Diggin' In The Digits

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

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 Hip-Hop history and his story is worthy of its own film.

Despite being one of the biggest architects in the moulding of celebrated West Coast subgenre "G-Funk", his calm persona along with a preference in being behind the scenes made him look smaller compared to the Gods around him; most notably, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg.

Add time to all of that and you got yourself a legacy that, whilst solidified in terms of credit, is very small culturally. Warren G is a legend of the game and we attempt to give him his flowers and etch his name in the Mount Rushmore of G-Funk pioneers.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (2:07)
Topic Intro - (17:45)
Warren's heartbreaking beginnings - (21:05)
Regulate... G-Funk Era - (35:32)
Take A Look Over Your Shoulder - (43:07)
I Want It All - (50:38)
The Return Of The Regulator (54:41)
213 & Warren's shadowed legacy - (59:30)
Lighter Note - (1:09:40)

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

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 objectively cringe but subjectively funny "Finally Famous" & "Hall of Fame", to the more mature "I Decided" & "Detroit 2". A lot of opinions change, a lot of opinions are solidified, and our technology gets weird. It's all happening this episode.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (3:17)
Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (24:00)
Finally Famous & Hall Of Fame - (30:38)
Dark Sky Paradise - (47:28)
TWENTY88 & Double Or Nothing - (55:17)
I Decided - (1:04:23)
Has Sean reached critical mass? - (1:12:40)
Lighter Note - (1:29:17)

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

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 growth of Hip-Hop itself.

But once the new millennium came through, Def Jam started to lose grip of the rocket that was Hip-Hop, they started to miss out and eventually get left behind. Now Def Jam is just another sub-label with SUB-sub-labels under them. Where did it all go wrong? We try to find out.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:15)
Topic Intro/Ben's Research House - (19:16)
Def Jam is too big to fail - (23:39)
What is their identity now? - (29:16)
Their unique approach - (32:11)
The Universal Buyout - (36:04)
Was it their unique approach that kneecapped them? - (38:21)
Was it their size that kneecapped them? - (44:06)
Stats on charting Def Jam albums by President - (47:47)
If you could pick one major issue, which one would you pick? - (58:44)
Lighter Note - (1:11:11)

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

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 important album for both artists. A fork in the road for both artists. We dive into the album, track by track, with WORLD EXCLUSIVE statistics from Ben.

TIMESTAMPS:
Weekly Music Roundup - (1:40)
Topic Intro/Ben's Research Corner - (21:44)
No Church In The Wild - (35:36)
Lift Off - (40:44)
Paris - (42:55)
Otis - (46:07)
Gotta Have It -(48:24)
New Day - (52:38)
That's My Bitch - (55:41)
Welcome To The Jungle - (1:00:54)
Who Gon Stop Me - (1:08:07)
Murder To Excellence - (1:11:46)
Made In America - (1:17:49)
Why I Love You - (1:20:42)
Final Thoughts - (1:25:05)
Lighter Note - (1:33:01)

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