DITC tells us: “Thank you for supporting DITC for all these years! In honor of your support, we offer this brand new album, “DITC: The Remix Project” for absolutely FREE!!! You can download the entire album via the link below or pick and download the individual tracks!!! Please visit our shop to purchase limited edition T-shirt or Hoodie CD packages of the Remix Project!”

01 We All (Alchemist Remix)
02 Da Enemy (Bink Remix)
03 All Love (Apollo Brown Remix)
04 Thick Lord (Lord Finesse Remix)
05 Best Behavior (Showbiz Remix #1)
06 Diggin In The Crates (DJ Premier Remix)
07 Casualties Of A Dice Game (Buckwild Remix)
08 Time To Get The Money (9th Wonder Remix)
09 Internationally Known (Diamond D Remix)
10 Way Of Life (Marco Polo Remix)
11 Drop It Heavy (Buckwild Remix)
12 Foundation (OGee Remix)
13 Best Behavior (Showbiz Remix #2)
14 Casualties of a Dice Game (9th Wonder Remix)

D.I.T.C. – “The Remix Project” [Free Download]

The Corleone classic gets a Buckwild remix, from the upcoming D.I.T.C. The Remix Project LP, which is in stores today. Sidenote, this would have been good for Buck’s Wildest Beats….

This is the 2nd and last official sneak off the new D.I.T.C. Remix Album, dropping on DITC Ent. and Slice Of Spice Records this May. THIS is what fans of the Diggin’ In The Crates crew have been waiting for, and the line-up of remix producers for this joint is insane. Set for release in early May, this album will be available on Vinyl, CD and all digital formats, including exclusive merch bundles on the new D.I.T.C. website, and vinyl over at Slice Of Spice. Watch out for this May 6th.

D.I.T.C. THE REMIX PROJECT – CD TRACKLIST:

01. We All (Alchemist Remix) ft. O.C. & A.G.
02. Da Enemy (Bink Remix) ft. Big L & Fat Joe
03. All Love (Apollo Brown Remix) ft. Fat Joe, Lord Finesse, Big L, & A.G.
04. Thick (Lord Finesse Remix) ft. A.G., Big L, & O.C.
05. Best Behavior (Showbiz Remix #1) ft. Big Pun & Fat Joe
06. D.I.T.C. (DJ Premier Remix) ft. Diamond D, Showbiz, A.G., & Lord Finesse
07. Casualties Of A Dice Game (Buckwild Remix) ft. Big L
08. Time To Get That Money (9th Wonder Remix) ft. A.G., Diamond D, & O.C.
09. Internationally Known (Diamond D Remix) ft. O.C., Fat Joe, & Big L
10. Way Of Life (Marco Polo Remix) ft. Fat Joe, Big L, Party Arty, & Showbiz
11. Drop It Heavy (Buckwild Remix) ft. KRS-One, Big Pun, & A.G.
12. Foundation (O.Gee Remix) ft. Diamond D, O.C., A.G., & Lord Finesse
13. Best Behavior (Showbiz Remix #2) ft. Big Pun & Fat Joe (BONUS)
14. Casualties Of A Dice Game (9th Wonder Remix) ft. Big L (BONUS)

On May 7th, D.I.T.C. Entertainment will release “The Remix Project” which features brand new remixes of D.I.T.C’s back catalogue. The all-star line-up of remixers includes D.I.T.C.’s own production powerhouse Showbiz, Diamond D, Lord Finesse, and Buckwild while also featuring extended family members DJ Premier, Bink, Apollo Brown, Alchemist, and 9th Wonder.

“The Remix Project” will be available as a free album download on May 7th with vinyl and CD bundles for sale shortly after in conjunction w/ the full web launch of D.I.T.C’s website www.DITCEnt.com.

Today we’re happy to share the DJ Premier remix of “Diggin’ In The Crates” featuring Diamond D, Showbiz, A.G. and Lord Finesse on mic duties. The original track was where it all began for the D.I.T.C. crew and was featured on Showbiz & A.G.’s self released “Soul Clap” EP in 1991. Free download of the remix here.

Legendary NYC crew, D.I.T.C. will release The Remix Project on May 7th as a free album download via D.I.T.C.’s soon to be launched website courtesy of D.I.T.C. Entertainment and Slice of Spice. The website will be a hub for D.I.T.C. members which will feature exclusive merch bundles for “The Remix Project” while Slice of Spice will handle vinyl.

The all-star line-up of remixers includes D.I.T.C.’s own production powerhouse Showbiz, Diamond D, Lord Finesse, and Buckwild while also featuring extended family members DJ Premier, Bink, Apollo Brown, Alchemist, and 9th Wonder.

Today, we’re happy to share the first leak from “The Remix Project” for Alchemist’s remix of “We All” featuring O.C. and A.G..

Full tracklisting below.

