The Rap Music Plug Podcast

Musical collaborations can be successful for a myriad of reasons. The artists in question can have similar life experiences, musical influences, styles, or differ tremendously within those same categories, and complement each other in unique ways. But with today’s guests, Nappy Nina and Swarvy, their secret sauce revolves around their friendship, mutual trust, and a shared versatility that allows...

From the music, to the politics, to the bold aesthetic presentation that accompanies the music... Brooklyn-based producer/electronic musician DJ Haram and San Francisco MC SHA RAY were a match made in heaven. Their shared love for experimental, boundary-pushing sound, and radical political messaging coalesce beautifully in their amazing new album, Critical Thot, released on Backwoodz Studioz. In t...

Few artists have a career as unique and prolific as today’s guest, Richmond Virginia’s own, Nickelus F. Over multiple decades, F has dazzled listeners with his ridiculous technical skills as an MC, the authenticity and honesty in his subject matter, and his production chops that feature a degree of stylistic variety that was always impressively pulled off. With that said, he’s recently taken aim a...

Separating the art from the artist is a conversation that has bubbled up a lot lately, with the release of the Michael movie, as well as recent albums from ye, JPEGMAFIA, and the focus of this episode, Drake. A lot of this discussion revolves around the validity of separating the art from the artist, and I’m here to say that the conversation around this is a psy-op. Especially for artists that dem...

Today’s guest, New Jersey rapper, and co-host of radio show, Strangers LIVE, '89 the Brainchild, is as distinct an artist as they come - occupying a space in rap entirely of his own making. But despite his singular style, he embraces collaboration tremendously, bringing in different voices into his take on rap that integrates influences of jersey club, electronic, pop, and more. This all creates a...

When I first heard that two leaders in the experimental rap space, in rapper Fatboi Sharif and producer Child Actor, were joining forces on an upcoming album, Crayola Circles, the stylistic fit was obvious. I knew immediately that Sharif’s unique vocal style would pair well with Child Actor’s decadent psychedelia. But what I wasn’t prepared for was just how much of a beautifully tender emotional e...

Today’s guest, New York's yaya bey, is as talented as they come. Her unique take on R&B is propelled by a gorgeous voice, and the ability to shift to smooth effortless raps whenever she feels like it. But it’s the intangibles with her music that really make her art special to me. Throughout her entire catalogue, she carries a grounded, worldly perspective to her music that feels both intellige...

As soon as I first heard a beat from today’s guest, GAWD, off of MIKE’s Burning Desire… I was immediately intrigued. I needed to hear more of this nutty, oddball, and infinitely creative sound. So over the past few years since, I’ve dove into GAWD’s catalog as both a producer and a rapper and mined some real gold, within a stupidly prolific discography under various artistic monikers (GAWD, 65 Cen...

Today’s guests, E L U C I D and Sebb Bash may come from very different backgrounds. But they share one core thing in common. Both pulling from the fundamental tenets of the past, they push the art form to places it’s never been before. E L U C I D and Sebb were born to make music together. And luckily for us, they finally delivered their new collaborative album, I Guess U Had to Be There on Backwo...

The music of today’s guest, Birmingham, England-native, Tony Bontana, can be described in many ways: But to me, the simplest way I can describe Tony is creative… in any and every sense of the word. Tony’s music spans multiple genres from rap, to punk, no wave, harnessing an artistic ethos that is truly like none other. In today’s episode, we dig deeper into his creative ethos by discussing this “s...

In the current era of music and hip-hop, there’s gotta be more rappers than at any other point in human history. And so while that leads to a ton of amazing, creative rap music being made, as an artist, it’s increasingly hard to stand out. The market has never been more saturated. This is why artists like today’s guest, have impressed by immediately carving out their own lane as a rising star. Hai...

One of the best things to come out of rap’s rising global influence over the few decades is the proliferation of the art form in different cultures across the globe. Where artists can infuse their own influences into their take on the genre. Today’s guest, mary sue, is a Singapore-native who has thoroughly impressed me in recent years with a wicked degree of musical diversity, working on any kind...

Today’s guest is one of rap’s youngest rising stars. Atlanta-native FearDorian, has quickly established himself as a true innovator in the space of trap and cloud rap. Bridging the gap between Atlanta trap, cloud rap… and indie pop, alternative music through his eclectic sample choices into this gumbo of groovy, melodically catchy, moody, ethereal rap that is so one of one. It’s a whole lot of fun...

