EXTRA TIME #1: The DITC Tournament

Extra time. Extra time.

Welcome to Hip Hop World Cup Extra Time, our brand new post

match show where we head back out onto the pitch for more hip

hop discussion in the aftermath of our latest episode.

I'm your host Danny Phillips and with me once again is Steve

Hitchcock. Hi Steve.

Hello. There's no Larry for this one

here sadly. He's currently stuck in the

Strait of Hormuz after an ill advised fact finding trip to the

Middle East. But don't worry, if we need his

opinion, we have the trusty Larry bot on hand.

Let's just see if it's working, Larry.

But what do you think of the awakening by Lord Finesse?

And I'll just say it's fine. Yeah, that seems to be working.

That might come in handy later on, just in case we need to, you

know, break any ties. Is that what the viewers would

would think as is like catch phrase?

I think so. I hope so.

I'm hoping that people will start putting on T-shirts and

shouting at shouting at him in the street.

Yeah, that's cool. So, Steve, welcome.

This is our brand new show. What have you been up to?

Anything. Anything hip hop recently?

You've been to a Mobb Deep gig, didn't you?

Yeah, I've been down to to Plymouth, to the demo to watch

Mobb Deep. The home of hip hop.

What? Yeah, yeah.

And big, big hip hop heads down in Plymouth, down with the

Janners. And obviously it was just Havoc

from Mobb Deep, but Big Noid was also an appearance and he

stopped the show. He was.

He was, he was absolutely brilliant.

He's a great underrated rapper. Very underrated, I think.

Yeah, he just had the stage presence.

The the, I think Havoc was kind of like hiding away.

I think he's probably a better producer than he is a a a stage

rapper. Right.

That's very nice. It was.

Good. I think the the the 50 to 100

people that were there really enjoyed it.

It's a good intimate night out with Mobb Deep, some intimate

variants, acoustic classics, but down in Plymouth.

Great, great group. Mobb Deep.

Great stuff. We're no Mobb Deep in this

episode, unfortunately. But what is this episode all

about? What is Extra Time all about?

Well, this is our new after show where we dig a bit deeper into

the artist featured in our latest main episode.

We have a series of different segments which we'll do in each

Extra Time episode, including quizzes, questions, discussions

and games. But for this debut episode,

we're going to go in hard with an idea that I like to call.

So following our shoot out between Lord Finesse and Diamond

D, we thought it would be a good idea to stage ADITC Digging in

the Crates tournament or a bracket for our American

listeners where 16 albums from the DITC stable will compete to

see which one is objectively the best.

Those albums have been paired up at random and we're going to

take it in turns to choose the winner in each match and give

our reasons why we won't overthink it each time.

I'll just be decided on gut instincts, but it'll be probably

be based on a lot more than that to be honest, given the amount

of notes we'll be both done. We'll keep going all the way to

the final when we'll decide between us which album is the

winner. If we can't agree, then it'll be

settled with a fight in a pub car park.

Or if that doesn't settle it, we'll ask the Larry Bot.

Exciting that we actually have got the Larry Bot loaded with

all his with those opinions. All his opinions and his scores

and everything so we can turn to him if we need to break the tie

in the final. The level of training that's

gone into that bot is is very impressive, so good and the.

Amount of water it's taken to to cool the data centres as well.

Unbelievable. But but yeah, so he's there if

we need him. And also joining us as an

impartial adjudicator is Ian Beale from EastEnders.

Are you Are you ready to go, Ian?

OK, well, Steve, I hope you've got something left for this, for

this tournament. So without further ado, let's

get to the first match in the round of 16.

We're not going to read all the albums out upfront.

We're just going to be be a bit of a surprise.

So first match in the round of 16, which is you'll be very

pleased to hear, Steve, that you're going first on this one.

This is your first in this bracket.

And it is Runaway Slave by showing AG or showbiz and AG

versus funky technician by Lord Finesse.

Lord Finesse debut album with DJ Mike Smooth, 1990.

Yeah. Have FIFA looked into how this

draw was conducted, by the way, because it was normally drawn

live on the show. It is, and I just thought I'd

say it was a bit of time and do it beforehand.

It was done using a computer. OK, it was done using a

computer, but it's. A fair It's a fair draw, then.

The the computer may have been told what to what to do.

So yeah, the first match out of the hat was runaway slave versus

funky technician. And this is your decision,

Steve. So you've got to make the

decision. Well, I'm choosing between the

two. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. This is you.

You're up. Oh.

Oh, brilliant. Yeah.

So it's it's my choice then. OK.

Right. So let's think about this then.

So Runaway Slave 1992 album like you, like you said, showbiz when

he was still called showbiz before he contracted his name to

to show. Yeah, some really great tracks

on on this album. If if, if you're out there and

you haven't listened to Runaway Slave, I think it's it's well

worth a listen And the best tracks that that because show

show is a really good producer. When he, when he goes hard with

the drums and the bass, he's really, really good.

But probably like 2 artists that go under the radar.

Not many people will know about showbiz and AG, you know.

I don't reckon, yeah. I'd agree with that.

I think Show is one of the most underrated of the DRTC

producers. He kind of gets the forgotten a

little bit. Yep, so it's lovely production

here. AG is quite a good rapper and I

think if there's an opportunity to hear some tracks on here, the

ones I really like are Fat Pockets Represent, which I think

might be, I could be wrong. Here's Big AL's first album

appearance Appearance. So obviously Big AL's a crucial

part of the DITC crew. And then there's there's 2

tracks that were kind of like they were produced before this,

Amber or on them, A Party groove and Soul Clap Soul clap and both

those tracks are just just fantastic.

It's done if we can put a clip. Of the well, weirdly I can't.

I haven't actually got it. I've just tried to find it.

I haven't got it, yeah, which is shocking.

And I can play it on Spotify, but I don't know if I can.

I've got the tech to play it through, I can try.

Fair enough. But but yeah, no.

Really worth a listen though. Isn't anybody out there hasn't

listened to Sam? It's worth getting getting your

hands on it and listening to it. It's not bad.

It's kind of like it's nice, but it's a bit unremarkable.

It's in that sort of 1992 style. It's very much of its era, isn't

it? It's quite quite old school,

quite basic. Yes.

But at the time, it probably was, was quite, you know,

considered a great, a good album.

I think at his time, it probably would have sounded a bit ahead

of his time, like shaping a little bit of the the New York

sound to come. Yeah, I think so.

Shows, shows an interesting producer actually, because in

this one it's a bit, his style was kind of like forming and it

was a bit different. It was a bit more kind of old

school. But as he went on to another

album that we'll probably end up talking about later on, he's got

some. He's actually quite a dark

producer, isn't he? His choice of samples and like,

he goes with lots of piano stabs and sort of eerie weird noises.

His beats are quite dark, which you don't know what necessarily

associate with the DITC crew. It's very much jazzy.

It's very, you know. Well, I don't know.

I think I think Lord Finesse also has that in him.

I think he also has the ability to be a bit more sinister and

dark, but he's got quite a good range of production style, has

has finesse. Yeah, that's true.

So we're going to say what you're going to, you'll just say

talk a bit about funky technician.

