The first half of 2026 has already delivered a stacked lineup of rap releases, so we fired up the mics to take stock of the year's best albums so far.

Before getting into our midyear favorites, we talk about our all-time favorite summer rap anthems and unpack J. Cole's unexpected affinity for James Taylor.

Then we dive into some of our favorite releases of the year, including Play With Something Safe by Roscoe P. Coldchain and Nicolas Craven, Planet Frog by Action Bronson, Cry Baby by Vince Staples, and several other standout projects that have been living in our rotation.

Theme song produced by DJ Cutso.

Rhymes by DEM ONE.

Episode produced by DEM ONE.

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 party people,

For those of you who religiously track new rap releases, the beginning of the year can be a slow and uneventful stretch. If you want to be in those theoretical Album of the Year conversations, dropping in Q1 is a good way to get forgotten by December. For that reason, and plenty of financial and promotional ones too, the floodgates usually don’t open until March or April. This year is no different.

On this week’s episode of Dad Bod Rap Pod, the three bad brothers you know so well break down three (actually four) new records that are already making noise in those end-of-year debates. In the first segment, we get into Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE’s double album offering Pompeii/Utility. In segment two, we dig into ELUCID and Sebb Bash’s I Guess You Had To Be There, complete with some truly delightful tales of Miami Lice.

This week's episode was produced by DEM ONE. Theme song by the incomparable DJ Cutso. Dad Bod Rap Pod is down with the Stony Island Audio gang (bang, bang)

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 wait is over!

The best fake hip-hop awards show on the internet is finally here. 2025 was an incredible year for rap music, from the Clipse’s omnipresent comeback to woods and August Fanon cooking up one of the most interesting remix records in recent memory. The year of our lord 2025 truly had a little something for everybody, and we do our best to rank and rate it all in this year’s edition of Quibble Jam.

We break down categories like Best New Voice, Best Rapper Alive, Best Producer, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year. We also spend some time at the top of the episode talking about the Nas and Preemo Light Years record, as well as De La Soul’s Cabin in the Year.

Happy New Year yall!

DEM ONE produced this episode.

That's DJ CUTSO and DEM ONE on the theme song.

Dad Bod Rap Pod 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.

Reports of rap music’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

The rap game is alive and well, especially in the indie world, which is thriving right now. As 2025 has moved forward, the list of real album of the year contenders keeps getting longer. The Backwoodz cinematic universe continues to release great music at an unreal pace. While billy woods’ Golliwog and the new Golliwog remix album are still in heavy rotation, Armand Hammer have returned with a new album called Mercy, produced entirely by The Alchemist. On this week’s episode, the three bad brothers you know so well share their first reactions to Mercy and to the August Fanon-produced Golliwog remix record.

It’s not all Backwoodz talk, though. The bros sit down with rapper and producer Chester Watson to discuss his influences, his ballet roots, and his new beat tape and crew project, Psychic Warfare Department. They wrap up the episode by talking about Outkast’s recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Nate’s vision quest into the Mojave Desert, where he caught a live set from the homies Open Mike Eagle and Video Dave.

DEM ONE produced this episode

Theme song by DJ Cutso and DEM ONE

Dad Bod Rap Pod is a proud member of the Stony Island Audio Network

"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!

In the annals of rap history, there are countless tracks that spark instant, ecstatic reactions. Whether it’s Kid ’N Play inviting you to revive the Charleston or House of Pain demanding that you jump in place, these songs live rent-free in our collective memory. Then there are the truly explosive anthems like M.O.P.’s Ante Up, a track that lets you channel the chaos and swagger of an armed jewel thief without leaving your living room.

The Brownsville duo’s biggest hit has enjoyed remarkable staying power for more than two decades, reaching far beyond hardcore hip hop circles. Sporting events and commercials have both used this teeth-gritting classic to get audiences fired up.

This week, we sit down with Lil’ Fame, one half of the iconic M.O.P., to talk about the enduring success of Ante Up, his creative process, and the lessons he learned from working with legends like Guru and DJ Premier. In the intro segment, Dave and Demone break down the rap songs that get them the most hyped.

DEM produced this episode

DJ Cutso produced the theme song

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.