Independent as F***: Ben Pedroche (Grown Up Rap)

Originally broadcast on August 26, 2021. Zilla Rocca (Call Out Culture podcast, Wrecking Crew) hops in the hot seat to talk all things hip-hop/music and puts his trivia skills to the ultimate test. ⁠⁠Patreon.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠questionshiphop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Questions Hip-Hop: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sean Kantrowitz: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ Zilla Rocca: Instagram

Sean Kantrowitz speaks with London-based author Ben Pedroche, whose book 'Independent as F***: Underground Hip-Hop from 1995-2005' offers a comprehensive overview of the albums, artists, 12" records, and labels that shaped the genre in its arguably most-potent decade. Patreon.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠questionshiphop.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠ The Questions Hip-Hop: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ Sean Kantrowitz: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠ Ben (Grown Up Rap): Instagram

The second Draft episode of The Questions Hip-Hop podcast takes an in-depth deep dive into the year 2005. Sean Kantrowitz, MidaZ the BEAST, Justin Hunte (The Company Man) and The Last MJ (Don't Quote Me podcast) comb through the year 2005, selecting their picks for Best Mainstream Album, Best Independent Album, Best Beat, Best Emcee, Best Verse, Best Guest Feature/Verse, Best Producer, Best Album Cover, and Best Video. Buckle up and get ready for some hot takes, debates, and a thoughtful look back at what was happening in hip-hop 20 (!) years ago. Patreon.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠ ⁠⁠questionshiphop.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠youtube.com/thequestionshiphop⁠ The Questions Hip-Hop: ⁠Instagram⁠ Sean Kantrowitz: ⁠Instagram⁠ MidaZ the BEAST: ⁠Instagram⁠ Justin Hunte: Instagram The Last MJ: Instagram

Originally broadcast on June 7, 2021. Can't Knock the Shuffle features Sean Kantrowitz exploring the discography of an artist, and leaving it to an algorithm to choose which randomly-selected songs to ask the artist about. This classic episode features El Da Sensei, the Newark rapper and members of Artifacts whose career spans several decades, groups, and solo projects. Songs: "Speakin'" ('Relax, Relate, Release', 2003) "Live Noise" feat. Akrobatik (w/ The Returners, 'GT2: Nu World', 2010) "Wrong Side of Da Tracks" (Artifacts, 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place', 1994) "It Takes Two" (w/ Sadat X, 'XL,' 2018) "Money" feat Roc Marciano and Reef the Lost Cause ('The Money EP', 2009) "Got Fire" (w/ The Returners, 'Global Takeover', 2008) "31 Bumrush" (Artifacts, 'That's Them,' 1997) ⁠⁠Patreon.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠questionshiphop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Questions Hip-Hop: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sean Kantrowitz: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ El Da Sensei: ⁠Instagram

Originally broadcast on January 13, 2021. Sean is joined by Seattle's self-proclaimed "Queen of Rap," Gifted Gab for a hilarious and insightful conversation about her career – as well as a game of hip-hop trivia. ⁠Patreon.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠questionshiphop.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠⁠ The Questions Hip-Hop: ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ Sean Kantrowitz: ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠ Gifted Gab: Instagram

Making Illmatic returns to The Questions Hip-Hop, as Sean Kantrowitz and MidaZ the BEAST are joined by emcee/producer Jamil Honesty to deep dive into Nas's 'It Was Written' and attempt to scale the album down to its 10 best songs. How do you trim this LP down to 10 songs and does doing so help or hurt the album? Patreon.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠ ⁠⁠questionshiphop.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠youtube.com/thequestionshiphop⁠ The Questions Hip-Hop: ⁠Instagram⁠ Sean Kantrowitz: ⁠Instagram⁠ MidaZ the BEAST: ⁠Instagram⁠ Jamil Honesty: ⁠Instagram

Originally broadcast on Feb 3, 2021. Sean is joined by producer/DJ Skizz to talk about his career in hip-hop and producing for the likes of Roc Marciano, Freeway, Sean Price, and many others. And of course – to put his hip-hop trivia skills to the test. Patreon.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠ ⁠⁠questionshiphop.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠youtube.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠ The Questions Hip-Hop: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ Sean Kantrowitz: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠

200th Episode Celebration! Sean recounts the 12 Most Important Moments in the podcast's history. ⁠Patreon.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠questionshiphop.com⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠ The Questions Hip-Hop: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ Sean Kantrowitz: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠

Patreon.com/thequestionshiphop⁠ ⁠questionshiphop.com⁠ ⁠youtube.com/thequestionshiphop⁠ Originally broadcast on March 16, 2021. Rapper/producer Lord Digga has collaborated with some absolute legends throughout his career, including Notorious B.I.G. (with three songs on his classic debut 'Ready to Die'), Ol' Dirty Bastard, Masta Ace, and many more. Digga shares stories from his career, tests his hip hop trivia skills, and answers fan questions in this classic episode of The Questions. The Questions Hip-Hop: ⁠Instagram⁠ Sean Kantrowitz: ⁠Instagram⁠

Patreon.com/thequestionshiphop questionshiphop.com Sean connects with Wu-Tang Clan's Mathematics for a "Can't Knock the Shuffle"-themed episode, powered by the AI in FYI.AI and covering the stories behind six randomly-selected Wu songs produced by Mathematics. They also talk about the latest Mathematics-produced Wu-Tang album 'Black Samson: The Bastard Swordsman.' Mathematics "Respect Mine" feat. Raekwon, Method Man, & Cappadonna (Love, Hell or Right, 2003) Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics "Mandingo" (Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman, 2025) Ghostface Killah "Mighty Healthy" (Supreme Clientele, 2000) Wu-Tang Clan "Do You Really (Thang Thang)" (The W, 2000) Method Man and Redman "Fire Ina Hole" (Blackout!, 1999) Wu-Tang Clan "Lesson Learn'd" (The Saga Continues, 2017) The Questions Hip-Hop: Instagram Sean Kantrowitz: Instagram Mathematics: Instagram