The Plug (0:58). The Interview (2:36). As purely a consumer of music, one of the most rewarding and genuinely valuable things to me is to be able articulate why a particular piece of art resonated with me. It’s a big reason why I started this podcast. Even without being a creator of the music myself, I think there’s a lot of insight and provocative thought that someone like me can provide, that can hopefully colour your experience with the music. But that being said, there’s nothing that can rep...
Jun 26, 2024•58 min•Ep. 173
The Plug (0:21). The Interview (2:37). In a VERY special bonus episode of the RMPP, I joined the latest installment of Freemusicempire's State of the Game series to discuss all things Mach and #RAH with the FME boys, Kam of Crate 808... AND AUGUST FREAKING FANON!!! Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING Join the Freemusicempire here: https://freemusicempire.com/%C2%A0 -- Fiending for some more quality rap content? Visit the RMPP website: https://rmpp.squarespace.com/ W...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 53 min
The Plug (0:57). The Interview (3:12). 'Black sheep' is an idiom used to describe a member of a group who doesn’t fit in with the rest. Now while this is often used with a negative connotation, I feel there’s a flipside to this concept that can be a positive. Where not exactly fitting into any one group can allow you to pull from many different influences, and combine that all together into something one-of one. This is a dynamic I spoke about with today’s guest, Cakes da Killa, who is a prime e...
May 29, 2024•45 min•Ep. 172
The Plug (0:56). The Interview (2:40). Making a name for yourself as an artist with a unique perspective, and a unique sound is impressive in its own right. But doing so outside of a major hub for hip-hop, Edmonton, a city in Western Canada, is an even more impressive achievement. This is what today's guest, Cadence Weapon has done. Cadence Weapon is here to discuss the making of his new album, ROLLERCOASTER , and gives his take on hot-button issues surrounding Canada’s unique musical and politi...
May 15, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 171
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:57). The Interview (2:30). Throughout my experience listening to music, one of the most important life lessons I’ve learnt is that of patience. I’ve had too many instances of an album initially not grabbing me, but then as I continued to revisit it and give it an open and curious mind… I fell in love with it months, and sometimes years after I initially heard it. Art has a way of connecting you to the present. No bette...
May 01, 2024•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 170
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:43). The Interview (1:49). As a longstanding champion of the music from today’s guest, it’s been such a rewarding experience to witness the growth and incredible artistic vision found on Temple Needs Water. Village Needs Peace , a new collaborative album by Real Bad Man and Lukah. This highly conceptual record left a huge mark on me, providing brilliant moving lyricism, and dazzling with its wonderous musical palette. ...
Apr 17, 2024•50 min•Ep. 169
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:40). The Interview (2:08). An iconic rap album is more than just beats and rhymes. It’s the interludes, the cover artwork that set the foundation for the image we as listeners associate with the music. All of those elements combined, when done exceptionally well, are the ingredients to leaving a true lasting impact on the game. Today’s guests, DøøF and NCL-TM, are determined to leave a similar level of imprint on the u...
Apr 10, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 168
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:49). The Interview (3:31). Nourished by Time is an artist who is on pace to becoming one of my favourites… of all time. After dropping Erotic Probiotic 2 , an album that made my top 5 of 2023, Nourished by Time’s stock has risen tremendously. And not just in my personal musical world. On the heels of recently signing to XL, his unique blend of retro synthpop, classic R&B, rock and hip-hop flavours has been growing ...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 167
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:55). The Interview (2:26). These days, homebase for me musically is calming, grounded music that allows me to weather some of life’s recent storms in my personal life. And so the music of sleepingdogs, the duo comprised of andrew and jesse the tree, has been some of my most played as of late. The way they capture the blues, and articulate their existential thoughts and introspective musings is truly powerful stuff. On ...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 166
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:39). The Interview (2:07). Throughout my life, music has consistently been a vital channel for me to process emotions and make sense of the world. Very few artists have allowed me to explore the darkness and melancholy swirling around in my head quite like Sadistik. Since the moment I first heard Sadistik’s music over a decade ago, I was taken aback by his beautifully-poetic and vulnerable approach to creating hip-hop ...
