The Kids Are Listening: Trap, Drake vs Kendrick, and Battle Rap

K-Ski and Kavawon are back after a month, and this one covers a lot of ground before the guests even arrive — Team USA snubs, the Biden-Kamala switch, Netanyahu at Congress, and a pointed run at double standards and who gets to stay quiet. Then Nakio, on his upcoming project and the case for engineering yourself. He builds beats from guitar chords before drums, writes with intention, and makes the argument that gives this episode its title: Vancouver has no sonic stamp, and blooming at home is harder than leaving. The state-of-hip-hop stretch — trap glorification, what kids actually consume, Drake vs Kendrick as culture versus corporate — is the strongest part of the episode. Red Shirt Mike arrives at 50:09 with the card: Spud vs Creative, the rookie battles, and why Set the Bar deliberately has no title belt. Coleslaw closes it out. The Rupert Common mirror match, beating AA Ron with the ball cap line, slam poetry to her first battle at the Peacock Lounge, the Oakland work ethic, and what it takes to take up space as a woman in battle rap. Recorded at B-Side Radio, Vancouver BC. 0:00 Intro: back after a month 2:29 Why artists release for themselves 3:53 Hardbody Dreams and Method Man/Redman 7:06 KRS-One and learning from hip-hop 8:05 Team USA snubs: Jaylen Brown 9:56 The Biden-Kamala switch 12:34 Netanyahu, Brittney Griner, hypocrisy 14:41 Calling out double standards 16:39 Show business: sponsorships and plans 18:10 Preseason football and Troy Vincent 19:29 Guest: Nakio on self-engineering 24:17 Capturing the sound of Vancouver 27:16 Nakio's producers and collaborators 28:54 Guitar chords before drums 30:23 Trap glorification and what kids hear 32:20 Drake vs Kendrick: culture vs corporate 35:48 Why big artists stay quiet 38:52 Vancouver's missing sonic stamp 43:43 School, nutrition, knowledge of self 46:32 Skill Lab Vancouver and coaching kids 48:58 Nakio's shout-outs and release plug 50:09 Red Shirt Mike enters: free Sudan 52:08 Spud vs Creative: comeback stories 56:24 Time limits and Rocky Nelson vs Mike 1:00:19 Fuller, AA Ron, and Pauly Freeze 1:03:41 Rookie battles: Nevaeh and Vito 1:09:49 Why Set the Bar has no title belt 1:16:49 Guest: Coleslaw on the mirror match 1:21:25 Beating AA Ron: the ball cap line 1:23:36 Slam poetry to Coleslaw's first battle 1:25:05 The grind and the Oakland work ethic 1:27:09 Taking up space as a woman 1:29:13 The Billy Shakes storybook 1:33:05 Dream opponents and women in the scene 1:35:53 Comedy, ukulele, and swim lessons 1:37:04 Coleslaw's shout-outs and sign-off