I also this is this is this is where it really starts with the

ITCI think we have to kind of recognise that Lord Finesse is

really like the founding member of the crew.

This is an album from 1990. And, and, and I think coming out

of the 80s, there's some really progressive beats on here, some

really raw ones, but also some that lean back into the 80s,

which does make it sound a bit kind of like, you know, dated at

times. And Lord Finesse is a really

good battle rapper. He's he's he's, you know, it's

also interesting. Some of the tracks you get, you

hear the shout outs. The whole DITC crew at this

early stage, they're all on there.

They're all they're all getting shout outs and there's some

great tracks on there. So there's baby, you nasty,

funky technician slaves to my sound wave Bad mother.

This it's good. Yeah, so you want to say before

I decide? No, no, I think you've covered

Funky Technician quite well there.

I mean a runaway Slave, I think the best tracks when I had

another listen, it's still digging and I quite like Diamond

DB. It's quite nice. 40 Acres are

quite like nice jazz loop on that one and Soul Clap.

Obviously we did that in our in our episode in 1992.

I think we did. I think.

I think it's a bit dull in places, but AG is a nice MC and

I often find like with these these albums, I kind of lump

this in with stunts, blunts and hip hop.

They're kind of like an A-Z of all the familiar samples and

break beats and you hear all the same things being used, you

know, but it's great. It's great to hear them.

It's well done. It's just kind of it's showing

its age a little bit. But anyway, it's not my choice

on this one. This is your your choice.

So you need to. Give me responsibility, OK, I'm

going to go for it's really close.

I'd score them as a dead heat with runaway slave, just with I

think some of them all stand out tracks.

I'm going to go runaway slave. Go runaway slave.

OK. All right.

We're going to give it one of these.

Back of the net, Back of the net.

I couldn't remember what button it was.

OK, let's move on to the next one.

This is me now, the next match. The east side of the drawer now.

No, we're going down. We're going to do all the West

side of the drawer, the sort of left left side we're going to

go. The next two out of the hat were

Represent by Fat Joe de Gangster before we dropped the Gangster

from 1993 and Word Life by OC Extraordinary match up here.

Represent was the first kind of exposure I ever had to Fat Joe.

I remember Flojo coming out, so I can't saw that on MTV and I

really loved it. So I had to get the album.

I do find a Fat Joe. There's particularly on this

album. He's he's a very kind of simple

rapper. He's I call him a meat and

potatoes rapper. He just gets the job done, does

his lines and goes home. But you know, at the time I did,

I did quite like it. And this was kind of like the

first. I know that Lord Finesse albums

were, you know, and then the Diamond D, but this was kind of

like the first All Star producer line up kind of all coming

together in that proper golden age.

You know, you've got Lord Finesse on there, Diamond D,

Showbiz, all of them. I don't think there's any buck

wild on there, though. I don't think he was involved.

He's funny. He gets more involved later on,

doesn't he? He does.

I think all the best tracks on here produced by Diamond D

though. I'm going to say that.

Yeah, yeah, watch the sound, Flojo, all of those.

So I loved it. I did like it when it come out.

And unfortunately, I think OC came out a year later in 1994.

And I mean, it was so much more up my street OCOCS album.

And that was where I first became properly aware of

Buckworld because obviously Time Up, Time's Up, he's all over it.

Time's Up was massive. The title track Word Life was

was brilliant with that jazz sample Born to live with the

Kenny Burke loop. And OC on this album is just

incredible, I think, and I think a lot of people compared this to

Illmatic, and I think it lived in Illmatic shadow.

I'm not staying for a minute that OCS sort of anywhere near

Illmatic Nars, but I do think he was kind of hovering around

somewhere I couldn't. Agree more listening back to

this album I realise how good it is.

It is near. It is near classic I think.

Yeah, because. We've been talking about

recently that to me there's only one let's the side down.

I think it's that one, the Constables, I think that run

from the start or the way through to that track is is

amazing. Don't like that one.

But then it kind of, it does take a bit of a dip and it falls

away towards the end of the album, but they are all still

quite a consistent level so. And there's one good track on

the by Finesse where he does he drops in with Go ahead.

I had, yeah. We talked about that in the main

episode. Yeah, we did.

That's I love that track. And as I said on the episode,

that is the quintessential Lord finesse beat to me.

So yeah, absolutely love that. Play a little clip of that.

Yeah, let's have a listen. Those drum rolls in the films,

just so good. And the horns.

And then, of course, you've got going to live.

Yeah, brilliant album. Yeah, so good.

Interesting what you said about Fat Joe there with the kind of

like meat and potatoes wrapper, but he's he's has got a good

long string of albums. So he's done pretty well for

himself considering and he's he's been there from the start

with with the ITC. Yeah, he has.

Yeah. Yeah, he's all over.

A lot of these albums aren't, isn't he?

Like he's guest spots on lots of him.

He's been there and I do feel like as he went along, like the

next album was jealous ones envy, his style did evolve.

He got better. He sounded a bit more natural,

you know, tried a bit different, you know, he went more

commercial. Let's face it.

He did. He did go with the Terror Squad.

Yeah, absolutely. Anyway, so I think it's my

decision on this. I think it's got to be Word

Life, isn't it? I mean Word Life is one of my

favourite hip hop albums of all time so.

If you didn't choose that, I think we'd be going to the pub

car park right now to have. I think so, yeah.

We might do that anyway, to be fair.

Yeah, why not? OK.

So that's two through to our quarterfinals.

The next match, Oh, let's give, let's give OC one of these.

Back of the net. Yeah.

So our next match on the West side is we've got Big L's Big

Picture. And this is you, Steve.

We're taking interns. Don't forget this is Big L's the

big Picture in from 2000 up against Fat Joe, Don Cartagena.

Oh, you can't do this to me. Included at your request, I'm.

I hasten to. Yeah, we're doing a bit of horse

training here. Yeah, we did.

Because I really like Don Cartagena.

Yeah. So this is you.

It's all you. Yeah, so I, I bought Don

Cartagena in New York City when I was visiting there.

Yeah, went on a football tour of United States and pick this,

pick this up. And I think it has a little bit

of sentimental value, but it's also a good album.

There's there's there's plenty of good, good tracks on here.

And interestingly, we talk about the ITC guest produce production

on here as well. I'm going to go, I got to go

through a couple of these. See what you think.

Yeah. So first of all, there's only

one Buckwild and one Primo track.

So we include Primo as a DITC member because he kind of as as

time went on honorary, he kind of became a member and.

Didn't he produce a lot of Finesse's first album?

He yes, he did, yes. Yeah.

And he produced a lot of the the the main DITC album and the

later Big Al. Stuff, and I hope to say it, but

a lot of these albums, his tracks are the standouts, you

know? But that's why he's but that's

why he's the best. So sorry, go on.

So, yeah, so tracks that kind of stand out with some other

producers that there's a crack attack by Elias, then you've got

the hidden hand. Now then, if you looked at this

in your notes, first produced by someone I've never heard of

before, I know you would have heard of this producer.

It's called Spunk Bigger. Oh, yeah.

Spunk Bigger. Yeah, that was my alias for

quite a while back at university.

That's cool. Yeah.

