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The Atlanta-Bronx duo of Dillon & Diamond D have joined forces for the dynamic and hard-hitting new album, Uncut Gems. It represents the culmination of nearly 15 years of friendship and shared admiration between the two, which previously led to collaborations on Dillon’s dope 2017 release, Black Tie Affair.

“After continuing to work together and kicking it over the years, it was only natural to do another project and to stretch it out to a full album,” Dillon says of Uncut Gems, and Diamond D shared similar sentiments. “Dillon is a dope emcee who just happens to be a student of the game and a boom-bap head,” the DITC member says. “Us coming together was an easy mesh.”

The results clearly speak for themselves with the album, which is a tightly produced and incredibly cohesive piece of work. Beyond having a solo producer on deck—and a living legend at that—Dillon controls the pacing with his attention-demanding voice and lyrics. That’s apparent from the jump on the title track, which features Dillon and Diam sharing the mic over celebratory production.

From there, Uncut Gems rolls out one banger after the next, like “Comin’ Out Swingin’” featuring Elzhi, who Dillon was honored to have on the album. Other standouts include both artists’ personal favorites. For Diam, he’s loving the uptempo feel and effortless bars of “Pick Up the Pace,” while Dillon favors “Turn the Heat Up” because of its vintage DITC sound with smooth rhymes and funky scratches. Dillon also handles DJ duties throughout the record.

Those two tracks may be solo affairs for Dillon, but he’s joined by some other heavy-hitters on here including Planet Asia, Ras Kass, Stacy Epps, and Slimkid3 of The Pharcyde. They help to round out the aesthetic of Uncut Gems, a slick blend of classic and modern that is sure to turn some heads. Uncut Gems is due out on vinyl, cassette (with bonus instrumentals) and streaming platforms on Tuesday June 6th via FULL PLATE.

Elzhi (stylized as eLZhi), is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is a former member of Slum Village and now records as a solo artist.

A true rare groove vocalist and emcee delivers heavy messages that flow like a summer breeze over hard- hitting beats. Stacy Epps breathes solar winds through Atlanta’s progressive soul scene. Raised in a military family, Stacy started her career equipped with an inviting global perspective, vintage earrings from her grandmother’s collection, and a law degree from the University of Southern California.

In ten years she’s established a globally reaching reputation for sonic excellence in the underground hip hop community. Epps is on a mission to see how far the music can spread through truly independent efforts. The people are the catalyst. Stacy released her first official solo-album “The Awakening”, through her label Japanubia Musik, LLC.

You may have heard her as half of the jazzy rap duo Sol Uprising. She also works with some of the underground’s illest scientists: Madlib, MF DOOM, OH NO, Wildchild, J Rawls and Scienz of Life. Her sensually sophisticated singing is only topped when she grabs the mic to rhyme with the precision of Bahamadia, of whom she and femcee Invincible toured Europe with on the Sistas in Rhyme Tour in December, 2006

Host, Actor, and Hip Hop Personality