Diggin' In The Digits

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.

And then after 2002, she fell back. Since then we've seen her now and again with a feature or single & touring again but nothing suggests that she is going to fully get back into creating a full body of work.

But as time goes by, her legacy grows. One of artistic freedom, vulnerability and walking your own path. The DITD duo touch on all of Lauryn's era from Fugees to now.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:44)
Topic Intro & Fugees - (20:49)
Miseducation - (36:02)
MTV Unplugged - (49:53)
The Hiatus - (56:38)
The credit disputes - (1:05:36)
Final thoughts - (1:12:12)
Lighter Note - (1:16:44)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Be sure to let us know that you're supporting us!

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

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @5thElement_UK
5E Community Discord
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 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 of the legendary Salt-N-Pepa. The trio of Hip-Hop women that dominated the mid-late 80s with their music and culturally still hold relevance as the rare all-female Hip-Hop group that genuinely made waves.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (2:35)
Topic Intro/background - (27:39)
Chemistry is key, products of their time - (33:48)
Herby "Luv Bug" Azor - (42:48)
A Look into their music - (45:34)
Their legacy - (50:47)
Lighter Note - (1:00:26)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Be sure to let us know that you're supporting us!

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

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @5thElement_UK
5E Community Discord
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 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. Lyrically she was (and still is) top tier, her first three albums are all classics in their own unique ways and outside of Hip-Hop, has carved a career in entertainment the average person would kill for. She's simply a pro in every sense and does everything with complete confidence.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:41)
Topic Intro - (22:22)
Latifah at the rise of misogyny in Hip-Hop - (25:38)
Latifah as a feminist icon - (30:11)
The significance of "All Hail The Queen", "Nature of a Sista'" & "Black Reign" - (44:07)
Her Film & TV career - (55:45)
Lighter Note - (1:01:46)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Be sure to let us know that you're supporting us!

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

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @5thElement_UK
5E Community Discord
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

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 still not celebrating her enough. Not from a standpoint of influence but one of reverence. The term "one of one" is rarely the perfect phrase to describe someone but for Missy, it fits like a glove. The DITD duo attempt to paint the picture as to how Missy Elliott epitomises a trailblazer and a complete original.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:26)
Topic Intro - (23:08)
Has any female not named Missy Elliott got an independent label? - (26:49)
Missy, Timbaland & male co-signs - (39:38)
Missy's music - (54:34)
Lighter Note - (1:14:40)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Be sure to let us know that you're supporting us!

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

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @5thElement_UK
5E Community Discord
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

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 bias is nearly thrown out of the window with these! (It still rears its head enough though...) We also spend a few minutes in the end with general reflections over the series and a sigh of relief as we can all move on and go back to our idyllic holes.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:58)
Groups (& duos...) - (21:22)
Producers - (38:52)
Artists - (50:08)
Rappers - (1:06:42)
Final Thoughts - (1:19:07)
Lighter Note - (1:25:23)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Be sure to let us know that you're supporting us!

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

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @5thElement_UK
5E Community Discord
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

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 these categories and the ABSURD level of recency bias. Some would say a criminal level of recency bias. The DITD duo gets into it all.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:14)
Topic Intro - (20:08)
Underrated - (22:39)
Overrated - (33:33)
Consistent - (48:40)
Year - (58:45)
Lighter Note - (1:12:52)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Be sure to let us know that you're supporting us!

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

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @5thElement_UK
5E Community Discord
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

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.

After weeks of collecting and organising the data, Ben has blessed us with an all statistics-based mini-series. We're calling it the "2.4k Series".

For Part 1, we go through the Top 15 Mixtapes, Songs & Albums. Let the bloodbath begin...

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:52)
Topic Intro - (18:24)
Mixtapes - (22:18)
Songs - (34:27)
Albums - (55:03)
Lighter Note - (1:17:28)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Be sure to let us know that you're supporting us!

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

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @5thElement_UK
5E Community Discord
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

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 conversation on the surface.

But below the surface, there is a deeper conversation to be had. One of fighting for authenticity, why is it always Hip-Hop? One of confusion, why are artists like Eilish, Miley Cyrus & Post Malone getting chesty when previously it was washed Rockstars? The DITD duo looks into this and introduces a new angle to the overall dialogue.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (2:28)
Topic Intro - (23:15)
Breakdown of Eilish's comments - (25:23)
The conversations behind Hip-Hop - (27:21)
Broadening the scope: Storytelling & Realism - (34:39)
Miley Cyrus & Post Malone: Why are contemporary artists getting chesty? - (42:46)
Age & Race, the two roadblocks for new genres/sounds - (54:21)
Lighter Note - (1:08:59)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Be sure to let us know that you're supporting us!

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

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @5thElement_UK
5E Community Discord
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

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 successfully done for decades, but now it's not even recognising Hip-Hop artists that explicitly say their work isn't Hip-Hop. But hey, black= Hip-Hop/R&B/Jazz, right? And let's not even start with "URBAN"...

So what is the problem? And more importantly, what are the solutions? Should Hip-Hop plead for better representation & categorisation? Or should they all band together, say "Fuck The Grammys" and not submit their work?

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:32)
Topic Intro - (17:50)
The statistical relationship between Hip-Hop & The Grammys - (21:01)
Why does Hip-Hop still attach itself to The Grammys? - (27:41)
Charlie rant - (36:11)
Ben contextualises - (42:19)
Potential solutions - (50:20)
Ben's morality question - (1:05:31)
Lighter Note - (1:11:30)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Be sure to let us know that you're supporting us!

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

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @5thElement_UK
5E Community Discord
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 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 the music career of Mac Miller.

For context: Ben has been a fan of Mac for years and parallels his life to Mac's. Charlie, however, only spun "The Divine Feminine" when it initially dropped and spent the week before recording taking a trip through Mac's career from "K.I.D.S" to "Circles".

So it made for good discussion as we went through Mac's discography and getting the thoughts from one person with a deep connection to Mac and the other listening to the majority of Mac's discography for the first time. This was a tough episode to record for reasons you'll find out by listening, but it's a great episode because of it. RIP Mac.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:58)
Topic Intro - (17:30)
Mac's early tapes (Pre-BSP) (28:39)
Blue Slide Park - (34:16)
Macadelic - (40:14)
WMWTSO, Delusional Thomas & Faces - (45:20)
GO:OD AM & The Divine Feminine - (57:34)
Swimming & Circles - (1:05:35)
Lighter Note - (1:15:35)

Thanks for listening. Below are the Social accounts for all parties involved. Be sure to let us know that you're supporting us!

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

HHBTN (Twitter & IG) - @HipHopNumbers
5E (Twitter & IG) - @5thElement_UK
5E Community Discord
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