01. We All (Alchemist Remix) ft. O.C. & A.G.
02. Da Enemy (Bink Remix) ft. Big L & Fat Joe
03. All Love (Apollo Brown Remix) ft. Fat Joe, Lord Finesse, Big L, & A.G.
04. Thick (Lord Finesse Remix) ft. A.G., Big L, & O.C.
05. Best Behavior (Showbiz Remix #1) ft. Big Pun & Fat Joe
06. D.I.T.C. (DJ Premier Remix) ft. Diamond D, Showbiz, A.G., & Lord Finesse
07. Casualties Of A Dice Game (Buckwild Remix) ft. Big L
08. Time To Get That Money (9th Wonder Remix) ft. A.G., Diamond D, & O.C.
09. Internationally Known (Diamond D Remix) ft. O.C., Fat Joe, & Big L
10. Way Of Life (Marco Polo Remix) ft. Fat Joe, Big L, Party Arty, & Showbiz
11. Drop It Heavy (Buckwild Remix) ft. KRS-One, Big Pun, & A.G.
12. Foundation (O.Gee Remix) ft. Diamond D, O.C., A.G., & Lord Finesse
13. Best Behavior (Showbiz Remix #2) ft. Big Pun & Fat Joe (BONUS)
14. Casualties Of A Dice Game (9th Wonder Remix) ft. Big L (BONUS)

Rare track by Molecules of The Legion with production handled by Showbiz of the almighty Diggin’ In The Crates collective. “Revenge” was recorded back in spring 1995 and only made it to a sought after Japanese only D.I.T.C. CD album and a poorly pressed bootleg vinyl. “Revenge” is taken off The Legion “Lost Tapes” EP, dropping November on Ill Adrenaline Records. The EP features production from Buckwild, The Legion, Showbiz, and Confidence and will be available on CD/LP and digitally.

Here’s a recently unearthed Big L interview from around the time Lifestyles and The Poor and Dangerous was released, while touring with Biggie, Craig Mack, and Puff.

The legendary D.I.T.C. duo speak on New York City, their new LP Oasis, politics of the business, and 40 Glocc’s excessive jewelry.

The legendary D.I.T.C. crew has had it’s ups and downs over the years, delivering numerous classic albums and singles, but also plenty of missteps. For every Runaway Slave there’s The Dirty Version, for every Word…Life there’s Smoke & Mirrors. Usually the problems with D.I.T.C.’s later releases came from them trying to adapt to the commercial sounds of whatever was hot at the time, resulting in some embarrassing blemishes on their respective resumes. Fat Joe is the only member of the crew that has been able to make the crossover relatively unscathed, but even there he has lost the respect of his longtime followers.

In the aftermath of the music industry’s ultimate failure, many aging artists have abandoned the idea of trying to be the next B.I.G., and instead have gone back to making the music that they love. With this comes Oasis, the first ever collaborative album between O.C. and A.G. What sounds like a dream on paper results in a so-so album that could have been light years better.

The album starts off on the right foot, with Statik Selektah’s buttery title track, where the two emcees pay homage to one another by building on one another’s lyrics. This leads into a pair of Lord Finesse produced cuts with “Give It Back” and “Alpha Males”, respectively, as the reanimates vintage soul samples into the perfect backdrops for them to build upon. While these tracks show that the duo hasn’t lost it, this is not the case for much of the rest of the album.

Producer E-Blaze handles the majority of the rest of the album’s beats – and like his name – the production sounds dated. The keyboard synth thump of songs like “Think About It”, “Put It In The Box” and “Keep It Going”, not to mention the horrendous club-attempt “Against the Wall”, plague much of the album, as Blaze produces 9 of the album’s 17 tracks. While many of the aforementioned tracks sound like beats Ruff Ryders may have passed on, the production fails to inspire the duo to deliver anything mind-blowing, as they seem to be both be plodding along at 94 beats per minute, looking at their watches as to when the hour might be up.

Unfortunately, the usually reliable Show does not deliver his best material here either. The murky “Young With Style” treads through the marsh with uninspiring guitar licks that sound as if they were taken from a McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” ad, while “Boom Bap” sounds like a eulogy, not a tribute to a great, but unfortunately now deceased style. Just last year we saw excellent results with banging, atmospheric tracks from Show and A.G. on the Live Hard album. It’s a mystery what happened here.

There’s a common misconception that if an album is not about bling and flash, and it’s by an artist with classics under his belt, then it too must be a classic. This is incorrect. As badly as we’d like to hold on to the idea the D.I.T.C. crew can do no wrong, unfortunately the opposite is true. However, those who have followed them since Funky Technician (that would include this writer) have seen the high and low points for D.I.T.C. and cannot be fooled. While the words may seem harsh, instead they are passionate. For the longtime fans that continue to support and follow their music, we deserve better. – D.T. Swinga

Lyrically, the album is a reflection on past experiences and hard living. The ending track, “Experience,” is about going all out and living life to its fullest – kind of like James Cagney yelling, “Top of the world ma’” at the end of the movie, White Heat.
We all make decisions and mistakes, but it’s all in the experience and what we take from them.