Feb 28, 2024•57 min•Ep. 165
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:46). The Interview (2:46). Few things have been more important to me in my life than hip-hop music. Growing up, I lacked identity and a sense of community. So as I continued to listen to more and more hip-hop music in my teens and early 20s, it quickly became a key vessel for me to learn about the world and connect with a culture, and ethos that I resonated with. And yet, as an Indian guy, it was rare that I ever saw s...
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 164
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21) For me, 2023 was the year of “oh wow, thank you”. This was a refrain I found myself more or less saying, time and time again. It signified a genuine gratitude for whatever nice thing some other person said to me, virtually, or IRL… but also signified that I was genuinely taken aback by the love, and that it has been an odd thing to adjust to. It’s one thing to receive praise for something you’re successful at. It’s...
Jan 31, 2024•45 min•Ep. 163
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:48). The Interview (1:53). The living embodiment of all that is great about Detroit hip-hop - distinct sound and originality in spades - represents Bruiser Wolf to a tee. Bruiser Wolf is part of the Danny Brown-led collective, Bruiser Brigade, home of some of the most forward-thinking hip-hop coming out of Detroit. Wolf is known as one of the funniest rappers alive, with a voice unlike anyone else’s. In today's episode...
Jan 17, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 162
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:51). The Interview (2:08). As soon as you here the iconic, “HEY TONY” tag, you know you’re about to hear an absolutely banging beat. With me today is Tony Seltzer, a Brooklyn-based producer who’s known for his catchy ear-grabbing beats that feature hard drums and booming bass. Tony’s catalog casts a wide net, having worked with major-label artists, as well as artists on the cutting-edge of the indie scene. He's produce...
Jan 10, 2024•54 min•Ep. 161
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:44). The Interview (2:28). I love rap because not every collab needs to “make sense” on first glance. As long as the artists in question are on the same page artistically, know their strengths, and are willing to take risks and compromise when needed, the results can be great. This is precisely what we get with today’s guests, Uncommon Nasa and Guilty Simpson, on their latest collaborative album, Escalation . As highly...
Dec 27, 2023•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 160
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:44). The Interview (2:08). On this show, I know I’ve used terms like "unique", or "one-of-a-kind" quite a bit to describe the artists I’ve had on this show. But I promise you, today’s guests truly embody these terms to the fullest degree. maassai and JWords, otherwise known as H31R, are a duo hailing from Brooklyn who sport an ingenious sound that blends electronics and drum n bass elements with hip-hop, supplied by pr...
Dec 13, 2023•57 min•Ep. 159
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). The Interview (1:57). So I’m kind of annoying when it comes to certain things with music. Albums where the last verse isn’t from the main artist? It just doesn’t feel right. Remixes? I’m oddly wed to the original. And finally, producer albums with a bunch of different rappers on it are another type of record, where I don't usually gravitate towards. I’m just such a concept and theme guy I guess. But I am a fair ma...
Nov 29, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 158
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). The Interview (1:49). To me, one of the things that impresses me the most about music is its ability to make me care about life experiences, perspectives, and topics that I either don’t know anything about, or have no relation to my current day-to-day life. Today’s guest, rapper-producer Pink Navel from Massachusetts, is a prime example of being so good at what they do, that they make me care about something I nor...
Nov 22, 2023•50 min•Ep. 157
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). The Interview (1:48). The ability to be authentically yourself is a superpower. It makes people feel more comfortable around you, and gravitate towards you because there is a certain solidness or realness about you that people can latch on to. This is a concept that 100% applies to music, and in particular rap, which is a type of music that is heavily based on the listener caring about the artist’s personality and...
Nov 15, 2023•46 min•Ep. 156
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). The Interview (1:46). For those who heard the last bonus episode I released, or follow me on Twitter, it should come to you as no surprise that I absolutely adore Leather Blvd. , an album created by Pink Siifu and Ahwlee, as B. Cool-Aid. This was a record that did so much good to my spirit, helping me get through some really tough times this year. Therefore, I’m sure you can imagine how honoured I feel to welcome ...
