Crate digging is an inseparable part of Hip-Hop culture. Whether or not there is a local record store in your vicinity, chances are you've heard or seen your favorite artists taking part in the tradition. In the days before digital music, Serato, and USB drives, record stores provided producers and... Read more

Hip-Hop's three forefathers are often remembered as pioneers DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa. With all three men tied to the Bronx, New York of the 1970s, each brought a unique flare to the sound of the culture, with varying personal backgrounds. Herc, a native of Jamaica, had... Read more

To younger Heads, Tim Westwood may be known for his wild enthusiasm during guest-stops from the likes of Eminem, Drake, and Jay Z. However, the London-based BBC DJ has nearly 30 years rooted in bridging the gap and crossing the oceans in making Hip-Hop, Reggae, Dancehall, Dub, and House mixes.... Read more

Hieroglyphics fans are up on Domino. Not to be confused with the Los Angeles rapper of the same name, San Francisco's Dom produced early joints for Del Tha Funkee Homosapien (when it was still spelled as such), as well as Souls Of Mischief and Casual. Dom, who has been a... Read more

DJ Scratch is one of the more versatile, yet under-sung producers in Hip-Hop. A major DJ component in the late '80s-through-'90s iteration of EPMD, Scratch was a turntablism award-winner who learned under Jam Master Jay, before tackling production. In the 2000s, Scratch produced hits for Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent, and... Read more

Forever and always, Tony Touch is my favorite 1990s NYC mixtape DJ. We used to buy his tapes (usually colored plastic cassettes) that would ship in from Tapekingz. The freestyle-format was so fresh, and Tony Toca would always make your money count with sounds you couldn't hear anywhere else. Plus,... Read more

Here's a special edition of Fuse's Crate Diggers series. This episode takes a look at the massive vinyl collection of J. Dilla through the eyes of Talib Kweli, J. Rocc, DJ Spinna, Dilla's mom and more. It plays more like a Dilla documentary than a Crate Diggers installment. Check out... Read more

Lord Finesse may be one of the most slept on talents in hip-hop EVER. As a double threat MC/producer, he had a legendary run in the 90's, releasing acclaimed underground albums and producing tracks for artists like Big L, Biggie, Dr. Dre, OC, Fat Joe and more. Here's an interview... Read more

The latest installment of Fuse's Crate Diggers series features Diamond D. The D.I.T.C. legend discusses some of his favorite records and takes us on a journey of his storied career. Check out the video. Related: Diamond D - Deflate Cha (Video)... Read more

Jermaine Dupri has been making hits for the better part of 2 decades. As part of their Crate Diggers series, fuse sat down with the beatmaker to take an in-depth journey through his vinyl collection. Check out the video as well as a playlist of some of the music that... Read more

Here's a dope video of the mighty Just Blaze discussing his vinyl collection and life as a crate digger. He talks about the first record he ever bought, reveal records he sampled on classic Jay-Z records, losing 7000 records...and more. Check it out. Related: Just Blaze – Hard Knock Life... Read more

Pete Rock has been in the news lately for his reaction to Lupe Fiasco rhyming over the TROY beat. Here's a video that showcases just how deep the Chocolate Boy Wonder's dedication to digging in the crates goes. It is his relentless search for the perfect beat that yielded beats... Read more