Although we've had several requests over the years to do an episode about mental health topics, we've always been hesitant to cover it since it's such an expansive topic. That changes this week as we invite Dr Alex MacNeil onto the show. Aside from being a hip-hop head and a fan of the podcast, Alex is a practicing clinical psychologist from Boston, MA. In this episode, Alex and Blueprint break down several topics related to mental health and creativity. From performance anxiety, to success anxiety, and everything in between, this is not the episode to miss as the doctor gives out specific steps for addressing the pains that artists and creatives find themselves in. Let's go!

249: Mental Health and Creativity with Dr Alex MacNeil

Having a special talent can be a great blessing, but it can also cause stress if a person doesn't have any outlet for their talents.  This often results in them thinking they need to blend into society.  In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic break down what many artists have in common with the new Obi-Wan Kenobi mini-series and how they can turn things around.

285: The Force is With You

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Kraftwerk drummer surprised many stating that the same technology that made the group so popular ruined their creativity.  With technology playing a larger role in music than ever, we decided to break down what artists can do to stop computers from ruining the beauty of music.

290: The Problem with Computers And Music

With the recent passing of Dave (aka Trugoy) and the streaming release of De La Soul's catalog to streaming services, the group's name has been abuzz for the several weeks.  Since music fans are finally able to listen to their catalog again, we thought it would be a great time to discuss what makes De La Soul so great.  In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic breakdown the traits that made De La Soul a generational talent.

306: The Genius of De La Soul

Earlier this month, Redman and Method Man made news by saying this would be their last time playing the Hot 97 Summer fest because they felt the generation gap was too wide.  While some younger fans were offended by their comments, other older hip-hop fans understood what they meant.  In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic break down what went wrong and why it's little more complicated than it seems.

334: Hip-Hop's Generational Divide

Although make money from your art is one of the best feelings in the world, along the way you will realize that you have probably missed out on just as much as you have made for various reasons.  In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic break down the top reasons artists miss out money and give the solutions for each.

339: How Artists Miss Out On Money


A recent study that was released that examined the suicide rates among all professions, and found that people working in the music industry had some of the highest rates.  In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic break down the report and take a deep dive into the issue of mental health in the music industry.

348: Mental Health in the Music Industry

One of the toughest traits to cultivate in life is grit, which according to author Angela Duckworth is the combination of passion and perseverance.  As artists who have been releasing music for over twenty years, Blueprint and Illogic break down how having enough grit to stay in the game helped them with their recent endeavors.

349: The Importance of Grit

Last week an djbooth.com posted an interview with hip-hop group Little Brother where rapper Big Pooh had a lot of negative things to say about the current state of touring.  In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic break down their issues and debate whether they're legitimate or not.

350: Is Little Brother Right About Touring?

Most people who have attended concerts in the last couple of years have noticed that the prices have increased.  In this episode, we break down a study by Berklee Music Business Journal that breaks down exactly why ticket prices have increased so much and the answers may surprise you.

351: The Decreasing Affordability of Live Music

After realizing that they have both fallen off their fitness routines, Blueprint and Illogic decide it's time to get back in shape.   In this episode, they issue their annual 90-Days of Discipline challenge and invite their listeners to participate.

352: 90 Days of Discipline Challenge

In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic break down their history and experience with DJing and how much their time behind the turntables has helped them become better artists. 

354: How Learning to DJ Can Make You a Better Artist

Many artists find the music industry to be one of the most annoying places to work due to the way people inside of it conduct business.  While many of their complaints are valid, some of these problems are created because they don't know how the music industry works.  In this episode, Blueprint and Illogic break down the unspoken rules that have to be understood if you want to have any success  in the music industry.

355: Unspoken Rules of the Music Industry

In this episode, Blueprint does a complete breakdown of his 50-city Vessel tour that he just wrapped up and answers the questions of Illogic as well as those submitted by listeners of the show.

356: The Vessel Tour Recap

Last week, news surfaced that the largest streaming platform Spotify had just purchased whosampled.com, a website famous for exposing uncleared samples.  In this week's episode, Blueprint does a deep dive into what this move could mean for hip-hop artists moving forward.