And a hidden hand. Spunk bigger is obviously.

Yeah. Where's he hiding?

Yeah, it's a, it's a big hand, yeah.

And then My Prerogative, performed by Armageddon, who's

also kind of an in slopper. So loads of really lovely tracks

ahead. The the middle is a bit like

Damp and Squidgy. It's not not quite so good, but

the start, it starts well and it ends well.

It's a really nice album. So it's just an album you ever

listened to before? I had to listen to it for the

first time to do this, as you would expect, it was 98.

So I was kind of falling off the hip hop bandwagon.

And as I was saying to you earlier, it's reminds me why I

stopped listening to hip hop. It's exactly the sort of thing I

think it's awful to me. I know you've probably got a fun

place in your heart for it, but I really don't like it.

Awful album. I can imagine.

I tell you why. It's not just, you know, because

I'm not familiar with it. It just has that horrible kind

of 1998 sound. It's too polished.

It's thin, the snares are different.

It doesn't. Really sound like a DIT scam.

Does it really? Absolutely not.

Snuck it in there because I just like it.

No, I know, I know, I know. Sometimes you just can't help it

and you've got an attachment to these things, but just sort of

stepping back and, you know, come into it new.

I just like. And as you said, only one

digging in the crates. Producer on it.

Buck wild. And what the hell happened to

him? I mean, after I've got a story

to tell off Biggie. I mean yeah.

Oh, I suppose in 1970 duels as well.

But like after that everything I've heard from Buckwell from

that point on you I'm think he started doing keyboard beats.

It just just sounds. Yeah, we're going to get where

he's getting his own episode. Yeah, he is.

And we're going to focus very much on the on the good era.

Blown away by by that. Absolutely.

And to be fair, there's, there's some great stuff on here from

him, so, you know, but yeah. Big Pun makes makes a couple of

appearances so he's only rapper that is fatter than Fat Joe.

Yeah, maybe. Maybe what are the fat rappers

are there? Heavy D Oh, Heavy D, Yeah.

Sadly no longer with us. Same as Big Pun.

Yeah, there's a pack emerging. But, yeah, but, you know, you

can tell he's going for a more commercial sound.

Polish this Chinese suit bit Mafioso.

Yeah, but there was some, you know, half decent stuff John

Blaze produced by Ski with a nice Method Man sample.

Yeah, you've got nails in there. Yeah, Jadakiss and Rayquan as

well. Quite like that one big fan of

ski as well. Did their presidents earlier in

the 90s. And of course, yeah, as you say,

the DJ Premier track, that gangster shit.

Thank God for Primo on here. Otherwise it'd be nothing

really. But it's.

Not that bad. It's worth listeners.

It's worth listening. It's worth listening.

Yeah, so anyway, I didn't like it.

But anyway, this isn't my well, you've got Big L those.

Is that another one that's dear to your heart?

Yeah, it is, yeah. And as you've already alluded

to, I'm actually I'm going to say this second, it's missing

DITC production on here except for Primo, and Primo does all of

the good tracks. There's so on here, we've got

Ebonics. It doesn't have the Primo remix,

which is the best. Which is on the DITC album.

Which is the best one? It's got David Combinations

which features 2 pack which is which is great.

I bet, yeah. When I was listening to that, I

was saying you'd be all over. Yeah, I love that.

Yeah. I bet you I.

Love that there's a freestyle in this group 98 freestyle which is

well worth listening to. Lord Finesse was that hotline.

Produced by Finesse, yeah. Was that it was like the IT was

taken from Hot 97 or something. I think it's a famous freestyle.

Yeah, and there's a track on here.

I hope you caught this because it's one of my favourite tracks.

Well, holding it down, it's produced by none of them than

your favourite Pete Rock. Pete Rock, Yeah, it's.

A lovely track. Yeah, there is some good Pete

Rock stuff on here holding it down.

I've got I've got a list of the best tracks off here, obviously

the Primo ones that you mentioned holding it down by

Pete Rock and who you sliding With by Pete Rock as well, which

is quite nice beats. I think this is again outside of

Pete Rock's greatest theory. Did his style kind of changed a

bit at this point in the 90s? You.

Tell it's Pete Rock, but it's not.

Yeah, his typical stuff. Yeah, absolutely.

The enemy is really good, which has got a fact.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's really nice.

Really hard one, Yeah. Flattening pass.

Plus which big daddy came? There's another.

Yeah, I love that. Yeah, I've got got lots of

premade tracks in here, Big Picture Enemy and Platten plus

they're my favourite 3. But it has to be said, there's a

lot of shit beats on here as well.

Again, they've got that horrible 90s sound.

There there's a lot of there is a lot of skippers, skippers on

here. Yeah, the the good tracks,

really good. And then there's some that

really does so which is which probably leaves me nicely

insane. I think actually I preferred Don

Cartagena to be. I think it's going to be.

Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

I will just add on the big picture as well.

Ebonics and there's a there's a remix of this that's on.

Should we talk? About that when we get.

Yeah, when we get to it, but if Onyx on this, even this one, the

lyrics are crazy. The concept is crazy, really

good, really good. The way weaves it all together

like just make blows your mind. Big L is just so good.

Yeah, it didn't really. I haven't really.

We haven't really kind of like said that enough.

Why don't we talk more about him when we talk about lifestyles of

the of the poor and the dangerous?

Because it's best. If it's in this, we don't know

mystery. All right, well, let's move on

to the next match then, which is this is my decision now.

Oh, well, before we do that, let's give Don Cartagena this.

Nobody saw that cover. That's upset the upset.

The odds of bookies have gone absolutely ballistic with that.

So yeah, we're going to move on to match 4, which is OCS duels

versus Lifestyles of Poor and dangerous Big L.

So it is in there and two big albums going head to We've it's

come across our. You know, it's just brilliant.

On the show, loads of times. It's such a great album, loads

of Lord Finesse, some of his best stuff.

St Struck MVP, which we discussed on the main episode.

It's just an absolute banger. Not all good, not all gold is a

couple of couple of duds, but yeah, you've got, you know, the

first track. Put it on Buckwild.

If I had to compile the top 10 Buckwild beats, put it on.

It's got to be on there, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah. Is the first track?

Is MVP the first track? No, no.

But put it on to the first track, then MVP.

Yeah. In fact, no.

I think MVP might even be track three.

I can't remember, so yeah. What what are your thoughts on

lifestyles? I mean, is the one that's.

What an album. Yeah, it's only one that was

actually released in his lifetime, so it feels like it's

it's only proper album. I mean, the big pictures was

probably stuff they picked up from the cutting room floor.

And I like it more every time I listen to it because I think

it's got he's obviously amazing. He's so funny.

He's untouchable always. Like if you think about Finesse

as a punchline rapper, I've said this before, Big Al is just puts

him into his pale insignificance.

Really. Definitely listen to the

graveyard, which I love, which got Lord Finesse and and lots of

really good featurised. Like Jay-Z.

Yeah, Big Al just beats them all.

He's just, he's just so, so good.

His punch lines are so clever. And I mean, he is, he can

definitely be a bit of a bigot, can't he?

But he he, he's also got some funny stuff and then stuff that

you just never think of. Yeah, you're so clever.

