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PODCAST

Diggin" In The Digits

The 5th Element Podcast Network

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 & its roots, discussing them in detail. From Australia to the UK and beyond. A 5EPN Original.

music music commentary

All Episodes

71:32

Ep.325 - Heltah Skeltah

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/07/15

The duo of Rock & Ruck (Sean Price) make Heltah Skeltah, giving us yet another Boot Camp Clik membership that created a consistent quality discography! Not many misses when it comes to one of the best voices in Hip-Hop and a Sean Price that grows into himself as the years go by.TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (0:58)Ben:Jackboys 2Clipse - Let God Sort Em OutBoldy James x Nicholas Craven - Late to my Own FuneralLarry June x Cardo - Until Night ComesCharlie:Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed

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62:35

Ep.324 - Boot Camp Clik

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/07/08

The six-man supergroup Boot Camp Clik has - from day 1 - been a unique blend of talent, culminating in four decent-to-great albums and poses to be in the mind for whenever we cover the groups/individuals that make the group.TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (0:49)Ben:JID - GDLU the PreluxeSmoke DZA - On My Way to BerlinCharlie:SAMSON - UNDERSTOOD!?Madison McFerrin - SCORPIOThe Doppelgangaz - Still LeftAnnie and the Caldwells - Can't Lose My (Soul) Akil The MC - TaxesSOUFSIDE KATHLEEN - I

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115:48

Ep.323 - Half-Decade Top 5 Special

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/07/01

On July 2nd we will be exactly halfway through the 2020s! And whilst it's been an objectively terrible decade in many ways, there are some Hip-Hop gems that have come out. So, we decided to make our individual Top 5 Hip-Hop Albums of the Half-Decade and for once, we have NO overlapping works! So buckle in as we gush over 10 albums in a nearly 2 hour special!TIMESTAMPS:Honourable Mentions - (3:54)Charlie's No. 5 - (15:53)Ben's No. 5 - (23:54)Charlie's No. 4 - (34:33)Ben's No. 4 -

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81:29

Ep.322 - Sean Price

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/06/24

One of the mainstays of the burgeoning Hip-Hop Underground of the 00s and beyond, Sean Price was a reality rapper with plenty of humour, iconic one-liners and a discography that have aged pretty well.TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (0:49)Ben:Memphis Bleek - Apt 3DChe Noir - The Color Chocolate 2Terrace Martin & Kenyon Dixon - Come As You AreDave East & Young Chris - Fine DiningDaz Dillinger - Retaliation, Revenge and Get Back 2Charlie:Ric Wilson - AMERICA RUNS ON DISCOJanset -

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86:18

Ep.321 - Slick Rick

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/06/17

At 60 years old, Slick Rick dropped his 5th Studio Album and his 1st since 1999. He's a master storyteller, respected by everyone. So how TF is he still underrated?!TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (1:07)Ben:Lil Tecca - DopamineCharlie - Karl Benjamin - To What End?MRCY - VOLUME 2Jords - Mixtape Jedbl - Archives MixtapeSyf of Talking Knots & Sir Nebula - GravityA-F-R-O - Crimson FuryKamaiyah - Fired UpNubiyan Twist - NT SoundsystemAJ Tracey - Don’t Die Before You're DeadTheo Croker -

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73:22

Ep.320 - DJ Quik

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/06/10

G-Funk pioneer one of the most consistent dual artists in Hip-Hop history, it could be said that DJ Quik hasn't gotten the props his peers has, even though his quality of production and bars has (for the most part) been great, just as long as you jump over the mines labelled "Songs with oddly detailed sex bars".TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (0:49)Ben:Lil Wayne - Tha Carter 6Little Simz - LotusUntilJapan - tromp l'oeilCharlie:Common Saints - EquinoxIan Kelly & DJ D Sharp - Concrete

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71:34

Ep.319 - MC Shan

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/06/03

Whilst MC Shan spends a lot of his recent days lamenting the past in some form, he actually has a leg to stand on! Just not in the ways he thinks...TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (0:44)Ben:Rome Streetz & Conductor Williams - TrainspottingBruiser Wolf - POTLUCKMasta Killa - BalanceCharlie:Silas Short - LUSHLANDRebecca Vasmant - Who We Are, BecomingOddisee - En RoutePremo Rice - Bad Muf*ckaObongjayar - Paradise NowGrand Puba - The OriginPoldoore - Chroma DreamLady Donli - This Feels

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72:58

Ep.318 - dead prez

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/05/27

The legacy of dead prez - for better or worse - has been condensed down to their classic track in "Hip Hop". Zoom out a little and you'll find a classic song on a classic album that is definitely not talked about enough. Zoom out even more and you find... Actually, let's just stay at that first zoom out...TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (1:00)Charlie:Syf of Talking Knots & Moe Town - 2 Sides to Every StoryJay Prince - SHINENādt Orchestra - DualismDon Glori - Paper Can't Wrap FireAaron

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79:36

Ep.317 - Will Smith

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/05/20

After calling it a day being "The Fresh Prince", Will Smith went under his own name for his solo stint. The results are mixed; proving that Hip-Hop could go Pop, but even then managing to have frequent misfires within his music, creating a frustrating discography that gives more questions than answers...TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (1:10)Ben:Amine - 13 Months of SunshineXzibit - KingmakerRico Nasty - LethalChuck D - Chuck D Presents Enemy Radio: Radio ArmageddonCharlie: Deema - 5Junii

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90:11

Ep.316 - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/05/13

The legendary duo of Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince have been somewhat locked into this singular thought ever since their run ended in '93: That their music is squeaky clean, completely devoid of edge. But when you actually listen to some of the lyrics and subject matter told in the litany of storytelling tracks, they broach some interesting ground.TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (1:07)Ben:MIKE x Tony Seltzer - Pinball IIKey Glock - Glockaveli: The DonRoc Marciano x Knowledge the

