On “If U Down,” the first single from the Diamond District member’s sophomore album The Earn, yU combats empty rhetoric with harsh truth about himself, his surroundings and his art form. Less a song than a call to action, yU spits like a man at the end of his rope. Read the rest of this entry »
yU’s best known for his work on the microphone, whether he’s on the solo tip or doing his thing as one-third of Diamond District. But over the years, he’s crafted some gems behind the boards as well. Read the rest of this entry »
More polished than ever, and shining accordingly, Uptown XO and his Diamond District family, Oddissee and yU, return with the video for the confident firecracker “Tol’ You So.” Read the rest of this entry »
Following a pretty kickass verse on “Tol’ U So,” Oddisee’s back behind the boards for his new instrumental album, Rock Creek Park, and its first single, “Still Doing It.” Read the rest of this entry »
Uptown XO links with Diamond District brethren yU, Oddisee and fellow DMV-repper Fat Trel for “Tol’ U So,” a track set to be included on XO’s next project Monumental 2.
Diamond District Feat. Fat Trel – “Tol’ U So” (Prod. By AB The Pro)
These days, artists have to go to great lengths to stand out. Whether it’s eating cockroaches or assuming another man’s identity, music just isn’t enough anymore. Putting on such misleading fronts happens to be the theme of “Whole World See It,” from Harlem’s own Riz. Read the rest of this entry »
Staying with the Mello Music theme, another extension of Diamond District, Oddisee, just released Odd Seasons, the compiled version of the heavily acclaimed series of separate seasonal EPs that released over the course of a year. All four seasons have been mixed, mastered, refined and polished for retail. Read the rest of this entry »
A while back, yU, one-third of Diamond District, released his solo effort, Before Taxes to critical acclaim. At that time, Gotty described the man’s music like this: “When I listen, I don’t hear ‘what’s next’ when he rhymes. Instead, there’s traces of “what was” and that is well-crafted rhymes, founded on some semblance of intellect.” Sounds about right to me. Read the rest of this entry »
Mello Music Group stays winning. Last week, they let Oddisee’s Mental Liberation go out to the masses for free, and now they’re following up with the instrumentals from Diamond District’s excellent In The Ruff. These beats stood out from the crowd back in 2009 and still glow to this day. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve seen Apollo Brown win a few battles with beats at DetroitRap.com’s Monthly Mixers, so when word came through that this Grand Rapids resident remixed Diamond District’s “Streets Won’t Let Me Chill,” my mouse got to clicking. Upon examination, my tastebuds were ironically enlightened by Brown’s overcast shadow of dreary instrumentation samples, James Brown drums and a completely different take on DD’s downtrodden street dreams.
The result could be theme music for a 2011 remake of Taxi Driver. Read the rest of this entry »
First and foremost, thanks to all that entered the yU “Before Taxes” Giveaway. While we couldn’t bless everyone with goodies, three lucky cats will be receiving free goods. The second prize winner is Thaddeus Y. of Freemont, CA. Thaddeus will be receiving receive a signed CD copy of yU’s Before Taxes and a vinyl version of the album. The third prize winner is Andrew K. of Philly and Andrew gets a whole bunch of stuff out of the TSS goodie bag.
But for the big shebang, the grand prize winner is Pythian W. of Chicago. He’ll be receiving a signed copy of yU’s Before Taxes CD as well as a vinyl copy of the album plus the NikeID “Before Taxes” Dunks.
Respect to yU, Diamond District & the Mello Music Group for putting the giveaway together and our good friends Dan & Michelle @ Audible Treats for helping to make it all happen. Make sure to check out yU’s solo album Before Taxes and show your support by purchasing a copy.
RMF!
Diamond District’s Oddisee is the kind of guy to see things through. After giving listeners Odd Summer, Autumn & Winter, he’s now delivered the final installment, Odd Spring. Thematically, he delivers once again with music that’s in tune with the season, using uptempo beats full of synths & effects. My early fav looks to be “Juba May,” solely for the percussion play, but its heels are being nipped by “Warmer Day.”
Late to the party? Don’t fret. While all of the installments can be found here (click here), there’s plans for all four Seasons to be released as a box set.
The Blooming
Birds & Bees Feat. Diamond District
Juba May
Warmer In The Day
Anticipation Feat. Kingpen Slim & Oddisee
In The Now Feat. Olivier Daysoul
The Riches Instr
This Beat Is For Finale
I’m From PG Feat. Oddisee
Two Way Street Feat. Muneshine
Download — Oddisee – Odd Spring
While you’re here, don’t forget to enter to win fellow Diamond District member yU’s “Before Taxes” Nike Dunk giveaway.
yU, one-third of the celebrated group Diamond District, recently released a new solo album, Before Taxes, released April 13th via Mello Music Group. To celebrate and promote the release, yU and Mello Music Group are putting together a giveaway to award one lucky fan & TSS reader the opportunity to win a special, yU “Before Taxes” customized pair of Nike Dunks. Once the winner has been awarded, the Dunks will be customized using Nike ID and sent along according to the winner’s shoe size. Yep, free shoes! All you have to do is sign up below using legit info so that we can contact you once you win and then process your order. And if you’re really game, send us a photo of you rocking the kicks. Read the rest of this entry »
Constantly bombarded with what every artist/manager/publicist hopes is the next thing, I’m always looking for and listening to a healthy dose of boom-bap that may not agree with everyone’s tastes. But I think anyone who listened to Diamond District’s In The Ruff last year will cosign how thorough it was. Right on the heels of the group’s critical acclaim, one part of the DD team, yU, has released his solo effort, Before Taxes, and it’s ripe with similar sound patterns but perhaps more gritty & conscious lyrics.
“I sing a song of truth, courage, and respect/Jumping out there like Geronimo, we stand up for that/And our plan of attack is straight Cherokee strategy/You can kill me, but you cannot kill my legacy…”
When I listen, I don’t hear “what’s next” when he rhymes. Instead, there’s traces of “what was” and that is well-crafted rhymes, founded on some semblance of intellect. Read the rest of this entry »
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