When discussing the pioneering figures in Hip-Hop, there is perhaps no artist who exemplifies longevity more than Masta Ace. For over thirty years, Masta Ace has released a steady stream of solo albums and collaboration projects that have solidified his status as one of the most talented and consistent artists in the genre. With well over a dozen releases to his name, perhaps no album in his discography is more well-known and revered than his 1995 release Sittin’ On Chrome. Released in the midst of the East Coast/West Coast rivalry, Sittin’ On Chrome was highly influential in the West Coast Hip-Hop scene of the mid-'90s. Influencing everything from music, fashion trends, to celebrating car culture, popular on the West Coast as well. The album is notable for performing particularly well in California, especially with Chicano/Mexican-American communities in L.A. and all throughout the Southwest. The album also spawned three popular singles: 'Sittin’ On Chrome’, ‘The I.N.C. Ride’, and ‘Born to Roll’, and to date, the album remains Masta Ace’s most commercially successful album. To celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary, we had the chance to talk with Masta Ace and discuss how Masta Ace came to be signed to Delicious Vinyl out in L.A., the origins of Masta Ace Incorporated, the recording process of Sittin’ On Chrome’, and why the project was the last for Masta Ace Incorporated. As well as Ace’s decision to go independent following the album’s release, and his reflections on his highest charting album and its legacy thirty years later.

Returning to Step Off! Radio, we are joined again Calmplx and Ina of Hip-Hop duo Indigenous Cats, who returned to the show to discuss the release of their latest album Indigenious State of Mind. Nearly six years after the release of their mixtape Traveling Souls Project, Plx and Ina dive into the recording process of their most intimate and personal project yet. During our talk on the show, we catch up with Calmplx and Ina to talk about the album, the process of recording with new producers, challenges of making a cohesive album together, and the importance of making music that brings messages of Indigenous empowerment and decolonization in our current era. Likewise, we also discuss how the project pushed Calmplx and Ina to step into new waters concept-wise, behind-the-scenes accounts discussing the album’s long recording process, as well as some exciting future plans for their music in 2025 and beyond. With that said, we here at Step Off! Radio hope that you all enjoy our conversation with Calmplx and Ina of Indigenous Cats.

Returning to Step Off! Radio, we are joined again by none other than emcee Jag Arreola of Kozmik Force who returns to the show to discuss his latest album ‘Unmasked’. More than five years after the release of his debut solo album 'Maria's Seed', Jag is back with his intimate and personal project yet to date. During our talk on the show we catch up with Jag to talk about the album, his experience as a member of the Justice 8, the challenges of losing his job as a middle school history teacher following his arrest, and making music while fighting the charges that were brought against him. Likewise, we also discuss how the project pushed him to step into new waters concept-wise, behind-the-scenes accounts discussing the album’s long recording process, as well as what the future holds for his music in 2025 and beyond. With that said, we here at Step Off! Radio hope that you all enjoy our conversation with Jag Arreola.

More than twenty-five years ago Brother Ali stepped on the music scene in the early 2000s as a fresh-faced emcee. As a noted community activist and an early member of Atmosphere’s Rhymesayers Entertainment hip-hop collective, the acclaimed Minneapolis-based independent record label, Brother Ali quickly gained a reputation as one of hip-hop’s most outspoken and profoundly authentic artists for his biting critiques of the U.S. government, white supremacy, and treatment of the working class. Along with his revolutionary politics, Brother Ali’s albinism and legal blindness have made him one of the genre’s most unique, distinguishable, and enduring emcees. Over the years the Minneapolis-based activist and rapper has a released string of over a dozen critically acclaimed studio albums and mixtapes which have garnered him a reputation for incorporating complex lyricism, honesty, and unapologetic humanity into his music. Much like his other musical contemporaries such as Immortal Technique, an outspoken social justice message is present throughout much of Brother Ali's music. Discussing themes such as racial inequality, slavery, and critiquing the U.S. government has often put him at odds with the greater music industry for the past twenty years. Most recently his vocal support for Palestine and speaking out against genocide in Gaza has affected his career greatly; resulting in him being blackballed by the music industry for over a year. In today’s episode, Brother Ali joins Step Off! Radio to discuss his new album 'Satisfied Soul' (with long-time collaborator producer Ant of Atmosphere). As well as his early life growing up with albinism, taking shahadah at 15, the origins of his music career, and his thoughts on a litany of social issues taking place both here in the U.S. domestically and abroad. So with that said, we are proud to present to you our conversation with Brother Ali.