So I mean, these guys are poets. They're there are two.

It's just, it's so. Unbelievable.

He's a killer poet, isn't? He he's really good.

Let's have a little listen to one of these.

I wanted to play this one St Struck because we didn't get to

play this one on the Oh yeah, yeah, on the main episode.

This is when I had to leave on the cutting room floor.

But I wanted to include this because this I love this snares.

I mean that that is Finesse's snares.

Let's do the good thing about Sam.

You get Finesse, Buckwell and Showbiz 3.

You know, main. Absolutely get them all on that.

This is this is a bit. For some reason I always love

this when it hits the snare 3 times.

Oh God, I love that so much. That's.

Brilliant. Album So we're moving over to

duels as well, and this is an album that like we haven't

really had a chance to talk about much.

I know there's lots there's lots of buck wild on here, this Lord,

there's one Lord finesse. There's a total track and lots

of showbiz beat miners. It's like it's like an All Star

album came out in 97. So my interest in hip hop was

still bubbling away. But it's you know, I love this

one and this is some of primo's best stuff on there.

You've got war games, you've got Win the G, you've got Mug and of

course, My World. Like my world, so you like this

more than I do. This is definitely an album that

I I'm, I don't go back to this. I think you get, it's always

good rapping and there's a really good range of producers.

I think I think the reason you like this and I put this in my

notes. I think it's a more soulful

album. I think so, yeah.

Choice of samples is, well, my street.

The beats. I really like the I really like

Dangerous, which is produced by Mr Mr Walt.

See, that's the one I don't like.

I know That's the one I don't like.

I like. I like most of it.

I tell you what you want to do like is, oh, there's a bit at

the beginning of the Chosen One that it's like a throwaway beat

by Buck Wild that it sticks in my head absolutely low.

I think you remember this. This one.

Yeah, that is, It's just a head nodder.

I love it but it's just, it's just the intro but then you get

onto the chosen 1 and this will be on our backward episode when

we do it because I love this one as well.

So soulful and smooth. Yeah.

It's like it's a Japanese jazz sample.

I know I've got it. It's really cool.

It's got white clouds. That's quite different from the

normal DOTC sound, yeah, more so.

Yeah, I think so. Too soulful for why I like.

It. Yeah.

Well, you're a bit of a harder, yeah.

And then, of course, you've got this.

Anyway, so that's good album. So it's good album.

So anyway, it's down to me then I've got to decide.

It's going to have to be Lifestyles of the Poor and

Damien. Isn't it has to be fighting in

the pub car park? Yeah, I mean, if I didn't choose

that, it'd be something wrong with the world.

But you know, Joel's is a really, really strong album.

I just, I can't sort of not pick lifestyles.

It meant so much to me when it came out.

I listened to it so much more. It's a really, really good

album. Yeah, absolutely.

So Big Al gets one of these. Rest in peace.

But we're going to move over to the east side of the drawer.

We've got the east side of the drawer now.

So this is the eight teams on the other side of the drawer.

And we have your choice, Steve. Match 5 is Diamond DS Hatred,

Passions and Infidelity Up Against the Awakening by Lord

Finesse, his 1996 album, his third album.

So that's your decision to make this you.

Know I feel this should be your decision because these are

definitely tabs I think you like way more more than me So well,

Diamond D, I'm not. I don't really listen to this

album very much at all. It's not one that I, I, I go

back to, which is, which is weird because I do obviously

really like Diamond D Yeah, but probably more of this kind of

earlier stuff and it, it is a nice hammer.

I think I definitely should listen to it to it more.

I really, I really like and I really always have like 5

fingers of death. I don't know why.

I don't. Yeah, I've heard.

But that's but that's weirdly is produced by Kid Capri, produced

by Diamond. I was going to say that's weird.

I don't know. Yeah, I marked that one out as

like, I was going through the best charts.

Oh, this is a good one. This is like Kid Capri produced

it. Yeah.

Which doesn't make any sense because Diamond is obviously a

fantastic producer, but the 2 tracks I like apart from that I

really like flow in and MCS is my ambition.

Dramatically suspect, but it's a good track nonetheless.

But yeah, so it's just, it's an ad what I think I should listen

to more, but it's never really grabbed me.

So I can't really like say too much too much more about that

one. OK, well, before you move on to

the other one, I'd say a few bits about it, but I think it's

a solid album. I was surprised by how much I

did like it. I was expecting it to be kind of

like a very 90, sort of late 90s affair, like with all the other

producers, kind of moving in a different direction.

But I well, this is quite a solid album.

I quite enjoyed it. I don't fully understand why I

didn't buy it at the time either because, you know, I'm still

kind of into a Diamond D. Yeah, me too.

And it's got some great tracks. Yeah.

So just it kind of passed me by. Yeah.

Best tracks, I'd say 5 Fingers of Death, which is the ITC posse

cut, which is incredible. And on stage, which was a book

while production. And no wonder, I think they they

they kind of stood out as I was going through it.

And it's got some nice appearances by Fife.

Nice to hear Fife popping up on one of the tracks and Pete Rock

as well. It's unusual for Five to be to

be offered a guest appearance because he's not.

You're not the best as he bless him well.

There's a lot of people would say he's the best thing about

Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders.

Wow all. Right, Debbie, gone in the head.

No, I mean, I'm not one of them, but yeah, I think he's held in

quite high regard anyway. So yeah, solid album, some great

tracks on it. So it's up against The

Awakening, which is, you know, were you like big on this one

or? No, this is a bit of a

disappointing. So again, it's like it's not a

bad album, I'm just not so into this one as the DITC crew.

It's got one massive track on their hip to the game, which

everybody, everybody will know. But I really like the track on

there with KRS-one and OC which is Brainstorm PSK.

Right. Yeah.

Yeah, and speak your piece. I really, really like that one.

That's that's rap that this featuring Marquee.

I don't even know that is, but Diamond and AG are also that

one. Yeah.

So it's just, I don't know, after after after some of Lord

Finesse's like earlier stuff. It just doesn't.

It just doesn't. I'm just not not so into this

album. I think.

I think you like this one though, don't you?

I'm sure this is an album that's come from.

You. Yeah, I do.

I do kind of like some of it. And this is Write the Sweets to

what sweet spot for Lord Vanessa's production.

I mean, it's some really great examples of his production style

on here. But I never had it in 1996.

I never bought it. I've only recently bought it on

CDI. Knew Hip to the Game for some

reason because I heard it on, you know, whatever.

Westwood isn't it? Yeah, although all those shows

and MTV, but I love that one. But it's not not an album I was

particularly, you know, blown away by.

And I think the main problem for me listening to it is just the

amount of skits. I think we might have said it in

the in the main episode, but the amount of skits on this album is

insane. Like it just breaks the flow.

They're not enjoyable to listen to.

So the good stuff on here is kind of a bit hard work to get

through so. Feel like a very neat album in

that respect. No, but I've got a really cool

version of it was like the 25th anniversary or something, and

it's got a disc of all, like all the instrumentals and cool, a

couple of remixes and stuff. So it's pretty cool, but but hip

to the game sort of makes it all worthwhile That that's kind of

like redeems. It's really, really.

