Dad Bod Rap Pod

The three bad brothers that you know so well gathered on May Day/Cinco De Mayo weekend to renew their fraternal bonds and review a batch of three new (ish) Rap records. On this week's episode of the Dad Bod Rap Pod, listen to the fellas give their opinions about the following albums Time Heals Everything-Blu & Exile Tigray Funk-sideshow Sow & So-Nappy Nina Listen to hear what the bros have to say about this diverse crop of new albums. Listeners will also be treated to a robust discourse about the need for local delis.

What's good y'all!? We’re back like we never left. The first Dad Bod Rap Pod episode of the year finds your humble hosts in awe of the new Roc Marciano album 656. How did the king of quiet couplets manage to outdo himself again? Tune in to hear what the bros have to say. Since 656 leans into the idea of quiet luxury, Dave, Nate, and Dem also discuss their most expensive pieces of clothing and whether the humble T-shirt can truly count as luxury. The puns per minute rate is pretty high on this one, so buckle up. This week's episode was produced by Mr.Life After Hip Hop himself, DEM ONE. Per usual, the theme was produced by DJ Cutso with rhymes by DEM ONE. DadBodRapPod is a proud member of the Stony Island Audio Network.

The year was 1995. Bill Clinton was president. The internet was still just a flicker in Al Gore’s eye. Gas was $1.15 a gallon, and a group of rapid-fire harmonizing rappers from Cleveland, Ohio, was disrupting the whole East vs. West narrative with a completely new sound and approach. Under the wing of Eazy-E, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony kicked in the door with their debut EP Creepin' on a Come Up. Their follow-up, E. 1999 Eternal, didn’t just build on that momentum; it launched them into the stratosphere. Powered by world-conquering singles like “1st of tha Month” and the Grammy-winning “Tha Crossroads,” the album went on to sell over four million copies. It also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, which was a huge deal for a Midwestern rap group at the time. On this week’s episode of the Dad Bod Rap Pod, Nate, Dave, and DEM revisit this 1995 classic to assess how it has aged and how much cultural relevance it holds thirty years later. Tune in to find out how E. 1999 Eternal scores on the vaunted DBRP rubric.

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer."– Zora Neale Hurston In indie rap, as in life, the fruit of one’s labor doesn’t always show up right away. You put in the work, you bet on yourself, and sometimes the payoff comes much later. Long Island-bred rapper and producer Theravada has been planting seeds for years, trusting that the grind would eventually bear fruit. This year, he’s finally reaping the benefits. With five beat placements on Earl Sweatshirt’s album-of-the-year contender Live Laugh Love, Theravada has surged into underground rap’s collective consciousness in a way that can’t be ignored. On top of that, he dropped an excellent full-length project, The Years We Have Left, and teamed up with slow-flow legend Evidence on Unlearning Vol. 2. Theravada took time to chop it up with us from his studio in Amityville. He talked about his breakout year, his influences, and why modern basketball just doesn’t hit the same. D up and tap in!

Let’s fire up the wayback machine and head to 1995, a simpler time, no doubt. Back when commuting by bus, trying to meet girls, and rapping about rapping were all viable rap song topics. Hell, this was still an era when rap groups were still a thing. Enter The Nonce (stop giggling, UK heads): the Project Blowed–affiliated duo of Yousef Afloat and Nouka Basetype, who dropped their underrated debut World Ultimate on Rick Rubin’s American Recordings in the year of our lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five. Their breakout track “Mixtapes” became an underground classic, while the laid-back single “Bus Stops” got some well-deserved shine in the final moments before hip-hop’s harder elements took over. Arriving at the tail end of rap’s second (or maybe third) golden era, World Ultimate fused the jazzy, head-nodding vibes of the Native Tongues with the sharp, freestyle freneticism of the L.A.’s Project Blowed scene. On this week’s episode, the bros take a deep dive into World Ultimate to see how it holds up three decades later. Tune in, turn up, and decide for yourself if their takes are on point.

his episode has a lot of moving parts. Imagine a Rube Goldberg Machine with interview snippets pinging around a maze of album reviews and blue balls jokes. I (DEM) had the privilege of interviewing Radamiz right before his live set at the Midway SF. The audio is a little rough, rugged, and raw in spots, but the interview has the crackle of real-life human interaction. Interspersed between clips of the interview, me and the bros discuss the records that are in heavy rotation for us right now: Jay Electronica's 4 Album Spasm Live, Laugh, Love (Earl Sweatshirt) The Years We Have Left (Theravada) Sortilege (Preservation & Gabe Nandez) Per usual thats me (DEM ONE) on the theme song alongside my birthday twin DJ Cutso. I produced this week's episode, and I'm not gonna lie, it kind of kicked my ass (in a good way). If you're in a jeep and you dig what you're hearing, consider subscribing to our Patreon, where you can find 100s of hours of fly niche content. Patreon.com/DadBodRapPod

"If you've never walked through the woods listening to Nobody Beats the Biz then you ain't never heard hip-hop." The above quote is from one of multi-talented poet/rapper/actor Saul Williams' earliest released tracks, but it could just easily serve as a thesis statement for this podcast. This week DBRP hosts Demone Carter, David Ma and Nate LeBlanc are thrilled to present a thought provoking conversation with Williams. We touch on his recorded work, his training, his acting in movies like the recent phenomenon Sinners, and his general artistic outlook. Saul is a deeply reverent hip-hop head who grew up in the genre but is also not afraid to experiment in an attempt to transcend its strictures. We found his responses to be enlightening, and we hope you feel the same. As always, if you would like to hear an extended version of this episode with music clips for the tracks referenced, please consider joining our Patreon at www.patreon.com/dadbodrappod DBRP is a proud member of the Stony Island Audio podcast network, run by another charismatic multi-hyphenate. Catch Open Mike Eagle on tour now in a city near you!

