[Lyric] Unsigned Hype: Da GDz (The Source (Magazine))

Unlike the troupe of clowns cramming record store racks with cartoony depictions of Anyghetto, U.S.A., Dig Doug and Dolemite, a talented Bronx duo known as Da GD’z (Da Ghetto Dwellaz), imbue their songs with instantly-recognizable, three dimensional imagines of inner city living. With influences ranging from films such as The Mack, Black Caesar and Cleopatra Jones, they produce hip-hop in its rawest form—emphasizing skill, flow and metaphor, something many New York gangsta wannabes seem to have forgotten about. “Kicking rhymes and beats the way we do is our way of becoming the macks and Black Caesars of our time, to get important messages out without sounding corny,” says Dig Doug, who has ghost-written and produced songs for artists signed to Elektra, Virgin and Warner Brothers Records.

     “Bet U Didn’t Know,” Dig’s melancholic Bon Voyage to a lousy girlfriend, is set to an effective fusion of Heatwave and Rakim; the smooth-and-seductive “Candy Tangerine” benefits from addictive samples; “Shuckin’ And Jivin’” lambasts Gangsta-wannabes, streetcorner gossips and corporate-level Toms. For “Redrum,” Dig reveals his “Kill-A-Punk-Nigga-Move,” an intricate wordplay directed to “chickenshit” rappers. “You ain’t got no wins here, nigga/ you’re talking trash/ and now you must suffer the wrath/ of a motherfucking tongue lash.” “Without loyalty/ you can’t earn royalties/niggas stink like spoiled cheese. . .” Their production is tight—relying on everything from violins to anguished screams—and their concepts avoid hardcore’s humdrum cliches. Simply put: Da GD’z have a sophisticated, ghettoready sound capable of rocking BET or the boulevard.