Nowadays, the minute a rapper has a hit he's bringing his crew on through. Love is love and all that|, but time was when hip-hop meant more than a gravy train to a hot MCs friend's friend, and you still had to fight your own struggle to get on--no matter who you were down with.

Diggin' In The Crates are from that time, and when Showbiz and Diamond D came up with the name back in 1988 - reflecting their penchant for seeking out dusty grooves for the Bronx parties they rocked with partner Lord Finesse - being official didn't save you from having to do for self.

Indeed, Showbiz & AG's debut EP, Can I Get A Soul Clap, was promoted and distributed straight out of the trunk of their car back in 1992, a foretaste of the hip hop's current D-I-Y craze.

Meanwhile Lord Finesse - who released Funky Technician in 1990 and Return Of The Funky Man in 1991 - was devastating New Music SeminarMC battles, earning himself the title of punch-line king with his uniquely humorous, pun-laden lyrical style.

Diamond D's 1992 debut Stunts, Blunts And Hip-Hop was a seminal, era-defining record. DITC was quietly assembling a strong team of hip-hop talent as deep as their vinyl volumes.

Finesse (as he's now known) explains how it all came together: "I introduced AG to Show. Diamond helped put out Fat Joe. I helped put on Buckwild and Big L, and Buckwild put out OC."

Over ten years deep, and with a pedigree like that, it's difficult to conceive of the forthcoming, eponymous album (slated for a November 3rd release) as a debut, but that's what it is--DITC's first collective full-length outing.

Over the course of the decade the crew has undergone changes - of name, of style etc. But the hardest of these to bear was the February 15th murder of Big L, who's sole full-length release to date is 1995's Lifestylez Ov Da Poor and Dangerous. However, before a hail of Harlem gunshots took his life, he had recorded six tracks for his next album, one of which was the Premier-produced "Thick," featuring AG and OC. Primo has also remixed L's Flamboyant Records classic, "Ebonics," for the Diggin' In The Crates album. Lifestylez will not be the only testament to the man from 139th and Lennox; L's sophomore album is being released through Rawkus.

AG, who is featured on the DITC album's BX banger "Drop It Heavy," with KRS-One and Big Pun, also has a solo record on Silvadom Records, in stores August 31. Other posse cuts, the crew's specialty, include OC's "Champagne Thoughts" and "Get Yourz," which features OC and Big L.

DITC has done things in reverse. Where most crews assemble the collective first and then branch off as individuals, these eight producer/MCs each built respectable solo careers before showcasing their talent as an ensemble. Without riding dicks or coattails, DITC members know the only way to get respect is to earn it. Call them old-fashioned. - Ishmail Sadiq