Monday morning approaches with the overwhelming burden of a new week’s responsibilities. While Mondays may bring the blues, it also brings new episodes of the “Daps and Pounds” podcast. The show’s hosts, Malcolm Groves “Malcy” and Zach Doebler “Doby” provide tasteful banter and discussion of music and pop culture. The podcast reviews weekly new music along with sports and entertainment news, as well as commentary on their personal lives. The show’s caption says it all: Two mics. Two friends. One show.
When I first began listening to this podcast, I was hesitant. I thought the show might be another hip-hop focused podcast centered around the overemphasized radio playlists and the typical big-name artists. Instead, Malcy and Doby provide listeners with a refreshing perspective not only on radio-worthy hits but also on a wide range of hidden talents from underground lyricists to R&B/Pop newbies. Every week I discover a new 
artist or song that I didn’t know existed. “Daps and Pounds” is the perfect podcast for “picky listeners” and “music snobs” like myself. The hosts effortlessly keep an unbiased opinion of artists, focusing solely on music projects while also presenting their personal preferences and tastes. From reviews of new releases to debates over classics and hip-hop heavyweights, Malcy and Doby have created an easy-to-follow and entertaining podcast. I had the opportunity to interview these friends about their weekly show.
What motivated you to start “Daps and Pounds?”
Doby:
What motivated myself, personally, to start the Daps and Pounds Show is I wanted to create something with Malcolm. We talk about music A LOT and I was wanting to do something that I could call my own, or in this case our own. I talked to him about starting a podcast he was immediately down. We met up a couple of times and bada-bing-bada-boom.
Malcy:
I wish I had a long and complicated answer. There are only a few people that I can discuss music with that actually understand how I hear things, and Doby is one of them. He understands BPMs (beats per minute) and the technical aspects of creating a song. There’s no one else I could do a music podcast with like this. Then, we had the idea of expanding it. Music, movies, and everyday life are all fair game. Doby is married now and we both work over forty hours per week. I think one of my biggest motivations for starting the podcast was being able to see my guy once a week for an hour.
How did you decide on the name?
Doby:
We decided on the name in Malcolm’s living room. I remember we were thinking about naming the podcast, “Its Lit,” but the name was taken. We just thought out a bunch of ideas. “Daps and Pounds” was in our subconscious thanks to “Daps and Pounds” by Kid Cudi. The name fits so well, it was even birthed by music.
Malcy:
KID CUDI! People forget that Drake, Wale, Kid Cudi, and J. Cole all started making a name for themselves around the same time. Cudi was a huge influence on us and it was only right that we tribute that era in hip-hop.
So how do the two of you know each other?
Doby:
We know each other through high school. The first day of class our freshman year we walked alongside each other. I said out loud what room number I was looking for. Malcolm said that’s where he was also going. We introduced ourselves and the rest is history. That Spanish class was a trip!
Malcy:
100%. I remember sitting next to him in Spanish class and he saw that I was scribbling raps down in my weekly planner. He grabbed it and started reading it with no warning. No one knew I wrote until that day. That was the day we found out that music was our thing.
Who are your top five to eight favorite artists?
Doby:
Top five to eight artists always seem to change around for me except for number one, who is Drake. We’re unapologetically Drake “stans.” So Drake is number one and then in no particular order, Tori Kelly, Justin Beiber, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, Kanye West, Chance the Rapper…maybe Post [Malone] right now to round it off. Shout out to Daniel Caesar though.
Malcy:
Of all time? I’d have to say, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Drake, Notorious B.I.G. and Kanye West. But if we’re just talking about everyone that exists right now, I’d have to say, Daniel Caesar, Aminé, Drake, J.Cole, Chance The Rapper, and SZA really excite me the most.
I know you both have “day jobs” aside from the show, what’s your inspiration for this podcast?
Doby:
What inspires me to keep going is deep down I hope something like the “Daps and Pounds Show” can become our day jobs. I think Malcolm and I have talents that work so well together. The sky is the limit. Consistency is key right now for us.
Malcy:
For me, knowing that I love music enough to talk about it all the time is super satisfying. I love football but I couldn’t talk about it all of the time. I watch an hour of SportsCenter every day and then I’ve had my sports talk fix for the day. I can listen to music podcasts, songs, interviews and everything else for hours and never get bored. I think that makes me feel even better about what we’re doing because I know there are weirdos like me out there.
Hip-hop sometimes carries a negative connotation among society. Do you two notice that connotation?
