The DOD45 Show

The DOD45 Show Ep 128: Cas One & Tai's Pe'a Journey (Part 3 of 3) The final chapter. My last day of tapping, my samaga... and the part where I thought I might not make it home from Samoa. We pick up mid leg day, with a tourist asking the question everybody asks: does it hurt? From there it's the inside of my legs, the belly button, the ceremony & a whole lot of post tattoo drama. Cas One is ridin' shotgun to the finish line. In Part 3: - The fever shakes & the "we're almost done" that wasn't - Passin' out in the hotel bathroom at 3am... and Ade's legendary bedside manner - Leg day 2 with a hungover tufuga - The last tap, with my son Soul stretching the skin - Our samaga: turmeric & coconut oil, an egg cracked over my head & a siva I barely survived - A swollen leg, the word "blood clot" & a Samoan hospital at night - My answer to my brother's question from Part 1: why? - My advice for anyone considering their own pe'a - Sage Francis checks in with a question that hit deep... and then had us in stitches - Mr. Dibbs drops in with a question that brings it all full circle - A quick fire round with Cas & 3 Dish questions - "Karen O" off the 45 LP: Lazerbeak on the beat, Swell & Sentence of Metermaids, Cas One & DJ Zole on the cuts & the mix Thank u to Cas One for riding shotgun through all 3 parts, to Sage Francis, Mr. Dibbs & Laura, and to Strange Famous Records, always. Cas's music: casone.bandcamp.com Artists: Ol' Blue Gallery's call for artists is open until Oct 26 at olbluegng.com Past episodes at DOD45.com. Support the art at ArtByTai.com If you made it through my butthole story, you've earned the right to subscribe & leave us a review.

The DOD45 Show Ep 127: Cas One & Tai's Pe'a Journey (Part 2 of 3) Part 1 was the prep. Part 2 is where the tapping starts... my back, my ribs & yes, the butt. We pick up right where Part 1 left off, with Samoa losin' our passports & me about to lay down on the mat for day 1. Cas One is still ridin' shotgun & still askin' the questions nobody else would. In Part 2: - A sneak peek of "Tinted Windows" off the 45 LP, with Steel Tipped Dove on the beat & mix, verses from Swell, BlackLiq & Cas One, plus a little Sage Francis - What a pe'a costs & why u bring your own hand woven mat - The rules of the fale & the 3 person crew that does the work - Ade's jobs: fannin' flies & the wash every 2 hours, under the watch of "Samoan Dibbs" - My son Soul holdin' my hand through it - A cancelled day & the fear of not finishin' in time - The Samoa airport, where even security naps in the quarantine room - Switchin' to Su'a Ata for my ribs & gettin' roasted about my beer belly mid tap - The wash shed & how fast I stopped carin' about bein' naked - Day 5: my left leg... and then a tourist raises her hand with a question To be continued in Part 3: my last day of tappin', my samaga & all the post tattoo drama. Corrections from Part 1: - Ade says the twins in the legend weren't conjoined - The Suluape patriarch was one of the first to bring the tatau out internationally, not the first to do it - Cas's song is "No Deer Hunter" - The place in Samoa is the Samoa Cultural Village, not the Polynesian Cultural Center (that's in Hawaii) - When I said life in Samoa is hard, I meant from a Western perspective Updates: - The 45 LP books are in! 252 pages of every drawing from our episodes, foreword by Runt, afterword by Cas One - New ArtByTai work at the Phoenix Gallery (Lawrence, KS), Jackson Junge Gallery (Chicago) & Urban Arts Gallery (Salt Lake City) - Ol' Blue Gallery in Hannibal, MO is open Fri & Sat. Artists: submit to our November group show "Iconic" at olbluegng.com Come see me: - St. James Court Art Show, Louisville, KY, this weekend - Red River Revel, Shreveport, LA, Oct 15 to 18 - "$30,000 Bequest" screening, B&B Theatre Hannibal, Oct 24 at 11am - Peter Anderson Festival, Ocean Springs, MS, Nov 7 & 8 Thank u Cas One, Ade & Strange Famous Records, always. Affiliates: Strange Famous Records, Mr. Dibbs, AWOL One & speakerface.store, Brick Box Brewery, Terror Tacos, Jackson Junge Gallery, Hobbsauce, Handsmade Records, Aliens Built Earth, Observer (observemore.com) & Ol' Blue Gallery Watch the full video version on YouTube.

