Dad Bod Rap Pod

This week we debate whether Busta Rhymes is under, over, or properly rated as an MC. In the second segment we interview Richmond, VA based producer Ohbliv about his gear, methodology, and the lo-fi scene. His new album Give Thanks is now available, beat heads need to give it a listen.

This week we are honored to be joined by Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan of The Last Poets. Their music combined beats and rhymes well before what we now know as hip-hop existed and they have amazing stories to share about the 60’s, their fellow proto-rap pioneers, and how to use jail time to improve your life. This one is a must-listen for everyone, not just hip-hop heads, to soak up the wisd...

We talked to MC JB of JJ Fad this week. She’s got awesome stories about the early days of electro rap, Ruthless Records, Dre, Eazy, and surprising takes on the notorious Jerry Heller. JJ Fad are best known for their classic hit “Supersonic” and are still active performing as a group, which is rare.

This week we reflect on the legacy of hip-hop filmmaker John Singleton, may he rest in peace. Then we dive deep into Outkast’s debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, which turns 25 this month. We talk about how unique it sounded when it dropped, how the album is constructed, and which tracks stand the test of time.

In depth interview with One Be Lo (AKA One Man Army) on the origins of Binary Star, his career, and what he is up to now. For a certain section of underground hip-hop fans, his albums Waterworld and the slightly reworked, more commonly available version Masters of the Universe are classic of the form. One Be Lo gets deep on how this came together and who was involved. We also discuss the concept o...

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Illmatic, Nas’s masterpiece, one of the greatest albums in the history of music, and some might say a perfect album. We break it down track by track and then interview Faith Newman, the legendary music executive who signed Nasty Nas to Columbia Records and oversaw the release. We also talk about Lil Nas X because internet.

We check in on the state of hip-hop journalism. Of course DBRP co-host David Ma is one of the world’s premier music journalists, filing stories often for Wax Poetics, The Guardian, Okayplayer and many other fine publications. We discuss the work of his peers, including past guests Jeff Weiss, Paul Thompson, and Shawn Setaro. As important as it is to listen to the music, it’s hard to truly understa...

We’re pleased to be joined this week by LA-based producer Kenny Segal. We are fans of his 2018 instrumental album Happy Little Tress but we were most excited to talk to him about the excellent Hiding Places, a full length collaboration with rapper billy woods. We are huge fans of the project. Kenny tells us about his working methods, as well as some upcoming projects. Tune in!

Great show this week, we are joined in-studio by our friend Cutso to break down Gang Starr’s beyond-classic album Hard To Earn. Make sure to listen until the end for some reflections on the album from its mastermind DJ Premier himself. Dad Bod co-host David Ma interviewed Primo for an upcoming story and we are lucky to be able to share some of the rough audio from the interview here.

This week we take a look at some albums that have become legendary on the minds of fans because they were never actually released. Sparked by the announcement this week that there are Mac Miller and Madlib (Maclib) tracks that exist but won’t be released officially, though Madlib will play them in his live sets from time to time. What are your favorite unreleased projects? Which ones are you dying...

Another unexpected but dope set of guests this week… Our fist segment is an interview with Fat Boys member, solo artist, producer, and actor Prince Markie Dee. Mark shares wild stories from the golden age of hip-hop when the Fat Boys were bringing rap to the masses and talks about what he’s up to now. Next up we have a fun trivia segment with Branden Peters, a well-respected journalist who has tra...

We have a very special guest this week, Akinyele. You may have heard his energetic verse on the classic Main Source track “Live at the BBQ” or his underground anthem “Put It In Your Mouth”. Now hear what he is up to these days and his refreshing, unique take on the De La/Tommy Boy controversy.

The first segment this week is an interview with reclusive producer Controller 7, a unique talent who may be best known for his work with the Anticon collective in the early 200s but has steadily released dark instrumental projects, mixes, and re-mixes for the last two decades on a variety on influential labels and on his own. We are huge fans of his music, and not just because we come from the sa...

We’re taking a slightly different approach this week. We asked writer, producer, and Grime aficionado Son Raw to join us for the full hour to lead us through the development of the hip-hop adjacent UK-based genre. We laughed, we learned, nodded our heads.

Author, funk drummer, and respected hip-hop figure J-Zone @jzone101 joins us this week to drop knowledge about the rap industry and promote his new Red Bull Music Academy series Give The Drummer Some, where he interviews and plays with legendary drummers. We are really happy with how this one turned out.

We’ve got a doubleheader today, with two really strong interviews. First up is DJ Nu-Mark, one of the most creative DJs and producers in the game. He talks about his excellent Zodiac Tracks mix series, his work on the Drop the Mic tv show, a recent trip to Taipei to judge a DJ battle, and his new music. Next we have Small Pro, a producer out of Philly who’s making waves with his new release ’86 Wi...

This week we are focusing on rappers’ vocabularies. How much does word choice matter? How wordy is too wordy? The jumping-off point is this in-depth chart: pudding.cool/projects/vocabulary/index.html In the second segment we are joined by veteran west coast MC Ras Kass who will be dropping the sequel to his classic debut Soul On Ice soon. Great interview with a thoughtful and extremely talented ar...

Demone is back from a very unique tour of Vietnam performing in a variety of interesting venues. We also talk briefly to the legendary DJ Q-Bert about his current endeavors and a funny tour story of his own.

Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Casual’s classic album Fear Itself. We interviewed Domino from Hieroglyphics about the making of the album and select some key tracks to focus on. Dom shares some killer insights into the creative process and Demone shares a wild story that adds even further intrigue to the infamous Hiero/Hobo Junction battle.

We’re back with our fist episode of 2019, and we’re focusing on the consistently dope music of Griselda Records out of Buffalo, New York. Their artists Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher are making some of the best rap music in the world right now. We spoke to journalist Riley Wallace, who has covered their careers extensively, about what makes the recent Shady Records signees...

The Dad Bod crew is wrapping up 2018 in style. Join us for a complete best-of-the year awards show and after-party recounting this amazing year in hip-hop. We polled our listeners, guests, and industry peers on the best music of the year and we announce it all on this week’s show!

We’ve got a short episode this week, an interview with Billy Woods of @backwoodzstudioz about hip-hop, the record business, and greek food. Thanks to @praktikos for submitting the beats! See you next week with our year-end best-of show!

The less said about this one the better, so let us just say that we’re very thankful for all of our listeners, the folks we’ve been lucky enough to interview and everyone who interacted with us or helped spread the word about the podcast. We’re wrapping up our first season and feel very lucky to be able to share this music with you. -Nate, David, and Demone

Before you listen to this week’s episode, make sure to familiarize yourself with this list from Complex, edited by our guest, writer and podcaster Shawn Setaro: https://www.complex.com/music/2018/10/best-hip-hop-producers We get deep into the list, which was a massive undertaking for Shawn and his collaborators. We’d love to hear what you think of the choices that were made, hit us on Twitter @dad...

This week we take a look at the music of one of the most interesting hip-hop cities Detroit, Michigan. We interviewed one of the most talented cats to emerge from the city’s vital hip-hop scene, MC extraordinaire Elzhi. He was mad cool, talked about his whole career, including his latest LP Jericho Jackson. We also recommend some cuts from other Detroit artists, though admittedly Demone is a lot m...