On the heels of ii, three of hip-hop's most boundary-pushing artists talk collaboration, creative risk and the threat of AI. Kenneth Blume, Denzel Curry and Vince Staples came up around the same time, as rap's centre of gravity was shifting online and an older guard was dismissing much of what came out of it as a passing fad. Blume, formerly known as Kenny Beats, made his name producing for rappers, then opened up his process on his YouTube series The Cave. He has since moved into rock, producing records for Geese and Weezer. Curry emerged from Carol City, Miami, by way of SpaceGhostPurrp's Raider Klan. This year he has cut a single and a co-headline tour with the hardcore band Knocked Loose, and launched a new underground rap supergroup, The Scythe. Staples first surfaced in Long Beach as an Odd Future affiliate, pushed into experimental electronic territory on Big Fish Theory with producers including SOPHIE and Flume, and starred in his own Netflix series. A decade on, all three are still moving hip-hop forward by refusing to stay in one lane. In this RA Exchange, the three appear together on the heels of ii, the new album from Blume and Curry. They discuss their process in the studio, the fights that draw out their best material and how their ideas of risk, failure and success have changed over time. As longtime friends and collaborators, they also reflect on how hip-hop has shifted around them: the rift between generations, the threat AI poses to working artists and whether they're really at their creative peak. Listen to the full episode.