We talk to the amazing Sadat X, known for both his seminal work with Brand Nubian and his plethora of high-quality solo work. His unique, off-kilter voice and style have kept the hip-hop nation entertained since his group’s seminal 1990 debut One for All. His latest album, out this past December, is called Love, Hell or Right.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/31/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we talk to a man who needs no introduction, Big Daddy Kane. Kane tells us about his legacy, dissing Erick Sermon, who really produced his first album, and tons more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/32/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we have a conversation with A&R man, producer, and all-around Renaissance man Dante Ross. Ross has had an instrumental role in the careers of acts like Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Busta Rhymes, Brand Nubian, Everlast, De La Soul, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, KMD, and tons more. We talked to him about the highlights and wild times of his extensive career.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/34/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we talk to author Adam Mansbach. While Mansbach is best-known for the satirical childrens book Go the Fuck to Sleep, his novels like Angry Black White Boy and The End of the Jews examine some of the thorniest issues in American life — race, culture, family, and the paradoxes and conflicts in all of them. His latest novel is the “graffiti revenge” story Rage Is Back.

We have two special guests for this show. DJ J. Period accompanied Mansbach to our studio. J is a well-respected mixtape DJ, and he created an excellent companion tape to Rage Is Back that features songs from artists like Black Thought and Talib Kweli. We were also joined by Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione, who entered our conversation when it turned to his favorite drummer, jazz legend Elvin Jones, for whom Mansbach worked for almost six years as a drum tech.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/35/ for full show notes and comments.

This all-Louisiana-everything episode has two special conversations from South by Southwest. First, we talk to Mystikal, and go through his whole trip from his early days in New Orleans to stardom to his James Brown-inspired comeback.

Then we have an incredible chat with Kevin Gates. Gates is a Baton Rouge native whose powerful, open, emotional style and lyrics have him on a rapid rise to stardom. He is also perhaps the most captivating and unique personality we’ve come across at Outside the Lines, and we’re proud to share our talk with you.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/39/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we talk to Milk Dee. Along with his brother Giz, they formed the Audio Two, an influential duo whose biggest hit, “Top Billin’,” has been sampled or interpolated by pretty much every rapper alive. We chat with Milk about the Audio Two, his successful production career (he was behind Eamon’s monster hit “Fuck It”), and the work of his sister, the legendary MC Lyte.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/40/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we talk to R.A. the Rugged Man. The underground hip-hop legend has been making great music (and pissing off record labels!) since the 1990s. We talked to him about his brutally honest lyrics, his friendships with Biggie and Norah Jones, his biggest inspirations, and tons more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/41/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we talk to Bill Adler. Bill is best-known for his time as director of publicity for Def Jam and Rush Management from 1984-1990. During that period, he helped to guide the careers of some of hip-hop’s most legendary artists, including LL Cool J, Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and more. He shares stories about many of those groups with us today.

In addition to his work at Def Jam, Bill has written several books, worked on TV documentaries, ran an art gallery, and, in his early years, worked closely with the famous hippie leader John Sinclair. We talk about all of that and more in this epic conversation.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/43/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we bring you a career-spanning conversation with DJ, radio personality, and comedian Cipha Sounds. Ciph is best known for his on-air position at NYC’s Hot 97 but, as you’ll hear, he’s had a wide-ranging career that goes from the depths of the underground scene to the heights of 90’s blinged-out maximalism. In between, he somehow found time to have a key role in one of the greatest TV series of our time, The Chapelle Show. We talk to him about all that and much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/44/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we bring you a talk with one of our favorite up-and-coming emcees, Awkword. This rapper and activist doesn’t just talk about social issues — he has an extensive history of social activism and charity work to go along with his dope, creative rhymes. We talked about all kinds of things, from his unusual rap moniker to his upcoming World View project, a 100% for charity album that has performers from literally all over the world

But even more than his good deeds, it’s his music that brought Awkword to the show. His beats and rhymes hearken back to a pre-Giuliani New York City, and it is this keeping-it-real vibe that has allowed him to collaborate with NYC stars like Joell Ortiz and Sean Price. We talked to him about music, politics, life, and all that good stuff.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/47/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, author Adam Mansbach (Go the Fuck to Sleep, Rage Is Back) returns to the show to talk about his new book, a thriller called The Dead Run. He’s joined by Chicago poet Kevin Coval who, in addition to his awesome poetry, also runs the largest youth poetry festival in the nation, Louder Than A Bomb. Join us as we talk rap, race, Judaism, Chief Keef, which KRS album is the greatest, and what “hackles” really are.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/52/ for full show notes and comments.

