Freemusicempire
203 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 15 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsFreemusicempire.com is a place for in depth musical discussion with important voices from hip hop, soul, jazz and so forth. Hosted by Dan-O.
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Episodes
State of The Game Vol. 148-Art School Dropout w Jamee Cornelia
May 07, 2023 20:25 - 1 hour - 68.1 MBATTENDEES Jamee Cornelia, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Talk about the growth from I Don’t Take This Life Shit Seriously to Big Homie to Art School Dropout. Talk specifically about Art School Dropout. Intro and Outro by Andrew
State of The Game Vol. 147-Jagged Beauty of The Underground w/ TreDoes
April 30, 2023 12:43 - 1 hour - 102 MBATTENDEES TreDoes, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk about the musical development of TreDoes w/ new songs possibly leading to a new album as well as the album reviews on Twitter and the acclaim it has garnered. Discuss Another Planet 4, Planet Unfaithful, & all the weight feathers don’t have as part of the hip hop underground that boldly stakes out anti-pop radio territory. Intro and Outro by Andrew
State of The Game Vol. 146-Templates w/ Midaz The Beast
April 23, 2023 23:29 - 1 hour - 81.9 MBATTENDEES Midaz The Beast, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk about the DOPE new project The Devil’s Playground w/ Delle Digga. Identify Hip Hop’s critical templates Intro and outro by Andrew
State of The Game Vol.145-Grown Folks Music
April 16, 2023 14:54 - 1 hour - 88.1 MBATTENDEES Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Discuss Skyzoo-The Mind of A Saint, Oddisee-To What End, and Sunny War-Anarchist Gospel in depth. Talk about the functional environment for this music as well as the audience for it. Intro and Outro by Andrew
State of The Game vol.144-He Left Nothing for The Swim Back w/ SKECH185
April 09, 2023 16:34 - 1 hour - 84.8 MBATTENDEES SKECH185, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Discuss SKECH185 new album He Left Nothing For The Swim Back in depth. Discuss the legacy of Tomorrow Kings and what goals SKECH185 has for this phase of his career. Intro and outro by Andrew
State of The Game Vol. 143-The Transition w/ ILLOGIC
April 01, 2023 12:29 - 1 hour - 82.6 MBATTENDEES Illogic, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Map the transition from Unforeseen Shadows to Celestial Clockwork to The Transition. Get in depth on The Transition and where it positions Illogic for the future. Intro and Outro by Andrew
State of The Game Vol. 142-The Undeniability of Patty Honcho w Patty Honcho
March 25, 2023 21:41 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBATTENDEES Patty Honcho, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk about Patty Honcho’s 2022 projects Life with Numbz and Brawler (Round 5) in detail. Discuss what Patty accomplished last year and the mission of becoming undeniable. Intro and outro by Andrew. Cop his new album w/ Jesse The Tree.
State of The Game Vol.141-Self-Development w/ Love,Ulysses
March 18, 2023 00:53 - 1 hour - 85.1 MBATTENDEES Love, Ulysses, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Discuss moving from the 2 pack system to a full album. Discuss album 61,265,147 in detail. Intro and Outro by Andrew of sleepingdogs
State of The Game Vol. 140-AOTY List 25-1 w/ Cinemasi aka Dylan Green
March 11, 2023 00:27 - 2 hours - 162 MBATTENDEES Dylan Green, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Discuss any late year additions that would have been higher if they had come out earlier. Discuss albums 25-1 in depth. Discuss what we are looking forward to in 2023. Intro and Outro by Andrew
State of The Game Vol. 139-2022 AOTY list 50-26 w/ Cinemasi aka Dylan Green
March 05, 2023 01:00 - 1 hour - 110 MBATTENDEES Dylan Green, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Discuss how ‘critic brain’ evaluates music and albums that didn’t make this list (but made lots of other lists) and the reasoning behind that. Explain the albums of the year 50-26. Intro and Outro by Andrew
State of The Game Vol. 138-Production Trends w Steel Tipped Dove & MIGHTYHEALTHY
