Courtesy Of CD Bob, Philadelphia’s Cratediggaz Keeps The Wax Flowing (VINYL LIVES)

The word loyal has become synonymous with the city of Philadelphia. Underneath headlines that detail the city’s rambunctious sports fans and the slew of internet videos detailing unpredictable locals, Philadelphians love their city more than anything. The passion for Philadelphia is so strong that it even oozes into the surrounding areas of the city, people as far as South Jersey will claim they are from the City of Brotherly Love despite living miles from city borders. That love also bleeds into the art that emerges from the city, with songs and murals as vibrant and colorful as the characters who fill the streets. That signature Philadelphia loyalty runs as deep as locals refusing to go to one cheesesteak spot over the other, claiming their favorite mom-and-pop shops of all veins as a second home. Recently, a new local favorite has risen in the art-centric South Street area of the city and is making a name for itself as one of the premier record shops Philly has to offer. 

Cratediggaz Records has been around for a short time but has already embedded itself into Philly’s hip-hop culture.  From hosting some of the coolest events in the city to carefully curating the selection with rare and exclusive vinyl releases across the history of hip-hop and beyond, Cratediggaz made a name for itself quickly. Glide had the pleasure of sitting down with Robert Fisk, or CD Bob if you know him well enough. He discussed some of the recent events that went down at Cratediggaz along with giving us a look into his personal record collection and his plans for 2023. You can read our full conversation below. 

When did you start collecting records? What was the first vinyl you remember owning? Did you ever go through phases of listening to cassettes or CDS? 

I started collecting vinyl around ’96. It was a Less Than Jake 7″ from the local shop (shout out Gallery of Sound!). 7″s and punk CD comps were my go-to’s because they were $5 or less, and I was only 12-13 years old, so didn’t have an income. But the homies and I would still walk down to the record store damn near every day for something new to listen to. Then we would record them on cassettes for each other! The 1st several records I ever purchased were Less Than Jake 7”s, it was definitely a slow start with no job. I played them on this weird, but very cool, 70’s lookin’ turntable my parents had pulled out of storage to give to me for my bedroom. It had the record changer feature so I could stack up five 7″s and let it ride. Very groovy memories!

How has your taste evolved over time? When did hip-hop come into the picture for you and what avenue did it enter through? 

Before I found/was buying punk records I was listening to the radio and recording all the Biggie, Coolio, & LL Cool J hits on blank cassettes. I would call Hot 97 and request for them to play jams or tune in every night for the HOT 9 at 9 so I could record all that shit for my Walkman & the half-hour bus ride to school! I’d also cut my grandparents’ million acres of grass with a hand mower every Saturday morning, then more often than not my Gram would take me to buy a cassette of my choice. MC Hammer – Let’s Get It Started, Bone Thugs – East 1999, LL Cool J – Walking with a Panther, & Warren G –  G Funk Era were the first hip-hop I ever owned. I played those tapes until they ripped, then scotch taped them and played ’em some more! Thanks, Gram! She was the absolute best and pivotal as part of my music knowledge by buying those tapes for me! Then for a hot minute, I thought I was too Punk Rock for Hip-hop, until around 1999 when a fair amount of the punk/hardcore homies were listening to stuff like A Tribe Called Quest and KRS-One. I was like “Oh shit, this is all one in the same, KRS-One is on the Sick of It All LP!!”. Then Cannibal OX – Cold Vein dropped and that was it, I was all in. I can thank skateboarding for all the more underground music I listen to. All those old 411 videos put me onto the Misfits, People Under the Stairs, and Gang Starr! At that time ya had to have a source, ya couldn’t just open your Spotify, Bandcamp, or Youtube suggestions! Skate videos and going to gigs were that for me and many people I knew. Fun fact; you could also find new music by looking at the “Thank You’s” in your favorite artist’s liner notes. Usually, there were always thank you’s toward associated groups or inspirational acts. 

Along with hip-hop, Cratediggaz also dabbles in black metal. How did you get introduced to that genre, and which came first for you, metal or hip-hop? 

I’ve been all over the place forever. Skate videos put me onto so many different genres. I’ve basically been listening to Big Four Metal as long as everything else. But my first taste of Black Metal was on the school bus! My friend’s brother had just purchased the cassette of Cradle of Filth – Dusk and Her Embrace….you wanna talk about mind-blowing! These mo’ fuckers thought they were vampires?!? I had never heard anything so crazy in my life! BUT I LIKED IT! I started digging into it way deeper when I lived in Colorado, I was very angry and they have a large metal scene out there. 

What is your curation process like? How do you come across these rare pressings from Daupe and Tuff Kong? 

