On this episode, we dove into a few topics surrounding what is now the longest government shutdown in the history of the United States. We talked about a variety of issues including how statistics show Trump's tax cuts only benefited corporations, Trump's "wall or bust" mentality to ending the shutdown, Putin being an evil genius, the likelihood Russia rigged our election and if it will come to light, the vulnerability of the dated American voting system, and much more!

Ellen DeGeneres recently had Kevin Hart on her show in the midst of the controversy surrounding his decision to step down from hosting the Oscars after controversial old Tweets surfaced to try and convince him to reconsider hosting. The public outcry from this was deafening, as 'cancel' culture showed once again that it cannot reasonably look at each unique situation differently in order to gauge the proper level of action that the accused party must put forth in order to be 'forgiven.' We discussed the situation at hand as well as how internet 'cancel' culture has caused people to be very willing to force others to look into a mirror while refusing to look into one themselves + more!

Everyone has been talking about "Surviving R Kelly," (Even though most of us already knew R Kelly was a gross human being), so we jumped in on the conversation and discussed a few topics that the documentary brought up. These included accountability, how to properly cancel someone, when it is appropriate to separate the art from the artist, why people let their children around a known adulterer, and much more. We also discussed Chance The Rapper's comments about how it is ingrained in our culture to value accusations made by black women less, the internet storm that followed, and what he actually meant by that.

In the latest edition of our 2018 roundup, we talked some of the biggest stories and themes that 2018 offered. These include tragic artist deaths, understanding mental health, hip hop music & culture progressing society, the rise in prominent voices for underrepresented communities, and much more!

As we continued our recap of the "Best of 2018" in the hip hop world, we moved on to some of the best music videos of 2018 including "Whack World" by Tierra Whack, "This is America" & "Feels Like Summer" by Childish Gambino, "Nice For What" & "God's Plan" by Drake, all of Janelle Monae's videos, "God is a Woman" by Ariana Grande, "King's Dead" by Kendrick Lamar, "FUN!" by Vince Staples, and even more.

I also recapped my favorite concerts that I attended this year including Red Bull's G.O.O.D Music Showcase, Jay-Z & Beyonce at Ohio Stadium, Black Star at the Taste of Chicago, Chance The Rapper's Special Olympics show, South By Southwest in Austin, and more!

Along the way we discussed whether or not music changes society, creativity in visuals and album rollouts in hip hop, labels investing in artists' vision earlier than ever, and the Mac Miller Tribute Show.

As any great Podcast does at the end of the year, we decided to bring y'all some "Best of" lists and discussions from 2018. We started out with a 3 part discussion revisiting some of the best albums of the year. In Part 3, we touched on:

-"Pieces of a Man" by Mick Jenkins -"Victory Lap" by Nipsey Hussle
-"DAYTONA" by Pusha T -"Champions" by Meek Mill
-"Care For Me" by Saba -"Astroworld" by Travis Scott
-"FM!" by Vince Staples -"Role Model" by Young Dolph
-"East Atlanta Love Letter" by 6lack -" Some Rap Songs" by Earl Sweatshirt
+ more!

As any great Podcast does at the end of the year, we decided to bring y'all some "Best of" lists and discussions from 2018. We started out with a 3 part discussion revisiting some of the best albums of the year. In Part 2, we touched on:
-"Quarterthing" by Joey Purp -"Room 25" by Noname
-"Noir" by Smino -"Kids See Ghosts" by Kanye West & Kid Cudi
-"Tha Carter V" by Lil Wayne -"Swimming" by Mac Miller (RIP)
-"?" by Xxxtentacion (RIP) -"Lady Lady" by Masego

We also talked the haunting tone the late Mac and X's projects take now that they are gone, Kanye's 5 album plan being a flop, and more.

As any great Podcast does at the end of the year, we decided to bring y'all some "Best of" lists and discussions from 2018. We started out with a 3 part discussion revisiting some of the best albums of the year. In Part 1, we touched on:
-"Oxnard" by Anderson .Paak -"Caution" by Mariah Carey
-"TESTING" by A$AP Rocky -"Sweetener" by Ariana Grande
-"Everything is Love" by Jay-Z & Beyonce -"Invasion of Privacy" by Cardi B
-"Freddie" by Freddie Gibbs -"Swervo" by G-Herbo
-"I Used To Know HER" by H.E.R -"Dirty Computer" by Janelle Monae
-"Black Panther Soundtrack" by Kendrick Lamar "Redemption" by Jay Rock

We touched on what makes a great playlist, 21 Savage's new album, and some other random topics as well!

We hit some of the biggest stories in sports in this episode! We discussed The Ohio State University's coaching change and what it means for Urban Meyer's legacy as well as what the future holds for Ryan Day, dove into altercations between fans and players in wake of the Marcus Peters video, looked at the plethora of talented young Quarterbacks in the NFL currently, and more!

The Grammy Nominations were just announced, so we analyzed and predicted a few of the categories that caught our eyes on this episode. We elaborated on the history of the Grammy's relationship with hip hop historically and looked at where they have been, where they are at, and where they are going.

We also talked many of the incredible nominees including Kendrick Lamar, Nipsey Hussle, H.E.R, Tierra Whack, Janelle Monae, Cardi B, Mac Miller, Pusha T, + more!