February 27, 2023 13:15 - 1 hour - 85.8 MBATTENDEES Steel Tipped Dove, MIGHTYHEALTHY, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Talk about MIGHTYCANNONS w/ MIGHTYHEALTHY & Metal Lung/Days Pass Strange w/ Steel Tipped Dove. Talk about the sonic identity of 2022. Intro and Outro by Andrew
State of The Game Vol. 137-Flow Fantasy Draft w/ Defcee & Dash Lewis
February 21, 2023 13:09 - 1 hour - 103 MBATTENDEES Dash Lewis, Defcee, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Discuss the magic of Defcee & Boathouse-For ALl Debts Public and Private. Discuss the wonder work Dash Lewis has coming w/ Freemusicempire. Conduct the 2022 Flow Fantasy Draft Intro and outro by Andrew
State of The Game Vol. 136-Preaching In Havana w/ Fatboi Sharif, Noface & GENG PTP
February 15, 2023 13:15 - 1 hour - 68.3 MBATTENDEES Fatboi Sharif, Noface, GENG PTP, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Discuss the formation and goal of Preaching In Havana. Talk about the use of horror perspective to get closer to our emotional reality. Intro and Outro theme by Andrew
State of The Game Vol. 135-Sentimental Fool w Lee Fields
February 05, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 69.8 MBATTENDEES Lee Fields, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Discuss a life lived in Soul music from 1969 to now. Discuss in detail Lee Fields new album Sentimental Fool and how making art at this stage works.
State of The Game Vol. 134-Drake Conspiracy Theories
January 29, 2023 12:21 - 1 hour - 67.4 MBA guest canceled so I kicked my Drizzy theory to K and it turned into a really interesting discussion about Drake. No guest just K and I chopping it up.
State of The Game Vol. 133-Characteristics of The Ultra-Personal
January 21, 2023 13:01 - 1 hour - 78.6 MBATTENDEES Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Discuss how an ultra-personal rap album hits us, how we should listen to it, and how the personal nature of it effects re-listens. Discuss in detail Short Fuze-The Painkiller Boutique, Teddy Faley-Teddy Brown Brown, and Mavi-Laughing So Hard, It Hurts. Intro and Outro theme by Andrew. Buy his latest album .
State of The Game Vol. 132-The Evolution of Lukah w/ Lukah & Walz
January 13, 2023 01:50 - 1 hour - 102 MBATTENDEES Lukah, Walz, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Discuss the decision to move from soul sample based production to Walz. Discuss the methods in which Lukah has grown his team and his world. Intro and Outro by Andrew
State of The Game Vol. 131-Making A Trilogy w/ Teller Bank$ & Ed Glorious
January 09, 2023 00:20 - 1 hour - 75.9 MBATTENDEES Teller Bank$, Ed Glorious, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Discuss the newest album from Teller and Ed The I & I in detail! Discuss the trilogy from The Grotesque & Beautiful, The Part & Parcel, to The I & I. Is this the last one of this series? If so, why?
State of The Game Vol.130-The Lasso & A. Billi Free
January 01, 2023 13:43 - 1 hour - 66.2 MBATTENDEES Billi Free, The Lasso, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk about the genesis of Holy Body Roll from last year's Tri Magi album into this one and how the sound has been evolving. Talk about high points for the album as well as plans for the future We also just need to talk about some of the super cool projects The Lasso has done in the past. Intro and Outro song by Andrew. Find the full song here.
State of The Game Vol. 129-The Legacy of Tree w/ Vic Spencer
December 25, 2022 19:00 - 1 hour - 82.6 MBATTENDEES Vic Spencer, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk to Vic Spencer about his best release year! Still Here, Mudslide and Psychological Cheat Sheet 3 and what this year has meant to Vic. Discuss the style, execution and ramifications of Tree. Intro and Outro by Andrew. Full song is here.
Camo Bucket Chats-The Importance of AJ Suede
December 24, 2022 12:46 - 1 hour - 73.6 MBRoger aka CamoBucketHats and I decided to meet up once a month or so and chop it up about a topic. The first one he selected was AJ Suede and I was more than happy to discuss. No matter how often we pick apart Suede's work more points present themselves! This discussion rules.
