The Next Movement

L.A.'s Rhys Langston joins us to talk about his new project entitled "Polyglot on Chloroform". It's produced entirely by Steel Tipped Dove, who also engineered and mixed the project, taking control of aspects of the album creation process that Rhys typically prefers to handle himself. We talked to Rhys about giving over this control, the album's loose concept, and loads more. Then we discuss his album pick for this episode - "Labcabincalifornia" from The Pharcyde.

Stream and purchase "Polyglot on Chloroform" here:

Oslo based producer Ol' Burger Beats released "74:Out of Time" in February on Coalmine Records. Each track on the project was produced at 74 beats per minute and is deeply inspired by the jazz records of 1974. It's a unique concept with an impressive list of guest emcee's including lojii, Ill Camille, Vic Spencer, billy woods, Pink Siifu, YUNGMORPHEUS, Quelle Chris, Gabe 'Nandez, and Fly Anakin. We spoke with Ol' Burger Beats about the inspiration for this project and his approach to working with his collaborators. Then we talked about his album pick for this episode - "Welcome 2 Detroit" by J Dilla.

Stream and purchas "74:Out of Time" here:

NAHreally and The Expert have teamed up for an album called "BLIP" that is set to be released by Rucksack Records on March 29th. We spoke to them about the simple yet powerful lyrics/sounds on this project and discussed the process they used to create one of the most relatable albums we have heard in recent memory. Then we discuss their album pick for this episode - "6 Feet Deep" from Gravediggaz.

Purchase "BLIP" here:

H31R (maassai and JWords) have teamed up for two innovative and original projects, the most recent being "HeadSpace" which was released in November of last year. It's a genre bending reflection on a transitional period in both of their lives and the duo was kind enough to join us to talk about the album. An Aquarius and Gemini themselves, H31R also chat with us about their album pick for this episode - "Aquemini" from Outkast.

Stream and purchase "HeadSpace" here:

CineMasai (Dyaln Green), host of the Reel Notes podcast, joins us to talk about some of our favorite albums of 2023. We each picked three albums to focus on and discussed what made them our favorites. Pretty straightforward.

Oliver Rothstein is an MC from Philadelphia who embodies the city's grit, struggle, and determination. He has a new album called "The Philadelphian" that captures the struggle and beauty that exists in Philly and he joined us to talk about this project. Then we discuss the project that he picked for this episode - the first mixtape chosen on our show - "The Ghost in the Shell" by Styles P.

Stream and purchase "The Philadelphian" here:

DJ Haram has pushed the boundaries of traditional dance, noise, and hip hop music her entire career. Whether as a part of 700 Bliss (with Moor Mother) or producing tracks for Armand Hammer, or creating and releasing music as a solo artist, Haram has always given us something dynamic and powerful to stretch our ears. She joins us as she anticipates the release of a two track EP in December called "Handplay" and talks with us about the perspective behind this music, her work with Armand Hammer, and one of her favorite albums - 2016's "Fetish Bones" by Moor Mother.

Kipp Stone has a new project called "66689 Blvd Prequel" that is as raw and emotionally vulnerable as they come. He joined us to talk about the process of freestyling, writing, and recording this album as well as giving some insight into the album's themes. Then we discuss Kipp's album pick for this episode - "Fantastic Vol. 2" from Slum Village.

Roper Williams is the NJ based production duo who has worked with artists such as Your Old Droog, Navy Blue, YL, AKAI SOLO, and Fatboi Sharif. They've got a new project out called "Infinite Victory Loop" and it features the previously mentioned YL, AKAI SOLO, and Fatboi Sharif along with Pootie. We talked with Roper about this project, his process, his relationships with these artists and his album pick for this episode - Snoop Doggy Dogg's debut album "Doggystyle".

John Morrison is a writer, DJ, sample flipper, podcast/radio host, and deeply passionate about music history, specifically as it concerns his native Philadelphia. We talked with John about his career as a writer, how it has been informed by his experiences growing up in Philly, and how his own music impacts the way he articulates what he hears from others. Then we get into John's album pick for this episode - "Illadelph Halflife" by The Roots.

Cise Greeny is a prolific rapper/producer from Corona, Queens. So far this year he has released two full length albums and two beat tapes. We talked with Greeny about these projects, the way he thinks about his prospective audience, and his consistent attempts to keep his childhood alive through his music. Then we discuss Greeny's album pick for this episode - the debut from fellow Queen's natives Lost Boyz - "Legal Drug Money".

We're talking a lot about singular artists and sounds! Fatboi Sharif and Steel Tipped Dove recently released their collaborative album "Decay" on Backwoodz Studioz. We spoke with them about the creative teamwork that went into the album, the personal aspects of Sharif's writing, and the importance of incorporating sounds from a wide variety of genres. Then we shatter all expectations for our second segment and find ourselves talking about a non-hip hop album for the first time in our history. System of a Down's flawless 2001 album "Toxicity" is the album that Dove and Sharif picked for this episode.

