Hendo Unplugged

I’m a San Diego-based hip-hop journalist dedicated to delivering real, unbiased takes on the culture. Here, it’s all about authentic storytelling, honest reviews, and giving hip-hop the respect it deserves. No industry bias, no fluff just straight-up insights and deep dives into the music, artists, and movements shaping the scene.

Last refreshed: August 18th, 2025 at 1:47 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Don Elway Interview: Elway or Noway 2, Coping with Loss, San Diego Music | 🎙 Must-Watch Interview!

Don Elway Interview | Courtney Hendo & Don Elway Discuss: ➤ "Elway or Noway 2" Album June 10th ➤ Challenges of being an artist in 2023 ➤ Staying relevant in the music industry ➤ Thoughts on the San Diego music scene Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:40 Growing up in San Diego 3:33 Beginning the Don Elway journey as a rapper 5:50 Artists that inspired Don Elway 7:09 Don Elway realizing he had enough talent to pursue rapping as a career 7:54 Don Elway's first album 10:55 Changes in the music industry f...

Jul 19, 2023•42 min•Ep. 13

Big June Interview | Piru'n, Young Slo Be, Prison Stories, Gang Unity | 🎙️ Must-Watch Interview!

Big June Interview | Courtney Hendo & Big June Discuss: ➤ 1.8 Million Views on Piru'n ➤ Peace and Unity ➤ Big June Top 5 Favorite SD Artists ➤ Thoughts on San Diego Music Scene Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 2:28 - Upbringing in San Diego 3:31 - Piru Affiliation 8:51 - Beginning of Big June's Music Career 12:05 - First Major Hits 14:16 - Rappers that Influenced Big June 15:07 - Origins of Viral Single "Piru'n" 17:12 - Prison Stories 21:03 - Gang Affiliation's Effects on Rap Career 22:23 - Favorite ...

Jul 19, 2023•58 min•Ep. 12

Bar1ne Interview | Earning his Respect, San Diego Music, Touring the World, and much more..

Bar1ne Interview | Courtney Hendo & Bar1ne Discuss: ➤ Fake Perception on Social Media ➤ Touring the world as a DJ ➤ Bar1ne Top 5 Favorite SD Artists ➤ Thoughts on San Diego Music Scene FOLLOW US: ➤ KT Foreign IG https://instagram.com/bar1ne ➤ Hendo Unplugged IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendounplugged ➤ Hendo Studios IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendostudios ➤ Courtney Hendo: https://bit.ly/3AAW4fV ABOUT: Join Courtney Hendo each week as he discuss current events, music, sports, explore the topics of ...

Jul 19, 2023•59 min•Ep. 12

Troy Ave Interview | Avoiding Murder Case, Taxi Robber Mysonne & Manio Diss Song, Snitch Allegations

Troy Ave Full Interview | Courtney Hendo & Troy Ave Discuss: ➤ Avoiding Murder Charge ➤ Taxi Robber Diss Track ➤ Dear Hater I Won ➤ Being Shot in the Head FOLLOW US: ➤ Troy Ave IG: https://www.instagram.com/troyave/?hl=en ➤ Hendo Unplugged IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendounplugged ➤ Hendo Studios IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendostudios ➤ Courtney Hendo: https://bit.ly/3AAW4fV Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:12 Taxi Robber Mysonne Diss track 5:02 Attempted Murder Trial 7:18 Manio Beef 8:48 Troy Ave being ...

Jul 19, 2023•58 min•Ep. 11

Dru Jefe Interview | Being Incarcerated, Pimping and Pandering, "On Mommas" 1 Million streams & more

Dru Jefe Interview | Courtney Hendo & Dru Jefe Discuss: ➤ Pimping and Pandering ➤ Being Incarcerated ➤ "On Mommas" 1 Million streams ➤ San Diego Music Scene 0:00 Intro 1:20:17 "On Mamas" songs origins 4:54:14 switch careers from a manager to an artist 7:05:13 Going to prison for Pimping and Pandering 8:56:04 Transitioning into a regular life 9:47:03 Mindset to Pimp women 10:20:24 What Dru Jefe learned from being incarcerated 11:48:02 Being raised in San Diego 13:49:09 Falling in love with mu...

Jul 19, 2023•48 min•Ep. 10

Killswitch Interview | Being Affiliated, Diss Songs, Politics in San Diego, Young Slo Be and More

Killswitch Interview | Courtney Hendo & Killswitch Discuss: ➤ San Diego Gang Politics ➤ Creating Peace in San Diego ➤ Meeting Young Slo Be ➤ San Diego Music Scene 0:00 Intro 1:50 Growing up in San Diego 2:43 Introduced to music 5:25 Becoming Affiliated 8:04 Artist that inspired Killswitch 9:40 When did you know that you made it? 10:27 What lessons learned from past experience 11:35 Using music as escape 12:33 Wild Wild East Album 14:32 New music 15:24 What do you hope people take away from y...

Jul 19, 2023•54 min•Ep. 9

Lanna Interview | Being Scammed by Record Label, Musical Influences, Dropping Spanish Album and more

Lanna Interview | Courtney Hendo & Lanna Discuss: HERE TO STAY ABLUM OUT ON ALL PLATFORMS https://linktr.ee/100percentlanna ➤ Trials and Tribulations in Music ➤ Being Scammed by a Record Label ➤ Top 3 Favorite San Diego Artists ➤ Dropping a Spanish Album TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro 2:16:00 Princess of San Diego 2:39:11 Introduced to music 7:41:16 Musical Influences 08:24:08 Artists that influenced Lanna’s style 9:29:11 signing and rapping 10:07:14 Key artists Lanna listened to growing up 10:58:22...

