Freemusicempire
By FREEMUSICEMPIRE
FreemusicempireMay 15, 2021
State of The Game vol.197-Zero Grace w/ Liam Bailey
ATTENDEES
Liam Bailey, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the movement from Enfant Terrible to Zero Grace.
Discuss Zero Grace in detail.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 196-Navigating Prolific Artistry w/ Dem One of Dad Bod Rap Pod
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the legacy and format changes of Dad Bod Rap Pod and what podcasting is really like.
Discuss how to keep up with prolific artist releases and aggressive schedules.
DANS RULES
Don’t feel obligated-Release yourself from the idea that you NEED to catch every release. Check in when you have the time or interest and catch up. You are not late.
Use social media-One of the few things made better by social media is the ability to follow your favorite artists and be up to date on their release schedules. Any artist who is prolific is going to make a schedule and keep their fans informed about the timing of the next project and any additional goodies for the last one. All you have to do is check your feed.
Engage in a community-find likeminded folks who enjoy the music you enjoy. Forget the kinship of community, this is extra eyes and ears to listen to the music you haven’t yet. If a reliable friend says the new album from artist X is not good bump it down your list. If they suggest someone you’ve never heard and you trust their ears, put that artist on your list.
Cut out all your hate listening-Nothing good comes of listening to an album as research to argue against it. Anyone you would go and argue with is going to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth anyway. Running to hate listen the new Kanye will aggravate you and make him money. I haven’t listened to new Kanye or Eminem or many others in years. I use that time giving my ears new voices.
Enforce listening standards-Drake put out some bad albums in a row. He fell down my list. Now I only listen to new Drake if my people tell me I need to. That’s not a Drake standard that goes for anyone. If you are on a great run of projects I will preorder happily. If you haven’t been good in a while I’m gonna let the reviews roll in before I engage.
Always follow your instincts-If you listen to UGK on a whim and it makes you listen to a bunch of Willie Hutch don’t force yourself out of that groove to catch up on new releases. Add those new releases to your library and come to them later. Hutch yourself silly. It is important to press play on an album when your ready for it. The right music for the right time. Schoolboy Q might be better in the afternoon than the morning. The experience of music has a lot of Feng Shui in it.
ACTION ITEMS
How much is too much music? Can you think of examples of artists who became prolific and did it well or became prolific and slipped out of your interest?
State of The Game vol.195-The Triumphant w/ Reef The Lost Cauze
ATTENDEES
Reef The Lost Cauze, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the growth from The High Life through A Vicious Cycle to The Triumphant.
Discuss The Triumphant in detail.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 194-Heavenly Cartel 3: The Hell Razah Remixes w/ Tokyo Cigar & Hell Razah
ATTENDEES
Hell Razah, Tokyo Cigar, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the career arc of Hell Razah and the necessity of keeping the legacy alive.
Discuss Heavenly Cartel 3: The Hell Razah Remixes in detail.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 193-Tracking Progression w/ OKnice
ATTENDEES
OKnice, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss It’s A Fine Line Between Planted and Buried and the difference between making a group project and a solo album.
Discuss The Triumphant, Not Fade Away, and El Leon in terms of progression.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 192-Nothing Changed Except Everything w/ Shottie
ATTENDEES
Shottie, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss Shottie’s 2023 work going from Goat Farm, Stigmatic, to Death Occurred Last Night.
- Discuss Nothing Changed Except Everything w/ Farma Beats in detail.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 191-The Fluidity of Aakeem Eshu w/ Aakeem Eshu
ATTENDEES
Aakeem Eshu, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the evolution from Betrayal and Liberation 2 to Digital Audio to Black Rabbit.
Discuss Black Rabbit in depth.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 190-Monzyverse w/ Monzy The Terrible & Dylan Land
ATTENDEES
Dylan Land, Monzy The Terrible, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the relationship between Dylan and Monzy and how it developed.
- Discuss Revenge of Abel and PERMANENT//PROSTHETIC in detail.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 189-Kitchen Sink Effort w/ KillVonGard
ATTENDEES
KillVonGard, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the progression from 2022’s I Think I’ve Lost It to 2023’s Life Is A Masterpiece.
Discuss Life Is A Masterpiece in detail as well as future career plans.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 188-2023 Overlooked w/ Karas Lamb
ATTENDEES
Karas Lamb, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the Mixtape Monday run on Okayplayer and what lessons were learned from showcasing new music week after week for a major publication.
