Grown Man Bars: Remember the Rhyme, Respect the Era

with Chad and Big Absoloot - Gen X Talking Hip Hop
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Grown Man Bars is where two Gen X MCs turned opinionated Uncs break down rap culture with no filter. Chad, your resident rap nerd, with Big Absoloot, your OG's OG dive into Golden Era storytelling, lyricism, GOAT debates, classic producers, and the moments that shaped hip hop. From Slick Rick to Scarface, Nas to J. Cole, DJ Premier to RZA. Old rap and new hip hop. If you came up on mixtapes, Tims, and bars that mattered, this is your spot for real hip hop talk. We'll bring you up-to-date on the new hip hop trends, the ones our gen cares about, and hit you with hip hop from the best era ever.

  1. Goodie Mob vs Outkast: 9 Rounds. No Ties. You Decide.

    May 27

    Goodie Mob vs Outkast: 9 Rounds. No Ties. You Decide.

    Same era. Same city. Same Dungeon Family. Completely different ideas about what hip hop should do. Can you pick an Outkast track that CeeLo didn't eat on? We couldn't. And that tells you everything about this debate. Today on Grown Man Bars, Chad and Big Absoloot put Goodie Mob and Outkast head to head. Nine rounds. Nine categories. No ties. No feelings. Two Atlanta legends. One winner. You decide round by round. Grown Man Bars — hip hop debate for grown ups. Two Gen X former rappers. No scripts. No safe takes. New episodes every Tuesday. 00:00 The Open 00:47 Round 1 | The Arrival | Goodie Mob 01:30 Round 2 | The Street Record | Goodie Mob 02:31 Round 2 | The Street Record | Outkast 03:31 Round 3 | The Hit Record | Outkast 04:56 Round 3 | The Hit Record | Goodie Mob 05:59 Round 4 | The Feature Master | Goodie Mob 06:59 Round 4 | The Feature Master | Outkast 07:51 Round 5 | The Bar Fest | Outkast 10:06 Round 6 | The Club Smash | Goodie Mob 11:00 Round 6 | The Club Smash | Outkast 12:01 Round 7 | The Story Record | Outkast 12:42 Round 7 | The Story Record | Goodie Mob 13:14 Round 8 | The Cultural Moment | Goodie Mob 14:02 Round 8 | The Cultural Moment | Outkast 15:16 Round 9 | The Modern Test | Outkast 16:56 Round 9 | The Cultural Moment | Goodie Mob

    18 min
  2. Most Underrated Rappers of the 90s | GMB Ranking Room

    May 12

    Most Underrated Rappers of the 90s | GMB Ranking Room

    Some fans got the '90s wrong. Not a little wrong—wrong wrong. Tonight on Grown Man Bars, Chad and Big Absoloot are breaking it down and fixing the 90s hip hop timeline. We’re digging into the most underrated rappers of the 90s—the technicians who carried the era and the legends you forgot to respect. Ten MCs. Five categories. Two lists. We didn't coordinate the picks—just two Gen X former rappers breaking down the culture. What we're breaking down: The Overlooked Technician: Having the skill, but being buried by proximity to a legend. The Victim: Label politics, bad timing, and when "life be lifin'." The Influencer: The architects who built the blueprint your favorite rappers used to get famous. The Body of Work: Independent titans with catalogs that speak for themselves. The Most Underrated: The greatest "unfinished sentences" in hip hop history. Drop a comment on the video version or hit us up—who did the culture do the dirtiest? 00:00 The Open  00:22 The Intro  00:46 Round 5 | The Overlooked Technician | Chad's Pick  02:31 Round 5 | The Overlooked Technician | BA's Pick  04:21 Round 4 | The Victim | Chad's Pick  05:46 Round 4 | The Victim | BA's Pick  08:00 Round 3 | The Influencer | Chad's Pick  09:48 Round 3 | The Influencer | BA's Pick  11:38 Round 2 | The Body of Work | Chad's Pick  12:44 Round 2 | The Body of Work | BA's Pick  14:38 Round 1 | The Most Underrated | Chad's Pick  16:15 Round 1 | The Most Underrated | BA's Pick  18:17 The Outro GMB RANKING ROOM: DISCOGRAPHY & METADATA Round 5 | West Coast Metadata Mack 10 (1995), Based on a True Story (1997), The Recipe (1998) Kizz My Black Azz (1992), Shock of the Hour (1993), The Villain in Black (1996) Round 4 | Bad Boy & Beef Metadata Can-I-Bus (1998), 2000 B.C. (2000) Project: Funk da World (1994), Operation: Get Down (1997) Round 3 | Conscious & L.A. Metadata Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), Resurrection (1994), One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997) Act a Fool (1988), At Your Own Risk (1990), Tha Triflin' Album (1993) Round 2 | Independent & SPC Metadata No Mercy (1993), Danger Zone (1995), Hidden Agenda (1998) The Calm Before the Storm (1999), The Worst (1999) Round 1 | Rawkus & Ruthless Metadata Internal Affairs (1999), Stress: The Extinction Agenda (1994) No One Can Do It Better (1989), Helter Skelter (1996) 🎙️ Grown Man Bars — hip hop debate for grown ups. Two Gen X former rappers. No scripts. No safe takes. New episodes every Tuesday. Metadata (The Algorithm Fuel)

