Video Games" by Bonus Points (Thanks to Chillhop Music for the right to use)

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @The5thElementUK
ChillHop (Twitter) - @Chillhopdotcom
Bonus Points (Twitter) - @BonusPoints92

Other Podcasts Under The 5EPN:
"What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor
In Search of Sauce
Black Women Watch...
5EPN Radio
The Beauty Of Independence

With a fresh aesthetic and all the support you could want, Busta Rhymes took his solo opportunity and ran with it, becoming one of the most in-demand Hip-Hop voices of the late 90s/early 00s along with a visual track record that holds up to this day. However, being in-demand as a feature meant his albums followed the trend of the day, for better or worse.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (0:59)
Charlie:

• Blu & Sndtrak - LA
• Aaron May - Enjoy The Ride
• Dizzee Rascal - We Want Bass
• Sylvan LaCue - Depths of a Man : A Memoir by Sylvan LaCue
• Liana Flores - And so it goes...
• corto.alto - SOME SMALL FORTUNE
• I Am An Instrument - Wonder, Wander
• Children of Zeus - As The World Burns... 
• Dezarie - Power Shift
• A-F-R-O - Trap Door 2

Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (16:39)

The Coming - (22:48)

When Disaster Strikes... - (27:58)

Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front - (31:36)

Anarchy - (36:42)

Genesis - (40:51)

It Ain't Safe No More... - (45:34)

The Big Bang - (51:09)

Back on My B.S. - (57:13)

Year of the Dragon - (1:00:37)

Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God - (1:04:50)

Blockbusta - (1:11:09)

Lighter Note - (1:20:09)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved.

Music - "Pizza And Video Games" by Bonus Points (Thanks to Chillhop Music for the right to use)

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @The5thElementUK
ChillHop (Twitter) - @Chillhopdotcom
Bonus Points (Twitter) - @BonusPoints92

Other Podcasts Under The 5EPN:
"What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor
In Search of Sauce
Black Women Watch...
5EPN Radio
The Beauty Of Independence

Leaders of the New School - the group that now historically serves as the proving ground for a future Busta Rhymes solo career - was a peppy bunch of rappers with great chemistry. Surprising considering the creative differences that would eventually cut their existence short.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (0:42)
Ben:

• E-40 - Turning my Money Over
• The Game - The Documentary III
• Mick Jenkins & Greenslime - Black Ass Kung Fu Flick
• Chelsea Wolfe - The Darke
• Jula Holter - Materia
• Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats - II
• Rapsody - God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops

Charlie:

• Headie One - MMM
• Aaron Taylor - "Tell Me of Love!"
• Kabaka Pyramid - Rebel Music - The Lyrics Tape
• Bishop Nehru - I Hate My Birthday: Moments Before Forever 
• Alabama Shakes - I Must Be Dreaming 
• Nyota Parker & Jay Jody - Confused Admiration
• flowerovlove - MINI SKIRT WARRIOR
• Dahi - Black Boy (Alternative)
• Busta Rhymes & J Dilla - DILLAGENCE II
• Erykah Badu & The Alchemist - Before The World Blows

Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (18:39)
A Future Without a Past... - (23:47)
T.I.M.E. - (35:24)
Lighter Note - (47:27)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved.

Music - "Pizza And Video Games" by Bonus Points (Thanks to Chillhop Music for the right to use)

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @The5thElementUK
ChillHop (Twitter) - @Chillhopdotcom
Bonus Points (Twitter) - @BonusPoints92

Other Podcasts Under The 5EPN:
"What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor
In Search of Sauce
Black Women Watch...
5EPN Radio
The Beauty Of Independence

A foundational member of the Native Tongues collective - releasing two of the first three albums under that collective umbrella - Jungle Brothers were sonically ahead of their time and have kept steady up until this decade.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:10)
Charlie:

• Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats - ii
• John Wells - F*CK The ALGORITHM
• threetwenty - separate from the noise (side b)
• Adanna Duru - THE NAIJAMERICAN DREAM
• Jorja Smith - What Are The Odds
• Zenesoul - Under the Same Sky
• Queen Ifrica - Breath Of Life
• Rapsody - God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops
• Cleo Sol - Gentlewoman

Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (14:36)

Straight out the Jungle - (19:04)

Done by the Forces of Nature - (28:23)

J Beez wit the Remedy - (36:48)

Raw Deluxe - (43:29)

V.I.P. - (50:15)

All That We Do - (56:36)

I Got U - (1:01:39)

Keep It Jungle - (1:06:09

Lighter Note - (1:12:08)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved.

Music - "Pizza And Video Games" by Bonus Points (Thanks to Chillhop Music for the right to use)

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @The5thElementUK
ChillHop (Twitter) - @Chillhopdotcom
Bonus Points (Twitter) - @BonusPoints92

Other Podcasts Under The 5EPN:
"What's Good?" W/ Charlie Taylor
In Search of Sauce
Black Women Watch...
5EPN Radio
The Beauty Of Independence