357: What Spotify Buying Whosampled Means for Hip-Hop Artists

After realizing how drastically the music industry has transformed over the last ten years, Blueprint and co-host Illogic decide to change up the format and create a top ten list of these fascinating changes (many of which have gone almost unnoticed).  The result is an informative and entertaining look at not only the past but the future of this thing called hip-hop. Enjoy! 

11: Top Ten Music Industry Changes of Last Ten Years

We've all seen what can happen when a rapper's attempt at keeping it REAL goes wrong, but this week we've seen a new phenomenon in hip-hop--when keeping it FAKE goes wrong!  This week the most infamous hip-hop podcast goes into depth about how It seems to be getting more and more difficult to fake the funk these days.  Blueprint and co-host Illogic dive in deep on this one. 

17: When Keeping it Fake Goes Wrong

As Blueprint prepares to release his upcoming Vigilante Genesis on May 27th, we thought it might be a good idea to change things up and have him break down exactly what goes into promoting and releasing music independently in 2016.  Things have changed dramatically over the last 10 years and this interview and conversation should hopefully act as a big help to fans seeking to understand the industry and artists seeking to release their own music independently. Illogic interviews Blueprint in this one and lots of jewels are dropped.

23: How to Release Music Independently in 2016

For better or worse, social media has forever changed the world that we live in.  In fact, having a social media presence on at least one of the popular platforms has become almost a requirement for any business, artists, or regular Joe.  The positive side is that it gives us more access to people and information than ever, but the negative side is that too much(or the wrong kinds) of it can make you want to delete your profile!  In this episode, the most infamous hip-hop podcast dives deep into the topic of Social Media Burnout, and tells you how to avoid it.  

32: How to Avoid Social Media Burnout

It almost goes without saying that the internet has created an environment where artists are blowing up faster than ever. This is seen as a positive thing, but the downside is that we now have more frustrated artists publicly retiring than ever before.  And while they may use the word retire to describe their departure from the game, we wonder if many of them are actually quitting.  In this episode, the most infamous podcast on planet earth discusses the difference between retiring and quitting, and tries to put an end to all the confusion.

46: The Difference Between Retiring and Quitting

Even though recording an hour-long podcast every week for a year takes a lot of discipline, the classic moments its created has made it all worth it.  This week, the most infamous podcast, goes back through the vaults of the last year and pulls out our favorite moments of the past year.  If this episode doesn't bring a smile to your face, we don't know what will.  Let's go!

49: The Best of 2016

This past weekend, Remy Ma released an intense diss record aimed at Nicki Minaj. The seven-minute track took over the internet and has gotten almost 3 million plays in just two days on Soundcloud alone. Although it's still early, nobody has heard a peep from Nicki Minaj and it appears she wont respond. With Remy Ma's track getting that much attention, it's hard to not call this a L for Nicki Minaj. This week we break down why Nicki Minaj is wearing this loss and how it could have been avoided.

Link to Remy Ma's Track: https://soundcloud.com/remymamusic/remy-ma-shether

56: How to Lose a Rap Battle

What separates people who are able to gain and maintain the attention of the public from those who cannot?  Is it technical skill? Is it great publicity?  Is it connections? Those are all important, but if there's one quality that successful creative people have, it's their ability to tell their story.  In this episode, we do a case study on a masterful use of story-telling from the music industry that many people may not have noticed, to show why it's so important that artists be able to tell their story.  Let's go!

75: The Importance of Telling Your Story

During the course of our long careers, we've had many successful releases where everything went down as planned, but also some not so great releases where mistakes hurt our chances of success.  In this episode we break down the biggest mistakes we've made in releasing our art and the lessons we've learned along the way. Shout out to our guy Ill Poetic for the topic suggestion this week.

89: Our Biggest Marketing Misses

Every couple of months, the hip-hop press writes another story about a conflict between a veteran rapper and a new rapper, furthering their narrative that there is some sort of generational war going on inside hip-hop.  Truth, however, is much different. There isn't generational war going on in hip-hop--there's a war going between dope artists and wack artists, which has been around since the beginning of hip-hop.  In this episode, we dive into this and explain the real reasons why people really hate on these new rappers.  Lets go!