Serious question: Where does the time go? It feels like just yesterday I was nursing a New Year’s Eve hangover and wondering what 2025 would portend for rap releases. Now the year is three-fourths done, the holidays are around the corner, and there’s already a slew of music to talk about. On this week’s episode of Dad Bod Rap Pod, the three bad brothers you know so well share their favorite rap records of 2025 (thus far). Think of it as our mid-year retrospective, except we’re submitting it three months late, real high school vibes. The big takeaway is this: rap music is alive and thriving in 2025, especially indie rap. Did your favorite new album make the DBRP top nine? Tune in to find out, fam. Spoiler alert: the album of the year is still billy woods – Golliwog. But we also break down nine other releases from this year that are damn good, if not great. Program note: We recorded this episode about three weeks ago, before excellent records like Evidence’s Unlearning Vol. 2 and Earl Sweatshirt’s Live, Laugh, Love dropped. So you won’t hear us talk about them here, but trust we’ve listened and will have plenty to say by year’s end. If you’re the type who likes to keep up week by week, I invite you to join our Patreon at Patreon.com/dadbodrappod. That’s where we post weekly bonus segments that are more topical. In any event, I hope your year is going well, all things considered. -DEM This week’s episode was produced by Demone Carter (a.k.a. DEM ONE). Theme song by DEM ONE and DJ Cutso. Dad Bod Rap Pod is a proud member of the Stony Island Audio Network!

Sometimes the curatorial bent of this show comes from a deep curiosity about the people behind the music we love. The question “What’s their deal?” often sparks the journey toward a great interview. Patience is also part of the process because tracking down the artists we want to pepper with questions isn’t always easy, and it doesn’t always fit neatly into our recording schedule. This week’s interview with producer August Fanon has been a long time coming, and it was well worth the wait. He was gracious and open as he spoke with us about his journey as a producer, his creative process, and the sources of his inspiration. In the intro, we share some of our favorite August Fanon productions, and in the outro, we discuss the best Fanon-plus-rapper collaborations. We hope you enjoy this conversation with one of the most interesting figures in indie rap. If you want to hear the deluxe version of this episode, please consider subscribing to our Patreon! patreon.com/dadbodrappod

Please note: A better, longer version of this episode with sound clips for every song mentioned is available on the Dad Bod Rap Pod Patreon. Go to www.patreon.com/dadbodrappod and use promo code BEASTIE to get your first month's access for only $1 From Pollywog Stew to Hot Sauce Part 2, we have officially covered the Beastie Boys' legendary career. We are wrapping up our miniseries this week with a special episode where DBRP hosts Nate LeBlanc, David Ma and Demone Carter draft their top 5 Beastie Boys songs. In between segments we have exclusive voicemails from friends, listeners, artists and indie hip-hop podcast royalty breaking down their favorite tracks as well. Though we had some pretty tough criticisms over the last few weeks, today's episode is a celebration of everything we love about the Beasties, an iconic American band that spanned genres, eras, and mediums in a unique and inspiring way. As we close out this series, we want to thank everyone who helped us along the way, especially guest commentators Dante Ross, Sean Kantrowitz, Kenny Segal, and Open Mike Eagle. Huge thanks to Rory Simms for the art, Stephanie Barajas for the photos, Defcee for writing and recording our theme song, we appreciate your talents. But most of all, we have to thank Cutso aka Producer Cutso aka P Monetary for joining us on this journey. Cutty is an amazing DJ, a great producer in the creative and technical senses of the word, and a great friend. Please give him a follow and listen to his music and mixes and consider getting DJ lessons from his new venture, First Wav Preservation Society. We are going to take a quick break and then be back with our regularly scheduled programming of banter, puns, jokes, interviews with hip-hop creators and legends, and more very soon. Sincere thanks to everyone who tuned in, reached out, and participated in this project in any way. We give thanks to the Beastie Boys for all of their great music and for giving us so much to talk about. RIP MCA, an inspiring person. 3 Bad Brothers, A Beastie Boys Breakdown is a production of Dad Bod Rap Pod Hosted By Demone Carter, David Ma, and Nate LeBlanc Executive Produced by Nate LeBlanc Produced by Demone Carter and Paolo “Cutso” Bello Edited by Demone Carter and Nate LeBlanc Engineering and Post-Production by Paolo “Cutso” Bello Artwork by Rory Simms Photography by Stephanie Barajas Youtube version produced by Paolo “Cutso” Bello Theme song written and recorded by Defcee and Produced by Cutso Dad Bod Rap Pod is distributed by Open Mike Eagle’s Stony Island Audio