    19 min
  3. 2Pac & DMX | What 90s Rap Needed and What It Cost Them

    May 5

    2Pac & DMX | What 90s Rap Needed and What It Cost Them

    After Biggie and Pac were gone, hip hop didn't go soft. It got polished. Today on Grown Man Bars, Chad and Big Absoloot break down DMX and Tupac Shakur — two of the most intense forces to ever touch a microphone in 90s rap history. Not the charts. What they actually meant. And what burning that hot cost both of them. DMX threw water on his face and hit the street. That's exactly what 1998 hip hop needed. This That and the Third breaks it down three ways. The THIS — Tupac Shakur was the greatest emotional communicator rap music has ever seen. Not just a rapper. A poet. An advocate. A man who made the street feel seen. The THAT — DMX dropped two nuclear classic albums in the same year. 1998. Nobody had done it before. Nobody has done it since. But explosions don't sustain. The THIRD — Some artists are stars. They burn steady for a long time. Some are meteors. They flash brighter than anything else and then they're gone. DMX and 2Pac were the meteor moment 90s rap required. Is it about the bars or about moving the people? Tell us where we got it wrong. Grown Man Bars — hip hop debate for grown ups. Two Gen X former rappers. No scripts. No safe takes. New episodes every Tuesday. 00:00 The Open 00:27 The Stakes 00:59 The THIS: 2pac 01:50 The This: DMX 03:09 The That: Tupac 04:23 The That: DMX 06:15 The Third: What All This Means 11:18 The Comment of the Week 11:53 The Outro

    12 min
  4. Jay Z vs Kanye West — GMB Versus 9 Rounds

    Apr 29

    Jay Z vs Kanye West — GMB Versus 9 Rounds

    Kanye West once said Jay Z is the only rapper who can stand on a stage with him. So we put that claim to the test. In this episode of Grown Man Bars, Chad and Big Absoloot break down Jay Z vs Kanye West across 9 categories, including: Arrival, Street Record, Hit Record, Feature Master, Bar Fest, Club Smash, Storytelling, Cultural Impact, and The Modern Test. No ties. No bias. Just hip hop debate. Who really wins? 00:00 The Open 00:22 Round 1: The Arrival 02:25 Round Two : The Street Record 04:34 Round Three: The Hit Record 06:51 Round Four: The Feature Master 11:09 Round FIve: The Bar Fest 13:35 Round Six: The Club Smash 16:04 Round Seven: The Story Record 21:50 Round Nine: The Modern Test

    25 min
  5. Slaughterhouse Hostage Situation | Only One Gets Out

    Apr 21

    Slaughterhouse Hostage Situation | Only One Gets Out

    In this episode of Grown Man Bars, Chad and Big Absoloot put Slaughterhouse in a Hostage Situation. Joe Budden, Royce da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, and Crooked I all bring elite bars, but only one can survive. Every round, somebody gets cut until one rapper is left standing. This conversation goes deeper than a basic rap ranking. It becomes a real debate about technical skill, lyricism, storytelling, cadence, personality, replay value, and who actually makes the strongest music. If you’ve ever argued about who the best member of Slaughterhouse was, or whether pure bars are enough to carry a rapper, this episode is for you. A sharp hip hop debate for fans of Slaughterhouse, Joe Budden, Royce 5'9, Joell Ortiz, Crooked I, Eminem, rap supergroups, lyricism, and barbershop-style rap conversations. Follow Grown Man Bars for more hip hop debates, rap rankings, lyrical breakdowns, versus episodes, and grown-man rap talk. 00:00 We Open 00:12 Hostage Situation - Slaughterhouse 00:45 Round 1 - Chad 01:49 Round 1 Big Absoloot 02:46 Round 2 Big Absoloot 03:38 Round 2 Chad 06:31 Round 3 Big Absoloot 08:02 Round 3 Chad 09:51 Round 4 The Explanation 11:51 Round 4 Big Absoloot

