Hip-hop trio, Diamond District, comprised of producer/emcee Oddisee and emcees X.O. and yU, is proud to announce the official retail release of their debut album, In The Ruff, featuring two brand new tracks. In The Ruff will be available October 27th via Mellow Music Group.
In The Ruff was crafted to fill a void – musically and regionally. Creating what they are calling a golden era-type album for a city that never truly embraced this type of hip-hop, In The Ruff is Diamond District both looking back and forward, releasing an album that pays homage to music of an earlier time while not sounding out of place in the current indie hip-hop scene. Speaking directly to those sentiments, Oddisee says, “Our love for the particular sound and the need for D.C. to contribute to that sound was our true inspiration for this album.” Two new tracks are featured at the end of the album. The first additional track, “Something for Y’all,” features production from Oddisee’s fellow Low Budget Crew member Kev Brown, while the second track, “Hologram,” features production from Oddisee himself, as does the majority of In The Ruff. In addition to the two new tracks, Oddisee will also be crafting remixes for a select number of tracks from the album, which will be released free for fans.
In The Ruff’s original release came as a free online download through, with the numerous changes and added tracks Diamond District decided to release a retail version. One of the most prominent alterations is the album’s change from clean to explicit. The original release was edited for content, while the upcoming re-release is untouched, giving the album, in its entirety, a more authentic feel – raw and unaltered from the way Diamond District intended. In order to give the album a proper release, Diamond District has partnered with rising Phoenix, Arizona-based label Mello Music Group, also home for artists Trek Life, Kenn Starr, Sareem Poems, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Dudley Perkins, and more. On wanting to work with Diamond District for In The Ruff’s official release, Mello Music Group founder, Michael Tolle, stated, “We heard In The Ruff and thought ‘this is the best album of year.’ We had to document it in a physical, tangible way. MP3’s are cool, but in the end, we wanted to leave behind a cd, some vinyl – something audiophiles could hold in their hands.”
To celebrate the announcement of their forthcoming album, Diamond District are also unleashing the official mastered and unedited version of “I Mean Business,” one of the album’s first official singles, recently released to iTunes.
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