We have a very special episode of Outside the Lines With Rap Genius for you. It’s been one year almost to the day since Kendrick Lamar’s instant classic good kid, m.A.A.d city was released, and RG’s very own Nicole Otero sat down with K. Dot to get inside the record. Get the behind-the-scenes scoop on what inspired one of the most heralded albums of recent years, straight from the artist himself.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/53/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode of the Cipher, we bring you a talk with Brian Brater, co-founder of Rawkus Records. Rawkus was perhaps the single most important underground record label of the 90s, putting out singles and albums featuring artists like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Company Flow, Pharoahe Monch, Big L, Common, Eminem, and more

Brater tells us about the ups, downs, hits, misses, and the couple big ones that got away. So lace up your Timbs, grab your backpack, and join us as we talk to Brater about hip-hop’s last real golden age

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/54/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we talk the best of old-school NYC life and hip-hop with two folks who know it better than almost anybody. MC Serch is best known for his work with 3rd Bass, but has also executive produced classic albums (including a little one called Illmatic), hosted TV shows, and more.

Blake “KEO” Lethem is a true hip-hop Renaissance man. From being an influential graffiti artist to arguably the first white rapper to designing album covers for the likes of MF DOOM, Blake has seen and done it all, and shares much of it with us here. We talk nightlife, stardom, graffiti’s TRUE relationship to hip-hop, and that time Hammer put out a hit on 3rd Bass.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/55/ for full show notes and comments.

Returning guest Bill Adler is many things — music archivist, gallerist, head of PR for Def Jam at its creative apex — but he’s also a well-known Christmas music nut. After marrying into a Christian family, he started finding the best, most under-appreciated Christmas music he could, and putting it together into a compilation. He’s been sending his Christmas Jollies mixes to family and friends every year since the early 80s.

His mixes, despite having a relatively small circulation, have gotten tons of attention over the years. So we decided to talk to him about seasonal tunes, including his very important role in creating a certain holiday standard. He gave us insight into some key Christmas samples (Run DMC’s “Christmas in Hollis”, to name one), his own Christmas favorites, and more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/58/ for full show notes and comments.

Hailing from Harlem, Loaded Lux is considered a true pioneer and legend in battle rap. Lux grew up surrounded by battle rap culture, where cyphers were popping off around every corner in Harlem. He began his professional battle rap career featured on the early SMACK DVD’s in the mid 2000’s, and went on to go undefeated 7 weeks straight on 106 & Park’s Freestyle Friday to be inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2007. He released his mixtape “You Gon’ Get This Work” in 2013 after his famous slogan, and is prepping his sophomore album set to release in 2014.

Loaded Lux is no ordinary battle rapper, counting Jay Z, Diddy, and Busta Rhymes as fans. His powerful delivery, nasty wordplay, and deep bars that cut into his opponents have racked him up countless wins — most notably in a recent high stakes battle against Hollow.

We talked why successful people love competition, the magic of history, the Black Panthers, Harlem’s battle rap scene, Illmind, and more with Lux.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/63/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we talk to Dan Charnas, industry veteran, prolific music journalist, screenwriter, and most recently author of The Big Payback, the definitive history of hip hop business. Charnas began in the mailroom of the seminal rap label Profile Records, eventually becoming Rap A&R and Promotion Manager — working on projects from Run-D.M.C., Dana Dane, Special Ed, Rob Base, Special Ed and DJ Quik. He was one of the first writers for The Source, part of the movement to create hip hop journalism. He was hired by Rick Rubin to run the rap department of his new Warner Bros joint venture, American Recordings. He went on to play many more roles within and surrounding the hip hop industry, getting deeply involved in projects including Sir Mix-A-Lot’s double-platinum single “Baby Got Back”, DJ Kool’s gold anthem “Let Me Clear My Throat,” and Chino XL’s acclaimed “Here To Save You All”.

As an incredibly talented writer and incredibly savvy man, Charnas set out about 4 years ago to begin constructing a complete history of hip hop business. What began as a potential news article quickly took a life of its own and this year he finally saw the completion of his work, acclaimed by the New York Times as “epic” and by Forbes as “a mature, Pulitzer-worthy work, an integral account of essential urban history”. The book contains detailed accounts of major transitions and deals made within the hip hop industry that would shape the music landscape for years to come.