Chop The Head is an artist and designer from Philadelphia who has worked on designs for some of today's most interesting independent rappers. His detailed drawings have covered releases from Fatboi Sharif, phiik + Lungs, Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon, and Jay NiCe. He's got a design coming as a part of Pink Siifu's re-release of "GUMBO'!" and on top of all that he makes his own beats. We talked with Chop about his history as a designer, the process behind some of his covers and his album pick for this episode - Armand Hammer's collaboration with The Alchemist - "Haram".

Orko Eloheim and Bigg Jus are Nephlim Modulation Systems. It's been 18 years since their second album "Imperial Letters of Protection" was released and now the duo is back with some more hard truths. They recently released a new single called "War Teacha" as a lead up to what will be the third NMS full-length, which is slated for release later this summer. We talked with these two legendary artists about the new music and then we discuss their album pick for this episode - a live recording from Boogie Down Productions called "Live Hardcore Worldwide".

Producer, recording engineer and mixing/mastering specialist Steel Tipped Dove joins us to talk about his creative process as it relates to his project "all the weight feather don't have," his recent collection of songs "House of Disorder" with Nosaj from New Kingdom, and his recent full-length project with Alaska called "The Structural Dynamics of Flow". Dove has had a prolific year. So prolific in fact that he dropped another new project called "the trumpet's obviously been drinking" with andrew before we could get this episode in your hands. In the second segment of this episode with talk with Steel Tipped Dove about his album pick - "King of Hearts" from Camu Tao. A polarizing album released posthumously by El-P and Def Jux in 2010.

The duo sleepingdogs (andrew and Jesse the Tree) released their first full length album "i'm fakin' my own death just to get some rest" in March. They sit down with us to talk about the process behind the album's creation and some of the themes that present themselves throughout the project. Then we discuss the album that sleepingdogs picked for this episode - 2004's "Purple Haze" from Cam'ron.

Stream and purchase "i'm fakin' my own death just to get some rest" here:

It's time for the end of year episode! This is where we pause to consider some of our favorite albums from the year and, as has become tradition, we ask fellow podcasters to join us to help round out the conversation. This time around we've got Luke Bailey from Fly Fidelity! Each of us chose three albums that ended up being our favorites from 2022. Tune in to hear which albums we picked and get our perspective on what made these projects so memorable. 

Virginia mainstay Blackliq joins us to talk about his new project "What Will It Take" with fellow Richmond native Ohbliv. Liq provided the behind the scenes view of what went into making that project, his process as a writer in general, the work he has done teaching kids to write, and his latest adventure as the lead singer in a hardcore band (Armagideon Time). Then we discuss his album pick for this episode - Danny Brown's fourth full-length "Atrocity Exhibition". 

Nebraska native Sleep Sinatra joins us to talk about his recent release, the Ohbliv produced album "Shadow Self". Sleep discusses the concept behind "Shadow Self" and gave us the story behind his collaboration with Ohbliv. He also talks about the production that he contributed to the recent debut self-titled album from ManDaMyth and offers some insight into the history of the Black arts in Nebraska. Then we discuss his album pick for this episode - the 1998 debut album from Big Pun,  "Capital Punishment".

Caltrops Press is a rap zine and a Tumblr page and a literary vessel that dissects modern hip hop by first joining it seamlessly with world history, classic works of poetry, film, old school lyricism, and razor sharp insight. Joe is the man behind Caltrops and he joins us to talk about his writing, the process behind it, and the story of Caltrops Press. Then we have an unusual discussion about Joe's album pick for this episode, the debut album from Canibus. 

We talked with Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire about his forthcoming album “VOL. 1: I Love Y.O.U. Cuz Y.O.U. Ugly”. The album signals a new chapter in eXquire’s life and career and he explained to us how understanding has got him feeling more like himself than ever. Then we nerd out over his album pick for this episode “Mama Said Knock You Out” and eXquire makes a compelling case for why LL Cool J is the greatest rapper of all time.

Baltimore based Brian Ennals and Infinity Knives are the duo behind the powerfully cathartic "King Cobra". They joined us for a conversation of substance, which is kind of our thing, but this felt especially relevant to the past two years, as is the music that these two artists have created. Plus we had a fun discussion around their album pick for this episode - "Stankonia"

Justo the MC and maticulous join us to talk about their forthcoming project “Three” and the collaborative relationship that they have built over the course of the past few years. Then we get into their album pick for this episode - “…And Then There Was X” - the third offering in a historic run for the iconic DMX.