PLAY OFF 7: People Under The Stairs vs J-Live

Hip Hop World Cup

In our first episode of 2024, we take a trip back to the early noughties for a battle of the backpack rap classics!

We put ‘Question in the Form of an Answer’ by People Under The Stairs (2000) up against J-Live’s debut album ‘The Best Part’ (2001) to decide which takes home the HHWC trophy.

Widely regarded as two of the new millennium’s best hip-hop LPs, they helped usher in a new age of beat-making and rhyme-saying, bringing a fresh forward-thinking approach to the familiar tropes and traditions of hip-hop’s golden age.

It’s a departure from our usual early-to-mid-90s milieu but these two albums are heavily influenced by (and some even recorded during) hip-hop’s golden age so we figured they were perfect candidates for the Hip Hop World Cup arena.

But here’s The Best Part – we are now officially the only hip-hop podcast to be monitored by VAR technology, which should ensure that none of our opinions are ‘clear and obvious errors’ (in theory anyway).

So sit back and strap in – this is one that PUTS and J-Live fans won’t want to miss. About HIP HOP WORLD CUP: THE PLAY OFFS 

It's the podcast that pits golden-age rap albums against each other in a fight for sonic supremacy!

In each episode, die-hard hip-hop heads Danny, James and Steve rate and debate two albums from rap music’s golden era (’88-‘96) to decide which one is best.

Using the patented TruSkore™ system, tracks are assigned numerical values – ‘ratings’ if you will – which the trio will use as a guide.

After the hosts vote for their favourite album, the winning LP claims the coveted Hip Hop World Cup tie and blazer badge combination pack and a trophy made of solid plastic.

This podcast is brought to you by TruSkore™, the world’s number one music evaluation system.

ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE NOW ON YOUR PODCAST APP OF CHOICE:

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80YWZiOWIwMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hip-hop-world-cup/id1589610632

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6aBAonIjzVh1zr27q733yK

Stitcher: https://stitcher.com/podcast/hip-hop-world-cup

Anchor: https://anchor.fm/daniel-phillips45

Please rate and review Hip-Hop World Cup on Apple or your podcast app of choice, which will help raise our visibility and give the podcast ‘mass appeal’.

Social media

Hit us up on social media to share your thoughts on the episode or talk 90s hip-hop in general:

Instagram and Twitter: @hiphopworldcup

Individual handles

Danny:

X: @dannyphillips2 / Instagram: @dannyphillips16

James:

X: @wardner_

Beats and stings by Danny Phillips: https://soundcloud.com/dannyphillips1978