State of The Game Vol.128-The Best Group That Never Was w Zilla Rocca & Andrew
December 17, 2022 13:08 - 1 hour - 99.2 MBATTENDEES Andrew, Zilla Rocca, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Discuss the new album Don’t Wait For Me to Leave in terms of vision curation and reception. Discuss the journey of the Re-Up Gang and the counter-historical reality if different decisions had been made. Intro and Outro by Andrew. Check the full song here.
State of The Game Vol. 127-Label Legacy: Strange Famous w/ Jesse The Tree & Sage Francis
December 10, 2022 18:10 - 1 hour - 95.9 MBATTENDEES Jesse The Tree, Sage Francis, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk about the origination of Strange Famous Records and what vision characterizes it. Talk about the influence it has had and the stellar 2022 releases. Intro and Outro music from Jesse The Tree's album Pigeon Man.
State of The Game Vol.126-2022 Senior Class w/ The Rap Music Plug
December 04, 2022 01:50 - 1 hour - 82.8 MBATTENDEES Rap Music Plug, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Draft the nominees from the shared google doc Make the case for their inclusion Affirm or deny Make the next pick Continue until the class feels complete Intro and Outro music from Preaching In Havana by Noface x Fatboi Sharif
State of The Game Vol.125-So Much Alicia Keys w/ Dylan Green
November 28, 2022 12:55 - 1 hour - 82.3 MBATTENDEES Dylan Green, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business December 2021 Alicia Keys released 93 minutes of music(KEYS) and then reissued it in July(KEYS II). Why?! Why is no one talking about it? Where does Alicia Keys fit in the history of music? Is this the best Alicia timeline of all the possible timelines? Intro and Outro by Disco Vietnam off House Rabbi 12
State of The Game Vol. 124-Cheat Codes w/ John Morrison & Zilla Rocca
November 22, 2022 00:35 - 1 hour - 72 MBATTENDEES John Morrison, Zilla Rocca, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Discuss our relationship to The Roots and the legacy of Black Thought. What changed that made Thought want to pursue a solo career legacy? Is it working? Should he have done it earlier? Discuss the new album Cheat Codes by Black Thought and Danger Mouse. Intro and outro music by Strategy from the upcoming project Graffiti in Space due for release 01/17/2023
State of The Game Vol. 123-The Year of Small Professor
November 15, 2022 01:18 - 1 hour - 68 MBATTENDEES Small Professor, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins Special guest Torito! AGENDA New Business Talk to Small Professor about the selection process of who he works with. Talk to SMall Professor about his 2022 releases: Hundred Year Darkness w/ AJ Suede, Soiled w/ Torito, Mudslide w/ Vic Spencer, and Sedale Threat by Wrecking Crew (Curly Castro, Zilla Rocca, Small Pro, PremRock). Discuss the SMALL PROFESSOR classic Never At Peace by Career Crooks. Intro and Outro from Prince Jawns
State of The Game Vol. 122-Jay-Z Misconceptions w/ Sean Kantrowitz
November 07, 2022 03:02 - 1 hour - 67.3 MBATTENDEES Sean Kantrowitz, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Talk to Sean about the genesis of the ‘Making Illmatic’ podcast series and the most cantankerous episodes. Discuss Jay-Z misconceptions
State of The Game Vol. 121-Pushing Each Other w/ Spanish Ran & Bloo Azul
October 30, 2022 21:21 - 1 hour - 64.3 MBATTENDEES Spanish Ran, Bloo Azul, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Talk about the coming together and roles of The Church collective and how Bloo and Ran built from that. Discuss Bloo Moon EP and Once In A Bloo in depth. Intro and Outro music from the Bloo Azul x Spanish Ran album-Once In A Bloo.
State of The Game Vol. 120-Her Word Is Bond w/ Psalm One
October 23, 2022 20:47 - 1 hour - 81.9 MBATTENDEES Psalm One, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Talk about the process of writing Her Word Is Bond and its reception. Discuss the goals for upcoming solo album Bigg Perm with Custom Made. Spend some time ruminating on the lessons learned over the course of a very unique journey. Intro and Outro music by klwn cat off his new album Vox in Rama dropping 10/31
State of The Game Vol. 119-Optimization w/ Namir Blade
October 15, 2022 21:30 - 1 hour - 72.4 MBATTENDEES Namir Blade, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Talk about the differences between Metropolis and previous albums? How did those changes optimize the experience of the album? Talk about the courage it takes to pursue optimizing your career whether others understand the direction or not. Discuss the albums of Namir Blade in detail. Intro and Outro music directly from Metropolis. Buy it because it RULES!
