A mix through a selection of Hip-Hop and whatever else comes off the shelves - special respect to those underappreciated artists, album cuts, and b-sides - always keeping it varied, aiming to make sure everyone discovers something new every episode!
Reading the feed…
"...we gon' act like we on vacation, with this on rotation." - Nas This episode was a challenge - I needed to get the audio recorded before going off on a beautiful honeymoon/anniversary trip with Dr. Lisa, which meant I had to work fast! Now that I'm back, I've been able to use a photo I took on the trip for some appropriate cover art for an episode that in the main is in that cruising/vibing/grooving lane. If any of these tracks are new to you, I get the feeling at least one will stick in your head over the coming weeks... Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"Somewhere between unc and old head" - Agu We come to the end of a hot July with some equally hot selections, including new Children Of Zeus, a dancehall ...er that'll stick in your head, and some tracks you'll never find on the streaming platforms! We begin with a tribute to classic gaming and end with a tribute to two classic records... Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"Every time, no question..." - Prodigy This has been a big year, with the 200th episode, and now the last birthday before the show reaches adulthood - this is the seventeenth birthday edition! As part of the celebration, please indulge me while I play some tracks I just really wanted to hear myself 🙂 In this month's selection, we have tracks from some true veterans (including the late Prodigy of Mobb Deep) alongside some releases from artists just starting to make their mark. Tempo-wise, we ramp it up over the course of the episode, kicking off with a deep Meyhem Lauren cut with a heavy, grim
"..way I be fly, be unidentified..." - Anthony Danza It looks like we're getting a little preview of summer this month, so that reflects in at least part of this episode's selection, which goes from as back as far as 1989 to some recent heat. Despite staying mostly within Hip-Hop, this month has a mix of flavours and eras that mean hopefully everyone will discover something new! Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"Balance without weight..." - Dug Infinite Maybe not a fully-themed episode, but we definitely make nods this time towards the recent moon mission that had many of us glued to the various streams and dashboards online! Besides those occasional references, this month we pay tribute to Guru and DMX, and have a selection that spikes both in the 90s and also the very recent past, with some contemporary releases to add to your headphone rotation with the quickness! (None of the albums in the episode artwork are featured, but one of the artists is 🙂) Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @air
"I'm so raw that I'm rare." - Meth Nothing too fast, no dramatic moves, just various ranges of head-nod speed this month, with a selection that - trust me - is prime headphone material. After seeing Wu-Tang live and the great Slick Rick in conversation this month, I had to get them both represented in the mix, where they take their place alongside Phife and Biggie who we honour this month as always. There are some fire recent releases here and some real excavations from my collection, with my CD stash contributing a couple of winners, starting with the opening track of the show... Mastodon : @
"Algorithms can't silence the beat of the brave..." - Chuck D This one has been a challenge to get together in time (thanks Numa Pompilius), but here we are! We've got J Dilla and Big L in the mix (dropped the ball on a Big Pun record that went missing 😕), alongside new material from some of the all-time greats still with us, and gems from newer artists who are very much still writing their stories. Tempo is moderate to low all the way through, as we drag ourselves through what feels like an extended winter... Headphones on, volume up, let's go! Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @ai
"Big up to all the massive..." - Buckshot Somehow, this humble show from the days when you had to explain what a podcast even was has reached the double century milestone! I'm so glad that you're here to listen, whether you've been here for one day or since day one. I asked for voice messages from you to play during this celebratory episode and you generously responded with your love, memories, and favourite songs and episodes. This month, alongside classic tracks from some of my all-time favourite artists and some new gems, enjoy listening to the words and voices of our community! Mastodon :
"I am the pottery of greater hands..." - Common This month has been a major struggle! My main computer - which is essentially my recording studio, DJ station, and publishing setup - stopped working. I've managed to use other gear around the house to finish recording, and hopefully have done as good a job as usual in assembling this episode. Edit: This is unbelievably on-the-nose, but after publishing this episode I found that the RSS feeds to Apple Podcasts and Mixcloud were broken, needing pretty much a full working day of debugging to fix, when I'm supposed to be having time off... Mastodon
"Make dua for my enemies..." - Da Flyy Hooligan Coming off seeing a great performance by DJ Premier and The Alchemist this month, both production legends make it into the selection early, alongside one or two well-known cuts, but overall the kind of mix that will hopefully have you all running to your record or digital store of choice to pick up some gems that are new to you! Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"You ain't nice, just a little courteous..." - Phonte This episode we blend some tracks from artists I've seen live this month, a few new releases, some obscurities, but first and foremost, some music from the sadly missed D'Angelo, who passed away recently. We open and close with his voice, and go all over the map in the intervening fifty or so minutes. Headphones on, volume up...let's go. Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"...I see you." - Ras Kass This was an episode which didn't mystically guide me to each record in the mix - I had to work for my inspiration! On another birth month show, we have some great new releases studded amongst some older gems from my collection - keeping it in the Hip-Hop and funk lanes. Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"...when they still ain't fixed this one?" - Treach It's been a great month - I got married! And just like every month - the podcast is out on time 🙂 Stull, don't expect too much romance and tenderness in the selection this month, as we start off with Brownsville (NY) and Gary (Indiana) in combination and roll from there... Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"Still a couple lessons I can teach..." - Dilated The sonic signature isn't as overwhelming as this month's title might suggest, but I wanted to share this pic I got on my first trip to Brighton and the name came naturally! With some big releases from Clipse and Raekwon this month, we sample their latest creations alongside some pretty overlooked selections - new and old - and one or two that most people will know. Glad to be able to bring you quality mixes as we step into the seventeenth year of the show... Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"You need this in your life." - Prodigy This month's selection is on the reverse warm-up strategy, as we start off uptempo out of the gate with a stone classic, then move through the show to end with a chilled modern gem. As we remember the late great Prodigy, there's a Mobb Deep mixtape cut that you may have missed, a reunion of legends of the culture, and lyrical themes ranging from flossing to fatherhood. Let's get into it... Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"...I already know what they sayin'." - Curren$y This month we maintain a steady pace as we move between some of the newest releases, some overlooked gems, and the odd well-known classic. Definitely one of those where if you already know every track, then let me know - I'd be impressed! Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"...the come-up ain't without a price." - Rapsody We go up and down in waves of energy this month, as we start aggressive, cool down to some chilled soulful vibes, then go up and up all the way to a high-energy ending! With a selection dating from 1990 (as we pay tribute to the sadly departed DJ Go Mack) and coming right up to this past month, there's a real range of flavours for you to sample. Let's get into it... Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"Still refuse to sell my spirit to eat..." - Phonte A lot of midtempo business this month, as we combine the remembrance of Biggie Smalls and Phife Dawg with some era-appropriate classics, a few obscurities, and then blend in some brand new material that shows how the true artistry of the culture continues to flourish! I just finished adding all the links into the show notes and then my veteran computer hung...so have tried to replace them all! Besides those, here's my Instagram post on the closing of the Hip Hop Chip Shop, which I mentioned on the episode...it'll be much missed. Mastodon : @a
"I don't need a reason." - Che February is here once again, and as always we pay tribute to many of our Hip-Hop community who have transitioned; J Dilla, Trugoy, Big L, and Big Pun are all in the mix this month. Of course, it's also important to show love to the legends who are still with us while they can smell their flowers, and we have some brand new releases from veterans right next to some classics that still stand up to this day. The short length of some of the tracks brings the episode length down a touch, but it's concentrated dopeness... Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @ai
"My heart is a drum, art is my tongue..." - Chalk It's always a treat to have a guest in the studio, and we're starting 2025 by hosting one of the most dedicated artists in our local scene, the MC/producer/DJ Chalk! You may know him as a soloist or as part of some of the crews and collectives he's worked with, but for all but his closest circle you'll hear at least one thing about him and his craft that you didn't know before. We feature several of his tracks from the span of his career alongside some excellent recent releases and some venerable headphone favourites of mine. Enjoy the show! Ca
"...and we don't make the f-ing pistols..." - Kool G Rap Sometimes the episode number compels me to follow it to provide an overall theme for an entire show, and this month is one of those! With 187 famously being the California Penal Code paragraph number/police code for murder, and via Hip-Hop becoming widely known and used as a signifier well outside that jurisdiction, I decided that for this episode we'd lean into that as a theme - sometimes literal, sometimes metaphorical, often pure creative writing, and at other times rooted firmly in reality. With that in mind, this episode might not b
"The sonic still iconic..." - Dr. Dre I was all ready to go with a plan for this episode, and was just waiting to have a guest into the studio for interview and to talk about the tracks of his that I'd included in the selection...and then I got COVID. As such, having anyone visit the house was out of the window, and I had to shelve the original plans and cook up an alternative episode in about a week! All things considered though, I think it's a strong selection and one with an assortment of flavours. Hope you enjoy it, as I wait to test negative and fight off the lingering fatigue so that I c
"...I'd be filthy rich if not for integrity." - Ka The title and theme of this episode came into focus after the second of two tragic losses to the Hip-Hop family this month, both from the same borough - first the peerless wordsmith Ka, and then the legendary producer and DJ Clark Kent. Both Brooklyn natives were held in the highest esteem by all practicioners of their respective arts as experts, and more importantly, spoken highly of as human beings. We feature the music of Ka and Clark Kent in this month's selection alongside some deep cuts from my crates...lock in. Mastodon : @airadam@masto
"Traumatised, but full of pride..." - Bashy Thanks to the short length of some of the tracks, the total running time of this episode isn't as long as some others, but it's a high-potency forty-eight minutes! We start with one of the realest, toughest tracks I've heard in ages, low-tempo to make sure you catch every word, end on a new track by some of the most dedicated veterans in the culture, and hit some incredible notes between those two points. Let's get it going... Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
"Posthumous ain't the wave..." - Mega Ran For this month's cover art, I couldn't resist calling back to one of the most unexpectedly popular stars of the Olympics I was glued to earlier in the month, and going a little Griselda with it 😁 Music-wise, we're almost entirely Hip-Hop this episode, but visiting a lot of different chambers - got some brand new stuff, some tracks that are older than I realised, and we open up with a gem that never got a commercial release... Mastodon : @airadam@mastodon.me.uk Twitch : @airadam13
