Episode 332-World Ultimate Retrospective

Let’s fire up the wayback machine and head to 1995, a simpler time, no doubt. Back when commuting by bus, trying to meet girls, and rapping about rapping were all viable rap song topics. Hell, this was still an era when rap groups were still a thing. Enter The Nonce (stop giggling, UK heads): the Project Blowed–affiliated duo of Yousef Afloat and Nouka Basetype, who dropped their underrated debut World Ultimate on Rick Rubin’s American Recordings in the year of our lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five. Their breakout track “Mixtapes” became an underground classic, while the laid-back single “Bus Stops” got some well-deserved shine in the final moments before hip-hop’s harder elements took over. Arriving at the tail end of rap’s second (or maybe third) golden era, World Ultimate fused the jazzy, head-nodding vibes of the Native Tongues with the sharp, freestyle freneticism of the L.A.’s Project Blowed scene. On this week’s episode, the bros take a deep dive into World Ultimate to see how it holds up three decades later. Tune in, turn up, and decide for yourself if their takes are on point.