This week Dad Bod Rap Pod hosts Demone Carter, David Ma, and Nate LeBlanc alongside Producer Cutso, are breaking down the Beastie Boys' fifth album, To The 5 Boroughs. Where their previous few records had been eclectic mixes of jammy, loungey instrumental songs, punk egergy, and hard-hitting leftfield hip-hop, for this album the Boys decided to approach early 2000s America with an old-school hip-hop sensibility. As you will hear, we are not fans of this choice. Since we didn't really care for this record, we devote a lot of this episode to talking about Grand Royal, the Beastie Boys' magazine and record label. The magazine is an important and now quite rare document of the Boys' hipster sensibilities that shined a light on a lot of creative people. It's probably one of the coolest things that a major band could have done for their listeners in a pre-internet age. The record label was a bit more hit and miss but also a worthwhile endeavor that shut down just as it was starting to get interesting by signing some fascinating underground MCs. Thanks to everyone who has joined us on the album-by-album look into the Beasties' fascinating career. Please consider joining our patreon at patreon.com/dadbodrappod for more bonus content, banter episodes, curated music, and playlists. Use promo code BEASTIE to get your first month for just $1 3 Bad Brothers, A Beasties Boys Breakdown is a production of Dad Bod Rap Pod Hosted By Demone Carter, David Ma, and Nate LeBlanc Executive Produced by Nate LeBlanc Produced by Demone Carter and Paolo “Cutso” Bello Edited by Demone Carter and Nate LeBlanc Engineering and Post-Production by Paolo “Cutso” Bello Artwork by Rory Simms Photography by Stephanie Barajas Youtube version produced by Paolo “Cutso” Bello Theme song written and recorded by Defcee and Produced by Cutso Dad Bod Rap Pod is distributed by Open Mike Eagle’s Stony Island Audio

This week we are breaking down Ill Communication as part of our miniseries entitled 3 Bad Brothers A Beastie Boys Breakdown. DBRP hosts Nate LeBlanc, David Ma and Demone Carter are joined by one of the very best producers in hip-hop, Kenny Segal, who knows a thing or two about blending disparate elements into a cohesive whole, as the Beasties did on one of their most successful records. In the popular imagination, the Beasties' anthemic rock song Sabotage and its iconic video are probably the highlights from this record, but for us rap nerds, it also contains some of their very best alternative hip-hop songs. We get into some specifics about Sure Shot, Flute Loop and of course Get It Together, the mostly-freestyled jam they recorded with Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest. At the end of the episode we rank the album on our 5-point rubric, talking about the best beats, rhymes and magic moments, as well as the album's lasting cultural impact and replay-ability. We'd love to hear from all of you, what do you think of this album? Leave a comment with any thoughts. Please make sure to listen to the very end to hear a snippet of Kenny's one and only Beasties remix, which may in an alternative timeline have been released on Grand Royal and changed the course of his life. 3 Bad Brothers A Beastie Boys Breakdown is a production of Dad Bod Rap Pod Hosted By Demone Carter, David Ma, and Nate LeBlanc Executive Produced by Nate LeBlanc Produced by Demone Carter and Paolo “Cutso” Bello Edited by Demone Carter and Nate LeBlanc Engineering and Post-Production by Paolo “Cutso” Bello Artwork by Rory Simms Photography by Stephanie Barajas Youtube version produced by Paolo “Cutso” Bello Theme song written and recorded by Defcee and Produced by Cutso Dad Bod Rap Pod is distributed by Open Mike Eagle’s Stony Island Audio

The finest in men's opinions, this is Paul's Boutique. In many ways, we created this entire miniseries so that we could talk about Paul's Boutique. For Dad Bod Rap Pod hosts Nate LeBlanc, David Ma, and Producer Cutso, this is a foundational document, one of the keys that unlocked our love of music and hip-hop in general. Host Demone Carter feels slightly differently, as you will hear. The Beastie Boys' second album is many things: A pinnacle of the art of sampling, an experiment in song structures, a step away from their first album and many of its casual fans, a reflection of their first time on the west coast, a deepening of the bond between all three group members as displayed in their intertwining vocal arrangements. We will break all of that down on this episode, the 2nd in our 8-part series tracking the development of one of the great American bands and a group that both set trends and broke precedents in the hip-hop world. 3 Bad Brothers, A Beasties Boys Breakdown is a production of Dad Bod Rap Pod Hosted By Demone Carter, David Ma, and Nate LeBlanc Executive Produced by Nate LeBlanc Produced by Demone Carter and Paolo “Cutso” Bello Edited by Demone Carter and Nate LeBlanc Engineering and Post-Production by Paolo “Cutso” Bello Artwork by Rory Simms Photography by Stephanie Barajas Youtube version produced by Paolo “Cutso” Bello Theme song written and recorded by Defcee and Produced by Cutso Dad Bod Rap Pod is distributed by Open Mike Eagle’s Stony Island Audio