Nov 01, 2023•55 min•Ep. 155
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). The Interview (2:05). As a 28 year-old hip-hop head, I’d like to say that I’m still somewhat young. So given this youth of mine, I haven’t been able to witness many of the greatest movements or waves in hip-hop history firsthand. I wasn’t even alive when Wu first jumped onto the scene. I could barely form sentences when Company Flow’s debut album dropped But that thankfully has not been the case with what Backwood...
Oct 18, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 154
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). Main Body of Discussion (2:06). The ability to have tough conversations about complex topics is an art. It requires not only a great deal of nuanced knowledge on a topic to speak thoughtfully on it, but it also requires a great deal of self-awareness and empathy. On The Golem of Brooklyn OST , Defcee successfully has one of these tough conversations with the community of white Jewish people he is a part of. He use...
Oct 04, 2023•59 min•Ep. 153
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING Beginning of Episode (1:05). This edition of the Conversation Pieces series is the most ambitious and personal thing I've ever done. It almost felt a bit too close to home to put out publicly, but honestly... creating this was truly a prime example of that 'writing = therapy' trope. Leather Blvd. is an album that soundtracked the happiest time of my entire life. This record was chock-full of musical brilliance. But more importantl...
Sep 27, 2023•20 min
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). The Interview (1:49). There’s a reason why people say that traveling and seeing the world is good for you. It naturally expands your worldview and exposes you to different ways of living, and thinking. In other words, it makes you smarter and more interesting. Both things apply to today’s guest, NY-based rapper Gabe ‘Nandez. Gabe has spent much of his childhood and early adulthood living cross-continent, which has...
Sep 20, 2023•49 min•Ep. 152
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING Beginning of Episode (1:05). This edition of the Conversation Pieces series is a little different, and music-adjacent at best to be honest. In what was mostly a therapeutic exercise, I explored how my love for music was borne out of a dark place, and what that made me realize about myself. It may sound like a depressing listen, but I promise that it ends on a happy note. If you end up checking out this super rap music focused bonu...
Sep 13, 2023•15 min
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). The Interview (1:32). Few embody a true DIY ethos, and a genuine appetite to be bold and different quite like today’s guest, Fat Tony. Tony is a Houston-native, who’s charisma and eccentric tastes have led him down a highly unique artistic journey, making waves in the rap game with his diverse-sounding albums, and a wide array of collaborations with the likes of Paul Wall, A$AP Rocky, and more. His impact was not ...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 151
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). The Interview (1:29). When you unveil the cloak of darkness that shrouds much of Chester Watson’s music and his public persona, you are presented with a personable, inviting, and highly creative artistic soul. In today’s conversation, Chester’s thoughtful observations add colour to his typically murky grey-sounding music. Chester illustrates how his art helps him tap into his spirituality, his attraction to all th...
Aug 23, 2023•56 min•Ep. 150
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). The Interview (1:31). Within about 10 seconds of hearing Fly Anakin for the first time, I knew this guy was born to rap. Immediately, his raspy voice caught my attention, sounding like he had a built-in plug-in in his vocal chords… making his dazzling bars sound so special. In this episode, Richmond-born Frank, otherwise known as rapper-producer Fly Anakin joins the show. We discuss how he found his voice, establi...
Aug 09, 2023•59 min•Ep. 149
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). Main Body of Discussion (2:23). On rare occasion, we get two artists that come together at a moment where their skillsets and mindsets align in sublime harmony. That is what I see with Fatboi Sharif and steel tipped dove’s latest album released on Backwoodz Studioz, titled Decay . Sharif’s been progressively growing as a vocalist and lyricist… who’s unique gifts mesh perfectly with the vast, atmospheric, and cutti...
Jul 26, 2023•47 min•Ep. 148
Video animation by: Big Flowers Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING The Plug (0:21). The Interview (2:53). If you weren’t already aware, hip-hop is in a great place. One of the biggest reasons why I feel this way is because the genre has become like a Republican’s nightmare… it’s borderless. It has become second nature for a rap album to feature countless different influences, incorporating multiple subsets of music within the hip-hop realm, and outside it as well. Richmond, Virginia-based McKinle...
Jul 19, 2023•42 min•Ep. 147