State of The Game Vol. 118-The Art of The Debut w/ Hype
October 08, 2022 15:32 - 1 hour - 85.8 MBATTENDEES Hype,Keith Rollins,Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Discuss what goes into the process of making a debut album using Talk Nice To Me as an example. Breakdown Hype’s debut Talk Nice To Me in terms of strengths and what aspects Hype would like to develop in the future. Intro and Outro music by DJ Preservation off 1974
State of The Game Vol.117-Problem Solving w/ Rich Jones
October 01, 2022 18:13 - 1 hour - 103 MBATTENDEES Rich Jones, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk to Rich Jones about his new album w/ Iceberg Theory Smoke Detector. Discuss albums: Drill Music in Zion by Lupe Fiasco, Crunkstar by Duke Deuce, and Forest In The City by UMI. Intro and Outro music directly from Smoke Detector BUY IT!
State of The Game Vol. 116-I Told Bessie w/ E L U C I D
September 23, 2022 22:10 - 1 hour - 82.9 MBATTENDEES Elucid, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Discuss the artistic progression from Save Yourself to Don’t Play It Straight to I Told Bessie. Discuss and analyze I Told Bessie. Intro and Outro music by Brainorchestra from his album Live & Direct
State of The Game Vol. 115-Mid Year Check In w/ Kam from Crate 808
September 17, 2022 21:26 - 2 hours - 124 MBATTENDEES Kam Thandi, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Discuss themes and storylines in 2022 music and how our listening has changed in this era of heightened positive musical content. Go over Dan’s AOTY list as it stands Intro and Outro music by The Expert from the album The Overview Effect w/ Jermiside
State of The Game Vol. 114-King Cobra w/ Brian Ennals & Infinity Knives
September 10, 2022 17:57 - 1 hour - 91 MB*MUST LISTEN* ATTENDEES Brian Ennals, Infinity Knives, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk about the progression from Rhino XXL to King Cobra and how the project goals changed. Discuss King Cobra in depth and all the different forms it takes throughout the 17 song journey. Intro and Outro directly from King Cobra.
State of The Game Vol. 113-The Vision of Lungs--Lonesword
September 04, 2022 12:44 - 1 hour - 73.3 MBATTENDEES Lungs/Lonesword, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Discuss the GRIP collective and balancing group with solo projects. Discuss recent projects: The Birth of Lonesword, Where are The Bugs?!, and Alone on Mars. Intro and Outro beats by NCL-TM from KOFFi
State of The Game vol. 112-2022 Albums You Missed w/ Dash Lewis
August 28, 2022 14:19 - 1 hour - 78.6 MBATTENDEES Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins, Dash Lewis AGENDA New Business Talk about the 2022 return of giant sized popular event rap album (Pusha T, Kendrick) and the show it has cast over more indie rap albums. Talk about ibliss-Raja’s Sun, Leikeli47-Shape Up, and Big Cheeko-Block Barry White. Intro and Outro is from Small Professor's project Church Jawns.
State of The Game Vol. 111-The Quelle Chris Level w/ PremRock
August 21, 2022 16:01 - 1 hour - 75.3 MBATTENDEES PremRock, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk to PremRock about Ockham’s Blazer and the persistent drive to make a new project unlike any you’ve done before. Discuss the progression of Quelle Chris given his AOTY contender DEATHFAME. Intro and Outro music by Small Professor from the album Soiled with Torito.
State of The Game Vol. 110-Auntie Diaries Ripple Effect w/ Fleetwood DeVille
August 14, 2022 17:09 - 1 hour - 40.2 MBATTENDEES Fleetwood DeVille, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk about the act of disclosing real peoples information in a song and the potential ramifications/problems. Discuss specific examples NOTES Romantic version-Drake innovated the disclosure of an ex’s first name “Courtney from Hooters on Peachtree” from Nothing Was The Same. In the purest business sense this acted as an easter egg for the listener that built intrigue. The day a Drake album came out fans hit the internet to ...