Classic. Absolutely banger.

So yeah, not not a massive fan of it, but never mind what I

think it's what you think that matters.

So what's winning? Do you know what I'm going to

have to look at what how I rank them?

Remember, dead air is a crime. I think I'm going to go for

hatreds and. That doesn't surprise me.

Fidelity because I don't think I like the awakening enough to put

it through, even though it feels like it should be the better.

Yeah, no, that totally, totally. I think he shot himself in the

foot with all the skits. Yeah.

We'll, we'll, we'll put it down to that.

Yeah. All right.

Well, Diamond D, you get one of these.

Back of the net. So it is now my turn to choose.

And what came out randomly, I didn't, I didn't alter these,

didn't fiddle with it at all. It just came out randomly.

Was Fat Joe's Jealous Ones Envy, his 1995 follow up to Represent

and the DITC album from 2000. So yeah, Jealous ones envy

versus DITC. So jealous ones envy again.

I do not understand for the life of me why I didn't buy this.

I was buying hip hop CDs in 1996.

I like to represent, but for some reason this one just

completely passed me by. It's got premiere on it.

It's got other people on it that I would have been really into

Diamond D. KRS ones on it.

KRS ones on it and I just didn't buy it and I think maybe that

thing I was saying about Fat Joe being a bit of a basic rapper,

maybe I just didn't fancy listening to another album of.

It yeah, I agree. And I wasn't hooked by a single

either. I know success is on here and

there's a remix of The Shit Is Real, but I wasn't hooked by a

single, so yeah, I didn't. I just didn't buy it at the

time. So I sort of checked it out for

this and it's a decent album. I think it's got that.

But I think there's a fair summary because I think in 1995

this is just a very average album.

Yeah, in 1995 it was. It got lost, probably.

It's worth listening to, but in 95 you your money was best best

spent elsewhere. Oh, I mean, you've got, well,

you've got Raekwon, you've got Wu Tang, you know, putting up

bangers. That's.

Probably 20-30 albums in 95. Exactly.

Got Mob Deep. There's so much more going on

and no wonder it got a little bit overlooked.

But there are people who kind of like success and so but it still

it still has that kind of classic 90s production style.

It hasn't. He hasn't quite moved into that

sort of shiny suit, polished sound of the later albums.

There's one track on I love part.

Part. Duh.

Which is produced by Domingo. I don't know if you like like

that track, but I absolutely love.

It yeah, it was OK. Is it like a part of the sequel

to kind of Flow Joe? I don't know, play it.

I haven't actually got it. I.

Haven't got it. No.

I can't play it, no. No, I can't play it.

But yeah, I'll tell you one that one thing though, that does

dramatically reduce my how it is standing in my head, envy.

What you. Absolute shite.

Is that the one that's a little bit more kind of like R&B?

Yeah, the sexual healing sample, I mean, that was lazy in 1995,

you know, let alone listen to it now.

It's absolutely criminal. So that's that's shocking.

So that's going to really count against it in the decision.

But in general, I think this is the lab one that is War is worth

listening to because the beat the beats on here are actually

quite good. They're all right.

Yeah. You've got things like Bronx

tail, which is. I like Bronx.

That's a diamond chaos one. Shit is real, watch out, it's

not. A Diamond 1 yet?

Yeah, and success, the original 1 and the remix, so it's not

bad. There's enough good tracks there

it's worth looking at I think. I would have been quite happy

with this coming home from this coming home with this from HMV.

On the other side of the match is yeah, the ITC and the the

album that I again, I I kind of I had a copy of it off our

friend met end of the show and it's not a good album.

I. You don't like it?

I mean, there's some good, there's some all right stuff on

it. Basically, it's a terrible album

with a couple of bangers. So you've got.

So I'm just going to moderate that slightly because I'm going

to moderate this very slightly. I think it's mostly good with

some great tracks. But I agree there's also some

stuff there that's just that needs to be skipped, right?

It should be better. It should be better, it should

be better. The talent that's available

there, the lineup, the lineup. Yeah.

All the, I think the best tracks on here are all produced by

Showbiz, which is, which is, you know, something that I wouldn't

have kind of like imagined really.

Yeah, yeah. I just think the amount of

talent and put the personnel on this is unforgivable.

There isn't an absolute banger, you say.

It's just absolutely. You've got producers, you know,

people who should know better, producers who should know

better. Finesse, Buck, Wild, showbiz,

You know what happened to these people.

This is not that long after the golden era.

I don't understand why it all changed.

But there are some great tracks on there.

So the the the Ebonics remix by Primo.

Yes, decent. Probably the best.

The best, yeah. Thick.

It's good. It's good.

That's not the Primo one. Yeah.

Way of Life by show. It's good.

Day One was produced by. Diamond day one.

We discussed that in our main episode, didn't we?

I won't discuss this one because this is going to be my buck

while entry into his his his competition.

Champagne thoughts. OK, love it, absolutely love it.

Drop it Heavy, which is which is with chaos one and Big pun is

another show show track. I liked the enemy by by Primo

and then stand strong, which is another show 1.

So I think if it was just those tracks on the album, it would be

brilliant. There's there's some filler on

that. I mean skippers that you just.

Think some unforgiveness. Going on.

Yeah, some unforgivably bad beats on here where you're at

Way of life I've got as a bad beat as well, but you obviously.

I know like way of life. Well, let's have a listen only

if they. Bring in the beat, hip hop.

Yeah, it's, it's just those snares.

They're just so thin and weedy. Yeah, just for me, this is

because it's ingrained in my hip hop journey.

It's one that was that just thought, oh shit, I like this.

Yeah, this is what you were getting in 2000.

This is there wasn't much alternative to this.

Yeah, but then when you hear this, this is those drums, isn't

it? Just get your head, nod in.

It's so distinctive, but you just know a Primo beat, we can

hear it good. That's much.

Anyway, I don't play too much of that are.

You going to put through then? Right.

Well, yeah, it's a difficult one.

It's a difficult one. I think I had more familiarity

with the DIT. So even though I said it's

terrible, I did have more familiarity with and I love day

one. Bigger tracks, thick.

There's some bet the good ones are better than the good ones on

jealous ones. Envy.

You've got to put that through. So I'm going to, I'm just

through, you know, loyalty to an album that I knew better.

I'm going to put the ITC through despite everything I said.

That's fair enough. So that's that one.

OK. So we're going to go on to the

next match after we give the ITC this.

Back of the net. Again, just to stress,

absolutely randomly drawn. I didn't fiddle with it, I

didn't organise these to make them really difficult choices

for you Steve. But the next choice out of the

hat that came up randomly just to stress that again is Return

of the Funky Man by Lord Finesse against stunts, Blunts and Hip

Hop by Diamond D21992 albums. 2 formative albums from the early

days of digging in the crates and that is your choice to get.

You get your laughing, get around that.

Yeah, OK, right. Return of the Funky Man.

Let's start, let's start with this one.

Well, so this in like the, the DITC chronology, this, this is,

this is, you know, 2 Lord Finesse albums in a row, you

know, getting, getting things off to a kind of a strong start.

There are some nice beats and some nice rhymes.

