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 artistic vision has made him one of rap’s rising stars from the moment he burst on to the scene as a membe...
Aug 13, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 200
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 today’s guest, DJ Haram, are important… because they pave a different path that takes the power back....
Jul 30, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 199
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 other creatives, showing what you can accomplish if you empower yourself to pursue your passions to the f...
Jul 16, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 198
In recent years, the Canadian hip-hop scene, particularly in Montreal, has been growing in size and quality. Backxwash, today’s guest, may be the scene’s most captivating act. Sporting an eclectic sound that pulls from metal, industrial noise, trap, horrorcore conscious hip-hop, and pop... Backxwash can, and really has done it all. Her latest record, Only Dust Remains , showcases the latest evolution of Backxwash’s artistry, featuring boldly melodic songwriting, climactic hooks, and a lucid medi...
Jul 02, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 197
Nothing gets me more psyched than an artist maximizing their potential, fulfilling the promise of their talent. A notable thing about this dynamic is that, in the vast majority of times, these times when I get amped that an artist finally delivered the project they were capable of, typically comes years and years into an artist’s career. This is precisely what separates today’s guest, shemar, from the pack, as the Brooklyn rapper-producer, still in his early 20s with only a few full projects und...
Jun 18, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 196
Today’s guest Real Bad Man, is an artist who has caught my attention in recent years because he checks two important boxes for what I typically gravitate to in music. The first box is that I’m an album guy. And when it comes to the type of albums I prefer, I’m a cohesiveness whore. I love it when an album has a consistent musical identity, with thoughtful sequencing and transitions that make the experience flow seamlessly from top to bottom. It’s for these reasons that Real Bad Man has impressed...
Jun 04, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 195
When you have a catalog as deep and renowned as billy woods, finding a way to top your past work can be a difficult thing. But as has been the case with woods for many years now… the man did it again. It’s not like woods has reinvented himself on this latest album. His wry wit, sharp storytelling, and great ear for production are still present on this record. But now these elements are funnelled through an ambitious horror-themed experience shrouded in darkness, ripe with poignant political insi...
May 21, 2025•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 194
Today’s guest, Fly Anakin, is no stranger to delivering albums that leave a distinct imprint on the listener. As seen on past records like Frank that envelop you in dusty old soul records and introspection, and FlySiifu’s that welcomed you into this record shop concept with two homies who enjoy trading bars over some sick jazz rap instrumentals. But on his latest album, (The) Forever Dream , Fly Anakin takes a noticeably different approach. Opting not to follow a distinct concept or theme, Frank...
May 07, 2025•59 min•Ep. 193
Few artists epitomize the word, ‘prolific’, quite like today’s guest, Blu. Hailing from Los Angeles, this West Coast legend has truly done it all, delivering countless records that span the sounds of soulful boom bap, lo-fi, avant-garde electronic hip-hop, and more. And in 2025, Blu is not letting up… expecting to drop another 3 albums this year. The first of which is titled, Forty , and is fully produced by the great August Fanon. This new album dropped April 18th, and Blu joins me today to dis...
Apr 23, 2025•51 min•Ep. 192
The fiery no hold-barred spirit that today’s guests, Infinity Knives and Brian Ennals, showcase in each and every track of theirs, is something that you can expect to hear in this conversation. As fierce truth-tellers and creators of bold clashes of sound, we had a sprawling conversation that covered everything from bad faith criticism, their ambitious sound and unique group dynamic, the difficult process involved in making their new album, A City Drowned in God’s Black Tears , and much more. .....
