We don’t have many guests on The NY Hip Hop Report. It’s talk radio. We exist to fill in a different vibe. There are plenty of shows, great shows, that have guests on all the time, mainly online, due to the non-indie-friendly atmosphere of commercial radio, with the exception of some college and community stations. That being said, we do bring on a few, and when it comes to artists, you really need to be someone that we feel is bringing something different to the table. Soul Khan does this for us, for many reasons.

When we talk on this show, one of the recurring topics is how much people pine for a style of hip hop music that they claim doesn’t exist anymore. We often tell them how wrong they are, and folks like Soul Khan demonstrate this rather well. In our opinion, he personifies many of the great struggles that made rap such an important avenue for expression… That fight against prejudices and stereotypes, racially, religiously, stylistically and in his case, that battle rappers can’t make good songs…

People pine for that old “boom bap” style. Thanks to SK’s great ear and sonic support from his DJ Premier-co-signed crew the Brown Bag AllStars, Soul Khan delivers this. Hip Hop once had soul? Soul Khan delivers, and adds vocalists like Akie Bermiss to his joints which easily multiples the soul factor. Miss that focus on lyricism? Soul Khan sharpened his lyrical sword slaughtering cats on the battle scene, and brings that aggression, wit and humor to his tracks, as well as a few lines of socio-political analysis worthy of discussion alongside Melissa Harris-Perry. Want someone keeping it real? Soul Khan’s honesty, even vulnerability, is often on display. This is a guy who can embarrass you, while teaching you something, as you hurt your neck nodding to the tracks while swaying back and forth like Stevie to the acompanying soul, all with one of the more distinctive voices in hip hop today.

With several dope EPs under his belt, and his newest one, Psalm, dropping this week, these reasons and more are why we welcomed Soul Khan to tonight’s episode of The NY Hip Hop Report.

Aside from the interview with Soul Khan, we spoke with Baldi from Tru Statement Entertainment, checking in to preview the upcoming Props to Hip Hop Battle of The Boroughs show taking place on December 15, at Sullivan Hall.

The NY Hip Hop Report with Manny Faces airs Sunday nights from 10p-11p on the BlogTalkRadio network. Archives are available here on NYHipHopReport.com, and through a free subscription on iTunes. 

Birthplace Magazine

New York-Area Hip Hop Events

Return of The Beadmasters

The Company Man Show

The Combat Jack Show

This Culture Never Dies w/DJ Dharmic X

The Underground Railroad

Soul Khan

Brown Bag AllStars 

Grindtime

Soul Khan vs. QP [YouTube]

Akie Bermiss

2012 A3C Hip Hop Festival Recap (Story, Photos, Audio)

All That! Hip Hop Poetry & Jazz / Words Showcase & Open mic - 19th Anniversary

End of The Weak

Freestyle Mondays

Jesse Abraham

Props to Hip Hop: Battle of The Boroughs

Hip Hop Karaoke [NYC] [NJ]

South by South Bronx

NY Hip Hop: 2012 Names to Know

Soul Khan EP Release Party [Facebook Event Page]