Discuss Burning Desire by MIKE, Peace of Mind LP by QThree, Tales of Gotham by Kueen in detail.
State of The Game vol. 187-The End of Lists w/ Defcee
ATTENDEES
Defcee, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss Defcee’s 2023 offerings DefPrez-It’s Always A Time Like This & Golem of Brooklyn Original Soundtrack and if Defcee got out of 2023 what was desired.
Discuss whether 2023 marks the end (or the beginning of the end) for definitive year end lists.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 186-POTY p. 2 (25-1) w/ Psalm One
ATTENDEES
Psalm One, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss some additional 2023 superlatives.
Discuss projects of the year 25-1.
DA LIST
1. Maps by Kenny Segal & billy woods
2. Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love? By Kara Jackson
3. From Whence It Came by YUNGMORPHEUS
4. Real B*tches Don’t Die! by Kari Faux
5. Ritual by Stik Figa x The Expert
6. Raven by Kelela
7. Sleepingdogs-I’m Fakin’ My Own Death Just to Get Some Rest
8. We Buy Diabetic Test Strips by Armand Hammer
9. Glorious Game by Black Thought x El Michels Affair
10. The Greater Wings by Julie Byrne
11. He Left Nothing For The Swim Back by SKECH185
12. Sorry I Haven’t Called by Vagabond
13.House of Disorder by Nosaj x Steel Tipped Dove
14.The Great Escape-Larry June x Alchemist
15. Through and Through by Baby Rose
16.BRAP by Estee Nack x V Don
17.Chung Shui II by Chung
18.The Fish That Saved Portland by Televangel x Milc
19.Rich by Homeboy Sandman
20. Jaguar II by Victoria Monet
21. Space Heavy by King Krule
22. Incorruptible Saints by Sleep Sinatra x Televangel
23. Another Triumph of Ghetto Engineering by Open Mike Eagle
24. Heavy Heavy by Young Fathers
25. Sundial by Noname
State of The Game vol. 185-POTY p.1 (50-26) w/ Psalm One
ATTENDEES
Psalm One, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the difference in writing reviews on rap and releasing rap with Psalm One.
Discuss projects of the year 50-26.
POTY 50-26
26. Quaranta by Danny Brown
27. Pangea by Gabe Nandez
28. Gold by Cleo Sol
29. The Golem of Brooklyn OST by Defcee x Messiah Musik
30. Lonestar Luchador by That Mexican OT
31. 66689 BLVD Prequel by Kipp Stone
32. Voice Notes by Yazmin Lacey
33. Javelin by Sufjan Stevens
34. Permanently Blackface (The 1st Expression) by Lukah
35. The Answer is Always Yes by Alex Lahey
36. The King by Ajimile
37. With A Hammer by Yaeji
38. 14k Figaro by Wiki x Tony Seltzer
39. Don’t Forget Me, Bluest by andrew
40. Echo The Diamond by Margaret Glaspy
41. Ark Flashington by AJ Suede
42. Big Lebowskiii: The Story of Eastside Jesus by Teller Bank$
43.The Fall Collection by Hemlock Ernst x Height Keech
44.Masego-Masego
45. The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We by Mitski
46. Hotel 1105 by DX2
47. Rule of Thumb: Rule 1 by E-40
48. Heavy Vibrato by Elzhi x Oh No
49. HeadSpace by H31R
50. Season Opener by Curren$y
State of The Game vol.184-How We Would Do It: Roman Reloaded
ATTENDEES
Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded and the energy around the 2012 release which sent ripples through rap and pop.
Through discussion of each of the 19 tracks cut the album down and possibly resequence it into a more cohesive experience.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 183-Artists I Got To Know in 2023
ATTENDEES
Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss how difficult it was to establish yourself to new audiences in 2023. What strategy worked?
Discuss Lonestar Luchador, Hand Painted Model Trains, and Al Chimera as examples of artists I got to know in 2023.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 182-Planet X w/ Lungs, Noface, and Phiik
State of The Game vol 181-Non Rap Release Round Up w/ Fickisthename
ATTENDEES
Daniel Olney, Fickisthename, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the rich diversity of music in 2023 and how it compares to previous years, trends we’ve noticed.
Discuss Black Bayou by Robert Finley , Sorry I Haven’t Called by Vagabon, and Take It Easy by Collie Buddz in detail.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 180-The Year in Suede w/ AJ Suede
ATTENDEES
AJ Suede, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss what AJ Suede hoped to achieve going into 2023.