We talk the dichotomy between being rich and being real, black capital in America, Bronx based beat hip hop vs. DJ Hollywood’s “club rap”, and more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/64/ for full show notes and comments.

Longtime listeners to the show will recall Pharoahe Monch as OTL’s first three-peat guest, first appearing on the show in July 2012. This time, we sat down with Pharoahe and his manager Guy Routte to talk PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Pharoahe’s new album that’s dropping today. With a desire to continue exploring themes of violence, peace, war, and recovery as well as exploring his own dealings with mental health, Pharoahe transformed what was originally supposed to be an EP into a full length album following his last album, W.A.R. (We Are Renegades).

PTSD is at once a very personal and a very removed project. Pharaohe speaks for many people beyond himself through PTSD, slipping into different narrators to communicate larger issues of dealing with trauma in multiple spheres — in marginalized black communities, in war veterans, and in his own life. The narrator of the record splits into multiple layers — a PTSD riddled veteran grappling with problems of love and drugs and Pharoahe talking about his own career and personal life.

We talked PTSD, how the hip hop genre has changed, how mental health affects the black community, themes of gun violence, sanity and insanity, dealing with depression, the musical and thematic evolution of Pharaohe’s style, and whether or not PTSD is actually Pharaohe’s last full-length album.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/66/ for full show notes and comments.

Grand Mixer DXT’s invention of the turntable as a musical instrument changed hip hop forever. His background as a jazz drummer gave him not just great rhythm, but inspired him to use the turntables to create pitch. These kinds of innovations brought DXT to the attention of Herbie Hancock, who used the DJ in his 1983 album Future Shock. The single from that album, “Rockit”, launched DXT to worldwide attention. He toured all over the world with the Rockit band, and continued innovating with the turntables. Since those days, DXT has continued being a influential DJ and artist. Most recently, DXT and a group of pioneering DJs were inducted into Hollywood’s Rock Hall of Fame.

We talk with DXT at Rap Genius’ office in Brooklyn. About 40 minutes into the conversation, DXT is joined by Infinity Emcees member Rahiem, who has worked with DXT for decades. We talked New York DJ history, what the turntable did to hop hop, Herbie Hancock and “Rockit”, and much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/68/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we talk with Todd Kreidler, the writer behind the Broadway musical based on the life and music of 2pac, ‘Holler If Ya Hear Me’. Kreidler was tasked with taking on the legacy of legendary MC 2Pac Shakur, an initially daunting prospect. Through his use of 2Pac’s songs, spirit, and description of the world around him, Kreidler crafted a musical that doesn’t shy away from tough topics, that tackles issues such as gun violence and racism head on — through the lens of a community that fights against outside pressure together, that feels its pains together. Kreidler saw the musical as a chance to take the “I” away from the music and take a look into the universe of characters that lived within 2pac’s songs. Comparing 2Pac to Shakespeare, Kreidler spoke of the worlds 2Pac created with his lyrics — ‘Holler If Ya Hear Me’ gets the chance to give pieces of 2Pac’s dialogue and story to many characters, building a community around them similar to the one 2Pac himself got to experience and absorb in his own life

We talk with Kreidler about the process of writing the play, the similarities between Pac and Shakespeare, why certain songs were chosen and certain songs left out, and more

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/72/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we have a two-fer. We begin with a really awesome interview with a true West Coast legend, DJ Quik. He has a new album, The Midnight Life, and we talk to him about that, his relationships with longtime collaborators Suga Free and guitarist Robert Bacon, “Hitler microphones,” that time Dr. Dre broke his speakers, and a lot more.

In the second half of the show, we introduce a new artist. Eric Biddines is a Florida-based rapper whose new project, Planet Coffee Bean 2, came to our attention recently. Eric’s futuristic, imaginative, and caffeinated music — and personality — are not to be missed.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/77/ for full show notes and comments.

Live from Bed Stuy’s Restoration Plaza, we bring you a very special event with Buddha Monk and Mickey Hess, authors of a new biography of the Wu’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Occurring only blocks from Dirty’s childhood home, this conversation features not only the authors, but also special appearances from the Wu member’s family and friends. Buddha Monk was Dirty’s close friend since they were children, and had a front row seat to the artist’s rise and fall. His book, co-written with Rider professor Mickey Hess, is The Dirty Version: On Stage, In the Studio, and In the Streets With Ol’ Dirty Bastard, published by Harper Collins. You can buy it here.