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80:26

Ep.315 - Schoolly D

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/05/06

The discography of Schoolly D is one of the most diverse and lengthy that we've ever covered on DITD. Where he begins providing the seeds of what eventually becomes known as "Gangsta Rap", he then goes through a more pro-Black phase in the 90s and nowadays operates as a relative experimentalist for somebody whose debut came out in 1985.TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (1:15)Ben:Benny the Butcher - ExcelsiorYung Lean - JonatanJPEGMAFIA x Flume - We Live in a SocietyCharlie:Jericho Jackson -

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32:47

Ep.314 - Spoonie Gee

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/04/29

In what is probably our shortest retrospective in DITD history, we cover another Treacherous Three member in Spoonie Gee who is apparently a precursor to Gangsta Rap but when listening to his work, it seems to paint a different picture...TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (0:49)Ben:Wu-Tang - Black SamsonVinnie Paz - God Sent VengeanceCharlie: Bishop Nehru - TrapbapUwade - FlorilegiumCoco Jones - Why Not More?Ray Vaughn - The Good The Bad The Dollar MenuFemi Kuti - Journey Through LifeWu-Tang

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66:20

An Interview W/ London-Based Producer Ryder

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/04/23

Hello DITD listeners! Charlie here. As a bonus for this week, I have an interview for you to step to! I - along with "In Search Of Sauce" alum, Music Journalist Miki Hellerbach - talk to Ryder who broke out a few years back with his now iconic #Skeptacore series. Now, he's dropping a new series of EPs named "RYDERHOOD", the first edition dropping this Friday. In this interview which is dropping simultaneously over on the "What's Good?" feed, we talk his beginnings in the North of England,

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64:13

Ep.313 - The Treacherous Three

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/04/22

After covering Kool Moe Dee last week, it seemed right to go back and look at the pioneering group that he was a member of: The Treacherous Three. With two albums 10 years apart, they serve as great markers in how much evolution happened from '84 to '94.TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (1:10)Charlie:namesbliss - Signature SoundBoog Brown - Super Useful ToolsAdrian Younge - Adrian Younge presents Something About April IIIThe Underachievers - HomecomingKool Keith - KarpentersBlu & August

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69:46

Ep.312 - Kool Moe Dee

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/04/15

If you were to name a rapper that embodies the word 'confidence', you could probably name at least 10 rappers that fit the word. Is one of them Kool Moe Dee? A case could be made that he's the most confident sounding rapper on wax, all the way from his first album in 1986 to his last in '94.TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (0:57)Ben:Ken Carson - More chaosRJ Payne - Leatherface 4Lords of the Underground & Snowgoons - So LegendaryCharlie: Paris Nights - Up NowΣtella - AdagioJoe

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102:15

Ep.311 - DITD 6th Anniversary Special

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/04/08

Another year, another DITD Anniversary! For our 6th anniversary, we look back at some of our favourite moments, with clips for you newer listeners. Episodes covered will be below if you want to get into them proper. And as always, whether you've been listening since Ep. 1 or since last week, we appreciate you listening. Here's to six years!TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (1:39)Charlie:Rachel Chinouriri - Little HouseFloFilz - Dim DownJayellz - I JUST FEEL DIFFERENTKemi Ade - The FixAdrian

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69:58

Ep.310 - Lords of the Underground

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/04/01

Jersey-centred trio Lords of the Underground represented a lot of what we now consider the hallmarks of the Golden Age of Hip-Hop: Youthful energy, fast flows and great sample-based production. This led to two great back-to-back projects and two other albums of varying quality.TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (0:41)Ben:Boldy James x Antt Beatz - HommageWill Smith - Based on a True StoryNAV - OMW2 RexdaleCharlie: p-rallel - Can't Be MeJAY MALAKHI - THE GREAT ESCAPEKalisway - Take Me Back

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70:13

Ep.309 - Women's History Month '25 - Queen Mother Rage

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/03/25

We finish our WHM celebrations with an artist that is never talked about. Maybe it's due to her not getting traction off her one studio album? Maybe the message fell on deaf ears? We get to the answer of course but regardless of reason, Queen Mother Rage is Hip-Hop history and we take this opportunity - to finish WHM - covering a small piece of the 90s Hip-Hop puzzle.TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (1:05)Ben:No I.D. & Saba - From The Private Collection of Saba and No IDCharlie:Che

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61:44

Ep.308 - Women's History Month '25 - The Sequence

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/03/18

With the recent passing of R&B legend Angie Stone, we thought it was a good time as any - in the midst of our WHM celebrations - to celebrate her pre-solo career with Cheryl "The Pearl" Cook and Gwendolyn "Blondie" Chisholm as the early 80s all-female Hip-Hop trailblazers The Sequence.TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (0:44)Ben:Playboi Carti - MUSICCurrensy x Harry Fraud - Never Catch UsDave East x Ransom - The Final CallBoldy James x Chuck Strangers - Token of AppreciationCharlie:Aaron

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42:45

Ep.307 - Women's History Month '25 - MC Trouble

Diggin" In The Digits ·

2025/03/11

Continuing our WHM celebrations, we get into MC Trouble who tragically died aged 21, leaving us with her 1990 debut studio album that featured her name on the production credits - a rarity for female rappers at the time - and provided a great thematic mixture of womanhood and Black solidarity.TIMESTAMPS:Weekly Music Roundup - (0:50)Ben:Black Soprano Family - The OutcomeYoungBoy NBA - More LeaksCharlie:Summer Pearl - THE INTERLUDEBig Zuu & Capo Lee - Signed & Delivered Apollo Brown -

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