There's some good stuff on it, yeah.

But it's not a step up from funky technician.

If I think it's a step, step back, there's there's a track as

you were just playing this before, before we came on air

called yes, You May, which features Percy P and Percy P.

He only has like 1 album he's ever released.

There's lots of guest appearances, but he's he's a

really good rapper. So I love, I love I love that I

love the production there. And then show me how we do

things Is a is a is a well regarded one.

But yeah, I have to say I'm I don't know whether you're going

to agree this or not, but I think this is the weakest album

in the DITC catalogue. Yeah, that's quite a.

Would you agree with that or not?

I mean, I don't, I don't think so, not if we're including Don

Cartagena, but. Yeah, that's sorted in the

quarter finals. Yeah, I know.

Yeah. So I wouldn't go that far.

And yeah, it might be even be better than things like Runaway

Slave. I don't think it's better than

stunts, runs and hip hop, but I don't.

I think it's a stretch to say it's the worst one in the DITC

catalogue, but it isn't brilliant.

I think the main problem is that it has so many similar sounding

tracks. Finesse, while he is a really

good punchline rapper and really good lyricist, like it does wear

a bit thin given after you've reached how many tracks are on

this 1718 or something like that.

So it does kind of get a bit thin and it's quite old school.

It's a bit I don't know. Yeah, it doesn't move it

forward, doesn't. No, it doesn't move anything

forward. So yeah, it's not the worst, but

it's certainly not the best. So yeah, let's move over to the

other one. Then so this.

Is your. You won't be surprised to know

that I absolutely love this album.

This is this is what I've already spoken about in the in

the main podcast. It's one that I, I bought in

the, in the kind of probably like 9798 and just just fell in

love with it. There's so many tracks now that

I love. It's it's a really formative

track for the whole of the DITC crew, as I said in the kind of

the main episode. There is no, there's no planet

that this is not that exists, that this isn't going to go

through the next round. Yeah, so much, so much good

stuff on this. I know it really means a lot to

you this. Album.

Yeah, it's come up, come up quite a lot.

Let's see what Harry Redknapp has got to say about that

absolute load of nonsense. Yeah, that's what is how Steve

feels. So you can't really.

It's. Objectively speaking, it's far,

far superior to return the funky.

Yeah, I'd have to go along with that, so.

Many classic tracks on there. Yeah, I know it's not my

decision. I'm not involved, but it's yeah.

But I think it's much by far the better album.

I'm just looking ahead to see who you're going to pair up with

in the next round. Yeah, let's just see what the

Larry bot thinks of stunts, blunts and hip hop, and I'll

just say it's fine. OK, Good to see it's still

working. Surprise, yeah.

So let's go on to the last match of the east side of the draw,

which is self-titled and Buckwilds 1990 now from 2010 up

against Sharon AGS Goodfellas. What a match this proved to be

and this is my decision this time.

So we included Buckwild a self-titled because even though

it came out in 2010, the beats were produced in 1994 and 95.

So it's got the very much got a kind of a golden age sound to

it. So it's a it's a throwback to

Buckwild's 1990 sound. And obviously, along the course

of time, self-titled got involved and thought he could

spit over these beats. Yeah.

I mean, that's quite a privilege to for Buckwild to let him do

that. I.

Reckon he really is. He's not.

Really a prominent rapper, No, He's done a few things with like

apathy and things, but he's not, I mean, he's not a bad rapper,

but he's not, he's not got like a lot of what would you say

provenance is? That right word that's, yeah,

that's a good word. So he's not somebody you were

familiar with before this, was he?

Or was this was this? Yeah.

No, he appears. He appears on a lot of like,

backpacker rap underground stuff here and there.

So I knew I knew who he was. And he's he's he's fine.

But yeah, what what privilege to be able to be given these beats

by Buck? Really must what it was like

Christmas like kid in a candy shop when he was giving them.

And it does sound like 1990 as well.

It's, it's, there's some really, really good, good beats on here.

Yeah, no, it does. It's there's some really good,

good stuff on it. I hadn't heard obviously before

we started to do the research for this this episode.

So and I was listening to it going, God, yeah, this is so

good. Oh, good.

Yeah, I did. I really like it.

I mean, I'm a massive fan of this era of Buck Wild, and I

really, really wish this come out.

These had come out in the 90s with perhaps a better rapper on

them. You know, like, they sat like

Big O, Big O Yeah. Piggy.

Big O was the best best rapper in that crew.

Isn't yeah even AZ dare I say Yeah AZ Imagine AZ on some of

these. Well, yeah, yes, I'm not gonna

say no more about that. So I would have been all over

it. The the beats I think are really

incredible. Not all of them, obviously, it

just tails off a little bit. But yeah, I mean.

There's some filler. There's definitely.

Some filler. Yeah, Yeah.

Which which ones you really like?

So my I've got under my best tracks list I've got there will

be blood, which is a bit of an All Star line up.

So that ex grandpa yeah, AGOC and Diamond D So again, kind of

a DITC posse cut with a bit of Brand Nubian thrown in for good

measure. The deal maker, which is a

classic Buckwild beat. I mean the samples and

everything. And yes, I've included the

track. Fuck master sex primarily.

I didn't like, love the track, but I think there's an Angela

Bofill sample and I when I heard the beat come in, I was like,

oh, I know that sample because I love, I love the album, the

Angela Bofill album. So.

It's no surprise to say that that none of those tracks were

featured in my. Favourites, really.

So which? We never, we never agree.

On this, no, we never do well and I won't remember any of the

ones you say that probably, but go on.

What's this of yours? My favourite was step correctly.

Step correctly. Which has got that kind of step

correctly. But.

Correctly hardcore data and there's a track called a razor

heads which has got Vinny powers who's from from Jedi mind.

He plays for Wimbledon. He played.

He played up front for Jedi mind tricks.

That's right. But they're more of the kind of

hard head banging ones which which I which I like.

But yeah, really good. And if listeners haven't

listened to this album, you've got got to listen to.

It's well worth listening. This There is something about.

There's loads of bangers on there.

Yeah, really worth checking out. So moving over to Goodfellas,

which was an album I was very, very familiar with.

I got it on the CD, bought it when it came out in 95, and

yeah, I really liked it. This, this is like the

quintessential showbiz or show as he was called by this point

on album. And when I was talking about his

dark production style, this is very much what I'm talking

about. Weird, eerie jazz samples,

strange baselines. Baseline.

This is brilliant, incredible through.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. My notes.

Really good and some of my favourites on here you you know

now and the one the bit and this is really weird that the most

thing I love most. Is it you know now or you now

know? You know now, if you didn't know

before then you will know now. This is show.

So at the end it repeats the chorus for quite a while.

And then at the end it just repeats that woman the the

female rappers. It's how it's going down, going

down, going down. And then it comes in with the

next track, which is for some reason, I always loved that when

they messed about like that. I love add on, which is Lord

Finesse production. Yeah, we didn't include it in

our Finesse. It's proper episode.

Brilliant on that one. Yeah, that's on my list.

Add on is is a is a DITC classic.

Yeah, really good, love that one and there's loads of.