Since October 7th, 2023, the world has borne witness to some of the most horrific images broadcast from Gaza, in what is perhaps the first genocide to be broadcast live across social media. Over the past thirteen months, we have all seen some of the most vile videos and imagery that have brought the brutality of Israeli apartheid in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Likewise, we have also seen a cascade of solidarity with the Palestinian people from across the globe on a level never seen before. At the forefront of this movement has been the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), a transnational, independent, grassroots movement of young Palestinians in Palestine and in exile worldwide as a result of the ongoing Zionist colonization and occupation. In today's episode, we’re joined by Subrein Damanhoury, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement’s San Diego chapter who stopped by the show to discuss her experiences as a member and the movement's mission of obtaining justice and liberation which has motivated millions of young people across the diaspora to take an active role in the national struggle for the liberation of occupied Palestine. During our interview with Subrein, we were able to discuss PYM San Diego’s involvement with the student-led Gaza solidarity encampment at UCSD last Spring, as well as the ‘Mask Off Maersk’ campaign. The Palestinian Youth Movement’s campaign to get Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping and logistics companies, to end shipping military cargo that facilitates Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. We also discussed how being in San Diego geographically puts the chapter in a very unique position to directly address both militarism and arms manufacturing. The region is home to the nation’s largest concentration of military personnel (over  111,000 active-duty service people stationed within the city). It is also home to a litany of manufacturers such as Northrop Grumman and the aforementioned Maersk, which are contracted out by the U.S. military to both produce and ship weaponry across the globe to places like Gaza. All of this and so much more are ahead, so with that said, we are proud to present our conversation with Subrein Damanhoury of the San Diego Palestinian Youth Movement.

For the past several years, rapper A.B. Raps has been one of the most unique up-and-coming emcees in the Underground Hip-Hop scene of Houston, Texas. In a scene more commonly associated with artists such as the Geto Boys, UGK, and DJ Screw among others, A.B. Raps has made a name for himself incorporating witty lyrics and introspective themes into his music. Pulling influence from legendary Hip-Hop artists such as Eminem, Nas, and artists hailing from his native Texas. Likewise, A.B. Raps has worked with artists such as Chop the Father, NVY JONEZ LKR, D-Rell, and Riverside-based producer Accosta the Man. A.B.'s attention to nuance and detail is not illustrated through his appreciation for classic Boom Bap production, but his ability to craft heartfelt songs that resonate with listeners. In today’s episode, A.B. joins Step Off! Radio to discuss the inspirations behind his music, growing up in Houston, Texas. As well as his path to becoming an emcee. Likewise, we also got to discuss his brand-new album 'Leatherfaces'. A collaborative album exclusively produced by Accosta the Man. As well as discuss what the future holds for his music. So with that said, we are proud to present to you our conversation with A.B. Raps.

For the past several years, D-Rell has been one of the most versatile up-and-coming emcees in New York's fabled underground Hip-Hop scene. D-Rell is no stranger to the culture and has spent the better part of the last eighteen years fine-tuning his craft. His love and appreciation for the art make him one of the most versatile, lyrically gifted emcees both on the East and the West Coast. With a vintage backpack rap style that recalls the sounds of Hip-Hop's Golden Era which we all love It comes as no surprise that D-Rell has worked with artists such as NVY JONEZ LKR, Chop the Father, and has released a string of mixtapes produced by Riverside-based producer Accosta the Man. D-Rell's attention to nuance and detail has only illustrated his appreciation for classic Boom Bap production and proof that the sound's popularity extends well outside of the boundaries of his native New York City and the East Coast. In today’s episode, D-Rell joins Step Off! Radio to discuss the inspirations behind his music, growing up as a child in Harlem, New York in the 90's and early 2000s. As well as his path to becoming an emcee. Likewise, we also got to discuss upcoming projects and chat with longtime collaborators and friends of the show NVY JONEZ LKR and Accosta the Man. As well as discuss what the future holds for his music. So with that said, we are proud to present to you our conversation with D-Rell.

