This is it guys -- this is my last episode. After 4 1/2 years I bring to you episode 190 with J57. This is part II of our conversation. We chat about my takeaways from podcasting, the journey of his Brown Bag All-Star peers and the different directions everyone has taken in music, being sober for over 5 years, his Marketing plan for releasing music…

I present the final episode of the podcast by inviting back on one of the best guys in the business. Since last appearing on the show, J57 has gone from hell and back, and we talk in length about how this journey through suffering, and redemption, to approach music in a whole new way and what lies ahead for him as he enters this new stage in life. …

Vice Beats swings by the show this week, showcasing Connected, which is the latest single from him that is a deeply personal track, exploring connection in different ways. On the topics of faith and love, emotional resilience and overcoming barriers, we chat about his life and love of music to get a better understanding of who he is. This track int…

ASCENSION is the first collaboration between Michigan producers DANNY G and THE LASSO. This week we talk about how they linked up, Detroit rap, different stages in life and how it relates to their work ethic, which all leads up to discussing the 23-minute 808-heavy pastiche of 80s/90s freestyle and Detroit/Flint style beats. Enjoy. Visit the websit…

On his debut solo album, Wait Til I Get Over, Durand Jones lays us several courses and flavors of sound that are all distinctly Southern and Black—rhythms heavy with raw, Delta grit; bright exhalations of church spirituals; even tender, cadent spoken word. Now I've been a fan of durand for a number of years, and I'm familiar with his music, but now…

Laid back Texas drawl meets Ahwlee's low smooth Southern Californian drawl as we have a chill conversation on his upbringing intersected with his love of music. We also talk about his thought process and how he chooses the people he collaborates with. Pink Siifu and him just finished their third studio LP together as rapper-producer duo B. Cool-Aid…

It’s been a long, dynamic career for Kid Koala, whether you know him as a Gorillaz collaborator, whether you know him as 1/3 of Deltron 3030 the post-apocalyptic hip-hop group made up of Del tha Funkee Homosapien and producer Dan the Automator, or you are a big fan of his solo stuff through the years. The cool thing is as we see ourselves on the ot…

This week I am honored to sit down with Thes One and talk about the history of People Under the Stairs and the events leading up to the creation of the tone poem of grief, loss and redemption, an ambitious instrumental elegy, telling the story of his and Mike's life together, “Farewell, My Friend”. Headnodic and Kat 010, musicians who contributed t…

Audio engineer and in-house producer on Taylor Gang going on 15 years now - Ricky P is a veteran in the game. He is 5x Grammy nominated, and we talk about everything under the sun for a one hour conversation as we get deep into the topics of fatherhood, dropping baggage, and focusing on your dreams. We also touch on his contirbutions to helping the…

After 3 years, Rhettmatic and J Rawls come back to the show but this time they make their collaborative debut as Rawlsmatic with Role Reversal featuring Ras Kass, John Robinson, El Da Sensei, Blu, and more. We chat about how I was able to make the Intro of the album, and the creative processes that were formed in order to make the album over a deca…

When Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller were 20 years old and younger, doing whatever they could to get studio time, Big Jerm was supplying them with the beats that would help build the foundation of their legacies. His journey is no less interesting as we navigate through his skater days, beatmaking, getting arrested, shot, hospitalized, married, buying a…

Eric Dan, “E. Dan,” is one of the music industry’s most influential producers/engineers. Hailing from Pittsburgh, PA, he has become the anchor of the Steel City’s growing hip-hop scene thanks to his work with some of rap’s biggest names including Wiz Khalifa and the late Mac Miller, and to his I.D. Labs recording studios - the birthplace for so man…

Rapper/producer Oddisee sits down with me on episode 179 to discuss his childhood of having a Sudanese father and African American mother in Washington, D.C., having bore witness to stark inequality early in life and becoming as political as the city he was raised in. Over the course of his catalog - which includes nearly 20 albums, instrumental ta…

Teeko is coming off the heels of the The Gene Brown Beatdown where he single-handed took on friend of the podcast 14KT, and I get the first interview after his turn at bat and the first interview of 2023 with him. We chat about his journey from Puerto Rico to California, and working at his Uncle's record store, through the DMC championships and gri…

Memphis Hip-Hop artist Marco Pavé has forged a twin identity as a champion of independent Southern Hip-Hop and as an educator and arts advocate working to stimulate community activism and entrepreneurship through the lens of hip hop music and culture. We chat about growing up and being born and raised in North Memphis, and how Pavè started rapping …

Versatility and persistence are a deadly combination of characteristics. They are much-needed weapons to have in an artist’s arsenal of traits. For Taylor Gang’s in-house producer RMB Justize, these are the qualities that got him nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Album of the Year in 2015 (Wiz Khalifa – Blacc Hollywood). We talk about everything …

