Podcast

This week we are going to the movies... actually we're discussing rap portrayals in the movies, a somewhat fraught subject. We were inspired to think about rap on the silver screen by our guest, Marv Won. Among other accolades, Marv was famously part of the movie 8 Mile. We enjoyed our conversation with this Detroit battle rap mainstay who recently signed with Mello Music Group and has a new album entitled "I'm Fine, Thanks For Asking. " One of the highlights of our chat was Mar's lightning-quick assembly of his all-time Detroit MC Mount Rushmore. In the intro segment, DBRP hosts David Ma, Demone Carter and Nate LeBlanc riff about rap movies, verisimilitude, decrepit warehouses, strange bedfellows, and much much more.

Big thanks to our theme song composer Cutso.

DBRP is mixed by Taylor Weng.

Dad Bod Rap Pod is probably the 4th or 5th most popular podcast on the Stony Island Audio network.

"you can tell that the East Bay was his home." 

Spice One doesn't have the wealth and accolades that some of his West Coast contemporaries like E-40, Too Short, and Snoop have, but he has maintained every bit of his respect in the rap game for over 30 years. The Hayward, California rapper came to prominence in the early nineties, pioneering a dark new gangster arch type that is still mimicked today. Tune in to hear him talk about rolling with Tupac, almost being cast in a major motion picture, and why he is still going so hard in 2024. 

The Dad Bod Rap Pod is a production of the Stony Island Audio Podcast Network. Shout out to the honorable Open Mike Eagle. The theme song was created by DEM ONE and DJ CUTSO. Taylor Weng is on the mix (c'mon, kick it!) 

So it's come to this... A Dad Bod Rap Pod mailbag episode. We are celebrating our 300th episode by fielding questions from some people we respect. Show hosts Demone Carter, David Ma and Nate LeBlanc are extremely grateful to have met and interacted with so many talented and cool people over the past few years and we reached out to a few of them to send in some open-ended questions about hip-hop music and culture. Underground rap luminaries such as rappers Open Mike Eagle, Illogic, Rob Sonic, and Fat Tony, as well as producers Blockhead, Roper Williams, Cutso, and Maker, as well as comedian and top tier podcast guest across genres Josh Gondelman provided some funny, insightful and in some cases rather odd opportunities for us to bring you the nuanced rap discussion we have been working on for the last few hundred recording sessions. For this special episode we are also layering in some extremely humbling voice messages from a colorful cast of characters who were kind enough to call in and tell us what they like about the show. We were blown away to receive entries from such great artists as Daedelus, Prem Rock, SKECH185, and Tajai from Souls of Mischief, among others.

We would like to thank everyone who has ever listened to this program, everyone who's ever told a friend about us, everyone that's ever written us a check, all of the folks behind the scenes who help us out every week, all of the people who gave us advice over the years, especially in the beginning, and all of our past contributors, whether they were interview subjects, contributed music, or just interacted with us online. This has been one hell of a ride and we are very grateful to hip-hop itself, especially the underground scene that birthed us and has taught us so much about life and provided us with so many great opportunities. We love making this show and contributing in a small way to the culture that we have been obsessed with our entire lives. It's an honor and a privilege to get these takes off and to examine this amazing music, and while we're not planning on stopping anytime soon, we are in a reflective mood since we reached a round number in the episode run.

Huge shouts out to Cutso and DEM ONE for our theme song, Taylor Weng for the audio adjustments, OME and the entire Stony Island massive for providing us a home. We hope you enjoy this week's episode.

If you like what you hear and would like to support the show directly please visit patreon.com/dadbodrappod for hundreds of hours of exclusive podcasts, playlists, discussion, and more.

Chuck Strangers has been making noise from the Pro Era to the current era. Originally known primarily as a producer, Chuck is also nice on the mic and has released several acclaimed solo albums. Today he joins Dad Bod Rap Pod hosts Demone Carter, David Ma, and Nate LeBlanc to discuss his most recent album, A Forsaken Lover's Plea. It's more fun than it sounds. We discuss his Brooklyn rap Mt. Rushmore, the absurdity of modern vinyl culture, his friendship with underground man of mystery Ka, and the importance of honesty in writing and delivering raps. In the intro segment, your hosts roll up for a magical mystery tour. That's right, we spend the segment talking about hip-hop's undisputed drug of choice, the mostly legal but slightly controversial marijuana. We often ask our guests whether they prefer indica or sativa, and we begin there before talking about the haphazard nature of national legalization, and how music and weed have intertwined in our lives.

Our theme song is spoken in a syncopated rhythmic manner by DEM ONE and the sounds were arranged in a slightly different rhythmic grid by our dear friend Cutso.

The podcast itself was mixed by Taylor Weng.

The podcast is available everywhere through access provided by Stony Island Audio, a super dope group of independent hip-hop commentators and practitioners to be associated with.

Who does't like a good spin-off?

Last season we piloted a first of its kind (we think) podcast that deals with the precarious intersection between Rap music and sex/relationships.It's called Talk Like Sex. This week DBRP host DEM ONE and full time producer part time sex therapist Blockhead have a wide ranging conversation about music and the age old question "To Eat Or Not To Eat" They answer questions from fans and relate about their own experiences as men of a certain age. Special guest contributor Steph Roars also gets on the mic to give a female perspective.

