There's a certain lo-fi feel to Jungle Brothers' debut effort, Straight Out The Jungle. The group made the record at home using early sampling technology, but its influence is undeniable. It brought together house music, jazz, and hip-hop, and marked the beginning of the Native Tongues family. Groups like De La Soul and ATCQ would become the biggest members of the collective, but don't sleep on this heater. Record producer Salaam Remi sits down with us to chat about the JB's place in the Native ...
Jan 21, 2021•54 min•Ep. 183
The Meters helped change the New Orleans sonic landscape with their funky records and signature "second line" rhythms and in 1974, they released the heater Rejuvenation . The biggest difference on this record: vocals. Most of the members got a chance to flex their vocal and instrumental talents. This change up proved to be successful, becoming one of the group's most influential records and was heavily sampled all throughout 80s and 90s hip-hop. DJ Soul Sister AKA The Queen of Rare Groove, joins...
Jan 15, 2021•54 min•Ep. 182
By 2005, Mariah Carey had been through the wringer. Her debut film Glitter bombed at the box office and the accompanying soundtrack performed poorly, at least in comparison to Mariah's previous efforts. Her intended comeback album Charmbracelet received some praise but still failed to bring her back into the limelight. Mariah took a break from music for three years to focus on herself and came back with The Emancipation of Mimi . She worked with top producers in hip-hop like The Neptunes, Jermai...
Jan 07, 2021•54 min•Ep. 181
Oliver and Morgan discuss their personal favorite records of 2020 and talk about their hopes for the new year. Thanks for sticking with us through this year, Heat Rockers! We are selling custom 45 adapters with the proceeds going to the Downtown Women’s Center . You can find a link to preorder here Show Tracklisting SAULT: This Generation Jay Electronica: The Neverending Story Thundercat: Fair Chance Lianne La Havas: Out Of Your Mind - Interlude SAULT: The Beginning & The End SAULT: Scary Ti...
Dec 31, 2020•53 min•Ep. 180
We are re-airing one of our all-time favorite episodes. It's our discussion with Phonte about Intro's self-titled album from way back in 2017. This week rapper, producer, and songwriter Phonte (Foreign Exchange, Little Brother) joins Oliver and Morgan to talk about R&B group Intro’s 1993 self-titled debut album. The release was part of the changing tide of R&B music, when slow jams were giving way to more uptempo hits and singers were exchanging suits for Timbs and jeans. Phonte shares a...
Dec 24, 2020•40 min•Ep. 179
Oliver and Morgan sit down with music supervisor Jocelyn Brown to discuss their favorite holiday songs, Christmas trap music, and the tightrope novelty songs must walk to become a great holiday classic. More on Jocelyn Jocelyn's interview with the Music and Sound Awards Twitter | Instagram We are selling custom 45 adapters with the proceeds going to the Downtown Women’s Center . You can find a link to preorder here Show Tracklisting: James Brown: The Christmas Song Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestr...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 178
In this installment of Take Two, we’re looking at two albums from the one and only Drake. Last week, we talked about Nothing Was The Same and this time around, we're chatting about the 2018 double album Scorpion. As mentioned in the show, we are selling custom 45 adapters with the proceeds going to the Downtown Women’s Center . You can find a link to preorder here Show Tracklisting (all songs from Scorpion unless otherwise indicated): Nonstop In My Feelings Survival Sandra's Rose March 14 I'm Up...
Dec 10, 2020•42 min•Ep. 177
In this installment of Take Two, we're looking at two albums from one of the biggest and most prolific rappers of the 2010s, Toronto's very own Drake. Next week, we'll be diving into his 2018 double album Scorpion, but for now, we're talking about Nothing Was The Same from 2013. As mentioned in the show, we are selling custom 45 adapters with the proceeds going to the Downtown Women's Center . You can find a link to preorder here More on Nothing Was The Same ‘Nothing Was The Same’: How Drake Cha...
Dec 03, 2020•52 min•Ep. 176
Oliver invites G Yamazawa back on the show to talk about three songs that shaped his life and rap style. Check out our full discussion with G Yamazawa and listen to his new album! If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!...
Dec 01, 2020•19 min
This week, we're giving thanks and replaying our three episodes on albums produced by the Soulquarians, all of which turned 20 this year: Ill Camille on Common's "Like Water for Chocolate," Bosco on Erykah Badu's "Mama's Gun," and Tall Black Guy on D'Angelo's "Voodoo" If you like these snippets, check out the full episodes in our archives! If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!...
Nov 26, 2020•46 min•Ep. 175
Oliver sits down with ethnomusicologist Dr. Joseph Schloss to discuss the origins of sampling in hip-hop and a few of their favorite music discoveries through samples. Pick up Joseph's books! If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!
Nov 24, 2020•42 min
When Amy Winehouse released her debut studio album Frank back in 2003, it made waves in her native UK, but it didn't quite make it across the pond. Those who heard it, loved her contralto vocals, relatable lyrics, and blending of musical genres. A few years later, she would go on to release her second and final album, Back to Black, to both critical and commercial success, earning the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album and selling over 16 million copies worldwide. Unfortunately, the success was sho...