Like clockwork, with every election cycle immigration becomes a lightning rod for politicians on both sides of the aisle to take advantage of and exploit. Beyond the empty often vitriolic rhetoric, seldom are the nuances, intricacies, and perhaps most importantly the shortcomings of the nation's immigration ever system truly explored in-depth by our public leaders and officials. However, for decades artists have taken to a plethora of mediums to explore not just the effects of the U.S. immigration system, but what it means to be an immigrant in the U.S.. Art is not only a reflection of our society. It is also a means by which we air our frustrations, channel our grief, and collectively document the general sentiment that is often held at a given time. In our latest episode, we are joined by Dr. Lizbeth De La Cruz Santana, an assistant professor of Chicano Studies in the Department of Black and Latino Studies at Baruch College in New York City. Dr. De La Cruz Santana is also the director of both the Playas De Tiajuana and the El Paso del Norte Mural Projects, as well as a researcher for the Humanizing Deportation project. A community-based digital storytelling project and the world’s most robust public qualitative archive that documents the human consequences of contemporary migration and border control in the U.S. and Mexico. Dr. De La Cruz Santana joins us on Step Off! Radio to not only share her work as an academic but, also as someone who regularly spends her time on the ground at the border to work with disaffected communities. All too often the conversation around immigration is told by people who don’t come from immigrant backgrounds, who are not from border communities, and people who simply do not understand the complexities and nuances of what is the busiest and most consequential border crossing on the entire planet. So here to discuss that and so much more we are proud to present to you our conversation with Dr. Lizbeth De La Cruz Santana.

There is perhaps no artist in Hip-Hop's Underground scene more highly touted and revered than Felipe Coronel, better known by the stage name Immortal Technique. As one of the most prolific, self-made independent artists, for the past twenty-plus years Immortal Technique has explicitly used his music as a vehicle for politics. It goes without saying most of Technique's music focuses on issues pertaining to U.S. and global politics. His views expressed in his lyrics largely share commentary on issues such as class struggle, socialism, poverty, religion, government, imperialism, and institutional racism. Over the years the Peruvian-born, Harlem-raised activist and rapper has a released string of three critically acclaimed studio albums and a mixtape which have garnered him a reputation for incorporating complex lyricism, unfeigned humanitarianism, and highly intellectual historical analysis within his music. Likewise, Immortal Technique not only talks the talk but backs his lyrics with concrete action. Immortal Technique's humanitarianism has reached far and wide – from mentoring youth in prison to building an orphanage in Afghanistan funded by his third album, The 3rd World, to helping to rebuild Haiti after 2010’s devastating earthquake and delivering life-saving supplies for migrants traveling in the treacherous deserts of the U.S.-Mexico border, Technique's life's work both inside and outside of the recording booth have truly been with the people. Likewise, during the height of the pandemic in 2020, he started his own charity, The Rebel Army Runs to take care of the elders in his community of Harlem NY, and many others around the U.S.  In today’s episode, Immortal Technique joins Step Off! Radio to discuss Joe Biden and Democrat's Democrats’ hard-right turn on immigration, the ongoing genocide in Gaza, student solidarity encampments that have cropped up in universities throughout the country, and the creeping rise of far-right authoritarianism and fascism in the United States. So with that said, we are proud to present to you our conversation with Immortal Technique.

In our latest installment of Step Off! Radio, Stacey Uy of the Radical History Club returns to discuss her role as the founder, researcher, writer, and illustrator of the series. And discuss its humble origins, as well as what drove her to spotlight understudied historical legacies. We also discuss the importance of curating a curriculum for students that not only challenges false narratives but centers communities that have traditionally been marginalized and ignored in U.S. history books. Lastly, we also discuss how her research methodology has changed since first starting the series in 2019, and what the future hold for The Radical History Club.