Jasper Patterson, better known by his stage name Groundislava, is an electronic musician and music producer based in Los Angeles, California. While we wait for his new album, PuzzleBox, to come out, we chat about his upbringing, school days, his growth since the Low End Theory days and video game soundtracks, susboy, and the record label & friend o…

By Marcello Milteer

Terri Lyne Carrington has never once pumped the brakes on developing her creativity and expanding her own professional success. The three-time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master has set the bar for contemporary jazz drummers and emerged as an inspiration and role model – particularly for female musicians. Her latest book, "New Standards: 101 Lead Sh…

By Marcello Milteer

DJ Skizz is my guest this week, who is a great producer who has built a solid catalog of production credits over the last few years, dropping high-profile remixes, solo albums and collaboration projects with the most respected emcees in the game. His new body of work is with Crimeapple entitled, 'Breakfast In Hradec'. Crimeapple brings some deep in…

Focus... is known as a forerunner and pioneering voice in Hip Hop culture since the late 90's. We have a great and honest dialogue about what it was like being the son of Bernard Edwards; legendary bassist and founding member of the hit-making 70’s disco band CHIC, how his skills were first recognized by Dr. Dre, who admired the creative sound and …

Living legend Diamond D swings by the podcast to talk about the early days of his career growing up in The Bronx, sharing stories of being in the studio with numerous rappers, and much more. This conversation leads up to a discussion surrounding his new album, The Rear View, which proves without a shadow of a doubt, Diamond D’s reputation as the be…

This episode is a masterclass in modern narrative, following my guest this week The Koreatown Oddity as he recounts childhood car accidents, his life in Koreatown, his career in stand up comedy, comic books, movies, spirituality, his new album 'ISTHISFORREAL?' and the kitchen sink. The new album gestures at a running talk-show concept while he depl…

This week, my Houston bro Anti-Lilly swings by the podcast to chat about his life growing up, dealing with the trials and tribulations of his 20's, his growth as a person and touring musician, and his new music. To get a better comprehension of his journey, I invite his Indigo Klan collective into the fold, De'Vante Hunter and GodKing Preach to giv…

This week I return with veteran producer B. Bravo to talk about life in California, and navigating our way through his struggles and success to create the funk you enjoy today. He returns to Bastard Jazz with the long-awaited follow-up to his 2017 debut LP, “Paradise,” with a fresh full-length offering: “Vizionz.” Replete with his signature future …

Salami Rose Joe Louis is a multi-instrumentalist producer from the Bay Area in California, creating a blend of experimental dreamy sounds with jazz influenced vocals and keyboards. Salami's music may remind listeners of the eccentric spirit of Shuggie Otis, Captain Beefheart and Stereolab at their most whimsical, fused with the hazy Californian sun…

The Wisconsin beatmaking phenom, DJ Pain 1, shares insight on his production history, in this episode of the podcast. In order to do that, you know we have to dive into his history, thought process, and celebrate his overall W's so we can have a candid conversation that you can only have with someone that has walked the walk. His first major compos…

Very pleased to present DJ Wally Sparks on the podcast as we chat about his 20+ years of experience in multiple facets of the entertainment industry. From DJing in college spinning parties, it led to opportunities at local nightclubs which led to work in radio eventually granted him the opportunity to travel as a tour DJ. We chat about his 10,000 h…

Another veteran of the Low End Theory days, this week Free the Robots comes on just a few days after the release of his newest album 'Kaduwa'. When the pandemic hit during a trip to his ancestral home in the Philippines, Free The Robots found himself stuck on the island. The artist took the time as a creative opportunity and produced this said albu…

One of the original turntablists, J. Rocc has done just as much on his own as in a group setting. What now presumes is an all encompassing conversation where we talk about everyone from Eminem to J Dilla, to his crew the Beat Junkies which have been a seminal force in the rise of instrumental hip-hop, and were among a handful of DJs who transformed…

Originally coming up as a rapper at Project Blowed and the Good Life, his ultimate goal was to make beats. We chat about his 10,000 hour journey which includes how he devised his own sound comprised of J Dilla-descended moonlit soul, G-funk's south L.A. swing, and the dusty cartridge and epileptic flashes of 16-bit Nintendo music. This conversation…

Mikos Da Gawd, is a producer with a sound as colorful and complex as San Francisco itself. Born in the Mission and raised in the Bayview district, he was shaped by the city’s winding streets and rolling fog; density and diversity; its contradictions and constant evolution. He’s trusted with providing a musical canvas for singers and rappers, allowi…

