Take It Personal Radio

On Episode 188 of Take It Personal Radio , we're continuing our summertime sessions. Last episode we hit you with the party vibes. This time, we're taking it to the basement. We've got music from Masta Ace, AZ, Mos Def, Common, Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli, Hieroglyphics, People Under the Stairs, Styles of Beyond, Dilated Peoples, Kardinal Offishall, Brother Ali, The LOX, Freeway, Pete...

On Episode 187 of Take It Personal Radio , we're officially entering the summertime season. Last episode was full of beef, murder and mayhem, so despite being Ep 187, we decided to hit you with our first summertime show. Just good party vibes for the car rides, poolside lounging, beach days and backyard barbecues. We've got music from Little Shawn, Miilkbone, Tracey Lee, AZ, Junior M.A.F.I...

On Episode 186 of Take It Personal Radio , we're diving headfirst into one of hip-hop's most compelling traditions: the beef record . We've assembled some of the greatest diss tracks and rivalries in rap history and woven them into one cinematic audio documentary. From Boogie Down Productions vs. MC Shan and LL Cool J vs. Kool Moe Dee, Hammer, Ice-T and Canibus  to N.W.A vs. Ice Cube ,...

On Episode 185  of Take It Personal Radio , we’re bringing you the second installment of our Hip-Hop Quotables series. This time around, we’ve got verses from Kurupt, Common, Prodigy, Keith Murray, Jadakiss, Scarface, Eminem, Black Thought and more. At the break, we dissect some of these quotables. We talk Biggie, Keith Murray, and even get into a few unpopular opinions—which is always fun.   Shou...

On Episode 184 of Take It Personal Radio , we bring you the first installment of Hip-Hop Quotables . We’ve selected a collection of memorable verses and put them together for an incredible show. Featuring verses from Big Daddy Kane, Kool G. Rap, LL Cool J, Redman, Nas, Pharoahe Monch, Big L, Canibus, Big Pun, Inspectah Deck, Mos Def, Black Thought, Andre 3000, Jay Electronica, Kendrick Lamar, MF D...

On today's flashback episode, we're hitting you with our '92 celebration,  and we couldn't think of a better way to pay homage than with the legendary Sports Illustrated cover featuring the '92 Dream Team. Episode 89 is an appetizer, as we take a quick-trip down memory lane before making a hard stop on one of the greatest years hip-hop. Instead of feeding you the played-out &#3...

On Episode 183 of Take It Personal Radio, we're delivering you another special sample driven episode. Like we did a few episodes back with Method Man , we're now giving Nas the same treatment. All these songs feature a Nas sample. Many of which you'll recognize and some maybe new discoveries. We've got music from Real Live, Royal Flush, Black Attack, Bahamadia, Scientific, Masta Ac...

On Episode 182 of Take It Personal Radio, we pay homage to the late, great Bob Power. More than an engineer, Bob was an architect of sound — helping shape the standard in hip-hop. From A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Common, to De La Soul, his legacy is woven into the culture. This episode is dedicated to that legacy. At the break: we dive into Bob’s catalog, announce our G...

On Episode 181 of Take It Personal Radio, we’re doing something a little different. After 10 years and more than 180 shows, you’ve got to get a little creative. So we put together two remarkable mixes with one common theme: Method Man . These aren’t all songs that feature Method Man (although there are a few of those in here). Instead, these are joints that sample Method Man. And since there are s...

On Episode 180 of Take It Personal Radio, we're celebrating one of the most influential artists in hip-hop history — a rapper, producer, DJ, and sonic architect best known as Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest . We’ll be playing a wide range of tracks produced by Q-Tip — bootlegs, B-sides, and remixes — spanning artists like Apache, Diamond D, Run-D.M.C.,  Boogie Down Productions, Nas, Mobb Deep, H...

On Episode 179 of Take It Personal Radio , we're hitting you with some random rap — or as Kevlar calls it, good nuggets . This episode features music we've never played before in the show’s 10-year existence. You’ll hear joints from Young Zee, O.C., Ten Thieves, Dr. Oop, Brainsick Mob, Main One, Marley Marl, Big Tabb, Grand Agent, Prince Po, Terra Tounge, Lord Finesse, Junclassic, Da Young...

First show of 2026. We’re rewinding to 2025 with new(er) joints from the last six months that stayed in heavy rotation. If you were in a coma in 2025 and want to know what you missed, this one’s for you! Longer talk breaks on this episode as we get into the year’s standouts, the nonstop grind of Skyzoo, DJ Premier, The Alchemist, and Conductor Williams, Method Man’s resurgence, and finally locking...

If rock music isn’t your thing, this episode probably isn’t either — and that’s fine. We’ve got 176 others waiting for you. But if you live for great records, bold ideas, and the kind of genre-bending that Danger Mouse mastered and the legendary DJ Spinbad (R.I.P.) made feel effortless, you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Big Pun over Journey. Biggie over Pink Floyd. Scarface over The Eagl...