“Time Travel,” is a time-line [no pun intended] of D.IT.C. coming up from holding down corners and dodging incarcerations, to lining up some of the best emcees to be birthed by hip-hop and gaining hip-hop stardom. On, “Boys Doing it,” Boss Money carries his rhymes with a rough and experienced swagger. With an M.O.B., hard grinding, paper chase mentality, nothing else matters. Whether he’s hustling on the street, or rocking a show, the kid’s on point.

On, “Air Yall,” Joel Ortiz raises interest, snapping in rhyme and spitting a frenzy of boastful, money-hungry battle raps. His style is refreshing and energetic, compared to the others lethargically-hazed execution and punch lines on previous tracks.

Lord Finesse laid back to focus on overseeing the production of the album, with beat making all-stars, E. Blaze and Drawzilla. The trio orchestrated a collage of smooth, rolling baselines, with choice samples like Boot Camp Clicks, “Headz Ain’t Ready,” and Nas’, “I Can,” cutting in the back ground. Feeling adventurous, they incorporated the use of manually played synthesizer lines to complement the 1-2-3, boom bap thunder claps of the MPC.

Critiques fall on the production however, due to its simplicity and sole focus on traditional production development. It’s a given that Lord Finesse’s production and turntable skills are top notch, but after being in the game as long as he has, it’s expected for him to bring the fire. The stripped-down sounds come off as a disappointment in their lack of climax, variation, and overall predictability.

Beats like these worked in the early and mid 90’s, but with all of the current production technology and experimentation currently wayfaring throughout music –not just in hip-hop –it’s a wonder why keyboard work on tracks like, “Shine My Way,” are comparable to a three year old banging on a toy piano. With in all intents and purposes, it’s contradictory to the flamboyant, NYC’s finest presence that the crew once oozed.

Perhaps the D.I.T.C. members have reached a point in their respective careers where lyrics that bounce off of sound booth walls seem juvenile, but that’s the very element that made the crew so sensational. Bottom line, it feels like something is missing. Maybe it’s the fact that Big L., Party Arty, and Big Pun are no longer with us. Maybe it’s the fact that Fat Joe hardly appears on albums, but after being in the game as long as D.I.T.C., high standards need to be met. After all, they’re the ones that set them.

D.I.T.C. should be showing the new generation of emcees and producers what real hip-hop sounds like, by fusing the early 90’s style of emceeing, production, and turntablism with a new school twist, not pigeonholing themselves in the past. Call it hip-hop for the eclectic, The Movement, should be coped for the, “93’ til…” fans, and studied for the essence of lyricism, but unique it is not. Where’s Flow Joe when you need him? - Jarrod Miller-Dean

First and foremost, recognize that this is not a bad effort from the crew. It’s actually quite good, it just could have been executed a lot better. For instance, of fifteen tracks on the album, a whopping TEN of them have been previously released, leaving the longtime listener with only five new tracks. Nevertheless, those without a pair of turntables will see this as a new listening experience entirely, but even from that perspective some major mistakes were made. For instance, both “Ebonics” and “Drop It Heavy” have been lazily remixed with less than outstanding results. When next to untouched classics like “Day One” and “The Enemy”, it just reminds you how much you’d rather be listening to the original versions. Perhaps the inclusion of these classics would have been more effective if left in their original form, having the album released as a double CD set, with the first disc being all new material, and a second “D.I.T.C. Classics” disc, containing all of their sought after gems from ’90 ’till now.

Nevertheless, CD heads are still getting a good education of some quality joints that have dropped over the last three years, but for vinyl collectors, this album ends up being a disappointment, simply because of the lack of new material. Another flaw is a lack of cohesion with certain disruptions in continuity. “Foundation” is a ridiculous wanna-be club anthem released a few years too late, and along with the harder edge of the rest of the album, really has no business being included here. Other curve balls include the previously released “Hey Luv” and “Where Ya At”, which seem like they would have been better placed on the Terror Squad album, with lyrics dominated by unofficial members Big Pun, Cuban Link and Milano.

On the positive, some of the new tracks are worth checking for. Both DJ Premier and Rockwilder mixes of “Thick” are excellent in their own ways. “Weekend Nights” has ridiculous chemistry between Show & A.G., despite it’s over-used hook. Finally, “Tribute” is a thoughtful and meaningful dedication to the late Big L that closes the album out.

It’s so plainly obvious that D.I.T.C. has the potential to release a 5 @ classic, as proven by their track record. If they would just harness their talent a little better, and put the same amount of perfectionism into the whole package, as they have on countless tracks over the last ten years, D.I.T.C. could easily become a fully respected mainstream-underground hip-hop staple, just as Gang Starr did in 1998. With such a talented roster of emcees and producers, if given the chance, with a little more care, D.I.T.C. could drop a classic with their sophomore release. Hopefully their major label time’s not up.