If you like this episode, be sure to check out our recent article on the Wu for Radio.com

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/83/ for full show notes and comments.

Most people know author Adam Mansbach from his 2011 “children’s book for adults,” Go the Fuck to Sleep. It became a sensation and led to readings by Werner Herzog and Samuel L. Jackson, a movie deal, a popular GTFTS-themed Obama ad, and countless morning show appearances. Now he returns with a sequel, You Have to Fucking Eat — a funny and realistic take on a whole new parenting challenge.

Regular listeners know that Adam does much more than write books with curses in the title. We discussed his literary novels and life in jazz in our first talk. This time, we talk screenwriting, thrillers, middle grade books, and the best child rappers of all time.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/85/ for full show notes and comments.

Our 2nd annual Christmas episode features former Def Jam exec and noted Christmas music obsessive Bill Adler. We discuss the 30th anniversary edition of his yearly Christmas mix (available EXCLUSIVELY from us — visit here) and his part in the new holiday music documentary Jingle Bell Rocks.

We also find time to talk about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, protest movements past and present, and plenty more. Happy holidays from The Cipher! Again, you can listen to Bill Adler’s 30th anniversary Xmas Jollies mix ONLY on our Soundcloud page.

P.S. We’re honored to have been chosen as one of Slate’s “Best Podcasts About Music” this year. You can see the complete list here. And, as mentioned in the show’s introduction, you can find Cornell University’s online exhibit of Bill’s Def Jam materials on the university’s website.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/86/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we celebrate the new year by bringing you an improved, remixed version of our talk with Ron Isley. Isley is the legendary lead singer of The Isley Brothers, and a soul music icon who has been a vital force in popular music for over half a century.

The Isley Brothers first reached the charts with the 1959 hit “Shout,” and had an amazing run all the way through 1983’s oft-sampled “Between the Sheets.” Ron’s career was revitalized by a series of collaborations with R. Kelly starting in 1996, including 2001’s memorable hit “Contagious.” His most recent solo album, released right around the time of this conversation, was This Song Is For You, which featured the single “Dinner and A Movie.”

We talked to Ron about his whole career, from his early years singing gospel straight through to today, with stops in Motown, his influential songs of the 1960s and 70s, the inside scoop on working with R. Kelly, and lots more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/87/ for full show notes and comments.

Our interview with the enigmatic Divine Styler starts with him present, via his DJ father, at the very beginnings of hip-hop. He then became a part of Ice-T’s Rhyme Syndicate crew, which included a pre-House of Pain Everlast. His second album, Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light, drastically expanded the range of what a hip-hop artist could do with its spoken word-industrial-rock hybrids.

His latest record Def Mask comes after a 15-year hiatus. From NYC park jams to getting arrested the day after signing a record deal to having a front-row seat for “Jump Around“‘s massive success to pushing musical boundaries to making pilgrimages to Mecca, Divine Styler shares his whole fascinating story.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/88/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we sit down with Harlem’s own Smoke DZA and Bluntsmoker, a member of his R.F.C. crew. They’ve just released an album called The Outsiders. Talking in a studio just down the block from DZA’s native “911” (Harlem’s 119th Street), we discuss how Harlem has changed, the overlap between pro wrestling and hip-hop, how his style and voice have mutated over the years, and tons more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/89/ for full show notes and comments.

Robert “Rocky” Ford Jr. got his start at Billboard in the 1970s. A busy nightlife (and a chance encounter on a Queens bus) led him to Russell Simmons and NYC’s burgeoning hip-hop scene. Rocky gave the genre its very first mainstream coverage with his 1978 article “B-Beats Bombarding Bronx.” From there, it was a quick move to writing and producing hits for Simmons’ good friend Kurtis Blow – and then for Full Force, Hi-Five, and even Tom Hanks!

We talk to Ford about writing hits like “The Breaks,” his relationships with Simmons and one-time roommate Nelson George, and why he cast Full Force as House Party’s villains. Ford did it all in the 1970s and 80s, and shares his story here.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/91/ for full show notes and comments.

We speak to the rapping team at the head of the powerful rap/rock group ¡Mayday! – Ben “Wrekonize” Miller and Bernardo “Bernz” Garcia. Since the early 2000s, the band has been delivering powerful music to a growing legion of fans. That fan base was dramatically increased when the Miami group teamed up with Tech N9ne’s Strange Music label a few years ago. The most recent album released by the hardworking collective is a joint project with West Coast legend Murs called, appropriately enough, Mursday.

Wrek and Bernz talk about their career and songwriting process, but also find time to discuss their famous relatives, partying with Lil Wayne, and which group member is best with a slow cooker.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/93/ for full show notes and comments.

Our special 100th episode finds us with a flood of special guests. We have Metermaids, an NYC rap duo signed to Sage Francis’ Strange Famous label. Their newest album We Brought Knives is a powerful examination of fatherhood, legacies, changing times, and the awesomeness of Bruce Springsteen.

They’re followed by Gabriel Roth. Roth is the co-founder of Daptone Records, a Brooklyn-based label that has released some of the finest soul, funk, Afrobeat, and other roots music of this generation. The band he leads, The Dap-Kings (who normally back the powerful singer Sharon Jones), played a key part in one of the most popular records in recent memory, Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black.

This being an anniversary party, we start the show with a special surprise guest.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/100/ for full show notes and comments.

DJ EFN is a key player in Miami’s hip-hop scene. He was arguably the city’s first mixtape DJ, and certainly its most influential. His mixtapes, featuring exclusives and freestyles from hip-hop’s biggest names, made him a power broker in the region and enabled him to move into marketing, clothing, and even movies, with his recent Coming Home series of documentaries. His new album Another Time features appearances from Scarface, Talib Kweli, Juvenile, Kurupt, Killer Mike, and Ras Kass, among many others.

We talked with EFN about breaking Rick Ross and giving advice to a young Pitbull; why mixtape culture is dead; the never-released album that could have changed the face of Miami rap; and much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/102/ for full show notes and comments.

RJD2 began his career as a DJ in the mid-1990s, but it wasn’t until his 2002 solo album Deadringer that he really started making noise. That record got a ton of attention for its creative sample-based approach to instrumental hip-hop, and RJ became an important part of the El-P led Def Jux label, which was a huge force in the underground rap scene of the era.

Since then, he has released a ton of wildly varying, but always worthwhile and interesting, projects, from hip-hop records to synthesizer-based soundscapes to pop songs with his own vocals. One of RJ’s tracks, “A Beautiful Mine,” is best-known to most people as the theme for AMC’s hit show Mad Men. His brand-new album with rapper Sugar Tongue Slim is called STS X RJD2.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/105/ for full show notes and comments.

John Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, is a true punk legend. He was the singer of the Sex Pistols, the ground-breaking British punk band. The Pistols formed in 1975, and their raw sound combined with Lydon’s powerful, unfiltered lyrics taking shots at the Queen, the music industry, and the system as a whole created something entirely new – a sound, look, and attitude that would quickly be picked up and copied by legions of bands to follow, and would spark the punk rock revolution.

The Sex Pistols broke up in early 1978, and Lydon went on to form the influential group Public Image Limited, or PiL. The group went in an entirely different direction, making often-danceable, experimental music. Their second album, 1979’s Metal Box, is generally regarded as a landmark release, and was chosen as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone.

Lydon’s new memoir, which covers the entirety of his life and career, is called Anger Is An Energy: My Life Uncensored (Dey Street).

We were joined by legendary photographer Janette Beckman (soon to be a Cipher guest herself), who took some pictures – the first time she had photographed Lydon since she took now-famous shots of him with the Sex Pistols and in the early days of PiL, like the image you see above.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/106/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we talk to Cey Adams – artist, graphic designer, “fourth Beastie,” and founding Creative Director at Def Jam.

Adams got his start as a graffiti writer in his native New York City, and moved from the vibrant graf world into the same East Village art scene as people like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. In 1982, he met Russell Simmons, and quickly started designing anything and everything visual for Simmons’ management company and, shortly afterwards, his new record label Def Jam. At around the same time, Adams met and befriended the Beastie Boys. He has designed countless tour t-shirts, logos, stage backdrops, and album covers for the group.

Adams designed and oversaw historic album covers and logos not only for Def Jam artists like Public Enemy and Slick Rick, but also Bad Boy, Universal, MCA, and others – including the album cover to Big’s Ready to Die and the now-iconic signature-style logo for Mary J. Blige. In addition, he has designed logos and products for The Chapelle Show, NYC’s Hot 97 radio station, Nike, Coca-Cola, and more.

As if that wasn’t enough, Adams co-authored the book DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop and designed the definitive book Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label.

A special note: to see a gallery of many of the images Cey is talking about during our interview, click here.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/112/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, our guest is Benjy Melendez, founder, President, and singer of the Ghetto Brothers. He is joined by his co-author and friend, Amir Said.

