Founded in 2005 by writer Jeff Weiss (The Ringer, Washington Post, GQ), POW is the last rap blog — one of the the first nationally to write about Kendrick Lamar, Danny Brown, Drakeo, 03 Greedo, and many others. In 2016, it birthed the label, POW Recordings, releasing albums from Chester Watson, Kent Loon, Fatboi Sharif, Rhys Langston, Gabe ‘Nandez, Ness Nite, Pioneer 11, The Outfit TX, Vince Ash, and Zilla Rocca.

The radio show is an extension of this far-flung sound, boasting guest mixes from the rotating cast of POW contributors that span Latin boogaloo to Soviet Jazz to West Coast street rap.

This month’s episode is guest hosted by Kartik.

Kartik Sudhera is a master of manipulating found sounds, transforming digital detritus from YouTube rabbit holes into the most soulfully chopped and stewed compositions this side of Donuts. Since 2020 he has transmitted some 30 beat tapes out of his home in Ludhiana, Punjab, each compiling alien frequencies inspired by the country’s DIY ethic and broken beat genre. He fuses classic elements of hip-hop with sounds that represent his heritage and contemporary life in his homeland, in the process defining a sound like vintage Madlib and J Dilla, with a little bit of Ras G, the Alchemist, and Flying Lotus swirling around as well. He produced in its entirety last year’s opulent Thugs From Amritsar, a divine rap workout by rappers Sonnyjim and PAVAN over Kartik’s finely woven regional samples and teeth-cracking drum breaks. Most recently, he added to his Bandcamp catalogue the dreamy instrumental HARBORS. and the dub-rap expedition QRTRS., and is slated to compile his finest cuts for a physical-only anthology tape later this year. He’s crushed sets on the 404 all around India, whether spinning on festival stages like Magnetic Fields or on the airwaves for his Brokn Radio series, and has shared bills with peers such as Lacuna, Dhanji, and Lapgan.