Doby:
There is always going to be a negative connotation associated with hip-hop. There is a negative connotation to someone about anything. That’s the way life is. The loudest ones are usually never the majority. There’s a lot of healing and powerful messages in hip-hop as well. Each artist reflects what they want to. Because of that I just listen to the music and move on.
Malcy:
Hip-hop is the closest we can get to reality in music. Aside from Singer/Songwriter songs, Hip-hop contains the most truth lyrically. I think that scares people. The negative connotation doesn’t bother me anymore because when Hip Hop makes people uncomfortable it lets me know that the truth must be rubbing people the wrong way.
What’s in store for “Daps and Pounds” in the near future?
Doby:
“Daps and Pounds” will always have a future. The bigger the community gets, more opportunities will open up for us. We just want to keep releasing episodes to show fans and listeners they can trust in us.
Malcy:
I think no matter what we do as far as changing our set design or show order, we’ll always stay true to what the show is about. The music won’t stop. I still dislike Tory Lanez.
What are your long-term goals for “Daps and pounds?”
Doby:
My personal longtime goal for the Daps and Pounds show would be to be sponsored by Apple, have our own personal set, do a college tour at some point, and make this our jobs.
Malcy:
I think that Apple sponsorship would be amazing. Aside from that, I would like the podcast to become a place that new artists come in need of having their music showcased. If we became known for breaking new artists into different audiences, I would love that.
If you could have any artist as a guest, who would it be?
Doby:
If I could have any artist as a guest, I would love to interview Drake, of course, but honestly Justin Bieber or Chance the Rapper. They are now very vocal about their faith in God so I would love to hear their personal journey and hope that story brings hope to those who listen.
Malcy:
For me, it would be Big K.R.I.T. or Jay-Z. The knowledge in a conversation with Hov would be amazing.
Do you receive any negativity/backlash or have “haters” of your show?
Doby:
Right now I haven’t received any negativity personally about the show. If we do have haters that would be hilarious. I still feel we’re small and growing. Not everyone will like us, I know that for sure. As we grow I know we will eventually.
Malcy:
No haters, but I would love some. I know there are people that we know that probably don’t like the show because they aren’t into music podcasts or talk radio, but we don’t have any actual haters. I can’t wait until we have haters though. That would create some hilarious energy.
How much planning goes into each show every week? Or is it spur of the moment?
Doby:
Honestly, it depends on what is going on during the week. Sometimes we plan it pretty heavily. Other times it’s a 15-minute meeting while I’m setting up the equipment.
Malcy:
I think that it truly depends. Right now, we always have an idea based on the new music released weekly, but most of the moments on the podcast are spontaneous.
In your opinion, what makes a quality project (album, EP, mixtape, etc.)?
Doby:
In my opinion, a quality project contains excellent or, sometimes unique instrumentals or songwriting capabilities. Most of all, for me personally, a lot rides on the hooks.
Malcy:
The best albums make me want to listen to them over and over again. I think a quality project contains stuff that makes people sing in the truck with their friends and make memories.
What influences, or has influenced your music taste? Do you see a particular region bias in your music taste?
Doby:
I was born in South Carolina but I consider myself from Central Illinois. I didn’t get into hip-hop until I was in eighth grade. First, it was Christian Rap. Shout out to “The Art of Translation” by Grits. That album made me fall in love with the genre. The radio influenced me a ton actually. I used to have a personal radio and every night I would listen to the Power 9 at 9. Which at that time was the nine most requested songs for the day. Then as the internet started to take over, I started searching Datpiff for new mixtapes and artists. That’s when searching for new music was so much fun. I fell in love with Drake, Frank Ocean, and the Weekend doing that. I put Malcolm on to all three by the way. I’m pretty proud of that (laughs).
Malcy:
Both of my parents are from the south and that had a big impact on me. My parents played southern blues, jazz, and country music throughout my childhood. To be honest, I learned how important lyrics were through blues and country music. Storytelling is so important to making a great song to me. I think being in the middle of the country really helped my musical taste. Growing up, the Midwest never really had a “sound” of its own. It forced me to listen to music from everywhere and gain an opinion. I was into R&B and the 90’s boy bands throughout middle school. It wasn’t until seventh grade when Nelly hit the scene that I finally embraced hip-hop. Before that, Hip-hop was just on the radio so I only knew the popular records. I was hooked. I instantly went back and found out who the Wu-Tang Clan and Notorious B.I.G. were. It was an amazing time in my life.
Listen to the latest episode of “The Daps and Pounds Show” Here.
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