Dad Bod Rap Pod

This week we have a great conversation with hip-hop producer RJD2. We discuss his influences, his musical journey and his time on influential underground hip-hop label Def Jux. RJ is an extremely nice guy, very easy to talk to, and was generous with his time, even taking a moment to talk about some of the analog synths in his studio. DBRP is a proud part of the Stony Island Audio podcast network.

This week we have an amazing interview with Vast Aire, one half of the legendary underground hip-hop duo Cannibal Ox. The 20th anniversary of the Ox's epochal album The Cold Vein is fast approaching. We linked with Vast while he was in the recording studio mixing down new music and he shared insights on The Cold Vein, Def Jux, his rhyme partner the brilliant Vordul Mega, and a lot more. It's a goo...

We are joined this week by authors, historians and galactic level hip-hop heads Jeff Chang and Dave "Davey D" Cook to discuss their new book Can't Stop Won't Stop (Young Adult Edition): A Hip-Hop History. Nate, Dave and Demone are all huge fans of the original edition of Can't Stop Won't Stop, and consider it to be the best book about hip-hop ever written. Here we chop it up with Jeff and Davey D...

This week we're shining a light on the best rap records of the year so far. Each of our three co-hosts talk about their favorite few releases now that we're a quarter of the way through 2021. Next up we have an interview with DBRP returning guest MC Nappy Nina ans producer JWords. They just released a very good record called Double Down, and we get the down low on the creation of the project. Beat...

This week we have a great interview with legendary hip-hop producer Buckwild. From the 90's to the present, Buckwild has produced some of the greatest songs in hip-hop history with artists like O.C., Organized Konfusion, Notorious B.I.G., Kool G Rap, Nas, and many others. Buckwild is a laid back guy and not prone to self promotion, but consider this episode the beginning of a campaign to refer to...

This week we're chatting about new releases including Benny the Butcher's Plugs I Met 2. Then we have a lively conversation with Bronx-born MC Nine. Perhaps best known for his distinctive vocal tone and two albums on Profile in the 90's, Nine has had an extensive and influential career and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Beats this week were submitted by friend of the program LC Rive...

This week we have some thoughts on the recent Grammy awards and then we spoke with one of contemporary rap's illest duos, Fatboi Sharif & Roper Williams. Sharif & Roper released a uniquely macabre record last year called Ghandi Loves Children. They tell us about their history together, their working process, and divulge a bit about their next few projects. The interstitial beats on this week's sho...

This week we have a lively examination of the recently-released Netflix documentary Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell. The Notorious B.I.G. is one of the all-time great rappers and we had fun talking about his music and legacy. Then we have an interview with NYC-based rapper Marlon Craft. We discuss his independent hustle, his relationship with his fans, and his former life as a basketball prodigy. DB...

This week we have a great interview with composer, producer, beatmaker extraordinaire Daedelus. They share their experiences working with DOOM, Prefuse 73, Myka 9, and more colorful characters from the intersection of hip-hop and electronic music. They also describe a bit about their pandemic experience, teaching at the Berklee School of Music, and tell some stories about the legendary club night...

This week we are discussing Canadian hip-hop with two underground MCs from our neighbor to the north. First up we have an interview with writer, poet, MC and overall creative Cadence Weapon. Cadence has a new single out now called Senna and a new album dropping soon. He discusses his approach to writing, his journalistic efforts, and we parse the so-called "hipster rap" era. Next up we have a conv...

Is The Fugees' 1996 album The Score a hip-hop classic? We delve into this question including listener feedback sourced from Twitter on the occasion of The Score's 25th anniversary. Next up we have a revealing interview with veteran MC and Visionaries member 2Mex. We are longtime fans of his music, both solo and as a member of group Of Mexican Descent. Here he discusses the true stories behind some...

We have a doubleheader this week, two interviews with guests who have made music we enjoy and also come from our little corner of the world, the South Bay Area of California. First up we have a chat with Jihad the Roughneck, a renowned underground MC best known for his work in the group Third Sight with DJ D-Styles and producer DuFunk. We are longtime fan of Jihad's bold rhyme schemes and humor-la...

