Dad Bod Rap Pod

The first half of 2026 has already delivered a stacked lineup of rap releases, so we fired up the mics to take stock of the year's best albums so far. Before getting into our midyear favorites, we talk about our all-time favorite summer rap anthems and unpack J. Cole's unexpected affinity for James Taylor. Then we dive into some of our favorite releases of the year, including Play With Something S...

The three bad brothers that you know so well gathered on May Day/Cinco De Mayo weekend to renew their fraternal bonds and review a batch of three new (ish) Rap records. On this week's episode of the Dad Bod Rap Pod, listen to the fellas give their opinions about the following albums Time Heals Everything-Blu & Exile  Tigray Funk-sideshow  Sow & So-Nappy Nina  Listen to hear what the bros have to s...

What’s good party people, For those of you who religiously track new rap releases, the beginning of the year can be a slow and uneventful stretch. If you want to be in those theoretical Album of the Year conversations, dropping in Q1 is a good way to get forgotten by December. For that reason, and plenty of financial and promotional ones too, the floodgates usually don’t open until March or April....

What's good y'all!? We’re back like we never left. The first Dad Bod Rap Pod episode of the year finds your humble hosts in awe of the new Roc Marciano album 656. How did the king of quiet couplets manage to outdo himself again? Tune in to hear what the bros have to say. Since 656 leans into the idea of quiet luxury, Dave, Nate, and Dem also discuss their most expensive pieces of clothing and whet...

The wait is over! The best fake hip-hop awards show on the internet is finally here. 2025 was an incredible year for rap music, from the Clipse’s omnipresent comeback to woods and August Fanon cooking up one of the most interesting remix records in recent memory. The year of our lord 2025 truly had a little something for everybody, and we do our best to rank and rate it all in this year’s edition...

The year was 1995. Bill Clinton was president. The internet was still just a flicker in Al Gore’s eye. Gas was $1.15 a gallon, and a group of rapid-fire harmonizing rappers from Cleveland, Ohio, was disrupting the whole East vs. West narrative with a completely new sound and approach. Under the wing of Eazy-E, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony kicked in the door with their debut EP Creepin' on a Come Up. Their...

Reports of rap music’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. The rap game is alive and well, especially in the indie world, which is thriving right now. As 2025 has moved forward, the list of real album of the year contenders keeps getting longer. The Backwoodz cinematic universe continues to release great music at an unreal pace. While billy woods’ Golliwog and the new Golliwog remix album are st...

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer."– Zora Neale Hurston In indie rap, as in life, the fruit of one’s labor doesn’t always show up right away. You put in the work, you bet on yourself, and sometimes the payoff comes much later. Long Island-bred rapper and producer Theravada has been planting seeds for years, trusting that the grind would eventually bear fruit. This year, he’...

In the annals of rap history, there are countless tracks that spark instant, ecstatic reactions. Whether it’s Kid ’N Play inviting you to revive the Charleston or House of Pain demanding that you jump in place, these songs live rent-free in our collective memory. Then there are the truly explosive anthems like M.O.P.’s Ante Up, a track that lets you channel the chaos and swagger of an armed jewel...

Let’s fire up the wayback machine and head to 1995, a simpler time, no doubt. Back when commuting by bus, trying to meet girls, and rapping about rapping were all viable rap song topics. Hell, this was still an era when rap groups were still a thing. Enter The Nonce (stop giggling, UK heads): the Project Blowed–affiliated duo of Yousef Afloat and Nouka Basetype, who dropped their underrated debut...

It's hard to imagine an album more well-respected than Goodie Mob's debut, Soul Food. It gets well-deserved love from rap enthusiasts from all over the map: the south, backpackers, people who like a little bit of spirituality in the mix, beat heads, lyric lovers, pretty much everyone. Goodie Mob never quite got the shine that their close compatriots Outkast did, and maybe that's part of the reason...

his episode has a lot of moving parts. Imagine a Rube Goldberg Machine with interview snippets pinging around a maze of album reviews and blue balls jokes. I (DEM) had the privilege of interviewing Radamiz right before his live set at the Midway SF. The audio is a little rough, rugged, and raw in spots, but the interview has the crackle of real-life human interaction. Interspersed between clips of...

This week, we break format for a very, very special spin-off episode. DEM ONE and Blockhead reprise their sex/relationship pod, Talk Like Sex. On this edition of Two 40+ dudes discuss the misogyny meter on Freddie Gibbs' new record, lifetime Tinder bans, the ethics of dirty mackin’, and the different approaches to partner fulfillment. Sex, love, and music are discussed with fly nuance. It’s Talk L...

