The Architect is a renowned producer from Milpitas who is one half of the group Homeliss Derilex. Coming up in the South Bay around Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf, Architect was around for the early days of Stones Throw Records. He also produced for artists like Coolio, Planet Asia and Rasco (Cali Agents), Total Devastation, and many others. After taking a hiatus from music, Architect became inspired by the online underground hip-hop scene and started working with rappers like The God Fahim. Currently he is performing with Souls of Mischief on their 30-year anniversary tour for "93 Til Infinity."

San Quinn is a legendary rapper from San Francisco's Fillmore District. This year marks his 30-year anniversary in rap, having dropped his first album "Don't Cross Me" in 1993 at the age of 15. Since then, Quinn has navigated street politics, addiction, and the ups and downs of the industry. He's collaborated with some of the most legendary rappers in the Bay Area and beyond and held a world record for the most feature appearances by an artist under the age of 21. This interview goes in-depth to the stories behind Quinn's incredible career which is still in motion to this day.

On November 1, 2004, the hip-hop world was shocked to learn that Bay Area legend Mac Dre was gunned down in Kansas City. Almost 20 years later, there is still no definitive answer as to what led to his death. Using thousands of documents obtained from the KC police department, journalist Donald Morrison conducted a thorough investigation of the facts for his 2021 article, "Who Killed Mac Dre?" On this podcast, Donald reviews his findings and discusses the details around Mac Dre's trip to Kansas City, the shooting, and the rumors that KC rapper Fat Tone was responsible. He also shares his experience witnessing the death of LA superstar Drakeo the Ruler and discusses the parallels between him, Mac Dre, and the long list of other rappers who fell victim to senseless violence.

Mind Motion is a staple in the Bay Area hip-hop scene who's been DJing since the early 90s. For decades, millions of people heard him breaking classic records on the airwaves of 106.1 KMEL alongside Chuy Gomez. Before that, he came up in San Francisco as a dancer, graffiti writer, and party DJ. Mind Motion has been instrumental in getting almost every hit song from the Bay off the ground, and in this interview he shares his thoughts on the current state of radio, how rappers can network with DJs, and how DJs can have a long career.

Jason Goldwatch is a director and co-founder of Decon, a hip-hop record label. Growing up in San Francisco, he was inspired by hip-hop and graffiti and studied media production at School of the Arts. This led Goldwatch to the California Institute of the Arts, where he started professionally directing music videos. Over the years he has worked with Pharrell, Jay-Z, 88 Keys, Kanye West, Aceyalone, Action Bronson, Swollen Members, Dilated Peoples, Ludacris, Jeezy, Jim Jones, Atmosphere, Pusha T, The Roots, Kid Cudi, and countless others. Through Decon, he put out projects by Jay Electronica, Alchemist and Oh No, and Roc Marciano. Goldwatch recently collaborated on a film project with DJ Muggs for the new Soul Assassins album "Death Valley."

Hugh EMC is possibly the first San Francisco rapper to distribute an official release with the 1988 single, "It's The Game." His early songs like "H-Nigga Groove" (aka "Keep A Bitch Broke") and EP "Gangsta Knowledge" with DJ X-1 inspired an entire generation of SF hip-hop. Hugh's hardcore storytelling raps were directly inspired by witnessing the Fillmoe neighborhood change during the crack era. As a teen, he co-founded a gang from his projects, the Outta Control Posse, and entered into drug dealing and pimping. Hugh transitioned into starting his own record label and distributing tapes, eventually signing with In-A-Minute Records. Along the way he linked up with San Francisco rap legend Cougnut and helped mentor aspiring artists from his neighborhood like JT The Bigga Figga. After a prison stint derailed his rap career, Hugh transitioned into college education, radio broadcasting, and youth mentoring. He continues to work with youth and makes new music with a positive message.

JT The Bigga Figga is a legendary rapper, producer, record label owner, and entrepreneur from San Francisco's Fillmore District. While incarcerated as a juvenile in the early 90s, he decided to enter the emerging independent Bay Area rap scene. Despite successfully self-distributing his first demo tape, JT was rejected by In-A-Minute Records. This pushed him to start his own label, Get Low Records, which quickly became a successful entity to push his own albums as well as projects by the Get Low Playaz (San Quinn, D-Moe and Seff The Gaffla). As JT became better at marketing and promotion, he linked up with Master P during his time in Richmond and took his music nationwide. Over the course of his career, he's linked with industry heavyweights such as Jay-Z and Nas. To this day, JT The Bigga Figga is one of the most respected independent pioneers of Bay Area hip-hop.

In addition to being one of the producers on the podcast, D.E.O. is a Bay Area legend in his own right who started as one-half of the San Francisco rap duo Evenodds and transitioned into studio engineering and artist management. Over the years he's produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered some classic songs. Currently, he's managing Lil Kayla, supporting her in signing a major-label deal and touring around the country. In this episode D.E.O. steps into the spotlight to talk about his story as well as answer questions from the audience at the History of the Bay Day Party.

Recorded live at the Midway SF for the History of the Bay Day Party, this panel includes rapper CMG of Conscious Daughters, Thizz Nation photographer D-Ray, graffiti artist Dime of Few & Far Collective, and Nastia Voynovskya of KQED Arts & Culture. These women discuss their respective careers, sisterhood in the Bay Area, challenges they've faced in the industry, and what the future holds for women in hip-hop.

Benny Diar is a graffiti writer who grew up in Gilroy and made his name painting in San Jose, Portland, Seattle and beyond. Early on, he learned the consequences of graffiti while dealing with incarceration as a juvenile but never stopped his drive to paint. Coming up as a member of KYT and DTC crews, Diar's painted thousands of freight trains. He was also one of the creative minds behind Clout Magazine, which covered graffiti, rap, and streetwear from the Bay Area and beyond. Tragically, a car accident nearly took his life and left him paralyzed. Through the support of his crew, Diar pushed through and continues to paint to this day despite being confined to a wheelchair. His story is inspiring and he's shown people that anything is possible and art can help overcome even the most challenging circumstances.