Around this time last year, the show was continuing to grow… but at a lesser pace than the super strong growth trajectory it had been on a few years prior. I was more than ok with this. At least the past hadn’t been a fluke. I established myself, and had some modest growth - I was grateful. But then in 2025, that big year-over-year growth came back, and I was so pleasantly surprised. I know this n...

If you’re a fan of the modern scene of indie rap, chances are you listen to artists that either have respect for, have collaborated with, or have been inspired directly by today’s guests, Tomorrow Kings. Ever since their inception in the mid-to late 2000s in Chicago, Tomorrow Kings - a rap supergroup comprised of SKECH185, Collasoul Structure and I.B. Fokuz of Jyroscope, Malakh El, Gilead7, and IL...

Simply put, today’s guests have been on a run for the ages. Ever since their debut album in 2013’s Race Music, Armand Hammer, NY-based duo of E L U C I D and billy woods, have been on an absolute tear. With every passing release, their chemistry has gotten tighter, and their artistic scope has expanded. In 2021, the duo elevated to another level of critical and commercial success, teaming up with...

I’ve been listening to the music of today’s guest for over a decade now. I have vivid memories of telling anyone that would listen, some variation of “Mick Jenkins is the TRUTH”. Ever since I first heard The Water(s), I was sold. So it’s such a full circle moment to welcome him on the show. Mick Jenkins is an artist who’s matured both on and off the mic. On the mic, he’s chiselled away at his craf...

With most artists that I have on the show, I’m more concerned with the “why” and the “what”. Why did they take their music in this emotional direction? What inspired their style? But with today’s guests, HUMAN ERROR CLUB, I found myself often asking “how”? HUMAN ERROR CLUB is a LA-based band comprised of drummer, Mekala Sessions, and two keyboardists in Diego Gaeta and Jesse Justice, who come toge...

Today’s guest, THERAVADA, has experienced a huge 2025 so far. Releasing his latest solo album, THE YEARS WE HAVE, producing half of Earl Sweatshirt’s Live Laugh Love, contributing a guest verse to Evidence’s Unlearning Vol. 2, and producing a bonus track off billy woods’ new album. You’d think, given the build-up of features and production credits that were released before his new album, that THER...

Today’s episode highlights the beauty in artistic collaboration - creating something greater than the sum of its parts, as well as the beauty of art as a means to process emotion and get through life’s challenges. The quartet of rapper Teller Bank$, and producers Killer Kane, q no rap name, and Philth Spector joined forces to create one of the best albums of the year, DRUG$$$. They joined the show...

What makes a rap duo special is more than just the quality of beats and rhymes. It’s more than even the stylistic fit between the two elements. The secret sauce lies in a personal bond that extends beyond the music That’s what today’s guests, New York-based duo Gabe ‘Nandez and Preservation, have in common. With Gabe’s track record of sharp lyricism and a distinct voice, I knew that pairing him wi...

How I’d describe my tastes in music would be such that, I don’t care too much about what emotion is conveyed, I just care that there IS an emotion being shared to begin with. Whether it be portrayals of depression, bliss, and everything in between, I want my music to make me feel something. On top of that, I’m partial to more intense displays of emotion, because I’m a dramatic emotional guy, what...

Some people are just born to be in front of a mic, blessed with such charisma, cultural intellect, and communication prowess. That immediately makes listeners hang on their every word. That’s the kind of guy who is joining us for the 200th episode of The Rap Music Plug Podcast, none other than Richmond Virginia’s own, $ilkMoney. $ilk’s commanding mic presence, impossibly malleable flow, and artist...

In a society as broken as today’s, where the power gap between regular working people and the ruling class is expanding on a daily, finding a way to navigate your life and career is challenging. Particularly, when you aim to live your life according to your moral compass, in a way that shows solidarity with those in need, and combats oppressive systems. That’s one of the reasons why artists like t...

Today’s guest, Open Mike Eagle, is the most multi multi-hyphenate you will ever come across. The Chicago native, now LA-based rapper has compiled a legendary catalogue of uniquely idiosyncratic rap and has followed his passion to other mediums as well. TV, YouTube, Twitch streaming, and podcasting are all forms of expression Mike knows well.  His career has been deeply inspiring to myself and othe...