The DOD45 Show Ep 126: Cas One & Tai's Pe'a Journey (Part 1 of 3) This episode's different than most. In August I went to Samoa & received my pe'a, the traditional Samoan tatau. It was tapped into my skin by hand over 6 days, from my ribs to below my kneecaps, every inch. It was the most painful thing I've ever been through... and an honorable, spiritual one that changed my life forever. So many of u messaged me askin' how I was feelin' & what the whole experience was like, so we're tellin' all of it here. Before I went, I spent months soakin' up every video & story I could find from people who shared their own pe'a journeys. It helped me so much psychologically... and I still wanted more. If you're thinkin' about gettin' yours, I hope this helps u the same way. Ade & I were both there for every minute of it, so the 2 of us talkin' to an empty room felt weird. So our friend Cas One sat in to hear the story & ask the questions. He's a great listener, he busts balls & he keeps it fun. And it's his birthday the day this drops, so happy birthday Cas! IN PART 1 - A sneak peek of "Blade Runner" off the 45 LP: Buddy Peace on the beat, the mix & the scratches, Dusk Raps settin' the tone, plus Staplemouth & me on the extra verses - Why I've wanted my pe'a since I was a little kid, losin' my dad in 2014 & the question from my brother I couldn't answer - Why I don't feel like I have a tattoo... I feel like I'm wearin' Samoa - The Suluape family (6th generation tufuga ta tatau) & how I ended up with Su'a Paul - The legend of the twin sisters who swam the tatau tools from Fiji to Samoa - Gettin' tapped in a fale at the cultural village while tour groups walk through... zoo animal vibes - Cas's lifelong Disney World dream & his son's promise to take him to Japan - My 4 months of prep: 30 min sittin' cross legged every morning, cold showers with box breathing, slappin' my legs (we own a flogger now if anybody wants it), coconut oil, no alcohol, calisthenics, 150 oz of water a day, zinc & blood work - Cas droppin' 50 lbs in a month & the gospel of Walktober - The trip gettin' there: a missed flight, a 16 hour layover at LAX & Ade's bag showin' up a week late - The house my dad built on our family land in Fasito'o Uta & the family who finished it after he passed - Gettin' our Samoan dual citizenship... and then Samoa lost our passports To be continued in Part 2. A quick note: everything I share here comes from my own experience & the way my family raised me in our culture. Other people's pe'a journeys & upbringings may look totally different. Mine's no more special than anyone else's... and no less. Later in this 3 part series: Sage Francis & Mr. Dibbs pop in, Dibbs' wife Laura saves me from peril in Samoa, and we spin "Karen O" off the 45 LP with Cas on it. Wanna see it? The full video version is up on YouTube. FA'AFETAI Thank u to all my family who made the trip. Aunt Lise for organizin' the whole thing. My nephews Eli & Zach plus my niece Dayla for holdin' it down for everybody. Aunt Tua, Uncle Fotu & Aunt Pam for keepin' up the family house. All my cousins for another forever memorable Samoa visit. And a massive thank u to Su'a Paul, Su'a Ata, Fa'asavalu & the whole crew for my journey. It's a part of me forever. To Ade, my wife & my partner on this show... I am nothing without her. To our kids for bein' there. And to Strange Famous Records, always. UPDATES - Ol' Blue Gallery in Hannibal, MO is open again Fridays & Saturdays now that we're full time Missouri residents - Shout out to the homie at Observer for the shirts, hats, hoodies & stickers at Schlafly Bottleworks. Hit up observemore.com for any printing needs - 45 LP backers: the 252 page book lands with me this week & it looks incredible. DJ Zole is mixin' the tracks one by one & Mr. Dibbs is stitchin' 'em together. Box sets go to press in January (likely shippin' May 2027). Goal is digital music before Christmas, with the book, prints & shirts out by the end of October.

We're back. This discussion was recorded in January 2026 & we're finally airing it after a long hiatus grinding the ArtByTai side of life. Massive thanks to Blueprint for his patience & for showing up for us in the 1st place. We've wanted him on the show forever. Blueprint aka Printmatic is one of the most respected independent voices in hip hop. Co-founder of Greenhouse, one half of Soul Position with RJD2, founder of Weightless Recordings, author, & co-host of the Super Duty Tough Work podcast with Illogic. His latest album Vessel is out now. In this one we get into his trucking years... yes, Blueprint got his CDL & owned his own diesel truck when the pandemic shut down live music. We talk windshield therapy, tornadoes on open highways, rest stop vs gas station debates, road snacks that actually work, Scribble Jam era stories, the pettiest reason he's ever cut a song from a project, Independent Rap 101, & what it takes to survive 2 decades as an independent artist without losing your mind. Plus Ade & I get philosophical 'bout memory & happiness before the interview. As always, I drew live for 45 minutes while we chopped it up. This episode's subject: a mandalorian semi truck hybrid... rapper. Head to the YouTube version to watch the drawing come together.   BIG NEWS: The Forty Five LP preorder campaign launches July 14. Quad vinyl compilation featuring past DOD45 guests, cover art by me, jacket art by past artist guests like Craola & Jared Knight. Tiers include original 2026 Inktaiber sketches, the full DOD45 book with every drawing from every episode (including episodes that never aired), unclaimed original guest drawings, my rereleased books, a Fangoria Gospel puzzle, stickers & more. Follow @artbytai & @dod45w for all the particulars. Episode isn't over til you hear Blackliq's last words.   Follow Blueprint: @printmatic Vessel available now Super Duty Tough Work podcast wherever you listen

Mr. Dibbs returns to The DOD45 Show to kick off 2026 with a focused, funny, and strangely revealing conversation that covers Ohio origins, tour life, Strange Famous energy, and the kind of everyday questions that accidentally expose your entire personality. Dibbs is a Cincinnati lifer, DJ, producer, artist, and one of the key architects of Midwest underground hip hop. His new album Ohio Dirt is landing on Strange Famous Records, and we talk about what it means for that record to live in that world. We also circle back to multiple eras of Dibbs releases and let the memories show up if they want to. Did you know Dibbs has publicly written about Deadworld Reborn taking on deeper meaning after a medical incident where he briefly died for about 53 seconds, with the project becoming tied to tribute and preservation. Movie shares Good Fortune directed by Aziz Ansari Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKWndx83RwQ IMDb describes it as involving an inept angel meddling in the lives of a gig worker and a wealthy venture capitalist. Mr. Dibbs PT Anderson trio Punch Drunk Love trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGqn5k227HY There Will Be Blood trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FIm5ATyAY0 One Battle After Another trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQUPdVxZNPk Song shares with Spotify links White City by Willow Kayne https://tidal.com/playlist/9dd15982-32da-45a5-87d6-21be12e911a4 Links ArtByTai: https://www.instagram.com/artbytai DOD45: https://www.instagram.com/dod45w Strange Famous Records: https://StrangeFamousRecords.com Mr. Dibbs: https://MrDibbs.com Speakerface Store: https://Speakerface.Store Support the show by subscribing and sharing. On podcast platforms, reviews help more than people realize.