Some new Diamond District

Been waiting years for this follow up. Different style, same vibe. 

yU x Oddisee

Gritty like some old Mobb Deep. He said "frame of mind." 

yU's "Garbage Beat Tape"

yU is a DC MC best known outside DC hip hop circles for his role as 1/3 of Diamond District (alongside Oddisee & X.O.) One thing he's not been known for is producing, but apparently he wants to rectify that. The MC has been spending some time with a beat machine and this tape is proof positive that he's getting some chops.
 

There's some gems on here, which helps balance out some of the more forgettable material. He's got a new album called The Earn on the way soon.

yU "On Ya Head"

Wow. This new yU track is ridiculously hard.

"On Your Head"

Riding the wave of success following Diamond District's In the Ruff, main man is following it up with a solo LP, "Before Taxes". By the by, the title for his new album is the same as that of a mixtape he put out last year, which you should go find.

You can follow him on twitter.

Diamond District Mixtape

Some really beautiful things are happening for hip hop in the greater DC area right now. I don't know if it's just because Mark Ronson helped Wale step into the shine that folks started taking a look into what was happening in DC, or whether it's just the magic of the internet and a little marketing savvy that more independent cats are finding ways to reach more geographically diverse audiences, but whatever it is, I'm glad that I can live in Georgia and find out about some artists like the crew that makes up Diamond District.

They're dropping a mixtape with DJ Buddy in preparation for a proper release of In the Ruff on Oct. 27.



Here's a choice cut, "Back to Basics" off the mixtape, and presumably, the forthcoming album:


The Diamond District team is X.O. who I stumbled across thanks to Cocaine Blunts after he released one of the nicest mixtapes I heard last year, The Takeover Pt. 2, Oddissee, who is in the running for one of the nicest producers on the mic right now in my book, and YU, who I don't know anything about, but who must be pretty dope judging by the company he keeps.

Here's a nice cut from X.O.'s last tape called "Tru"

And a nice joint from Oddissee called "Hip Hop's Cool Again"

A single off the Diamond District album, "I Mean Business", is for sale, and which you should go buy (link to iTunes)