A friend of mine was recently asking what music I have been listening to lately.
Diamond District has been on pretty serious rotation at work and in my little studio. Diamond District is a trio comprised of DC emcees, Oddisee, X.O., and YU. I’ve been an Oddisee fan for awhile now; his production sound is what I miss in hip-hop today.
If you like east coast hip-hop from the early to mid 90′s, then go get this album right now. Best of all it’s a free download (for the clean version). Support your scene DC. Be sure to check out the Wale, Tabi Bonney and X.O. show at 9:30 Club on Wednesday night!
In The Ruff is the highly anticipated debut album from new DC hip hop
group “The Diamond District”, created by state veterans Oddisee, X.O.
& YU. In The Ruff is the answer for any lover of hip hop who asks the
question – “Where did that grimy East coast sound go?”The group was founded by rapper/ producer Oddisee, who has a long list
of production & collaboration credits with the likes of Freeway, Talib
Kweli, Siagon, Little Brother, Trek Life, Charles Hamilton, Jazzy Jeff, Buck
Shot, Royce the 5′9”, Nikki jean, Muhsinah, J-live, Lil Fame of MOP,
Skyzoo and many more. Oddisee’s soulful, haunting samples over bass-
heavy beat breaks create the perfect instrumentals for him, XO & YU to
match with their street savvy, politically conscious lyrics.“The ware wolves wear wool suits, be ware of them…”
-YUIn The Ruff is a raw mid-90’s Boom-Bap themed album for the DC state of
mind, destined to appeal to all lovers of hip hop’s golden era, managing to
travel back in time and push the boundaries of DC Hip-Hop
simultaneously.