91: Why We Hate New Rappers

Due to previous conversations on this podcast, the topic of real estate has been one of the most requested topics in the history of the show.  Well, the wait is over! The long-awaited Real Estate episode is here. In this episode, Blueprint breaks down his entire journey in real estate and the story behind him being able to pay off his home early. In addition, the most infamous podcast features not one but TWO interviews with from underground hip-hop artists on their experience in real estate. The first is legendary Boston MC Mr. Lif and the second is super-producer RJD2. This may be the most in-depth episode we've ever done, clocking in at over two-hours, so do not sleep on this one!  Let's go!

121: The Real Estate Episode

In a world where creating goals is much easier than achieving them,  people who are disciplined tend to be the most successful. Thankfully, discipline isn't something people are born with, which means that even if you don't have it now you can start developing it at any time.  This episode is about developing discipline and to make sure that the goals you have set lend themselves to a higher degree of discipline.

140: The Four Pillars of Discipline

If you've paid attention to the Minneapolis hip-hop scene as long as we have, then have probably heard of MC and Beatboxer Carnage the Executioner.   A close friend and collaborator with Eyedea, and a part of the extended Rhymesayers crew, Carnage has been tearing up stages for a long time.  This week on the most infamous podcast on planet earth, we dive deep into his history, and breakdown the traits that have made Carnage successful. Lets go!

157: The Carnage Cheat Code

This week on Super Duty Tough Work, we're joined by none other than "the rapper with the most chords" himself, Count Bass D.  On the heels of his brand new album "CBD" that was released this week, Blueprint and Count Bass D sit down for a dope conversation about being signed during the golden era of hip-hop, how he learned production, and the musicality that's played such a huge role in his career.  This is just the first part of this interview that we will be breaking up over the next several weeks.  Let's go!

199: The Count Bass D Cheat Code - Part One

This week on Super Duty Tough Work, we bring the second part of Blueprint's conversation with the "rapper with the most chords", none other than Count Bass D!  Since the first part of our interview got so much love and we reviewed his new album "CBD" on last week's episode, it felt like the perfect time to drop the second half of this conversation.  In this part of the conversation we break down mobility and how living different places has impacted his music, the business versus the art, spirituality, and balance!  Let's go!

202: The Count Bass D Cheat Code Part Two

Due to the fallout of the corona virus, we are living in a very special time.  A time where people are spending more time at home than ever and where online content is being consumed more than ever.  On the heels of the DJ Premier vs the Rza battle, live-streaming has captured artist and fans attention and now more artists are going live to broadcast for their fans.  It begs the question: is live streaming the future?  In this episode, we break down our observations on the emergence of live-streaming and what the future might bring for it.  Let's go!

204: Is Live-Streaming the Future?

As they say, good friends are hard to come by. Unfortunately, many of us have had no problems making friends, but keeping them is a completely different story. Sometimes we lose friends due to their actions and other times we lose friends due to our own mistakes. In this episode, we break down the biggest things that kill friendships so you can know where you're going wrong and protect yourself from so-called friends who don't have your best interest in mind. Let's go!

217: Friendship Killers

For most artists, one of the things we look the most forward to is releasing our creations to the public. As a result, release day is right up there with birthdays and holidays for us. Unfortunately, the excitement of that day doesn't last forever. Eventually, the buzz that we had around our project starts to fade. And when it does the inevitable question becomes how do we keep the buzz going? In this episode of the most infamous podcast on planet earth, Blueprint and Illogic dive deep into why the buzz dies down and how to keep it. Let's go!

229: How to Keep The Buzz Going

Created by underground hip-hop artist Blueprint, Super Duty Tough Work is the most infamous podcast on planet earth, focusing on hip-hop culture, personal-development, and humor.  The results are comical, educational, and inspiring. No shuckin', no jivin', and no bulls#@t.

Super Duty Tough Work

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks