The penultimate episode of Blerd Radio's 2015 season focuses in on hip-hop, as each member of the panel counts down their 10 favorite emcees of all time. The inspiration for this episode came about because of this Billboard article, and while the piece itself was a source of derision for many, the lists created by me (Big Money), Dr. Z and Michael Parr all shared at least half their content with the Billboard tally.
Before we get to the hip-hop section of the show though, one major musical feat has to be addressed-Adele's monster debut. For the first few minutes of the episode, Adele's success is analyzed. While Blerd Radio podcasts are fairly well-known for intense sidebars, this might be the first time a podcast has ever BEGUN with a sidebar.
Now, it's on to the discussion. Before the panel counts down from 10-1, a few defining factors are discussed. First and foremost, what makes a great emcee? Is it flow? Is it storytelling ability? Is it vocabulary? Is it some intangible "X" factor? Or is it a combination of all those factors? Also tackled the age old question of why some of the greatest technical emcees are saddled with the worst possible production.
New-school hip hop (with a few notable exceptions) is summarily yawned at, with a couple of shots thrown in Drake's direction. The lists' bias towards NYC is also discussed (just as Big Money broadcasts his first show from the tri-state area).
A lengthy discussion about the dearth of quality female rappers follows; as no femcees made any of the top 10 lists (and Billboard's inclusion of Lauryn Hill seems more like forced inclusiveness than a ranking based on true skill).
Next up? The lists. We won't spoil any of the podcast by enumerating the choices in this show summary, but suffice to say you will be surprised by some inclusions/omissions, and you will be completely not surprised by others. The lists are different enough from one another that they provide some interesting discussion.
Stay tuned for the next episode; in which the panel discusses the best music of 2015!
(Also, apologies for some sound quality issues...there was a computer freeze about 2/3 of the way through the episode.)