The Ghetto Brothers were one of the largest and most powerful street gangs in the Bronx in the late 1960s and early 70s - a time when the borough, and New York City as a whole, had plenty to choose from. At its height, the organization had around 2,000 members city-wide.

But after one of their key figures got killed by rival gangs, Benjy devoted his efforts to peace, and held a now-famous peace treaty meeting at the Hoe Avenue center in the Bronx in 1971 - a gathering that set the stage for the ending of the gang era and the beginnings of hip-hop.

In addition to being a powerful organization, the Ghetto Brothers were also a rock and roll band. They only released one album, 1971’s Power Fuerza, but it became a prized collectors item, notable for its surprisingly sweet lyrics and Beatle-esque melodies, Latin percussion, and unique backstory.

While parts of Benjy’s story have been shared in the new documentary Rubble Kings and even in a graphic novel, the new book by Benjy and Amir Said, Ghetto Brother: How I Found Peace in the South Bronx Street Gang Wars, is the first place Benjy shares his entire life story.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/114/ for full show notes and comments.

Kevin “K-Def” Hansford is a producer with a long and storied legacy. He hooked up with Marley Marl in the early 1990s and became a key part of Marley’s famed studio The House of Hits. While under Marley’s wing, he produced great records for Tragedy, Da Youngsta’s, and more. But it was his work with Lords of the Underground that would really cement his reputation. K-Def produced half a dozen songs on the group’s classic debut, 1993’s Here Come the Lords, including the omnipresent “Chief Rocka.”

After leaving Marley’s tutelage, K-Def’s production career continued, with songs by Ghostface, Diddy, UGK, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and even his own group, the duo Real Live. In recent years, K-Def has released a number of stellar instrumental works with Redefinition Records, and continues to find new ways to expand the palette of sample-based music.

NOTE: This episode, we have a special contest. Find the answers to the two questions below in this interview, and you can win prize packs from Redefinition Records. E-mail your answers to contest@theciphershow.com by September 7th, and three winners will be chosen at random from all the correct answers.

Question 1: Which artists ended up with a K-Def beat that was originally supposed to be on Illmatic?

Question 2: What song does K-Def credit with marking the end of sample-based hip-hop?

1 Grand Prize: K-Def’s Tape Two on vinyl & cassette + Damu’s Public Assembly Vol. 2 CD

2 Runner-Up Prizes: K-Def’s Tape Two cassette + Damu’s Public Assembly Vol. 2 CD

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/117/ for full show notes and comments.

Denaun Porter is best-known as a member of the group D12 – a collective that also featured one of his best friends, a fellow Detroit rapper named Eminem. But Denaun’s real passion has always been for production.

Porter got his start as a beatmaker (after some tips from a young Dilla) with Em’s hard-to-find debut album Infinite, which he produced in its entirety. But as his pal teamed up with Dr. Dre, so did he. Denaun quickly began producing songs for Xzibit, 50 Cent and G-Unit, Busta Rhymes, Rakim, Pharoahe Monch, and lots more.

After the death of fellow D12 member and longtime Eminem hypeman DeShaun “Proof” Holton in 2006, Porter took a break from music. But he’s returned stronger than ever, releasing a brand-new solo EP, Stuff in my Backpack, and taking up his late friend’s hypeman job on top of it.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/119/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we talk to MF Grimm, along with his producer and group-mate Drasar Monumental. Grimm is a rapper, producer, and now an award-winning comic book writer, who is just now making some of the greatest music of his long and storied career.

After growing up in the New York City of the 70s and 80s - and making a short stint as a child actor on Sesame Street - Grimm began his hip-hop career on the city’s battle scene. He quickly gained attention, started ghostwriting for more successful acts, and was on the verge of solo stardom when he was shot and paralyzed in 1993, in an incident that also killed his brother.

Grimm recovered, and even executive produced his friend MF Doom’s 1999 solo debut Operation: Doomsday, which was recorded in the basement of Grimm’s Rockland County house. Starting in 2001, he began releasing a string of powerful solo albums that molded the ups and downs of his life into powerful artistic statements. He also moved into another medium, writing the autobiographical graphic novel Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm.

Since 2012, he has been working on the Good Morning Vietnam trilogy of albums with our second guest, producer Drasar Monumental.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/123/ for full show notes and comments.