We hit you with the bangers in Part 1… But Part 2? That’s the one for the real heads . It seems like Part 2s are always the fan favorites — more obscure, more cohesive, more personal. We came out swinging for the masses last time, but this round, we’re diving deep. The music isn’t in strict chronological order, but it feels like a journey — from Pac’s earliest work all the way to Makaveli . You’ll...

We’re joined by  New York Times best-selling author Jeff Pearlman , who stops by to talk all things 2Pac. Jeff’s new book,  Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur , is in stores now. This isn’t your typical biography — it’s honest, unfiltered, and deeply researched. It’s arguably the most complete and insightful 2Pac bio ever written.  Over the course of  two-plus hours , we dive de...

Coming off our Eminem tribute, we’re going back-to-back with another one. This time, we’re paying homage to one of the most polarizing artists of all time:  2Pac .  You might remember way back in episode 16, we dropped a 2Pac mini-mix for our  West Coast Classics  series. Well, here we are —  158 episodes later  — finally giving you our official  2Pac Tribute .  We’re joined by  New York Times bes...

It’s finally time we pay homage to one of the best to ever do it. Maybe it took us a little longer because we know how polarizing Eminem can be — but Take It Personal has always been about cataloging music, honoring the culture, and letting the music speak louder than our words.  On today’s episode, we bring you our Eminem Tribute: The Early Years . You either love him, hate him, or fall somewhere...

We packed this one heavy — over 94 tracks deep — so if you’re looking for the ultimate sampling experience, you just found it. We’re talking straight bangers from The O’Jays, Curtis Mayfield, The Isley Brothers, Al Green, Three Dog Night, Bobby Caldwell, George Benson, Aretha Franklin, DeBarge, The Floaters, and a whole lot more. But we don’t just show you where it started — we hit you with where...

We’re closing out our 1992 Tribute series with the 5th and final installment—and we’re throwing everything at you. This episode is packed with joints from Kwame, Rough House Survivors, Young Black Teenagers, Home Team, Chi-Ali, Hard Knocks, MC Serch, Mobb Deep, The Brand New Heavies, and Gang Starr. We’re also showing some southern love with tracks from Willie D, Bushwick Bill, Gangsta Nip, and UG...

On episode 170, we’re dropping the  4th installment  of our  1992 Tribute  —  West Coast Edition . After this, just one more episode remains to wrap up our summer-long series.  We’ve got  Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, DJ Quik, Cypress Hill, House of Pain, The Pharcyde, Freestyle Fellowship, Paris, Compton’s Most Wanted, Spice 1, Too $hort, Above The Law, RBL Posse, Da Lench Mob … and that’s o...

On episode 169, we're hitting you with the 3rd installment of our 1992 Tribute. We've got plenty more on deck before we put a bow on one of the most incredible years in hip-hop. Episode 169 is a bit more obscure as we dig  deeper and pull-out the b-sides, remixes and some of those deep album cuts.   We've got music from Lord Finesse, Showbiz & A.G., Diamond D, Grand Puba, Ultramagn...

On episode 168, we're hitting you our 2nd installment of our 1992 Tribute and this time we brought a special guest to sit-in on our '92 discussions.  We talk... Ice Cube's dominance Best producer on the mic BMG/Columbia House Pete Rock reinventing the wheel Guilty pleasures DJ Quik P.E.'s decline The Source Mic Ratings After listening to part 1, it's impossible not to have 1992...

On episode 167, we're hitting you our first installment of our 1992 Tribute. This is one of the most incredible years with arguably the most classic tracks to come out of it. We've got music from Dr. Dre, Grand Puba, Ice Cube, The Pharcyde, Das EFX, Redman, Diamond D, Main Source, Beastie Boys and Pete Rock & CL Smooth  Remember, everyday we're adding back more and more Take It Per...

On this flashback of Take It Personal Radio, we're hitting you with a remastered version of episode 50, our Hieroglyphics Tribute. This was a mammoth one. We've got special guests Slug, Murs, Apathy, J-Zone, The Grouch & Breakbeat Lou stopping by.  We interview Del, Domino, Casual & Tajai and they've got stories for days!   Del talks about doing shrooms with Q-Tip to Casual freestyling wit...

On episode 166, we're taking it back to 1993.  One of our favorite years in hip-hop. We've got music from Erick Sermon, Black Moon, Yaggfu Front, Funkdoobiest, Lords of the Underground, Akinyele, KRS-One, Tim Dog, Nice & Smooth, Ultramagnetic MC's, Geto Boys, Leaders of the New School, Fat Joe & Masta Ace   Don't forget, our exclusive Xzibit interview is streaming on our Ve...