    17 min
  6. Ludacris Was Never a Top Tier Threat… Or Was He? | GMB Trials

    Apr 13

    Ludacris Was Never a Top Tier Threat… Or Was He? | GMB Trials

    Ludacris is one of the most entertaining rappers hip hop has ever seen. The energy, the videos, the hooks, the personality, the hits — all of that is undeniable. But does being an elite entertainer automatically make you an elite rapper? In this episode of Grown Man Bars Trials, Chad and BA put Ludacris' legacy on trial. One side says Luda was way more lyrical than people give him credit for. The other says he never really lived in that lane long enough to be considered a true top tier rap threat. We break down: Entertainment vs lyricismWhether Ludacris ever had a real “greatest alive” eraWhy consistency matters more than potentialWhether versatility should count more than dominanceIf moving between comedy, bars, hits and Hollywood helped or hurt his legacyThree rounds. Zero ties. Zero feelings. Was Ludacris an elite lyricist hiding behind jokes? Or was he always more entertainer than rap problem? Drop your verdict in the comments. 00:00 What's the Charge? 00:13 What's the Rules? 00:30 Round 1: Entertainment vs Lyricist 01:12 Round 1: Bars Without the Jokes 02:19 Round 2: A Top Tier Lyrical Threat? 06:23 Round 3: Moving the Goalpost? 08:02 Closing Shot

    9 min
  7. Kendrick Lamar vs Eminem | Greatest Rapper Alive Championship

    Apr 8

    Kendrick Lamar vs Eminem | Greatest Rapper Alive Championship

    Two different ideas of greatness. One final decision. In the championship round of the Greatest Rapper Alive 2026 tournament, Chad and BA sit with the question that’s been underneath every debate: What actually makes a rapper the greatest? Is it technical dominance? Is it artistry and intention? Is it cultural impact… or audience expansion? On one side, Eminem—arguably the most technically dangerous rapper ever, with a catalog that reshaped the scale of hip hop. On the other, Kendrick Lamar—a precision artist whose work re-centered depth, narrative, and meaning in a different era of the genre. This isn’t just a comparison. It’s a definition. We break it down the only way we do: CatalogTechnical SkillCultural InfluenceAnd somewhere inside those categories sits the real tension: Dominance vs precision. Volume vs perfection. Technician vs artist. By the end, a winner is named. But the real question doesn’t go away: Do you want the best rapper… or the best artist who raps? 00:00 Greatest Rapper Alive 2026 00:15 Let's Work 00:43 Catalog 04:17 Technical Skill 07:47 Cultural Influence 13:05 Final Verdict

    16 min
  8. Greatest Rapper Alive: Sweet 16

    Mar 26

    Greatest Rapper Alive: Sweet 16

    The bracket stops being fun in the Sweet 16. Chad and BA work through some brutal calls, including Lil Wayne vs Killer Mike, Andre 3000 vs Scarface, Eminem vs Kanye, Missy Elliott vs Common, Nas vs LL Cool J, and Jay-Z vs KRS-One. By the end, the Elite 8 is set: Nas vs Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg vs Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne vs Andre 3000, and Eminem vs Missy Elliott. 00:00 Let's Get It 00:04 (1) Snoop Dogg vs (13) E 40 00:29 (2) Kendrick Lamar vs (3) The Game 01:57 (1) Lil Wayne vs (13) Killer MIke 03:36 (11) Andre 3000 vs Scarface 06:03 (1) Eminem vs (13) Kanye West 08:03 (1) Nas vs (5) LL Cool J 09:30 (6) KRS One vs (2) Jay Z

    11 min
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About

Grown Man Bars is where two Gen X MCs turned opinionated Uncs break down rap culture with no filter. Chad, your resident rap nerd, with Big Absoloot, your OG's OG dive into Golden Era storytelling, lyricism, GOAT debates, classic producers, and the moments that shaped hip hop. From Slick Rick to Scarface, Nas to J. Cole, DJ Premier to RZA. Old rap and new hip hop. If you came up on mixtapes, Tims, and bars that mattered, this is your spot for real hip hop talk. We'll bring you up-to-date on the new hip hop trends, the ones our gen cares about, and hit you with hip hop from the best era ever.

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