State of The Game Vol.109-Must Hear NO LIMIT albums w/ Fleetwood Deville
August 07, 2022 17:10 - 1 hour - 78.5 MBATTENDEES Fleetwood DeVille, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk about the overall legacy of No Limit Records from a business model and artistic perspective. Analyze Young Bleed-My Balls and My Word, Mac-Shell Shocked, Mia X-Unlady Like, and Fiend-There’s One in Every Family. Intro and Outro music by Ohbliv from Mindgarden.
State of The Game Vol. 108-2022 R & B Class of The Future w/ Nate Barksdale
July 29, 2022 15:06 - 1 hour - 106 MBATTENDEES Nate Barksdale, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk about The Colors I’ve Never Seen and how it will influence the next project. Nominate the 2022 R&B Class of The Future! Intro and Outro music by Ohbliv off the album Black Keys Wit Melodies
State of The Game Vol. 107-The Persistent Technician w/ Juga-Naut
July 22, 2022 15:07 - 1 hour - 72.5 MBATTENDEES Juga-Naut, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Discuss Juga-Naut’s development in music and approach to the work. Talk about the difference in approach between self-produced work like Situationist and Bem v. Produced by others work like Smoke Filled Rooms with Giallo Point. Intro and Outro music by Ohbliv from his album Spirit Medicine
State of The Game Vol. 106-Preservation Celebration w/ Mantis The Miasma
July 15, 2022 19:34 - 1 hour - 80.1 MBATTENDEES Mantis The Miasma, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Talk about Mantis journey into hip hop and connection to the scene, the music that molded the Mantis! Discuss the albums Eastern Medicine, Western Illness Aethiopes (with billy woods) and Days of Dr. Yen Lo (with Ka). Analyze each album as well as the overall sound that makes Preservation special.
State of The Game Vol. 105-EP's You Need w Nick Marsh from Focus Hip Hop
July 10, 2022 13:43 - 1 hour - 74.1 MBATTENDEES Nick Marsh, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Discuss Focus Hip Hop and the editorial vision of what projects to focus on and how. Breakdown what is special about Anwar Highsign-Live N*gga Prophesy, Fatboi Sharif x Lonesword-Cyber City Society, Spaceman Jones and The Motherships-Immaculate Conception, and s.al-I Will Guide You Out. Intro and Outro music by Ohbliv off his album MindGarden
State of The Game Vol. 104-Leveling Up with OKnice
July 04, 2022 18:04 - 1 hour - 69.8 MBATTENDEES OKnice, Daniel Olney, Keith Rollins AGENDA New Business Talk to OKnice about the next level of recognition achieved by his new album Have You Tried Being Happy? and how that was achieved. Discuss this week's albums: Koffee-Gifted, Bun-B x Cory Mo-Mo Trill, and Larry June x Jay Worthy x LNDN DRGS-2 P’z In A Pod. Intro and Outro bumper music from Mindgarden by Ohbliv
State of The Game Vol. 103-Mourning Music with Myles Bullen
June 26, 2022 13:22 - 1 hour - 72.1 MBATTENDEES Myles Bullen, Daniel Olney AGENDA New Business Talk about the process of creating Mourning Travels and the events that went into it. Discuss sequencing, guests, and overall tone of the album. What the experience is supposed to give the listener. Intro and Outro by Ohbliv from the Rugged Tranquility series here.
FME Attention Undivided-MIGHTYCANNONS (MIGHTYHEALTHY x ACE CANNONS)
June 24, 2022 15:24 - 1 hour - 43.9 MBDan O sits down with one of the hottest underground producers, MIGHTYHEALTHY, and finds out his first beat is on this new album MIGHTYCANNONS with ACE CANNONS. This album is so loud and so fun it deserves the depth and joy in this conversation. Enjoy and buy a sticker pack for the little dun's.
State of The Game Vol. 102-Charting Course with Stik Figa
June 20, 2022 02:24 - 1 hour - 90.7 MBATTENDEES Stik Figa, Keith Rollins, Daniel Olney New Business Talk to Stik Figa about the necessary elements of altering direction over the course of a long career and how it changes over time. Talk specifically about moving from his 2021 album Joyland to 2022’s Heresy. Intro and outro bumper music by Ohbliv off his album Ohblique