Little bonus mini-episode this week since we can’t stop talking about MF DOOM and his album Operation: Doomsday. We are joined by GENG aka King Vision Ultra, who attended and filmed DOOM’s first-ever performance. He tells us that story and a few others from the cypher-era New York underground hip-hop scene.
This week we bring you a Tim Hardaway caliber crossover, we teamed with the excellent UK-based hip-hop podcast Crate 808 to break down MF DOOM’s Operation: Doomsday. This album holds a special place for all of us as an unimpeachable underground classic. We talk about the songs, the skits, the art, and the samples with Kam, the effusive host of Crate 808.
This week we are joined by the multifaceted MC Fat Tony who has a new album out called Wake Up on Carpark Records. Topics discussed include smokiness levels in Mezcal, his experiences with Vice, the NY underground rap scene in the early aughts, comedy, and his need to connect personally with his producers. Tony is one-of-a-kind and we had a lot of fun talking with him. In the second segment we are joined by hip-hop writer Jack Riedy to talk about live shows, Chicago, and various levels of washde...
This week we have a bit of a schizophrenic show. In the first segment we have a long conversation about Lil Wayne and on the back half we have a special interview with Yesh aka Yeshua DapoEd who created an indie rap masterpiece in 1996. The Visualz EP is legendary among backpack rap aficionados for its intricate wordplay, brazen song construction, and jazz-inflected beats. It is a personal favorite of Nate and Dave and they were excited to catch up with Yesh and talk about the independent era an...
This week we have a very special interview. Our guest is MC Tree from Chicago. He does not normally grant interviews or play shows or do any of the promotional tasks one might associate with being a rapper. He simply records and releases his incredible Soul Trap music on his own terms. Tree had a monster year in 2019, releasing three full length records. We get to hear a bit about each of them and news about what’s coming next.
Great interview this week with author Adam Mansbach who provides insight on the life and career of the beyond-legendary hip-hop pioneer Phase 2. Adam has written several novels centered around hip-hop culture and written for and edited influential hip-hop publications but is best known for writing the “childrens’ book for adults” Go The Fuck To Sleep. In the other segments the fellas talk about the fact that rap songs seem to be getting shorter, and share some examples of hot tracks that don’t w...
This week we are joined by the versatile and productive MC/Producer Evidence. Fresh off tour with Brother Ali (he produced Ali’s most recent album Secrets & Escapes) he talks through his career up to this point. Ev arrived on the scene as a member of Dilated Peoples, and has released a string of solo albums and collaborations since then. His 2018 release Weather Or Not was among his most acclaimed. Stay tuned until the end of the interview when he drops some hints about the direction of his ...
Short episode this week. The fellas discuss whether there should be a term for the most creative MCs pushing the genre forward. We workshop calling them The Vanguard. In the second segment we interview Vanguard member, MC/Producer Elucid. He is a creative force, in his solo work and his collaborations he is one of the most creative people in hip-hop and we were very pleased to be able to speak with him. Beats for this week’s episode were supplied by Albert Jenkins and Th’ Mole and we appreciate ...
We are celebrating the milestone of reaching 100 episodes of Dad Bod Rap Pod by focusing our attention on one of the greatest rap groups of all time, A Tribe Called Quest. They are monumentally important to the development of hip-hop music and culture in general but also in our personal lives. First up, we have an in-depth interview with Hanif Abdurraqib, author of Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest. The book is one of the few books on the the golden age of rap that takes the li...
We’ve got 99 episodes but a satisfactory accounting of the decade in rap isn’t one. This week each of our three co-hosts pick their top 5 albums of the decade. Tune in to hear what made the cut.
Very special episode this week, we go long on the year in hip-hop and hand out our 2019 Dad Bod Awards for our favorite releases of the year. After that we are joined by the intriguing MC billy woods, who released two of the best records of the year Hiding Places with producer Kenny Segal and Terror management. woods possesses a ferocious intellect and a reflective demeanor, and is answers are full of insight into his year as a person and an artist. Huge thanks to all of the friends of the progr...
It’s a good old fashioned banter episode, the first time in a while we haven’t had a guest. Dave called in sick, so Nate and Demone discuss IRL interactions with hip-hop artists, whether podcasts are filing the void left by the disillusion of many hip-hop magazines, and the fiasco that was the Source Magazine’s Benzino years. Listen now, watch the movie we start writing the script for at some point in the future. Beats for today’s show were provided by Jumbled, you can find more of his work at: ...
Every year we try to do a special episode for Thanksgiving and this year we landed on the theme of stories. We are all storytellers in some regard, and each DBRP co-host picked a song to tell a personal story about. Nate talks about his family through the lens of Action Bronson’s “9-24-11,” Dave reminisces about a particularly fruitful time in his career by discussing Lord Shafiq’s “My Mic Is On Fire,” and Demone recounts a personal and somewhat tragic tale revolving around Aceyalone’s “Book Of ...
This week we speak to Beans, one of the most original and unique MC/producers in hip-hop. I never do this but I am actually going to quote his own description of himself since it is so perfect: Accomplished abstract poet. Early architect of electronic-infused beatscapes. Founding ex- member of legendary left-field rap act Anti-Pop Consortium The interview takes a few unexpected turns, and he actually recommends some amazing music you may not be familiar with. Check out his new album and book Ace...
This week we are joined by the intriguing young rapper Mavi, who dropped a very good album called Let The Sun Talk recently and appears on the new Earl Sweatshirt EP Feet of Clay. He’s got a bright future ahead of him, it’s always interesting to talk to someone right when they are at the outset of a promising career.
