This week, host Dope KNife delves into the plight of black entrepreneurs in the south, particularly in times of pandemic protocols and chats with Elbi Elm, a Small business owner in Georgia, about navigating that very issue. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our hosts have a chat with Professor Mark Katz of the US State Departments "Next Level" initiative, about using Hip Hop in the world of diplomacy Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week Dope KNife chats with a former Army Ranger about his experience in Afghanistan and what's next for the country and America's Foreign policy. Also, the pair discuss there reactions to Kanye West's album 'Donda' Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our Hosts Linqua Franqa and Dope KNife have a chat with Democratic Socialist candidate for Minniapolis city council, Robin Wonsley Worlobah about their journey to running for office, police brutality and the need for rent control Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week we our hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa discuss the UN climate change report, it's implications for our furture and environment and what action is being taken to prevent impending doom. They also check out some environmentally conscious rap tunes and talk about "Eco-Rap" Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
"This week, hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa break down the results of special Democratic primary in Ohio's 11th Congressional District, largely seen as a proxy fight between the left flank of the Democratic party, represented by Bernie Sanders surrogate Nina Turner, and its center, represented by Councilwoman Shontel Brown. LF and DK also survey the musical landscape of the congressional district as well as its political contours, with selections from Kid Cudi, Bizzy Bone and Lil Cray among t...
Evictions! Voting rights! DaBaby! The Olympics! This week, hosts Dope KNife and LInqua Franqa dip their toes into current events of the week before bringing on Jasmine from DARC (Defund Atlanta Police, Refund Communities) to discuss the #StopCopCity movement. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
"With Kanye West back in the news for his forthcoming album and erratic antics in Atlanta, hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa take a look back at and unpack some of the icon's controversial political stances and alliances, from his questionable comments on slavery and abortion to his team-ups with right-wing talking heads like Candace Owens and Alex Jones. Their walk down memory lane includes stops along various points of West's discography, with discussion of both its sociopolitical content and...
This Week our hosts Linqua Franqa and Dope KNife dive into the issue of succession and Americas growing political divide. To do so, they do an in depth review of the 2004 Spike Lee produced film 'CSA: Confederate States of America' and see how well the mockumentary predicted things to come Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
This Week, hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa discuss the origins, aims, and contours of The CROWN act, recently reintroduced in the House by Rep. Ayanna Pressley and in the Senate by Cory Booker. They take a gander, too, at how a group of middle and high school aged emcees used hip hop and TikTok to lobby for passage of a municipal version of the bill in Louisville, Kentucky and how their predecessors India Arie, Akon, and Mario addressed hair discrimination and the centrality of hairstyle to B...
This week, Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa take a data dive into recent nationwide crime statistics and put them into historical context, unpacking how both the left and right spin these numbers towards political ends and examining the roots of violent crime as explored in the lyricism of Nas, Murs and Big L. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
This week, the hosts recap recent happenings in the worlds of rhyme and government, from the losses of legendary Blackalicious emcee Gift of Gab and anti-war icon Mike Gravel to the controversy-stirring bars of right-wing rhymesmith Tom McDonald. They also speak with Amazonians United founder and AOC campaign alumnus Jonathan Bailey about the outcomes of the New York Democratic primary and, surprisingly, the professional ballroom dancing scene. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ihe...
"This week, Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa discuss the women in Hip Hop. The contributions, the struggle and the outlook for the future. Speciall guest interview with journalist and hip hop historian, Kathy Landoli" Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ahead of next week's Democratic primary for the New York mayor's race, Linqua Franqa and Dope KNife take a look at some of the top candidates for Gotham's highest office and two polar-opposite representations of the Big Apple in Hip Hop-- Nas's NY State of Mind and Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
This week, Dope KNife chops it up with leftist activist and battle rapper extrordinaire Soul Khan and discusses the roots and ethics of battle rap culture with cohost Linqua Franqa, reflecting on famous rap battles of history-- Kool Moe Dee vs. Busy Bee, Boogie Down Productions vs. Juice Crew, as examples -- in the closeout. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
This week, Linqua Franqa and Dope KNife break down the role of the district attorney and discuss the "progressive prosecutor" movement with focus on one of its figureheads, Larry Krasner, who two weeks ago faced off with police-union backed, law-and-order challenger Carlos Vega in the Democratic primary for District Attorney of Philadelphia. They discuss what these election results mean for the progressive prosecutor movement in the wake of the George Floyd uprising as well as how DAs shape the ...
