In commemoration of J. Cole’s 39th birthday, Confucius and Fresh make a compelling argument for why Cole is the Nas of this generation. And if you’re a music manager or thinking of hiring one, the fellas also lay out the cornerstones of competence in Austin. Get that, an Unpopular Opinion about the impact of streaming on viewer experience, and of course Hip-Hop Facts plus Confucius Reads the news in this last episode for January 2024.
Frank Ocean
All Are Welcome
Fresh and Confucius try to dispel the myth that native Austinites don’t celebrate artists who aren’t from here. They also talk about how few dedicated spaces there are for hip-hop in Austin.
You’ll learn Hip-Hop Facts about the first recording Alicia Keys debuted on, the truth about whether Big L was going to sign to Rocafella, where Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia Ultra debuted, and more!
Fresh states the Unpopular Opinion that when it comes to hip-hop, the argument that quality is better than quantity doesn’t hold up.
Confucius talks about Marjorie Taylor Greene’s call for a “national divorce,” the Fox News texts that came to light as a result of the Dominion lawsuit, Quavo’s new song “Greatness” and more on Confucius Reads the News.
Cappin’ for Unhinged Creatives
Kanye West has made more than his fair share of outrageous headlines this past week, leading Confucius and Fresh to wonder…why continue to cap for unhinged creatives past their point of no return?
And when it comes to the current generation of younger rappers who seemingly can’t dress themselves, is it generational taste, or just objectively gaudy?
Hip-Hop Facts features tidbits on DJ Premier, Lil Jon, and Frank Ocean plus anecdotes on 8 Mile, Men in Black, and more.
Fresh’s latest Unpopular Opinion makes it clear: put Nicki Minaj alongside her rapper peers instead of atop the pop pedestal.
Finally, Confucius Reads the News on Steve Bannon’s prison sentence, Nick Cannon’s latest kid, Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase, and Rihanna’s new single.
All About Samples
This week on The Breaks:
- Confucius and Fresh take a deep dive into samples and hip-hop. You’ll hear about the samples in MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This,” Big Krit’s first two albums, Joe Budden’s “Pump it Up,” Sisqo’s “Thong Song,” Puff Daddy’s “Been Around the Word,” Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby,” Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life,” Biggie Small’s “Juicy,” and more!
- Fresh states the Unpopular Opinion that Frank Ocean’s cover of the Isely Brothers of “At Your Best (You Are Love)” is better than Aaliyah’s cover of the same song.
- In his Confucius Reads the News segment, Confucius talks about Cardi B’s recent legal win, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement announcement, the recent SWAT raid on NBA Youngboy’s house, and more!
You can hear the latest full broadcast of The Breaks Saturday night show.
TROY NōKA Speaks
This week on The Breaks:
- Confucius and Fresh talk to artist and producer TROY NōKA about his new record, “Grab the Will,” what it’s like to work with artists like Frank Ocean and Chris Brown and how he helped Doja Cat on her rise to fame.
- On this week’s installment of Hip-Hop Facts, you’ll learn interesting tidbits about how we almost got an entirely different version of Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter II,” how the term “The ATX “came about, what Deezie Brown’s stage name used to be, why Outkast didn’t perform at the Superbowl and more.
- Fresh states his Unpopular Opinion that Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” isn’t actually a classic.
- In this week’s installment of Confucius Read the News, Confucious talks about the fight that happened during Verzuz between Three 6 Mafia & Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, President Biden’s recent phone call with Russian President Putin, Mark Meadows’ refusal to cooperate with the Jan 6th commission, and Rick Ross’s decision to change his album cover art.
Dr. Dre is the GOAT
This Week on The Breaks:
- Confucius and Fresh explore all the reasons that Dr. Dre is the greatest producer of all time.
- Both hosts discourage people from dismissing new music as not “Real” Hip-hop or “Real” R&B.
- They interview Austin artist Mike Melinoe about his new record “Clajidu,” why he moved to Austin from Detroit and his perspective on the Austin music scene.
- Both hosts discuss their theories on why hip-hop and Black culture speak to so many people around the world.
- Fresh’s Unpopular Opinion is that Frank Ocean hasn’t done enough musically to warrant his fans booing Drake offstage at Camp Flog Gnaw.
- Confucius wants people on the internet to stop shaming others for liking things that are popular in his Confucius Says segment.
Listen on The Apple Podcasts App, Spotify or Stitcher
Listen to this episode of The Breaks
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Hear the music from The Breaks played on their Saturday Night Hip-hop show