The Next Movement

Max Ochester is the owner of Brewerytown Beats, a record shop in Philadelphia. But Max has also used the shop and his Philly connections to preserve the city’s rich music history. From reissuing previously unheard jazz and soul recordings to organizing efforts to save local institutions such as Sigma Sound Studios and the Coltrane House, Max has put in some work and has mesmerizing stories about i...

Breeze Brewin’ graces us with insight into his life, the arch of his career, his new album - Hindsight - while also dropping gems about Black Sheep’s debut. Just like A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing we think you’ll find this interview a bit different.

Fatboi Sharif talks about Gandhi Loves Children, his recent project with producer Roper Williams. In the process he also touches on influences, his interest in film, his creative approach, not releasing 12 albums per year, and helps us examine the oddity that is Prince Paul’s solo debut - Psychoanalysis: What Is It?!

Chris Maestro, founder and principle owner of BierWax in Brooklyn joins us to talk about the overlap between hip hop and craft beer, the diversity (or lack thereof) in the craft beer industry, the trials and tribulations of owning a small business during COVID, and a bunch of opinions about Nas and The Lost Tapes (2002).

Rapper/producer HooksArthur discusses his latest project Wave Form Fluent, its emphasis on art in all its forms, working with Influence Prod, and the chance encounter that led to an unlikely friendship with his mentor/engineer Zesto Q. Then Hooks helped us unpack the legacy of DOOM and the brilliance of Madvilliany. RIP DOOM. Metal Face forever.

Photographer Eric Johnson is responsible for some of hip-hop’s most iconic images including several enduring album photos from the likes of Cam’ron, De La Soul, Biggie, and Lauryn Hill. Eric joins the pod to discuss his experiences working with some of these artists and to tell the story of his involvement in L-Boogie’s classic solo debut.

We teamed up with the fellas from the Serious Rap Sh*t Podcast to discuss our favorite albums of the year. We were each tasked with picking three albums and found surprisingly little overlap, which led to a diverse convo about these great bodies of work. 2020 sucked. But this music didn’t. Instead, it sustained us, gave words to our feeling, and made our feelings into sound. And sometimes it just...

DJ/producer/label head Chong Wizard shares the story of his progression from hip hop journalist to executive producer and gives us a look behind his new project with emcee Zilla Rocca, including the story of how that guest verse from the late great Malik B. ended up on the album. And then a thoughtful discussion about the far out sounds of Dr. Octagon.

Michelle Willems is an art director/designer who generously shared some of her experiences working at Sony Music, Tommy Boy, and the MTV Networks. Highlights include the photo shoot for Big L’s debut album, that one time she was asked to meet Kool G Rap in a secret location, and the story behind the Stakes is High cover image. All that and a discussion with Michelle about her relationship with De...

While literally walking the streets of Baltimore, ILL Conscious talks about his latest work, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and his upcoming project with producer Mute Won called Acres of Diamonds (the lyrics to which were actually lost earlier this year!). Hear that story and more, including ILL’s love for Little Brother and their second album. And make sure you listen until the end for a special cameo f...

As the purveyor of “weaponized media” at PTP (Purple Tape Pedigree) and thru a history with storied NYC underground crews like Atoms Family, Geng has contributed to and been a witness of the full spectrum of sound in hip-hop. We explore some of those experiences with discussions on being a teacher, using art to build and better community, his excellent album An Unknown Inifite with fellow New York...

Extensive sit down with Detroit legend House Shoes who provides his customary no bullshit perspective on beer, politics, beat flips, ownership, Street Corner Music, Danny Brown, 8 Mile, and much much more including thoughts on his favorite album of any genre - Mobb Deep’s classic sophomore effort.

L.A. based producer Kenny Segal has contributed to some of the most unique and creative projects in the “art rap” scene, including recent albums Purple Moonlight Pages with R.A.P. Ferreira, Ajai with Serengeti, and Hiding Places with billy woods. Kenny tells us about his intro to Project Blowed, his work with Team Supreme, honing the craft of building intricate soundscapes for dense lyricism, and...