A lot of the overseas indie label LPs were things I was sitting on since 2017, consigned from a friend who was doing the same shit, or people bringing them in to trade for other dope records. At this point I’ve really laid off those titles because the amount of money and waiting it takes to get two copies from overseas indie labels can be put to better use by buying larger quantities of used or classic wholesale LPs that will sell threefold before those two Daupe LPs even ship.

I saw you just announced the first Cratediggaz exclusive vinyl variant for Reef The Lost Cauze, how did that come together? What was your favorite part of the process?

Luck, blessed, being a good human? I don’t know! I’m just grateful to know Reef & DJ Illegal (Manu) of the Snowgoons and that they included me. Manu is the fuckin’ man and stays making big moves! I mentioned the idea of doing an exclusive shop variant and he made it happen. I didn’t really do anything to be totally honest. It was all Manu and Reef, once again…BLESSED.

Was doing vinyl variants always a goal of yours? What does it mean to you to work with a Philadelphia legend like Reef? 

I legit had no goals with this shop other than to not work for someone else. This wasn’t a dream or something I thought about for a long time. Shit, until the last 10 years there wasn’t really any money to be made with vinyl. For me it was straight up, I’m 100% done lining someone else’s pockets and need to do something else. The only thing I know is records/music so it was the only option. In 25+ years of collecting I had not seen many spots with big hip-hop sections. I started collecting hip-hop heavily around 2010 when I lived in Colorado & thought when I came back to visit Philly it was going to be packed with hip-hop LPs and that just wasn’t true…..but here we are! Trying to be that spot. At this point Reef and I are friends, and that’s very cool. I have been enjoying his music since Feast or Famine, so it definitely means a lot, but at the same time I’m not really the fanboy dude. I’m just grateful for all the people I’ve met by way of the shop and the fact that they back me as they do.

What are your five essential Philly hip-hop records and what are some essential records for the Philly sound? 

These questions are always so hard and I’m always all over the place so this is not set in stone.

Schoolly D – Schoolly D 

Fresh Prince & Jazzy Jeff – I’m the Rapper he’s the DJ

Reef the Lost Cauze – Feast or Famine

Bahamadia – Kollage

The Roots – Illadelph Halflife

How did Cratediggaz find a home in Philadelphia? What are some of your favorite aspects of the city and do any local musicians gone big like The Roots ever swing by?

I grew up two hours north in Wilkes-barre, PA. So all my friends and family are here/there, but W-B isn’t my idea of a good time and Philly is the closest I can live to them while still successfully existing. I love the east coast, especially Philly. Midwest/West is not for me! The Roots have not come in yet, but HR from the fuckin’ Bad Brains did & I think that might be cooler! I gave him some weed! ha! Doesn’t get much more legendary than Bad Brains!

You guys host the Philadelphia chapter of the Flip A Beat Club, can you tell us what goes down at those events? How did you connect with the Flip A Beat Club? 

Flip-a-beat is a monthly meeting of producers that share the same sample and make their own beat from said sample then share it on Zoom with the rest of the Flipabeat club all over the country. Q moved to Philly and was like “Yo, I do this thing in CA, but I wanna do it here, you dig?” I said YES and it’s been on since then. I love the Flipabeat Heads, one of my favorite days of the month. It’s like a big ass house party in the shop every 3rd Friday of the month. Everyone is welcome.

Was hosting events always in the Cratediggaz blueprint? What is it like preparing events at the shop and what are some of your favorite memories from any of the events you’ve hosted? 

I had no blueprint. I was lucky enough to get a space that had enough room to make it happen and said “fuck it why not?!”. The events are fairly stressful and I get pulled in so many directions that I get overloaded to the point I feel like I was landscaping in 100 degrees all day. All the events have been fantastic and too good to express in words.

What is your personal collection like now? What turntable would you recommend for a beginner record collector? 

At this point, my collection is exclusively classics and records I know I will never find again, anything not actively being played or easily replaceable is getting sold! If you’re starting out get a nice Audio Technica or some shit along those lines. Avoid the gross Crosley Suitcase bullshit. They don’t play records worth a damn and the needle is made of porcelain so it legit ruins your records. If your records cost more than your turntable, you fucked up!

What does Cratediggaz have planned for the rest of 2023? 

I have a lot of super dope events in the works. An email list coming very soon to highlight releases and events since Instagram is next to gah damn useless! But every second Friday of the month is the Dell-P Word Smith Experience & every third Friday is for Flip-a-beat! Stay tuned to @cratediggaz_philly on Instagram because we’ll keep posting up the illest vinyl & will be getting busy all year! Literal legends are talking about coming to rap in the shop this summer! …..Maybe another exclusive release or two? …time will tell.

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