Jul 19, 2023•39 min•Ep. 8

SieteNameKeek Interview | Gee Keek Album, Musical Influences, Collaborations, and much more

SieteNameKeek Interview | Courtney Hendo & SieteNameKeek Discuss: ➤ Success brings Hate ➤ Touring different Cities ➤ San Diego artists not getting love ➤ Linking with Suga Free FOLLOW US: ➤ SieteNameKeek IG https://www.instagram.com/sietenamekeek/?hl=en ➤ Hendo Unplugged IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendounplugged ➤ Hendo Studios IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendostudios ➤ Courtney Hendo: https://bit.ly/3AAW4fV ABOUT: Join Courtney Hendo each week as he discuss current events, music, sports, explore t...

Jul 19, 2023•26 min•Ep. 6

Tha SpeakerBoxx Interview | Gang Politics, San Diego Top Artists List, Changing the Vibe of the City

Speakerboxx Interview | Courtney Hendo & Tha Speakerboxx Discuss: ➤ San Diego Gang Politics ➤ Changing the Vibe of the City ➤ Top 3 Favorite San Diego Artists ➤ Rappers outside the culture using the N word TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 02:02:11 Business Endeavors 03:17:15 Growing up in San Diego 6:05:02 Being introduced to music 07:34:29 SpeakerBoxx meaning 0:8:33:00 Origins of the legendary "Whooooaaaa" 10:00 Artists that inspired SpeakerBoxx 11:51:14 Is it true people don’t care about lyrics in ...

Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 7

G Rackzz Full Interview | Upcoming Album, Old Heads Hating, 90's Hip Hop & More

G Rackzz Interview | @CourtneyHendo & G Rackzz Discuss: ➤ Upcoming Album 🔥 ➤ Touring Different Cities ➤ 90's Hip Hop ➤ Old heads hating on Modern Rap Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 4:40:19 musical influences 6:45:00 San Diego Hip Hop Scene 7:57:18 Game you got from Chef 9:30:08 Tour life 14:11:18 Goals for you music career 16:51:24 G Rackzz Hobbies 18:09:28 Haters 20:20:12 Tape Dropping 23:51:13 90’s Hip Hop 27:48:08 Business outside of music 39:44:10 Michael Jackson FOLLOW US: ➤ G Rackzz IG https:...

Jul 19, 2023•43 min•Ep. 5

Flashy B Interview | Escondido is not San Diego, Being Sober, Touring the World & Much More

Flashy B Interview | Courtney Hendo & Flashy B Discuss: ➤ Escondido is not San Diego ➤ Recognizing the need to be sober ➤ Being on Tour ➤ Trials and Tribulations as a Artist FOLLOW US: ➤ Flashy B IG https://www.instagram.com/therealflashyb/?hl=en ➤ Hendo Unplugged IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendounplugged ➤ Hendo Studios IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendostudios ➤ Courtney Hendo: https://bit.ly/3AAW4fV ABOUT: Join Courtney Hendo each week as he discuss current events, music, sports, explore the topi...

Jul 19, 2023•37 min•Ep. 4

O'Way Full Interview | Bumping Drakes Music, Being on the Run, San Diego Music Scene & Much More

O'Way Interview | Courtney Hendo & O'Way Discuss: ➤ Being on the run for a gun charge ➤ San Diego Music Scene ➤ Upcoming music projects ➤ Growing mentally and Spiritually FOLLOW US: ➤ O'Way IG https://www.instagram.com/oway600/?hl=en ➤ Hendo Unplugged IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendounplugged ➤ Hendo Studios IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendostudios ➤ Courtney Hendo: https://bit.ly/3AAW4fV ABOUT: Join Courtney Hendo each week as he discuss current events, music, sports, explore the topics of popular...

Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 3

Hardini Interview | Catching a case, Southeast Warrior EP, Mental Health & Much More

Hardini Interview | Courtney Hendo & Hardini Discuss: ➤ Challenges growing up in San Diego ➤ Mental Health & PTSD in the Black Community ➤ New EP Southeast Warrior ➤ Being off Paper Work Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:12 San Diego Anthem (Song) 4:50 Grow up in San Diego 10:19 Catching a case 18:20 Being harassed by the police 20:10 Mental Health 27:48 Musical Influences 34:12 Leading by Example 40:35 Southeast Warrior EP 52:46 Hardini has over 100 unreleased songs in his catalog 59:18 Messages...

Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 2

Amon Talks About Trial And Tribulations, His Music, San Diego Music Scene & More | Hendo Unplugged

Amon Interview | Courtney Hendo & Amon Discuss: ➤ Trials and Tribulations ➤ The Business behind making music ➤ Importance of Marketing ➤ The problem with San Diego Music Scene FOLLOW US: ➤ Amon IG https://www.instagram.com/amonrahh/?hl=en ➤ Hendo Unplugged IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendounplugged ➤ Hendo Studios IG: https://tinyurl.com/hendostudios ➤ Courtney Hendo: https://bit.ly/3AAW4fV ABOUT: Join Courtney Hendo each week as he discuss current events, music, sports, explore the topics of po...

Feb 24, 2023•58 min•Ep. 1

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