Filmmaker Darby Wheeler is best known stateside for his directing on the most excellent Netflix series Hip-Hop Evolution. He drops some jewels about his experience creating the show, gives us a preview of the in-progress D&D Studios documentary, and chats a bit about Scenario Media and their upcoming projects. And, of course, we all swap stories about Darby’s album of choice - Outkast’s ATLiens.

The second installment in a two-part collab with Nate and Demone from Dad Bod Rap Pod. The first part of the discussion takes place on their pod, where we talked about the soundtrack to the film Juice. Here the four of us discuss music from the motion picture Boyz N The Hood. Does Compton’s Most Wanted have the best cut? Has Tony Toni Tone’s “Me and You” aged better than Nate wants to admit? Is th...

By 1999 Mos Def had already made a name for himself as a freestyle wizard in New York, a gifted MC that held crowds captive with Lyricist Lounge, and as one half of Black Star. Still he crafted a solo debut that seemed to ignore the hype yet managed to blow us away with its genre bending optimism at a time when hip hop was losing its golden luster. Black On Both Sides delivered a love letter to Bl...

The poet/singer/activist/recording artist Ursula Rucker brings us needed inspiration as she shares how she is meeting the current reckoning for our country (and our city). True to form, she also challenges us to “do the work” and create the nation that we long to live in. And for the first time on the show we discuss an album from a singer, Frank Ocean, in our attempts to follow Ursula’s mandate -...

In 1991 Main Source dropped some game changing science in the form of Breaking Atoms. Yes, it gave us the first recorded verse from Nas (and one of the illest posse cuts of all time). Yes, it featured ground breaking sample-based production. But it also touched on just about every aspect of the life of young Black men including the still relevant and infinitely clever take on police brutality Just...

Kount Fif is the co-owner of Man Bites Dog Records and the producer behind projects like Uncommon Nasa’s City As School and the upcoming release from Baltimore’s Sinista Daniro. He drops by the pod to give us his take on the historic protests happening across the nation, the history of his relationship with Man Bites Dog, his approach as a producer, and his thoughts on an album that prolonged Wu-T...

Queen Latifah’s third album, bolstered by a successful hit TV show, brought her the most commercial hit of her career, won her a Grammy, and spoke for all women of color. “Who you callin’ a bitch???” might just be as relevant a question today as it was in 1993. We dig into that question and more with a long look at Black Reign.

David Lotwin, co-owner of the famous D&D Studios and co-founder of D&D Recording, blesses the pod with his wealth of insight into NYC hip hop. From the studio’s beginnings recording reggae to its work with Deee-Lite to becoming a destination for just about every New York hip hop artist you can think of (Nas, Biggie, Jay-Z, KRS-One, Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, Smif-N-Wesson, Black Moon, Lord Fines...

Chris Skillz is an artist who wears his emotion on his sleeve. His lyrics are laced with unparalleled vulnerability and at times such sensitive subjects as depression, suicidal thoughts, and surviving sexual abuse are openly addressed. The Delaware MC gives us an in-depth look at his creative process, his vision as an artist, and his admiration for 2Pac’s Me Against The World.

In these wild times we turn to Wildchild, DJ Romes, and Madlib to help us get thru. The trio known as Lootpack debuted in 1999 on Stones Throw Records and set the label on a trajectory for greatness. Stay home and take a listen as we ponder the mystery of Madlib’s mastery, give props to the underrated Likwit Crew, and much much more.

As the COVID-19 pandemic begins to impact the U.S., Los Angeles native XP the Marxman joins the show to talk about the impact its already having on artists. He also goes in depth about the influence East Coast artists have had on his career, his upcoming project with Roc Marciano, his work with L.A.’s homeless population, and his album of choice - GZA’s legendary Liquid Swords.

By the year 2000 the Golden Age was over and rap was flooded with over-commercialized music. But in Philly the trio of Vinnie Paz, Stoupe The Enemy of Mankind, and Jus Allah crafted an incredibly unique album that became legendary for the city and significant for the entire indie circuit of that era. This episodes examines the sophomore effort from Jedi Mind Tricks.