Discuss the output from Indica Music to Parthian Shots to Ark Flashington to Reoccuring Characters.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 179-2023 Production Trends w/ Height Keech and The Expert
ATTENDEES
The Expert, Height Keech, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss The Fall Collection with Height Keech.
Discuss 2023 production trends in music.
State of The Game vol. 178-The Mind of Kipp Stone w/ Kipp Stone
ATTENDEES
Kipp Stone, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
- Discusss the growth in craft and content from 2020’s Homme to this years 66689 BLVD.
- Discuss last years Room 109 and 66689 BLVD in depth.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 177-The Fish Who Saved Portland w/ Televangel & Milc
ATTENDEES
Televangel, Milc, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
- Discuss the growth from Neutral Milc Motel to The Fish That Saved Portland.
- Discuss The Fish That Saved Portland in detail.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 176-We Buy Diabetic Test Strips w/ Dash Lewis & Dylan Green
ATTENDEES
Dylan Green, Dash Lewis, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
- Discuss different phases of Armand Hammer along with the extended universe of AH and the way in which woods and E L U C I D solo albums influence the group projects.
- Discuss We Buy Diabetic Test Strips in depth.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 175-Baby Making w/ Fat Tony and Taydex
ATTENDEES
Fat Tony, Taydex, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the depth and importance of Taydex and Tony’s relationship going back to my favorite song.
Discuss the growth from Wake Up to I Will Make A Baby in This Damn Economy.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 174-The Rise of D2X
ATTENDEES
D2x, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
- Talk about the process of going from a successful debut album to a second album. What the original mission was and how it changed.
- Discuss Hotel 1105 in detail.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 173-TFK
ATTENDEES
Flu, Sankofa, Tali Rodriguez, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the year Sankofa has had releasing BLKTCHP3, Iron Kofa Sharp, as well as Multitudes v.1.
Discuss the origins of TFK and the mission.
Discuss the album 11:59 in depth.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 172-Detachment Homie, and Only Detachment w/ Slumber Logic, TreDoes, and Rap Man Gavin
ATTENDEES
Slumber Logic, TreDoes, Rap Man Gavin, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the decisions and timeframe it took to produce Detachment, Homie, and Only Detachment.
Discuss Detachment, Homie, and Only Detachment in detail.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game BONUS-Is Hip Hop Healthy? w/ DJ Dilla
Dan and UK hip hop host DJ Dilla got together to talk about recent releases of the time and whether hip hop is in a healthy state. Dope discussion!
State of The Game vol. 171-Rich w/ Homeboy Sandman
ATTENDEES
Homeboy Sandman, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the outstanding run from 2020’s Don’t Feed The Monster all the way through 2022’s Still Champion.
Discuss 2023’s Rich in detail.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 170-Noname, So Far
State of The Game vol. 169-Decay w/ Fatboi Sharif & Steel Tipped Dove
ATTENDEES
Fatboi Sharif, Steel Tipped Dove, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA New Business
State of The Game Vol. 168-Cool is in Session w/ Fiend
State of The Game Vol.167-The Scope of WateRR w/ WateRR
ATTENDEES
WateRR, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the concept of The Policy Kings as well as the album in depth.
Discuss the evolution from Life is More Than White Bricks to Compendium of Arcanum to The Policy Kings.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 166-Ritual/Incorruptible Saints w/ The Expert & Televangel
ATTENDEES
Televangel, The Expert, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss Incorruptible Saints in depth.
Discuss Ritual in depth.
Discuss the career arcs of Stik Figa and Sleep Sinatra and how they relate.
Discuss the sonic character of both albums.
Intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 165-2023 POTY Mid Year w/ C $ Burns
ATTENDEES
C $ Burns, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA
New Business
- Discuss the role of mastering and what separates it from the role of production or mixing (using sonically unique projects like BLUu Edwards as an example).
- Declare and discuss top 25 POTY.
State of The Game Vol. 164-The Vision of Video Dave w/ Video Dave & Controller 7
ATTENDEES
Daniel Olney, Video Dave, Controller 7, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss ArticulatedTexTiles in depth.
Discuss the growth from Hella Personal Film Festival 2 to ArticulatedTexTiles.
Discuss the sonic vision Controller 7 had for ArticulatedTexTiles.
State of The Game Vol. 163-Becoming Your Erotic Self
ATTENDEES
Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Talk about Janelle Monae’s new album The Age of Pleasure and leaning into a more erotic vision of her work.