Apr 16, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 191
Listening to the latest album of today’s guest, PremRock, is more than just a great experience. It feels like spending time with an old friend. That saying, coined by the great Dan-O of Freemusicempire , couldn't be more spot on a descriptor for PremRock’s latest opus, Did You Enjoy Your Time Here…? PremRock’s lyrics are immaculately written, treating the listener with melancholic existential reflections that have a way of grounding you in a lucid state of calm, On top of that, the guest list is...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 190
Fat Ray is a true Detroit hip-hop OG, who embodies everything that makes this scene so special. The grit, distinct style, and appreciation of hip-hop is always on display when you put a Fat Ray track on. Having created music for multiple decades now, Fat Ray has been a mainstay in Detroit’s scene dropping certified heat, collaborating with the likes of Elzhi, Dilla, his fellow Bruiser Brigade brethren, and Black Milk... who collaborated with Ray on his new AOTY-contender of a record, Food from t...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 189
Pink Siifu has been on a mission to create some of the most forward-thinking art in all of music. His eclectic ear had led him down some incredibly fruitful rabbit holes. And on his latest record, BLACK’!ANTIQUE , his latest masterstroke pushes his GUMBO'! genre-fluid ethos to new extremes. With another terrific album under his belt, Siifu’s legacy is on a special trajectory. In today’s episode, the Birmingham native speaks on how he’d like to be remembered, the unique energy of BLACK’!ANTIQUE a...
Feb 26, 2025•59 min•Ep. 188
Few artists embody the full spectrum of rap, quite like today’s guest on the show - Ghais Guevara. Through breakout records in Black Bolshevik and There Will Be No Super-Slave , Ghais has made a name for himself with fiercely political lyricism, and a bold left-field sound. On his latest album Goyard Ibn Said , Ghais expands his scope, incorporating sounds of trap music and drill, flexing his songwriting muscles that leads to legitimate hits as a result, while staying true to his political world...
Feb 12, 2025•49 min•Ep. 187
2024 was a year of maintenance and solidifying the foundation. While the show didn’t 5x in year over year growth, as it did from 2022 to 2023, the arrow has still been pointing up with some big artists joining the show, increased viewership and positive feedback. In particular, the RMPP patron group has grown to the largest its ever been, which has honestly been the biggest one of my most proudest achievements of my life. The community has progressed to a point where it’s become a staple of my l...
Jan 29, 2025•28 min•Ep. 186
Earnestness is a hard thing to pull off in music. As much as listeners like to think we know the artists we listen to as actual people, we don’t. Most of the time, we’re simply left to whatever we hear in the music, to get a feel for if someone is being honest and authentic with how they think and feel. In the social media and AI age, it’s getting harder and harder to have trust in the media we consume, and take things at face value. However, with today’s guest, NAHreally… it’s actually quite ea...
Jan 15, 2025•59 min•Ep. 185
In the 11th edition of the Conversation Pieces series, which aims to shine a light on some inspired gems of creativity in hip-hop that I’ve encountered, we discuss what I'm calling 'pure creative inspiration'. This is the precise feeling I got when I recently first listened to Da Devil's Playground , and discovered the alchemy of Memphis rap. This discovery catalyzed an ensuing series of events that steered me in a more positive direction in life, as I approached the end of 2024, which showed me...
Jan 01, 2025•13 min
As soon as you press play on Genuine Dexterity, the new album by k-the-i??? and Kenny Segal, released on Backwoodz Studioz, you immediately hear why this album was indeed called what it was called. k-the-i???’s raw technical skill was put on full display, as he delivered crazy rhyme schemes, intricate flows, and strong moments of personal reflection. On the production side of the coin, Kenny Segal crafted an immensely impressive soundscape that features his trademark hard drums, bass, alongside ...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 184
On paper, the combination of Cavalier and Child Actor felt like a match made in heaven. Child Actor’s dynamic psychedelic production is a natural fit for Cavalier’s malleable rap delivery and cerebral lyrical approach. But for a collaboration to really work, and be something that is special, more than just the measurables have to align. There needs to be a like-minded musical philosophy and innate chemistry for truly great music to manifest. This certainly was the case with these two, as they pu...
Dec 04, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 183
In the wake of the recent passing of Brownsville’s Ka, I’ve decided to go against my policy and publicly share what was previously a RMPP patron-only review that I recorded for the last album within his storied career, The Thief Next to Jesus . It only feels right to share this with the world, with the hope that Ka’s wonderful art becomes essential listening to any and all hip-hop lovers. Since he’s passed, I’ve had a hard time collecting my thoughts to describe what this man’s impact was on me....
Nov 27, 2024•18 min
One of the best things about starting this podcast has been the genuine connections I’ve been able to make with the artists that soundtrack so much of my life. A most recent example of this is can be found in my most recent trip to Chicago, where I had the pleasure of spending time with today’s guest, Frankie Jax No Mad. The warm and thoughtful personality that I witnessed in my time with Frankie Jax No Mad translates directly through his music. His extremely unorthodox production style and stre...
