This Week our hosts Linqua Franqa and Dope KNife dive into the issue of succession and Americas growing political divide. To do so, they do an in depth review of the 2004 Spike Lee produced film 'CSA: Confederate States of America' and see how well the mockumentary predicted things to come

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This Week, hosts Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa discuss the origins, aims, and contours of The CROWN act, recently reintroduced in the House by Rep. Ayanna Pressley and in the Senate by Cory Booker. They take a gander, too, at how a group of middle and high school aged emcees used hip hop and TikTok to lobby for passage of a municipal version of the bill in Louisville, Kentucky and how their predecessors India Arie, Akon, and Mario addressed hair discrimination and the centrality of hairstyle to Black culture in some of their hit singles. 

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This week, Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa take a data dive into recent nationwide crime statistics and put them into historical context, unpacking how both the left and right spin these numbers towards political ends and examining the roots of violent crime as explored in the lyricism of Nas, Murs and Big L. 

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This week, the hosts recap recent happenings in the worlds of rhyme and government, from the losses of legendary Blackalicious emcee Gift of Gab and anti-war icon Mike Gravel to the controversy-stirring bars of right-wing rhymesmith Tom McDonald. They also speak with Amazonians United founder and AOC campaign alumnus Jonathan Bailey about the outcomes of the New York Democratic primary and, surprisingly, the professional ballroom dancing scene. 

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"This week, Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa discuss the women in Hip Hop. The contributions, the struggle and the outlook for the future. Speciall guest interview with journalist and hip hop historian, Kathy Landoli"

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Ahead of next week's Democratic primary for the New York mayor's race, Linqua Franqa and Dope KNife take a look at some of the top candidates for Gotham's highest office and two polar-opposite representations of the Big Apple in Hip Hop-- Nas's NY State of Mind and Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind. 

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This week, Dope KNife chops it up with leftist activist and battle rapper extrordinaire Soul Khan and discusses the roots and ethics of battle rap culture with cohost Linqua Franqa, reflecting on famous rap battles of history-- Kool Moe Dee vs. Busy Bee, Boogie Down Productions vs. Juice Crew, as examples -- in the closeout. 

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This week, Linqua Franqa and Dope KNife break down the role of the district attorney and discuss the "progressive prosecutor" movement with focus on one of its figureheads, Larry Krasner, who two weeks ago faced off with police-union backed, law-and-order challenger Carlos Vega in the Democratic primary for District Attorney of Philadelphia. They discuss what these election results mean for the progressive prosecutor movement in the wake of the George Floyd uprising as well as how DAs shape the lives of rappers from Meek Mill to Biggie and more.

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This week, Linqua Franqa is joined by journalist Matt Pulver to discuss the impacts of neoliberalism on the city of Atlanta, touching on housing, water privatization, the rise of the police state and how the neoliberalization of these facets of life in Atlanta shows up in the music of T.I., Gucci Mane, Denzel Curry, Goodie Mob and others.

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This week, Dope KNife and Linqua Franqa take a look back at the historical and material ties between Black liberation movements and the Palestinian liberation struggle, tipping their hats to Palestinian emcees DAM and Belly along the way.

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