The Hip Hop Hustle Podcast

Coming up on Today's show we review Big L's posthumous album The Big Picture. Hailing from Harlem in New York he  became well known amongst Hip Hop fans for his freestyling ability. In 1995, he released his debut album, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous  (his only album before he died). On February 15, 1999, Coleman was shot nine times where he died from his injuries.

Known as a legend of hip hop for his use of wordplay, he has also been described as "one of the most auspicious storytellers in hip-hop history."

On Today's show I caught up with CJay who was also known in his earlier days as Real Prophecy. He started his rap career at the age of 14 and later started posting his music on SoundCloud which led his song “52 Bars” to blow up and lead him into bigger platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and even appear on Sway In the Morning. This was such an interesting conversation as CJay has found a new path in music and it was a real pleasure speaking with him and i hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Coming up on todays show we review the second album from the underground group CunninLynguists - SouthernUnderground.

The CunninLynguists are a hip hop group from Kentucky. Currently The group currently consists of Deacon The Villain, Kno and Natti. However at the time of this album they contained Mr. SOS instead of Natti.  The group's discography includes over 10 mixtapes and studio Albums, which have been reviewed with widespread critical acclaim for their unique production and lyrics. 

On Today's show I caught up with Hip Hop veteran DJ Chubby Chub. He has worked with some of the legends of Hip Hop including, Nas, Jay Z and 50 Cent. He has an intricate knowledge of Hip Hop and seen it's evolution over 25 years. I really enjoyed talking to him about his journey and his views on the music industry today.

Today we review Stormzy's - Gang Signs & Prayer

Stormzy, is a British rapper who first grabbed the attention of the UK underground Grime scene through his freestyles over classic grime beats. He went on to win  Best Grime Act at the 2014 and 2015 MOBO Awards and was named as an artist to look out for in the BBC's Sound of 2015 list.

 His debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer, was the first grime album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart and won British Album of the Year at the 2018 Brit Awards. Included in that album was the song  "Shut Up", which was initially released as a freestyle on YouTube but became popular and peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart.

As one of the UK's premier Grime/Hip Hop artists he has led the way for the growth of Grime across the globe.

On Today's show I caught up with up and coming  Canadian rapper Versvs. After only rapping for a few years he has  already worked with artists such as KXNG Crooked & Royce Da 5'9". He has also been dropping singles (almost weekly) since his recent album Invisible came out and not only is he a fantastic lyricist with a deep understanding of Hip Hop  but he is also a great person with a fantastic work ethic and is destined for even more success.

On Today's Show we review  Joell Ortiz & KXNG Crooked's new album H.A.R.D. 

Joell Ortiz grew up in Brooklyn, New York, formerly signed to Dr Dre's Aftermath record label. He was featured in the Unsigned Hype column of the March 2004 issue of The Source Magazine and was also selected as Chairman's Choice in XXL Magazine, which is where he met KXNG Crooked

KXNG Crooked grew up in Long Beach, California.  He is currently CEO of his own record labels, Dynasty Entertainment and C.O.B. Digital.. Before starting his own label, he was also signed to Virgin Records and Death Row Records.

Both artists are best known as former members of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse with other members Joe Budden, and Royce Da 5'9".

On Today's show Aaron speaks with Don Elway (Elway or Noway) from San Diego, California. He has been rapping since 2009 and is one of the most prominent figures in San Diego Hip Hop.  He recently dropped the F.T.S.U and is working on a brand new album...

On Today's show we talk about us; our friendship, how we got into hip hop and what made us start this podcast as well as a few other things...

Listen to find out more

Today we finish off our review of Elzhi's Album The Preface.  Elzhi is a lyrical rapper Detroit. He is a former member of Slum Village and now records as a solo artist. 

In his youth, he would frequent Hip-Hop shop in Detroit, (hosted by Proof) where he would make use of the open mic nights and hone his craft. These sessions gave him the opportunity to be surrounded by Detroit's most talented MCs such as Obie Trice, Guilty Simpson, Royce da 5'9" and J Dilla,

This album has been critically acclaimed and considered by many professional reviewers as one of the best hip hop albums of 2008.