And then you've got 2 versions of Next Level, the nighttime

mix, the famous DJ Premier Remix which.

We, which we've talked about, yeah.

We've talked about, which is one of his classics.

Yeah, and the original with the W Montgomery sample.

I love that to bits. You've got the one off the next

level which got your back. I used to love Got Your back.

In fact, it made a few compilation tapes back in the

day. Love that.

One of the jazz sample on that one too.

So I really, really love this album.

I love All Out as well, All Out and You All Out and the last

track you won it. It's just yeah, yeah, this is

this right. So for listeners, I, I nearly

had a tantrum because I didn't think this was on the list.

I was like, can we have Goodfellas?

Yeah, Yeah. Oh, I hadn't read the list

properly. Yeah, it's yeah.

Really great album. Go and listen to this one.

Absolutely. Go listen to it.

So it should come as no surprise.

It's my choice. I'm going to go for Goodfellas

as the winner. And so he gets one of these.

Back of the net. To see what Kevin Keegan thinks

of that decision, I've kept really quiet.

But I'll tell you something. He went down in my estimation

when he said that. Yeah.

All right. Fair enough, Kev.

A bit hot headed. Today, yeah, he's very hot

headed. Hot headed.

OK, OK. So that completes the lineup for

the quarterfinals I've. Just worked out which ones

you're going to get. Choice from the courts.

You're a slow bastard. Well, I might have mixed it up

though. OK, I might have mixed it up.

OK, can we flip a coin? So you go first.

No, the FIFA computer throughout a very specific order I'm.

Sure, setup batter needs to get a bung from me or something at

some point. Right.

So we're going to move on to. Go decide The Who gets the semi

final. We are.

Yeah. We're going to decide to get the

central. Just check in on Ian B.

We'll see if he's OK. Oh God.

Nothing you. Didn't have anything left

earlier. He's hanging in.

There all right. He wants to know.

So match, this is match #9 this is the first quarter final.

This is your decision. And it is Runaway Slave versus

Word Life by OC Yeah. Go so we yeah, I mean, we've

already debated what what the qualities of these albums.

So yeah, it's it's very easy really isn't.

I think word life is a near, near classic album.

Runaway slave definitely worth worth listening, but love it.

Word Word Life 100%. Could not agree more.

There you go. Could not agree more with that

decision. Yeah.

I could get to choose next. Yeah, there's no, there's no

debate with that with me, I think it's my father.

Superior Album came out in the year 94 when hip hop would

really hit maturity I think, and it really found its feet and.

Got yeah, proper golden age. Golden Age chip up.

Absolutely, and it was such a great year.

It really did. It really did stand out.

All right, so moving on to the second quarter finals, this

match #10 and this is dumb Carter, Gina by Fat Joe.

Who's going to win this? Versus Lifestyles of the Poor

and Dangerous by Big Al. I wonder if anyone can guess

what I'm going to vote for? You don't need long do.

You No, I don't need long. I'm Yeah, I'm putting lifestyles

of the poor and dangerous through it.

It's just so much, so much superior.

Not only in terms of the beats, not only in terms of sort of,

you know, the production, but also the lyricism.

Big Al is twice the rapper Fat Joke could would have ever been.

It's a great DITC. Album so we give it one of these

so that means the first semi final is complete.

It is a word life versus lifestyle.

So the poor and dangerous, I mean, that is.

That's going to be. That's going to be tricky.

It is going to be. I'd say they are.

They are two of the the showcase the ITC albums word Life versus.

Life, I think, get on the same side of the drawer.

FIFA Computer. No, yeah, sorry.

I keep for going. I keep for going.

In fact, Sepp Blatter is here. I think we might not.

He might not be here anymore. He's not here.

He's not with us anymore. He's off spending that money you

gave to him to rig the straw. Absolutely.

And that was that. That was very expensive.

How much? I'll tell you who is here,

though. Gianni Infantino, the new FIFA

president. Oh yeah, today I feel OK, OK.

And the second no. What was?

It the second-half of the quarters, the second.

Half of the quarters we have Diamond DS, hatred, passions and

fidelity up against the ITC. Is this my choice?

This is no actually I did it in a different order.

OK. So this is my choice.

Rigged in a different way? OK, who are you going to go for?

I'm going to go for hatred, passions of infidelity.

Already written D ITC. That's how much they thought

that was going to get in there. That's that.

Are you sure about that? Are you sure that there's?

No, I'm not go and put D ITC through because of the because I

because it was new to me hatred. I just, I remember enjoying

listening listening to it more than I did re listen to it more

than I did the ITC. It's got it's got too many good

tracks on it DITC, even though it's not good enough as a as a

as an expectation. If it was an EP and it had just

had those good tracks that we talked about earlier on, you

know, thick day one, I think we'd be it would be much more

highly regarded. But but it's going through

anyway, you know, and The thing is, it's also it's like an All

Star. It's an All Star DITC kind of

affair as names their album and. Primo does a lot of good work,

yeah. So the.

Reason. Yeah, the reason I switched them

around. Yeah, you don't decide this.

Well, the reason FIFA switched them around, I should say is

because the next quarter final is stunts, blunts and hip hop

diamond in the second. See why we're?

Going to be fighting in the pub later, yeah?

Versus Goodfellas so. So two, yeah, two really good

albums and I objectively probably very equal, but I have

to do what you always do. And all the podcasts, I'm going

to go with my sentimental good lad, gut instincts.

We're just stunts, blunts. Good lad, you're going to get

this. There are so many good tracks

that day in the life. Sally go on track.

Mine feel the vibe red light, green light.

OK, I'm interested. No, actually.

Are there any more good tracks on it?

Yeah, there's not many bad tracks on it.

Yeah, I mean, Sally, go on one track.

Mine best kept secret. Well, I'm Goodfellas, we just

rattled off like the two next levels.

So step to me love that F what you heard I'm out of here.

Another great one day in life is classic red light green light

brilliant. I went for mine check 1-2

another brilliant one with some production 45 King confused.

Love that freestyle stunts, blunts and hip hop feel.

The vibe. There's just so many good tracks

there. It's got 23 tracks.

It is. Yeah, but that's too many.

And also we were just rattling them off.

You got, you know, now add on Next Level Nighttime mix, the

other version of Next Level. Got your back.

You want it all out? Got the flavour?

Yeah. I mean, it's good down.

It's just not as good as stunts plans.

It's not going to get there. My mind's made-up, right?

Can I tempt you with this one? It's so good.

It is good, but there's nothing to me.

It's going to be stunts, blunts. There's a, there's a situation,

the final where you're going to put me in a position to choose

and I I think it's going to be very difficult.

We'll get through it, Steve. We'll get through it OK.

Don't worry about it. Right, so the the the semi final

lineup is complete. The first semi final is word

life against lifestyles of the poor and dangerous.

The other semi final is the ITC versus stunts, blunts and hip

hop. I have been.

I don't know if you think this is kind or not, but I've given

you the word life lifestyles semi final no?

Way have. You.

Yeah, I've given you that and I've got the other.

One, Are you sure? Are you sure I'm a swap?

Absolutely sure. No.

And like you can't because it's we'll face corruption

accusations if we do that. So yeah.