"If you've never walked through the woods listening to Nobody Beats the Biz then you ain't never heard hip-hop." The above quote is from one of multi-talented poet/rapper/actor Saul Williams' earliest released tracks, but it could just easily serve as a thesis statement for this podcast. This week DBRP hosts Demone Carter, David Ma and Nate LeBlanc are thrilled to present a thought provoking conve...

Episode 328 Sour Times with guest DJ Haram  Show notes from the bleeding edge… Far beyond the genteel pop music stylings that comprise our day-to-day listening environment, there exists a world of sound that refuses to be refined, restrained, or easily defined. This is the space that New York–based DJ Haram inhabits: her experimental style blends bass, Middle Eastern percussion, noise, and element...

Serious question: Where does the time go? It feels like just yesterday I was nursing a New Year’s Eve hangover and wondering what 2025 would portend for rap releases. Now the year is three-fourths done, the holidays are around the corner, and there’s already a slew of music to talk about. On this week’s episode of Dad Bod Rap Pod, the three bad brothers you know so well share their favorite rap re...

We've got a really big show for you this week. We have had the pleasure of interviewing Slug (and Ant, but never both together) of Atmosphere a few times. Atmosphere never quite got bigger than The Beatles (or breast implants) but there is no denying that over the last 30 years they have proven themselves to be one of the most consistent and prolific independent hip-hop groups of all time. Both ge...

Sometimes the curatorial bent of this show comes from a deep curiosity about the people behind the music we love. The question “What’s their deal?” often sparks the journey toward a great interview. Patience is also part of the process because tracking down the artists we want to pepper with questions isn’t always easy, and it doesn’t always fit neatly into our recording schedule. This week’s inte...

Every once in a while we are lucky to enough to be able to speak to a true hip-hop legend, and today is one of those occasions. Dad Bod Rap Pod hosts David Ma, Demone Carter and Nate LeBlanc are thrilled to be talking to and about Lord Finesse on this week's episode. Lord Finesse made three highly influential albums as an artist in the 90's and continues to impact the culture as a respected DJ and...

Please note: A better, longer version of this episode with sound clips for every song mentioned is available on the Dad Bod Rap Pod Patreon. Go to www.patreon.com/dadbodrappod and use promo code BEASTIE to get your first month's access for only $1 From Pollywog Stew to Hot Sauce Part 2, we have officially covered the Beastie Boys' legendary career. We are wrapping up our miniseries this week with...

It's summertime, the living is easy, and we figured why not play a doubleheader? Today on Dad Bod Rap Pod, hosts Demone Carter, David Ma and Nate LeBlanc with help from Producer Cutso break down the final albums in the Beastie Boys' Catalog. First up is the Mix Up from 2007, the only official instrumental LP in their catalog, since In Sound From Way Out is a compilation. The Boys established a dre...

This week Dad Bod Rap Pod hosts Demone Carter, David Ma, and Nate LeBlanc alongside Producer Cutso, are breaking down the Beastie Boys' fifth album, To The 5 Boroughs. Where their previous few records had been eclectic mixes of jammy, loungey instrumental songs, punk egergy, and hard-hitting leftfield hip-hop, for this album the Boys decided to approach early 2000s America with an old-school hip-h...

* Please note: This is an edited version of the episode, we have been forced to remove the interstitial music that is part of what makes the show unique. Extended episodes with more clips and music are available at patreon.com/dadbodrappod * In the pivotal fifth installment of our Beastie Boys miniseries, the Boys have moved back to New York and they are hopping around different studios demoing id...

This week we are breaking down Ill Communication as part of our miniseries entitled 3 Bad Brothers A Beastie Boys Breakdown. DBRP hosts Nate LeBlanc, David Ma and Demone Carter are joined by one of the very best producers in hip-hop, Kenny Segal, who knows a thing or two about blending disparate elements into a cohesive whole, as the Beasties did on one of their most successful records. In the pop...

All summer long, Dad Bod Rap Pod is breaking down the Beastie Boys' legendary career in an album-per-episode miniseries. This week things start to get really interesting as the Boys build their own studio in LA so they can jam with Mario C at the boards and Money Mark on keys, crafting their pivotal album, the eclectic and electric Check Your Head. DBRP hosts Nate LeBlanc, David Ma and Demone Cart...