Talk about the history of artists becoming their full erotic selves when they hadn’t previously.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game Vol.162-State of The Media w/ Jade Gomez
ATTENDEES
Jade Gomez, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss Jade Gomez time at Paper as editor and where the closing of it leaves the world of music coverage.
Discuss the art of the artist feature/interview and what it does for a career as well as the dangers of messing it up.
Discuss the state of music media coverage and 2023 music.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 161-INTENSITY w/ Joshua Virtue
ATTENDEES
Joshua Virtue, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss Joshua Virtue’s immaculate last album RAMA.
Discuss the place intensity has in hip hop w/ Nacksaw Jim Duggan by Estee Nack, Midnight Oil by Sunmundi & Āthmaan, and REAL B*TCHES DON’T DIE! By Kari Faux as examples.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game Vol. 160-Best Album Covers of 2023 w/ Alexander Richter
ATTENDEES
Alexander Richter, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the classic Richter album covers and what went into them. Misconceptions about photography as a medium and the power of photographic covers.
Discuss our favorite album covers of 2023 so far.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game Vol. 159-Del Tha Funkee Homosapien w/ Alaska Atoms & Henry Canyons
ATTENDEES
Alaska Atoms, Henry Canyons, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss Alaska Atoms monster 2023 collaborative albums w/ Steel Tipped Dove and Jason Griff.
Discuss the influence of Del on a craft and stylistic level.
Discuss the characteristics of Del that make his music so unique and vibrant.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game Vol. 158-NODUO/Don’t Go Outside w/ Klwn Cat, Nonazz & No God
ATTENDEES
Klwn Cat, Nonazz, No God, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the coming together of these albums and artistic origin stories for Nonazz, Klwn Cat, and No God.
Discuss Don’t Go Outside and NODUO in depth.
Intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game Vol.157-Breaking Down The Mix w/ SonRaw
ATTENDEES
SonRaw, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Talk with SonRaw about any trends in 2023 music.
Discuss Raven by Kelela, Glorious Game by Black Thought x El Michels Affair, and Shadow Moses by Mike Shabb x Nicholas Craven.
Intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game vol. 156-Scouting Report: Raekwon w/ Tokyo Cigar
ATTENDEES
Tokyo Cigar, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
Discuss Tokyo Cigar’s relationship to Raekwon & specifically the Immobilarity album, why he chose to do a full remix project.
Break down the skills, tendencies, and influence of Raekwon.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game Vol. 155-Mourning Due w/ Nappy Nina
ATTENDEES
Nappy Nina, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss going from Double Down to Mourning Due and what the goals were going into the new project and whether those came out as intended or entirely different.
Discuss Mourning Due in depth.
Intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game Vol. 154-Do Hip Hop lyrics need to make sense w Child Actor & Rhys Langston
ATTENDEES
Child Actor, Rhys Langston, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Talk to Rhys Langston and Child Actor about the momentous releases they’ve been involved w/ and how they viewed the lyricism executed and how it was received.
Talk about the role of lyricism and how the press, audience, artists, and producers should approach it.
Intro and outro song by andrew
State of The Game Vol. 153-Strangely Famous w/ BlackLiq x Mopes
ATTENDEES
BlackLiq, Mopes, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss how the relationship between Mopes x BlackLiq has evolved from Time Is The Price to Choice is A Chance.
Discuss Choice is A Chance in depth.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game Vol. 152-Favorite Soundtracks w/ Marcus Pinn
ATTENDEES
Marcus Pinn, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Talk to Marcus Pinn about the art of dropping scratches on momentous records.
Discuss our favorite soundtracks of all time.
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game Vol. 151-Scouting Report: Lil Wayne
ATTENDEES
Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the career and influence of Lil Wayne.
Breakdown tendencies both positive and negative
Brainstorm what we would like Wayne to do next?
intro and outro by andrew
State of The Game Vol. 150-Sleepingdogs w andrew & Jesse The Tree
ATTENDEES
Jesse The Tree, Andrew, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss the coming together of andrew & Jesse The Tree on Three Dollar Pistol and the possible future of the group.
Break down I’m Fakin’ My Own Death Just to Get Some Rest in depth.
Argue over the NBA MVP for this season.
Intro and Outro by andrew
State of The Game Vol. 149-Hometown Hate w/ Stik Figa
ATTENDEES
Stik Figa, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney
AGENDA
New Business
Discuss Pookey: Stik Figa Finds Himself in depth.
Talk about how hometown opinion informs hip hop on a regional and national level.
Intro and Outro by andrew