So word life lifestyles are the poor and unfortunate.

What? No lifestyles are poor and

dangerous. Are the poor and dangerous?

OK, Very, very close. When I was doing my notes

earlier, I thought if these two arrive in the final together,

I'm going to find it very difficult to choose between

them. Yeah.

So I did do a little, a little scoring for both of them.

And I'm going to say I think I'm just checking.

I think that's half a point in it.

No, no, I've scored in the same. Oh.

No, I'm going to have to go on my gut instinct here.

What? Thickens.

There we go. I'm going to choose the one that

I think you would like to see in the final.

Right. OK, I'm going.

To choose word life. That's very kind of you.

Is that the one that you would have gone for?

It certainly is, yeah. It's by far to me the better

album. So soon as I've done that for

you, can you now do me a favour? Right.

So yeah, the other semifinal D ITC versus stunts blunts, hip

hop, I'm going to do you a favour, but at the same time

stay true to myself and what I would actually pick.

I'm not just picking it for the for the hell of it, I would

actually pick stunts blunts over the ITC.

So yeah, go me. Wow.

Yeah, that this pretty easy decision, that one.

I mean that the ICC album, as I said earlier, it's a terrible

album with some absolute baggers, Yeah, but for some

reason you've tricked me into making it go through to the semi

final and that's fine. But I think this is where the

road ends. Yeah, OK, OK.

Yeah, so. I, I, I, I can agree with you in

the final, yeah. I don't think we're going to

need to have a fight. Right.

So in the final, do we need to hear anything?

You know, do we want to hear do. We hear one track from.

Each all right. Well, while I find it, you tell

us, you talk, you feel some of your favourite favourite tracks.

OK, stunts, Blunts. If we can pick one from stunts

blunts, I well, I think feel the vibe is the one that I said in

the main episode, which is which is which I really like.

But why don't you play day in life?

Because I think that's that's one that people will will

consider a classic. Over The Beatles some of course.

Back to basics. Chicken shit in ASICS.

It's one of those lovely storytelling raps.

Do you join in or? Join in you're.

Going to join in. You're going to wrap.

It up probably doing a few of the.

It's got some. It's got a lot of coastals,

actually, yeah. Would you like to know what

Larry gave this album? Oh, it would.

He'd be. Well, maybe I should reveal

that. Did we do the?

Yeah, I know, but. I can only say he'd be annoyed

that this is made it for the final OK then in Word life.

I think we played a bit of that earlier on, but let's let's have

another quick. One can you play well?

The finest track on there is. Time's Up is easily the best.

All time classic. But can I put put put no main

topic or let it slide on? I think those two that don't get

a lot of their recognition, but I love them.

No mates. Yeah, again, this, this is part

of the sort of the the downturn of the album, isn't it?

It's kind. Of like, yeah.

The beats good. The beats good, but you know, I

used to listen to this. It was a listening experience

start to finish, yes. So I accepted the ones I didn't

like as much as part of the listening experience of the

album. Yeah, which is the sign of a

truly good athlete. You can.

You can tolerate some of the slightly weaker ones.

Yeah, absolutely. And then you got let it slide.

Oh, and one of these buck wild throw away beats and start.

Just showing off. Absolute classic.

OK, so that's enough pissing about.

We need to decide who's going to win this the ITC tournament in

this edition of. Nice.

So. Yeah, well, I contemplate this

earlier. I thought that there's a chance,

isn't there, that I will sneak such stunt blunts into the

stunts blunts into the final. And it will come up against word

like because Word Life clearly is, I think the best, the best

album. So I will go with with my brain

and this one, not my heart. And I I'd like to choose Word

Life as the as the best DITCM. Unbelievable.

You're going to get one of those because it should surprise no

one that I agree with you, basically.

It deserves it to win, doesn't. It, I think it does it.

It's, I don't know what it is. I think it's the most singular

vision perhaps of all of the albums here, yes.

It's. Yes, it's focus.

You've got OC is the main kind of thread through the middle of

it, but you've got Buck while producing most of the tracks.

Which helps I think. Which helps, it just feels a bit

more focused than than a lot of the other albums, so and we

think. We might also have an argument

when we get to the Buck wild. So if you take Prima out of this

as kind of like an associated member, he he, he probably is

the best producer in the crew. Yeah, in the golden, in this

era, the 9495 era, I think perhaps he was, but.

You look at his output. Yeah, definitely.

He's getting his own episode because his output is so strong.

Yeah, 100%. I think I think Stunts Blunts

deserves to be in the final because it's a very formative

album in in the story of hip hop, in the story of Diamond D

and the DITC crew. So there's no I don't think

there's any shame in it getting to the final, even though Larry

probably gave it. What is it?

Did he rate it out of five and a?

True. What did he what you talking?

Stunts, blunts. Yeah, he gave it three and a

half 3.5 and he gave word life 4.25.

Not quite sure what's going on with the .25, but that's what

he's gone for. But if you ask him about it,

he'll just say and I'll just say it's fine though.

But anyway, so I've got some Lawry's other comments you read.

Should just read some of them. Just giggles right here we go.

So we gave, well here are the ones that have got comments next

to them. You've got the DITC album.

You give two out of two out of five.

He's a severe case of 2000 itis of the beats, which is 100% what

I said about some of the tracks on it.

He's given You weren't like this.

He's given the Big Picture 1. Here the picture to 1.

Yeah, risible stuff. What it deserves more than one.

Well, you're like this, he says. Makes life after death sound

like Illmatic. Love that good stuff Larry.

And then hatred Passions 3.5 sounds like 1 I could get into.

I think this echo is pretty much what we've seen it's like.

Yeah, it's one to go back and listen to.

Yeah, I think I would have got into that if I'd had it in the

day. The self-titled album Waste of

Good beats 3 out of five. Because of self-titled.

Yeah, pretty much wasting them pretty much.

And the highest score in one of all of the ones on here was

Lifestyles of the Poor and Dangerous 4.75.

We've adopted 1/4 point scale and this true score now.

If Larry was here and lifestyles point I had one, I don't think

anybody would have would have worried about that.

We'd I wouldn't have lost any sleepover.

No, it's fair. It's fair, you know?

Yeah. I'm so sad that he he got, he

got gunned down, didn't he? Well, we think he did.

We haven't heard anything. He was on a, he was on a ship.

He went over there to do some deals.

Are we talk about Larry or Big L here?

Oh, I thought you talk about Larry.

No, Larry's still with us, thankfully, but he's stuck

somewhere in the Strait of Hormuz, so.

Yeah, he hasn't been gone down yet.

No, he hasn't been. Not yet.

No Big L has gone down. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sorry, Larry's mum's not listening.

Although they are both Big L to us, Big Larry.

Yeah, right. So yeah.

Good, good fun that. So well done word life.

You OC, you win the ITC tournaments and you get one of

these. And yeah, that's fun, Steve.

Well, I enjoyed doing that. Yeah, that's good.

That's a good format. Yeah, yeah, we should do it

again sometime. Rapid fire.

Just yeah. Quick decisions, yeah.

So we'll do it again. But until then, please subscribe

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otherwise we'll catch you on the next episode.

Peace. Absolute load of nonsense.