This week on Library Rap, hip hop artist, Lyric Jones joins Tim. Lyric talks about the impact of Church, Gospel Music , Jazz, Jay Z, Angela Bassett and Queen Latifah have had on her as an artist and what made her want to be an MC. The Boston artist talks about her NPR Tiny Desk (Home) performance, her vision board, new album, Closer Than They Appear, Phonte (From Little Brother) as an Executive Producer and an artist, track placement, female MCs, contradictions in hip hop and how creating timeless tracks can be depressing.

This week on Library Rap, Dogg Pound legend, Kurupt. The former Death Row Records MC talks about the origin of California slang, influences, his style, the writing process, Snoop Dogg, Ice T and then new HRSMN (Ras Kass, Canibus, Killah Priest and Kurupt) album, The Last Ride

This week on Library Rap, Joseph Abajian aka DJ Jab founder of the famed hip hop record store Fat Beats. Abajian gives a history of the record store scene back in 1990s New York City. He explains the importance of Fat Beats to the independent hip hop artist.

This week Tim talks to Supreme about his new EP, Love Jones, breakdown his lyrics, growing up hip-hop, fatherhood, his dad, legendary, Ghostface Killah, and life after college

MC Lyte's career has spanned almost 30 years. When her debut album, Lyte as a Rock debuted in 1988, she was, the first woman to release a solo rap album with a major label. Lyte has not lost a lyrical step and continues to stay at the top of her game. This week on Library Rap, the hip hop legend from Brooklyn, NY joins Tim to talk music, her first hip hop group, the different artists which helped shaped the MC Lyte sound, her first major label audition which involved a book of poetry, career longevity and the record which completely blew her away

Jeff Chang and Dave “Davey D” Cook are hip hop history. Their new book  “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop (Young Adult Edition) has just hit the stores.  This week they join Tim on Library Rap to tell the story of hip hop culture, how it intersects with cultures in different regions of the world and the political and social movements that thrive because of hip hop. The two also break down how hip hop has used technology to disintegrate barriers, the creation of hip hop journalism, the importance of being true to the culture and how the story of hip hop is very much the story if the immigrant and his/her importance to the story of America. And that’s just the start.

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and Professor Sohail Daulatzai co-authored Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas’s Illmatic, which focuses on the first album by Hip-Hop artist Nas. In light of this book, I sat down with Professor Daulatzai to talk about how, if at all did Nas’ first album, Illmatic change the Hip-Hop industry.

In the second half of the episode, Sam Seidel talks "Hip Hop Genius," an iteration of hip-hop education that goes far beyond the usual approach of studying rap music as classroom content and looks instead at deeply honoring the knowledge of urban students.

Journalist, screenwriter, record producer, teacher Dan Charnas was one of the first writers for The Source and part of a generation of young writers who helped create hip-hop journalism. Dan is the author of a new book called The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip Hop. He joins Library Rap this week.

This week, Tim talks to East Cleveland MC, Kipp Stone, to discuss his new EP, Faygo Baby, gives us some lyrical breakdown, talk mental health in the Black community and so much more. Make sure you check out this interview.

This week on Library Rap, Tim interviews Long Beach, California emcee, Crooked I. In the interview we talk about being a member of the supergroup, Slaughterhouse, his favorite hip-hop track, his album, Apex Predator and a whole lot more