In the time since his last album, the original founding member of Odd Future has focused on his personal life including going to recovery for addiction, focusing on his mental health, and moving from Los Angeles to Toronto. As Hodgy – born Gerard Long – describes it, the new project has an almost bipolar feel to it, like he’s two different artists …

This week I put the focus on a personal friend of mine who was a Baptist Pastor for almost 10 years. Now he is on a journey to become one of the greatest rappers ever. We discuss all hiis victories and defeats as he begins his rise to the top. Once, as a semi well known Christian song leader for years he is now sharing his inner emotions with the w…

Buscrates is a DJ, musician, and vinyl junkie from the Steel City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Since childhood he has always gravitated to the myriad of sounds coming from the stereo system of his father, who did some DJing in the early 80s. We talk about his upbringing, his collabs, what makes him tick, the obstacles in life but more importantly t…

Cosmo Baker is known globally as one of the top-tier DJs on the planet, and has toured the planet dozens of times and played many times on five different continents, in almost 50 different countries, in front of tens of thousands of people at once. There is a lot of meat ont he bone when we talk about his 10,000 hour journey and we really dig into …

By Marcello Milteer

Drummer and producer of Magic City Hippies invade the podcast this week. Which you might think is weird because they actually just wrapped up a tour right now, but that’s more reason for #PatHoward to come on and tell his story, give his reasons, and walk us through his 10,000 hour journey. While most of the episodes here involve rap figures, its t…

The worlds freshest is on the podcast because a few months ago him and Nef The Pharaoh unveiled their new project, The Tonite Show With Nef The Pharaoh. The 13-track release sees appearances from a who's who of talented people and as he enters his 40s he feels he is on a new level musically, and that's what really get me excited. You got a guy who …

The first interview in over a decade where BOTH Louis Logic and J.J. Brown are together! What started in a GAP clothing store, while in college, turned into a life long friendship that has birthed classic albums -- they now find themselves drenched in the troughs of Silicon Valley, fatherhood, sobriety, DJing and getting out of their own laundry ba…

Let's celebrate episode 150 by inviting respected Hip Hop artist, activist, and Muslim community leader Brother Ali on the show to talk about his 10,000 hour journey. He has a self produced body of work out now called, 'Brother Minutester, Vol. 1' and it is a good time for him to dip his toe back into the podcast space with me because he is about t…

Ric Chavez is a legend, plain and simple. The Los Angeles artist has done it all, between serving our country, working and serving on non-profits, putting in work for the FiveSeven Collective or somehow squeezing out music, Ric Chavez is leaving an imprint. It's a bit of a challenge to cover all he has done over the course of his tenure within a si…

When it comes to boombap and classic rap, there isn't anyone who does it like the trailblazers, name-makers, and ground-shakers like Arrested Development. Speech is still a prominent member of Arrested Development, and is the driving force behind the new album 'For the FKN Love'. We sit down and have a great conversation capping a massive career sp…

Dixon Hill returns! After saving lives, remote AirBnB stays, and dropping some musical gems, we meet back for a melding of the minds, to talk about 'The Book of Changes' and navigate this scene, the music scene, its not for the faint of heart. We almost go track by track, how some songs brought him to tears, how he sang the hook on one track, and h…

This week on the show, I welcome Namir Blade, a producer from Nashville who started experimenting with sounds at the age of six and further developing and refining his talents from middle school well into high school while attending Nashville School of the Arts. Over the years he has had projects and collaborations that extended to multiple genres …

Josh Karp, professionally know as Budo, has made a name for himself as an internationally respected record producer, artist, and musician. Raised on a steady diet of Sam Cooke, Miles Davis, Emmylou Harris, and Howlin' Wolf, he manages to combine an incredible array of disparate influences to create a unique tapestry of textures, rhythms, and sounds…

This week, I sit down with Warp Records longest serving signee, Nightmares On Wax who opened doors to new sonic landscapes for countless producers and musicians. We talk about what captures his imagination, his musical journey through his early teens and the arrival of hip-hop in the UK, complete with its loop, sample, cut ‘n’ paste aesthetic that …

This week, Harry Krum swings by to talk about coming up in the Dallas scene and his latest project which is entitled "The Dirty Angels Ride Tonight" + book which tells the story, and each song on the DART album is the first hand thoughts and emotions of the characters living the story, as told by Krum. It starts as an idea, then you create it, then…

This week, accomplished artist and producer Calvy P swung by the podcast to talk about the creative process behind his new project, "Weed Is Awesome". Calvin smoked all the weed and wanted you to experience the record the same way. This is the first time an artist has EVER shipped weed with his music, and we speak about a myriad of topics including…