‘Sometimes, one of us wants to go on an almighty rant and that is where the energy is,’ Yemi Abiade explains, as his brother Peter plus Mohammed Yusuf immediately jump in to decide which of the three hosts likes to spout off the most. This infectious camaraderie sets Rhymes Like Dimes apart from many other music podcasts; not only do they all know their stuff about the entire genre of hip hop, but there’s no apparent fear about tearing off on a tangent when the moment calls for it. 

The podcast broadly selects two or three topics for its bi-weekly episodes, but the free-wheeling, vibrant nature of their conversations is where the magic lies. Their journey to put the podcast together was not a short one, and despite each episode’s laidback and fluid nature, a lot of preparation goes into deciding how it should look and sound.

^{(From left) Peter Abiade, Yemi Abiade, Mohammed Yusuf}

When Yusuf and Yemi were training to become radio DJs, all three immediately connected over their love (and disagreements) about hip hop. However, it took several years of chat before they finally decided to record anything. Initially looking at a general podcast about music, the trio decided that narrowing it down to hip hop would not only provide focus, but also form a perfect space where each of them could share equal knowledge and passion. They spent around nine months practising the format before releasing their first episode in 2019. All three cite Joe Budden’s podcast as a major influence, with a desire to create a voice for a new generation of hip hop heads, this time coming from the UK.

‘It can be about whatever we want,’ insists Yemi. ‘We can wake up one day and want to tell younger people about how great Nas was in ‘94 or Das EFX in ‘92. Or someday we want to show someone like Jordy some love and shine the light on young UK artists.’ Since the pandemic, Rhymes Like Dimes has grown and the team now include visuals at their YouTube link, along with album reviews and special guests (one thing they do agree on is that Little Simz would be their dream guest). Throughout the interview, the hosts continually state their aim to be inclusive, and to platform new ideas and perspectives. As Yemi puts it: ‘it’s all inclusive, as is rap, and we see ourselves as an extension of that.’

Episodes available at linktr.ee/rhymesdimespod.