Nov 13, 2024•51 min•Ep. 182
On the heels of their first Euro trip, today’s guests, phiik and Lungs/LoneSword, have seen their brand of innovative one-of-one rap garner its most success yet. They have impressed new crops of listeners with each and every passing day, who are spellbound by their lyrical wizardry, sharp sense of humour, and unique production choices. On their latest album Carrot Season , the phiik & Lungs world of rap expands to incorporate wrinkles of more traditional boom bap drums, but still with a cont...
Oct 30, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 181
If I had to think of one word to describe today’s guest, E L U C I D, and his latest album, REVELATOR , it would be “fearless” in every sense of the word. Fearless in its sonic direction that infuses industrial noise, South Asian / Middle Eastern instrumentation and more, into this one-of-a-kind take on hip-hop. Fearless in its boundaryless, ultra-poetic vocal stylings. And also fearless in its subject matter that processes all of the darkness happening in this world, while never ceasing to lose...
Oct 16, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 180
When thinking about today’s guest, it reminds me of that famous Shakespearian saying, “what’s in a name?” Since for certain artists, their name can be completely meaningless, having no bearing on the kind of music they make, or has no insightful backstory for how the name came about. But for ØKSE, our guest in today’s episode, their name actually says a lot about their art, and what they stand for. ØKSE means Axe in Danish, which is also Ashe; the life-force that runs through all things, living ...
Oct 02, 2024•52 min•Ep. 179
The worlds of electronic and ambient music have been guests within the world of hip-hop for a long time now. Artists like Travis Scott have successfully integrated these two previously separate guests into hip-hop to great effect. Though at its core, the music of a Travis was hip-hop first, with other ambient and electronic sounds added into the mix on top of that. But with the music from today’s guest, Yungwebster, the math has changed. New York’s Yungwebster shows us what it sounds like when a...
Sep 18, 2024•37 min•Ep. 178
Bruiser Brigade has been slowly but surely building a killer crew and catalogue of work - with us today are two of its rising stars. J.U.S is an entertaining and distinctly unique lyricist, producer, and engineer. Squadda B, formerly of Main Attrakionz fame, helped shape the dominating 2010s psychedelic cloud rap scene, and is still innovating and pushing his craft to new places as a solo rapper and producer. Together they’ve created one of 2024’s most wildly fun and entertaining records in 3rd ...
Sep 04, 2024•52 min•Ep. 177
As I get closer and closer to my 30s, mortality, the future outlook of society. and my fading youth are consistently ideas that are occupying my mind. So art that speaks to these topics in a thoughtful and insightful way have been especially appreciated as of late. But unlike other genres out there, rap is still quite young. Therefore, there isn’t necessarily a ton of artists out there who are even old enough to provide such an aged perspective. And among those who are, many of whom are the like...
Aug 21, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 176
The Plug (0:21). The Conversation (2:01). NxWorries’ Why Lawd came to me at the perfect time in my life. A time where I find myself in the best most healthy and rewarding relationship I’ve ever had with a remarkably beautiful and smart woman, who is sweeter than [insert sweet substance]. So the thought of it ever coming to an end feels mortifying. It’s for all these reasons that Why Lawd has had a profound impactful on me. It is an ode to appreciating the special person I have in my life… that i...
Aug 07, 2024•17 min
Music and art in general is special because it can’t be quantified, calculated, explained, or re-created through algorithms. Surely, through the rise of AI you can create technically accurate facsimiles of music. But that special IT factor that turns music from simply aesthetically pleasing to special, cannot be replicated by robots, and is often impossible to put into words. With today’s guest though, Seafood Sam, a word does in fact come to mind to describe the IT factor that makes this Long B...
Jul 24, 2024•59 min•Ep. 175
Likely due to my incessant thirst for control and structure, whenever I take in a piece of art and consider how the creator approached the making of this thing I find so great, my mind immediately assumes that there was this rigid, almost scientific forethought put into every detail. And while some artists work with more of a structure than others… as you will learn in this free-wheeling conversation with ShrapKnel and Controller 7, there is a serendipitous beauty that colours much of the creati...
Jul 10, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 174