This week, Linqua Franqa is joined by journalist Matt Pulver to discuss the impacts of neoliberalism on the city of Atlanta, touching on housing, water privatization, the rise of the police state and how the neoliberalization of these facets of life in Atlanta shows up in the music of T.I., Gucci Mane, Denzel Curry, Goodie Mob and others. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
This week, Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa take a look back at the historical and material ties between Black liberation movements and the Palestinian liberation struggle, tipping their hats to Palestinian emcees DAM and Belly along the way. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week, Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa shake the Shakur family tree, probing the revolutionary lives of Tupac's godmother, Assata Shakur, his mother, Afeni Shakur, and his stepfather, Mutulu Shakur. In the music discussion, they examine how these black revolutionary influences are found in Pac's catalogue as well as rap writ large, from Pac's own "White Manz World" and his collection of poetry, "The Rose That Grew from Concrete" to Common's biographical track, "Song for Assata." Learn more abou...
This week, Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa explore Haitian unrest past and present, from the Haitian Revolution of the 1790's today's uprising against president Jovenel Moise. Linqua Franqa speaks with journalist and activist Eugene Puryear about his recent travels to Haiti and coverage of the most recent popular uprising against authoritarianism and government corruption that has taken the country by storm in recent months. And in closing, the rappers introduce rappers to the Rap Kreyol stylings o...
And we're back! This week, Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa resurface to address the Derek Chauvin verdict before turning to their main feature: a conversation with activist and underground Hip Hop legend Immortal Technique about his community organizing, the roots of his revolutionary views, his anti-imperialist political praxis and his long awaited, forthcoming album "The Middle Passage." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...
This week, Linqua Franqa speaks with Atlanta city council candidate, community organizer, and Black Futurist Group co-founder Devin Barrington Ward about the odious recent work of the Georgia state legislature, from the infamous voter suppression bill that saw Representative Park Cannon arrested last Thursday and to efforts to roll back progress around reimagined public safety, as well as what these pieces of legislation tell us about the state of white supremacy and the future of organizing in ...
This week, hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa explore the history of vaccine hesitancy and today's sources of skepticism around getting the Covid jab, beginning way back in the largely forgotten era of smallpox and bringing us into the contemporary discussion around vaccine education, access, and weariness, weaving together the voices of artists from MIA to Royce Da 5'9 and Nas as they explore the range of perspectives around inoculation. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpod...
Hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa continue their recent globetrotting with a trip to Uganda, where last week opposition presidential candidate and rapper Bobi Wine was arrested for protesting the detention of supporters who called into question the results of January's Ugandan presidential election. They discuss the slow rise of multiparty politics in Uganda, Wine's personal rise to political power, the appeal of liberal democratic politics among the fed-up Ugandan youth, and the ncumbent presi...
This week, hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa explore Hip Hop's weaponization as propaganda in response to the recent musical clash between a team of anti-communist, Cuban-exiled emcees and their homeland government's defensive line of patriotic salseros. They then globetrot to examine other examples of rap used to further political agendas, from the jihadist rap of Deso Dogg and Salah Edin, raising eyebrows in Germany and the Netherlands, respectively, to CD Rev's state-sanctioned ode to their ...
This week, hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa unbundle the issues of homelessness and housing precarity, examining their intersection with mental health, substance abuse, poverty wages, and the cascading effects of capitalist pressures on the housing market. DK speaks with Xulu Jones, speaker and frontman for the Savannah-based psychedelic rock group Xulu Prophet, about his personal experiences of the unseen realities of living on the street. And the hosts explore Hip Hop depictions of society's...
This week, hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa cast a spotlight on last week's riots in Spain in response to the incarceration of Marxist-Leninist rapper Pablo Hasel over controversial tweets and song lyrics in support of armed revolutionary groups and calling out the Spanish crown. They discuss the way free speech concerns in Spain can reframe our understanding of the first amendment and the rise of fascism in the United States and unpack some of the spicier bars that landed Hasel in the clink. ...
Fresh on the heels of the streaming debut of the new Fred Hampton biopic, Judas and the Black Messiah, hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa explore the revolutionary organizing and public policy demands of Chairman Hampton and the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther party in the late 1960s and how their vision for Black socialist self-determination and cross-cultural coalition building compares with today's demands, tactics, and struggle. They also give the film's soundtrack a spin and elevate it...
Honoring the 15th anniversary of J Dilla's iconic instrumental masterpiece, Donuts, hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa pour one out for the master beatsmith with a look back at Dilla's impacts on Hip Hop culture, discussion the medical struggles that lead to his premature death, and analysis of what these struggles and the struggles of those like him tell us about the healthcare system in the United States. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.c...
This week, hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa trade takes on cancel culture, from the current calls to censure Republican lawmakers responsible for stoking the January 6th insurrection to Lin Manuel Miranda's criticisms of whitewashing US history to the blowback experienced by rappers Trina, for her comments on the George Floyd protests, and Lil Boosie, for allegedly arranging the statutory rape of his teenaged son. Along the way, they speak with Hip Hop artist and Buffalo-based English professo...