Raquel Cepeda is an author, journalist, filmmaker, podcast host, and a whole lot more. She grew up in both the Dominican Republic and the New York City of the 1980s. In 2001, she became the Editor-In-Chief of Russell Simmons’ One World magazine. She left the magazine in 2004, just in time to edit the definitive anthology of rap writing, And It Don’t Stop: The Best American Hip-Hop Journalism.

Raquel would go on to make the documentary Bling: A Planet Rock, where she took Paul Wall, Raekwon, and Tego Calderon to Sierra Leone in order to learn the truth behind the country’s diamond trade. Her most recent book is a memoir, Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina, and she’s also a “co-discussant” on the podcast Our National Conversation About Conversations About Race.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/127/ for full show notes and comments.

Darlene Ortiz is best-known for her iconic pose on the cover of Ice-T’s 1988 album Power, a shot that no one who has seen it has ever forgotten. But there’s far more to her than bathing suits and guns.

She was right by Ice-T’s side during his rise to the top of the rap game. The two met when Darlene was a 17 year old hip-hop obsessive, and she and Ice quickly became rap’s first power couple. She appeared on his album covers and in his videos, and was right by his side for tours, TV appearances, movie roles, and the infamous “Cop Killer” controversy.

Darlene has a brand-new memoir called DEFINITION OF DOWN:My Life with Ice T and the Birth of Hip Hop, published by Over the Edge Books.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/131/ for full show notes and comments.

DJ Dahi has produced some of your favorite songs of the past several years. He did “Money Trees” for Kendrick Lamar, Drake’s “Worst Behavior,” Dom Kennedy’s “My Type of Party,” Schoolboy Q’s “Hell of a Night,” and many others.

That run of hits brought him to the attention of none other than Dr. Dre, and Dahi ended up playing a key role on several tracks of Dre’s new album, Compton: A Soundtrack By Dr. Dre.

But there’s far more to Dahi than any of that. At a relatively young age, he has developed a style that mixes elements of trap, indie rock, and some unclassifiable elements into a unique blend. With all his accomplishments, his recent solo work shows that he’s still restless, still experimenting, and still just getting started.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/132/ for full show notes and comments.

It’s that time of year! We sit down with Bill to talk about this year’s edition of his world-famous Christmas music mix Xmas Jollies 2015, which you can stream EXCLUSIVELY from us here.

We also discuss how Bill’s extensive hip-hop archives ended up at Cornell University, despite the wishes of his pal Lyor Cohen; why you’ll soon see his photos at the Smithsonian; and the story of how a noted civil rights activist was outed as an FBI spy.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/134/ for full show notes and comments.

Mack Wilds is best known for his acting work on TV shows like The Wire and 90210, and most recently his starring role in Adele’s “Hello” video. But he’s also a Grammy-nominated singer and rapper who is putting his own spin on r&b and rap. He brought his passions for acting and hip-hop together in VH1’s upcoming TV movie about the music industry in 1990, The Breaks, which airs on January 4th. Mack plays Dee Vee, an aspiring producer and DJ who finds a talented artist to work with, but may have bitten off more than he can chew in the process.

We sat down with the Staten Island native on the eve of The Breaks to talk about acting, music, his home borough, and much, much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/135/ for full show notes and comments.

Adrian Miller is the manager of Anderson .Paak, the rapper/singer/musician who rose to stardom after his show-stopping appearances on Dr. Dre’s new album, Compton: A Soundtrack By Dr. Dre. But there’s a whole lot more to Adrian’s story than helping to guide Anderson from obscurity to overseas tours and late-night television appearances.

Adrian was at the epicenter of the Los Angeles rap scene throughout the 1990s. He played a key role in the rise of acts like Coolio, Freestyle Fellowship, Funkdoobiest, Cypress Hill, House of Pain, The Pharcyde, and many, many more. His time in LA reads like a who’s-who of artists, producers, executives, and even movie moguls. After helping to get the L.A. rap scene on its feet, Miller took a job at Warner Brothers as the Senior Vice President of A&R, working directly under legendary executive and manager-to-the-stars Benny Medina. We talked to him about his entire crazy journey, from getting his first real radio job in Oklahoma all the way to making deals with Dre.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/144/ for full show notes and comments.

Idris Goodwin is an award-winning playwright, poet, rapper, essayist, and spoken word artist. His plays have been put on all over the country, and he has performed on HBO, Discovery Channel, and even Sesame Street. His book of poems and essays, These Are The Breaks, was published in 2011.

