Critical Praise:
WEBBY AWARD WINNER 2025 – EXPERIMENTAL INNOVATION
WEBBY AWARD WINNER 2023 – BEST MUSIC PODCAST
The Announcement:
Guided by host Donwill‘s wide-ranging curiosity and encyclopedic knowledge of hip-hop, the 2x Webby Award-winning podcast The Almanac of Rap illuminates unseen corners of the genre’s history. This week’s episode of The Almanac of Rap features an interview with one of Southern hip-hop’s unsung heroes: Mr. DJ, the Dungeon Family veteran and third member of Earthtone III, alongside Andre 3000 and Big Boi.
A loquacious storyteller with an excellent southern drawl, Mr. DJ is a font of fascinating stories, offering behind-the-scenes tidbits about some of the most beloved music of the past 30 years. A cousin of Rico Wade, Mr. DJ was a member of the Dungeon Family since the beginning, starting his career as a world-class scratch DJ before spending more time in the Dungeon and learning how to chop samples and produce. Donwill and Mr. DJ dive deep into Mr. DJ’s career, revealing the rave-y origins of “B.O.B.,” detailing the songwriting process behind OutKast classics like “Rosa Parks” (Big Boi provided the hooks, Mr. DJ provided the samples, Andre 3000 was the gear nerd who messed with vintage drum machines and brought in electronic sounds) and other Southern staples like Goodie Mob’s “Black Ice.” Beyond his work with OutKast and Goodie Mob, Mr. DJ is full of stories about Slimm Calhoun, who was an assistant for Dungeon Family before making his own music, and regales Donwill with stories about Future from his Meathead days, back when he used to sleep on the floor of the Dungeon. Towards the end of the episode, Donwill plays Mr. DJ some “OutKast Type Beats” for him to judge, evincing mostly positive reactions from the man himself, and discusses Mr. DJ upcoming debut solo album.
The eighth episode of The Almaanc of Rap’s Season 4 continues what Donwill calls “The Almanac of Rap’s most ambitious undertaking ever.” The podcast plans to drop a new episode every week for a whole year, alternating between audio/video and audio-only podcasts. A master of engaging conversation, Donwill uses his experience as a rapper (he is part of the group Tanya Morgan), and lifelong love of music to dig into under-explored nooks and crannies, revealing a different side of his illustrious guests. The veteran rapper keeps things fresh each week with recurring segments, including hot take-centric “The Ballistics” and “The Big Playback,” in which Donwill and his guest give flowers to an under-heralded or underrated gem.
The Season 4 Premiere, featuring an interview with Cupid, the Line Dance King, reached the Top 10 of Apple Music’s Top Shows (Music) chart. Recent guests include Havoc of Mobb Deep, Masta Ace Bun B, 9th Wonder & Reuben Vincent, and Seattle producer Jake One. As it continues, Season 4 promises an illustrious list of influential guests, including Raekwon, Jharrel Jerome, LaRussell, and more.
Listen to the episode HERE, or wherever you get your podcasts
Watch the teaser for The Almanac of Rap Season 4 HERE
The Almanac of Rap wouldn’t exist but for the passion and curiosity of host Donwill. Born in Cincinnati before re-locating to Brooklyn, Donwill entered the music industry as one-third of hip-hop group Tanya Morgan, with his creative partners Von Pea and Ilyas. The group is best known for the 2009 album Brooklynati, now hailed as an underground classic, but performing music is only part of Donwill’s story. He is a prolific DJ, holding court at many of Brooklyn’s hottest nightlife establishments and touring as the DJ for comedian Michelle Buteau. His music production work has earned him credits on Emmy-winning programs like Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and produced theme music for award-winning podcasts like Slow Burn (Slate), Another Round (Buzzfeed), and #Adulting (WNYC).
Donwill brings that unique experience, curiosity, and dedication to his craft to each episode of The Almanac Of Rap. Don’t miss the rest of Season 4, which promises to be one of the most wide-ranging and entertaining seasons of the award-winning podcast to date.
Credit: Kaushik Kalidindi for Okayplayer
Please contact Michelle or Kevin for more info.
The Background:
About the Almanac of Rap:
The Almanac of Rap is a weekly show hosted by Donwill that examines the origins of specific trends in hip hop and their impact over time and it’s way more fun than that description makes it sound. Each week, Donwill asks a question, presents a theory, and finds a guest to come to some sort of consensus about it. Simply put, it’s a show about rap by a rapper who loves rap music.
About Donwill:
Pulling from the crates of the blog era and the extremely online, Donwill is a certified rap encyclopedia — err, rather, a rap almanac. So then, it’s only right he’s the host of Almanac of Rap, a Webby Award-winning Okayplayer-produced series that combines the smartest, If You Know You Know™ rap conversations with deep-in-the-weeds fandom and sharp satirical humor. It’s all curated by Donwill, a former blogger who’s traded book recommendations with Lupe Fiasco and rapped with Drake as a member of the duo Tanya Morgan. If he’s not the most interesting rapper alive, he could do a hell of an interview with them. In an age of less-than-ethical streamers and scandal-chasing “interviewers,” Donwill employs a workmanlike approach to the art of journalism, taking at least a week to research each episode of his show. It’s appreciation as much as attention to craft. It’s also why his podcast stands as a show by and for the culture. And that’s probably because it is the culture. More specifically speaking, Donwill is the culture. Having written for The Village Voice as a reporter, traded bars with Drake, and interviewed rap titans like Lupe Fiasco, Donwill is the coach, the player, and the opponent — the journalist and the source. In other words, he’s the rapper-turned-podcaster we deserve.
Links:
official site | instagram | twitter | mixcloud
Connect with Donwill at Donwill.Me
Credit: Kaushik Kalidindi for Okayplayer