I guess we should mention this isn't safe for work but what good podcast is? anyway....enjoy responsibly and JOIN OUR PATREON.....Patreon.com/dadbodrappod

This week we are taking our talents into the sporting realm. DBRP hosts Nate LeBlanc, Demone Carter and David Ma are joined for an interesting conversation with DJ D-Sharp, a Bay Area stalwart who has new music out now. However, he also has a "day job" as the in-arena DJ for the Golden State Warriors, the best basketball team in the world. We discuss his history as an in-demand tour DJ for many prominent acts including a long stint with one of our favorites, Blackalicious. We enjoyed chatting with D about his prominent DJ gigs, including playing for President Obama multiple times, as well as his front row seat to history as the man behind the wheels for so many major sports moments. Our hosts discuss "jock jams" aka the music that is played in arenas and stadiums all over the world, as well as some takes on what has been an odd Warriors season so far.

Our theme song is produced by Cutso and rapped by DEM ONE.

DBRP is mixed by Taylor Weng.

Stony Island Audio is the home for hip-hop storytelling, please make sure to check out the other shows on the network.

Cavalier is a little bit of a mysterious figure in the modern rap ecosystem. He was raised in Brooklyn, now located in New Orleans, with significant time spent in Oakland along the way. He has worked extensively with DBRP fave Quelle Chris, collaborating on 2023's excellent Black Cottonwood album. We have been wanting to speak to Cav since 2018's Private Stock was released, which we consider to be one of the strongest albums of the modern era. He will have the chance to top that shortly, when his next opus, Different Type Time is released on the mighty Backwoodz Studioz. We spoke to Cavalier about his life and music, his innate sense of style, and his collaborators in a lively and interesting conversation. DBRP hosts Demone Carter, David Ma and Nate LeBlanc also take some time to debate the best albums of the year so far, with special attention paid to Schoolboy Q's divisive Blue Lips and Roc Marciano's exciting return to form Marciology among others.

Theme song production and moral support by Cutso.

Mixing (turning down the laughing) by Taylor Weng.

Podcast infrastructure provided by Stony Island Audio.

Now that we've been around for a number of years, we've had the chance to interact with rappers and producers at various stages of their careers. Sometimes we catch people on the ascent, still forging their legacy, and sometimes we speak to legends whose time influencing the culture is likely behind them. And sometimes, we engage with early-career artists right as they begin to level up and make a name for themselves to a wider audience. We have seen this happen with friends of the program like Defcee and Fatboi Sharif, and this week we have a conversation with rapper NAHreally and producer The Expert, who feel like they are on the verge of a similar breakthrough. They are promoting their new collaborative album Blip! out now on Rucksack Records. For NAH, this is his first release on vinyl, his first foray into securing features from other indie artists he admires, and just a lot of firsts in general. For producer The Expert, this is the latest in a line of collab albums, including recent tomes with Stik Figa and Jermicide, where he has consistently displayed a knack for psych-tinged knocking beats. In the bookending segments, DBRP hosts David Ma and Nate LeBlanc (Demone Carter is on assignment his week) discuss new music, an upcoming book project they are both working on, and the concept of "Regular Guy Rap" and what makes an artist relatable in the modern world of hip-hop.

This episode was mixed by Taylor Weng.

Theme song by Cutso and DEM ONE. Announcements by Don Newkirk.

Dad Bod Rap Pod is brought to you by Stony Island Audio. Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this podcast, without the express written consent of Open Mike Eagle, is prohibited.

Dad Bod Rap Pod is experiencing a little bit of redemption this week. A few years ago, right around the time we were starting to interview guests on the show, we had scheduled a chat with a newcomer to the underground rap scene, a cat who rapped equally well in English and Spanish, with an impressive vocabulary and a deft hand with storytelling raps. That dude was Crimeapple, and we were huge fans of his Perfect EP series. We got on the line, but only for a few minutes, when his phone died and we couldn't re-connect. That attempt at an interview has loomed large in our internal mythology as "one that got away." Well, we're happy to say that circumstances have brought us back together, as Crime joins us for a full length chat alongside returning guest Preservation to discuss their first (but likely not last!) collaborative album El Leon. We dig into the album's inception, dissect a few tracks, and discuss the potential pitfalls of traveling in Crime's ancestral home of Colombia. Pres drops knowledge on sampling sounds from the Latin diaspora and a few moments of serendipity that emerged in the making of this special project. DBRP hosts David Ma, Demone Carter and Nate LeBlanc spend the intro segment discussing the state of the recording industry, asking ourselves if it matters whether or not MCs record in the same physical space with their producers.

Big shouts to the homie Cutso for producing our theme song (rapped by Demone) and for being the Plug 4 of the DBRP Cinematic Universe.

This episode was mixed by Taylor Weng and we appreciate her helping us sound a lot better.

DBRP is a rap music podcast that focuses on nuanced conversation, and as such it has a home on Open Mike Eagle's Stony Island Audio podcast network. Anything else would be uncivilized.

We here at Dad Bod Rap Pod like nothing more than when an established artist takes a big swing, and makes an ambitious record outside of their comfort zone. That is certainly the circumstance that our guests this week find themselves in. For their first collaborative project, entitled Temple Needs Water Village Needs Peace, Memphis rapper Lukah and LA-based producer Real Bad Man have cooked up a compelling exploration of history and myth. The album, out March 29th, with some exclusive snippets debuting here, exists in its own unique sonic landscape, and Lukah brings his storytelling prowess to the forefront. We're excited about this swerve in direction from two artists we have interviewed before and whose work we admire. We also spend a few minutes with RBM breaking down last year's Serpent album with Kool Keith, an unexpected late-career triumph for the artist formerly known as Rhythm X. In the intro segment, hosts Nate LeBlanc, David Ma and Demone Carter name some of their favorite one MC + one producer albums and after the interview, we get into some of our least favorite of those kind of projects, something we talk about about often but don't usually record.

Our theme song was produced by the homie Cutso and rapped by DEM ONE.

This episode was mixed by Taylor Weng.

DBRP is a palm tree on Stony Island, the single best hip-hop related audio platform to ever exist.