Idris’ most recent project has been a series of “breakbeat plays” - works of theater that are influenced by and reflect both the content and the form of hip-hop music and culture. His latest breakbeat play The Realness is at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, Massachusetts through April 10th.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/148/ for full show notes and comments.

Allah B is a longtime member of the Nation of Gods and Earths, formerly known as the Five Percenters. He grew up in Harlem in the 1950s and 60s, a time when the Nation of Islam had huge influence thanks to its minister, Malcolm X. Clarence 13X Smith was an NOI member who became disenchanted with the group around 1963, and formed his own organization the following year. Clarence quickly became known as “Allah” or “The Father,” and most of his early disciples were teenage boys, Allah B among them.

The group, originally known as the Five Percenters and now as the Nation of Gods and Earths, grew steadily until Allah’s murder in June 1969. It would have a rebirth in the 1980s and 90s, as many of the young children raised in the group’s beliefs would go into hip-hop and spread Five Percenter beliefs, slang, and practices far and wide.

If you’ve ever listened to Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, or the Wu-Tang Clan, said “Peace” or “word,” or stood in a b-boy stance, you owe a huge debt to the Gods and Earths, whether you realize it or not. Allah B has been there for the group’s whole history, and shares it with us in this interview.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/151/ for full show notes and comments.

Dame is a producer who has sold tens of millions of albums in his storied career. He got his start working with The LOX, and had his first big hit with their tribute to Biggie, “We’ll Always Love Big Poppa.” After giving The LOX several of the biggest songs on their debut album Money, Power, Respect, Dame started working with another member of the Ruff Ryders camp, DMX. He produced almost the entirety of X’s 1998 debut It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, beginning a working relationship and friendship that continues to this day.

That album sold over five million copies, and moved Dame into the ranks of superstar producers. He made hits for Cam’ron, Nas, Noreaga, Freeway, and countless others. Then he moved on to a whole sound, helping Max B and French Montana define their “wave” movement. Today, he’s still making songs at a record clip – and we do mean that literally.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/154/ for full show notes and comments.

Ms. Jade is a Philadelphia-based rapper who first came to most peoples’ attention as a protege of Timbaland. She, along with other artists including Tweet and Bubba Sparxx, were part of the producer’s Beat Camp collective. Ms. Jade also worked closely with another one of Timbaland’s frequent collaborators, Missy Elliott, appearing on several of Missy’s hits like “Funky Fresh Dressed” and “Slap Slap Slap.”

Shortly after the release of her debut album Girl Interrupted, Jade parted ways with Timbaland and released several mixtapes that showed her rapping with an aggression and power that wasn’t always there during her time in the spotlight. Ms. Jade has released a bunch of recent freestyles, and is finishing up a new album entitled Beautiful Mess.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/159/ for full show notes and comments.

Adisa Banjoko is the founder of the Hip-Hop Chess Federation, a non-profit organization that fuses music, chess, and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and non-violence. He has a new book about the history and philosophy behind the organization called Bobby, Bruce & the Bronx: The Secrets of Hip Hop Chess. The book was originally titled Bobby, Bruce & Bam, but Adisa changed it – and very publicly resigned his years-long membership in the Zulu Nation – in light of the accusations of sexual abuse against Afrika Bambaataa.

With the Hip-Hop Chess Federation, Adisa has put on tons of workshops, seminars, and lectures to help children learn not only chess, but entrepreneurship, performing arts, and more. He has even worked with the World Chess Hall of Fame to put on one of their most successful exhibits ever.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/160/ for full show notes and comments.

Robert Aguilar, a.k.a. Rob Swift, grew up in Queens, New York and was already DJing by the age of 12 thanks to the influence of his father and older brother. In 1991, he was recruited to join a prestigious Harlem-based DJ crew called The X-Men. In 1992, Swift won the prestigious DMC East Coast title, and gained recognition within the DJ community. He soon started recorded with artists like Fat Joe, Akinyele, and Chi-Ali.

The X-Men eventually changed both their personnel and their name. They became The X-Ecutioners and narrowed down to Rob, his longtime friend Roc Raida, and Mista Sinista. That lineup released successful albums like Built From Scratch and Revolutions, toured the world, and worked with artists like Linkin Park, Big Pun, Everlast, Rob Zombie, and even the Blue Man Group.

Since leaving the X-Ecutioners, Rob has continued his experimentation. He’s worked with jazz artists like Herbie Hancock and Bob James, released an album inspired by classical music, and even started teaching DJing at the New School in New York City.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/161/ for full show notes and comments.