This week we have an hour-long sit-down in-studio interview with the great MC R.A.P. Ferreira, formerly known as Milo, currently also known as Scalllops Hotel and half of the group Nostrum Grocers. DBRP co-host and producer Nate LeBlanc sat down with the elusive and artful MC to discuss his life and career, his process, and poetry.
This week we are joined by two special guests with long histories in the rap game. First up is friend of the program Uncommon Nasa, who has an new album entitled City As School out today. Then we talk to legendary producer Psycho Les of The Beatnuts, who has produced some the freshest beats in the genre’s history and most recently produced a full album for Kool Keith. Beats for this week’s show were submitted by Nick Liao!
This week we are joined by author Ben Merlis. His new book Goin’ Off, The story of the Juice Crew and Cold Chillin’ Records will be available on November 5th. We are such huge fans of Marley Marl and the Juice Crew, and it was great to discuss their impact on hip-hop with a careful researcher like Ben.
This week we discuss the Tekashi 69 case with Shawn Setaro, who has been attending and reporting on the case for Complex.com since the beginning. We also touch on the “stop snitchin” ethos and the ramifications of using rap lyrics and videos to convict people of crimes. It’s more fun than it sounds.
This week we are joined by one of the most interesting people in hip-hop culture, the host of Comedy Central’s The New Negroes, unapologetic art rapper Open Mike Eagle. Mike talks to us about his life and career, his mentors at Project Blowed, and we get deep into the intersection of comedy and hip-hop, an often uncomfortable pairing.
This week the fellas ruminate on Kanye’s album (?) rollout for the supposedly upcoming Jesus Is King and talk about whether or not cancel culture is a real thing. Then we interview Homeboy Sandman, who has a new album called Dusty dropping October 18th. Homeboy Sandman is know as an MC’s MC, a very productive and unique rhymer. We dig into his writing, his career, and Dave gets a new nickname.
We are such huge Kool Keith fans. Ultramagnetic MCs changed the game in the golden era, Sex Style is an underground classic, Dr Octagon blew our minds, Dr Dooom and Black Elvis made us laugh and admire the continued lyrical dexterity. He’s one of the best MCs who ever lived, a pioneer in non-rhyming but still dope verses, and just an overall interesting person. This week we talked to him about his singular career.
We have very special guests this week, all the way live from North Carolina, Rapper Big Pooh and Phonte, who are of course collectively known as Little Brother. Their career spans the backpack rap era to the present day, and we talk about all of it. Phonte has hilarious stories about the times when they were being courted by major labels in the 2000s that you won’t want to miss. Beats for this weeks episode were provided by producer Homage CVG from his instrumental album Unfortunately.
Nate, Dave, and Demone are joined this week by Philadelphia-based MC Curly Castro. The loquacious rapper shares stories about his childhood in Brooklyn, some funny encounters with rap royalty, and his dream of becoming the world’s greatest hypeman. Stay tuned til the end where we share new music from Castro and his collaborators PremRock, friend of the program Zilla Rocca, and Open Mike Eagle. First up is the track “Nitty at the Drew” by ShrapKnel (Castro and PremRock) followed by “Company Dro” ...
This week we are joined by very special guest Nathaniel Friedman of GQ Magazine, Victory Journal, and formerly of revolutionary basketball blog Free Darko. We go deep on Madlib and Freddie Gibbs’ Bandana album, which Nathaniel covered in his brilliant Gibbs profile for GQ. We also talk about the NBA, record collecting, and having your takes, good and bad, memorialized on the internet.
This week we spoke to Mr. Len, a gifted DJ and producer with a long career in hip-hop that started as a member of underground legends Company Flow. We dig deep into Len’s catalog, starting with Funcrusher and moving forward into his solo work with Jean Grae and Breeze Brewin, his emo-rap project Roosevelt Franklin, and then we all giggle talking about his time in the Prince Paul project The Dix. In the first segment we talk about rap lists give our top 50 reasons why we don’t make them.
This week we are discussing sequels, especially rap album sequels. What are the best rap album sequels, what makes an album an official sequel, and some of our faves. Then we have a very special interview with Jazz, best known as Roc Marciano’s manager, who oversaw a groundbreaking release strategy for Roc’s sequel album Rosebudd’s Revenge 2. Jazz drops tons of knowledge about Roc’s many releases, how they met, and what a rap manager actually does. Stay tuned til the end for some exciting news a...
Slightly different format this week. Dave and Nate spoke with friends of the program DJ Cutso and Bay Area MC Big Hongry about their forthcoming collaborative project. Cutso is on a hot streak right now, having just released the Rapp Nite project with Lyrics Born. This is you opportunity to get to know Big Hongry, a skilled rapper with a wide variety of interests and life experiences.
In the first segment the guys do a brief run-through of some of the new rap releases. The second segment is an interview with rapper, producer, comedy show DJ, podcast host, hip-hop head, and extremely grounded self-aware person Donwill! He’s got a good new album out now called One Word No Space and an illustrious career as a solo artist and with his group Tanya Morgan. Beats for this week’s episode were provided by DJ Mentos from his new album Fresh Air.
The legendary record store Fat Beats, also an extremely important record label and indie distributor with a huge influence on hip-hop culture, recently celebrated their 25th Anniversary. We spend the first segment talking about hip-hop record stores in general, sharing some tweets from listeners, and Nate has a pretty dope story about an afternoon he spent at Fat Beats Amsterdam back in the day. Then we talk to DJ Eclipse, a hip-hop lifer and key figure in the Fat Beats story about his career an...
