J Scrilla – “No Love” Ft. – K-Beta, XO, Oddisee, Ra the MC, T.E.F.L.O.N., Judah, & Wordsmith from Seannie Cameras on Vimeo.

XO “All I Had” (LaLa) from KENNY BURNS on Vimeo.

Amazing new animated video for XO’s “All I Had,” off of The Monumental, which dropped this year. This video is one of the best I’ve seen this year. (props Ricky Parker)

REMEMBER XO is HEADLINING OUR ALL KILLER NO FILLER EVENT ON NOVEMBER 5TH AT LIV, DC!

DOWNLOAD: Diamond District – Diamond Exchange Mixtape

Diamond District – I Mean Business (buy from iTunes)

If you only think of Wale when it comes to DC Hip-Hop, then its time to get educated about the other emerging talent that is coming out of the DMV (District, Maryland and Virginia). Case in point, the Diamond District (aka XO, Yu, and Oddisee), who are also making waves with their release In the Ruff, which drops officially on vinyl, CD & digital formats October 27th. The group just finished up a college tour of the South, as well as a nice slot at the AC3 Hip-Hop festival in Atlanta and are now gaining national and international recognition. including spins on Benji B’s Deviation show on BBC Radio. The lead track, “I Mean Business,” is a certified banger, and will definitely keep heads noddin’ this year.

In other DC Hip-Hop news, the Washington Post just did a huge spread on our city, featuring Wale, XO,Phil Ade, Kingin Slim, and Phil Ade. If you want a good primer about DC Hip-Hop, it is truly a must read. The most interesting note about the article is that Tabi (whom The Couch Sessions profiled way back in 2006) is teaming up with will.i.am to form a new pop group called the CryBabies.

And mark your calendars, because XO is Headlining our ALL KILLER NO FILLER event on November 5th!!

The Diamond District – In The Ruff

Even though DC hasn’t getten it’s spot at the table of famous hip-hop cities, there is a lot of lyrical and production talent here in the Nation’s Capital. The Diamond District, the collaboration of XO, YU and Oddisee hope to change that. You might know Oddisee from his production credits for Freeway, Talib
Kweli, Siagon, Little Brother,Charles Hamilton, Jazzy Jeff and J-live but you might not of heard of XO, who is next in line for the DC thrown as well as YU. The album itself harks back to the “golden era” beats that we miss dearly, complete with that DC sensibility that the world needs to hear. Slimkat also makes production credits with this one and my new homie Steve Smith lends his talent to the track “First Time.”

This is yet another good look for DC. Check out In The Ruff and let me know what you think.

This year, instead of just having me yap on about my Best of lists, I reached out to several of our readers to give their Top 5 of the best releases of the year. I’ll be profiling a new reader each day until the end of the 2008. Today’s reader is Upset the Setup founder DJ Eurok (aka Peace Justice) who’s hittin’ us with his Top 5 DC Hip-Hop moments.

Name: UPSET THE SETUP
Location: DC
Blog: http://www.upsetthesetup.com

Your Top 5 DC Hip Hop Moments:

1. Kokayi getting nominated for a Grammy and dropping a banging album.
2. The premiere of the Peter Rosenberg directed video for The Package’s “Makin’ Waves” on Nah Right.com.
3. The epic all city graffiti fest at 14th and T.
4. Hearing XO’s The Takeover Part 2 for the first time.
5. Rock The Bells with Wale on the Main Stage.