This week we are yet again mourning a member of the hip-hop community, RIP to Double K of People Under the Stairs and condolences to his family and friends. We spend some time up top talking about PUTS and what their music means to us and how it sits in the larger context of underground hip-hop. After that we have a great interview with Murs, one of the most talented and productive MCs in hip-hop...

This week we have some reflections on a great moment in Bay Area hip-hop history, the legendary Saafir vs Casual battle in 1994. This moment has been chronicled in a recent documentary available on youtube, and our host Demone Carter was in the building for one of the inciting events, a live show where the Hobo Junction and Hieroglyphics members initially squared off. After that we have a great in...

We have a very special guest this week, quite literally one of the greatest MCs in the world, Pharoahe Monch. From his beginnings in Organized Konfusion to his new rock-oriented project Thirteen, Monch blends peerless technical ability with wild concepts and emotional range. He is truly gifted as a rapper and has made some of our favorite music of all time. The three hosts also discuss the best ra...

This week the fellas discuss who the best DJ/producers in hip-hop culture are throughout time with feedback from our twitter followers. Then we have a great interview with one of those luminaries, the legendary turntablist, producer, artist, and collector Cut Chemist. Cut shares great stories from his incredible career and tells us about his devotion to collecting "paper," specifically vintage hip...

Rest in peace Daniel Dumile aka MF DOOM the greatest underground rapper who ever lived. This episode is our attempt to celebrate the life, music and legacy of DOOM. We are joined by DOOM fan and collaborator Open Mike Eagle to talk about our favorite tracks, memories and share some observations about what made him such a compelling character. DBRP is a proud part of the Stony Island Audio podcast...

For our 150th episode and our last show of 2020 we are very pleased to present an interview with a group that means a lot to our three co-hosts, Latyrx. Lateef the Truthspeaker and Lyrics Born made a groundbreaking self-titled album in 1997 that was hugely influential in all of our lives and led us to seek out left field experimental hip-hop. We are joined at the table this week by our friend Cuts...

This week the fellas interview radio host, DJ, producer, and hip-hop institution Statik Selektah. Statik chopped it up with us about his radio career, his production setup, and his practice of not breaking songs but breaking artists on his Shade45 show Showoff Radio. He is also promoting a new album, The Balancing Act, which has a staggering amount of high profile features. DBRP is a proud part of...

It's the third annual DBRP Awards! A beloved end-of-year tradition where we reach out to some of our favorite artists, writers, and friends of the program for feedback on the year in rap music combine that with the ballots of our editorial board of David, Demone, and Nate, and then "award" great music across a wide variety of categories. We also spend a little bit of time talking about bad graphic...

This week we're exploring Brand Nubian's classic debut album One For All on its 30th anniversary. We spoke with Sadat X, a great MC with a pioneering flow and one of the great rap voices. He recalls being young and hungry when the group recorded this masterpiece and fills us in on what he's up to now, which may surprise you. Next up we speak with Dante Ross, the A&R who guided the signing and reco...

This week we are focusing on record collecting, something all three of our hosts engage in to varying degrees. We lead with a chat about our listening outside of hip-hop and the hoopla surrounding year-end lists. Then we speak with DJ, producer, musician, and record collector DJ Day. Day gets very candid about his life, his recording career, and his position as the best DJ in his hometown of Palm...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Every year Dad Bod Rap Pod does something slightly different for these holiday episodes. One year we did a radio-style music mix, the next we told stories from our personal lives, and this year we have a positive, fun conversation about some music that we love with a very special guest. Josh Gondelman is a beloved Twitter institution, a gifted stand up comedian, author...

This week the fellas interview an artist who just released a breakthrough album, Lyric Jones. Her new album Closer Than They Appear was recently released to critical acclaim. Lyric has an interesting backstory, as she is a talented singer, drummer, and classically trained musician who has been making moves in hip-hop for a while. Catching the ear of Little Brother's Phonte Coleman eventually led t...

Doubleheader episode this week. After the fellas discuss their mental state after the recent election, we interview Sach Illpages of The Nonce about his album World Ultimate and his newer work. He is joined by producer KTD to discuss their new collaborative project. Next up is a discussion on the intersection of instrumental hip-hop production and electronic music with author Laurent Fintoni. Laur...