Nov 19, 2020•55 min•Ep. 174
Oliver sits down with musicologist Loren Kajikawa to discuss why instrumental breaks hit us in such a specific way, the different ways musicians have approached breaks, and their personal favorite moments in music. If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!
Nov 17, 2020•30 min
Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi is perhaps Zimbabwe's most renowned and iconic musician. His thoughtful songwriting and exceptional guitar playing spoke truth to power and gave him a loyal fanbase. He went on to become a star in his home country and pioneered a whole new genre of music, Tuku music. His wisdom and messages of affirmation resonated with millions and his music continues to inspire to this day. Singer/songwriter Anjimile sits down with us (remotely) to discuss Tuku's 41st album (!!!) Vhunze ...
Nov 16, 2020•44 min•Ep. 173
On this week's edition of Bonus Beats, Oliver takes a couple of questions from the mailbag about overlooked samples and Nas' best LP (besides Illmatic ) If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!
Nov 10, 2020•14 min
The disco funk group B.T. Express hit the ground running with their debut studio album Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) , which reached the top spot in the US R&B albums chart and went gold. The title track went on to become a staple in club playlists and the band started work on their next project. Just a year later, their sophomore album Non-Stop was released and it once again reached the top of the R&B chart, but did not enjoy the same amount of commercial success. Nonetheless, the album...
Nov 05, 2020•45 min•Ep. 172
We finish our Jay-Z Take Two series with what was supposed to be Hova's swan song, The Black Album. We discuss the hype surrounding this album, the ridiculous amount of remixes we got out of this, and Just Blaze's extraordinary production. More on The Black Album Ranking the Beats: Jay-Z's The Black Album (Vibe) Revisiting The Black Album (Albumism) The Making of The Black Album Show tracklisting (all songs from The Black Album unless otherwise indicated) Dirt Off Your Shoulder December 4 Moment...
Oct 29, 2020•52 min•Ep. 171
We continue our Take Two miniseries and looking at two albums from an iconic artist. This time, it's Jay-Z and his debut studio album Reasonable Doubt . This marks the first time we're talking about a Hova album in depth and we discuss why that may be, Jay's features before this album dropped, and what the future of New York rap and Jigga's career might have looked like if Biggie was still with us. More on Reasonable Doubt Jay Z's 'Reasonable Doubt' at 20: Classic Track-by-Track Album Look-Back ...
Oct 22, 2020•47 min•Ep. 170
The Beach Boys are often regarded as one of the most prolific and influential American bands of all time. However, the group has has its fair share of missteps and controversies over the years. They found early commercial success with songs like "Surfin' USA" and "I Get Around" and critical success with the album Pet Sounds . As time went on and the musical landscape changed, the band struggled to find their voice. Their follow up albums flopped commercially and critically, inner turmoil created...
Oct 15, 2020•48 min•Ep. 169
This week, we're wrapping up the third edition of The Art of Sampling and talking about Slum Village's album Fantastic, Vol. 2 with music exec and writer, Dan Charnas. We discuss J Dilla's sampling techniques, the great lengths the label went through to keep this project under wraps, and the influence of Dilla on future beatmaking. More on Dan Charnas Dan chatting about his book The Big Payback Check out his other books here! Twitter | Website More on Fantastic, Vol 2 Fantastic, Vol 2 Turns 20 (...
Oct 08, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 168
This week, we're celebrating our three year anniversary (!!!) and talking about our personal favorite moments of the show. Thank you so much for listening and sending in your favorite moments! And here's to many more unforgettable episodes, scorching hot albums, and wonderful conversations. If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!...
Oct 01, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 167
The long awaited third installment of The Art of Sampling series is finally here and we're talking about one of the most influential beat tapes in the history of hip-hop and producer Christian's favorite album of all time, J Dilla's Donuts . Music writer Nate Patrin sits down with us (remotely) to discuss the cult following of J Dilla after his passing, the emotionality of the sample flips, and his role in neo soul movement. More on Nate Patrin Pick up Nate's new book Bring That Beat Back: How S...
Sep 24, 2020•56 min•Ep. 166
When Cardi B dropped her first single Bodak Yellow back in the summer of 2017, it was a bit of a slow burn. It spent a few months moving around in the charts, but eventually became a number one single and one of the biggest hits of her career. She quickly followed up with a few more singles "I Like It" and "Bartier Cardi" which showed her versatility as a rapper, incorporating wildly different genres of music like trap, Latin boogaloo, and R&B. Cardi was hungry and made it clear through her ...
Sep 17, 2020•52 min•Ep. 165
Our second episode of the Take Two miniseries focuses on Janet Jackson's risqué and introspective album, The Velvet Rope . We discuss Janet's move to a more neo soul sound, how she matured as an artist when creating this record, and how Janet's gone underappreciated in the last decade. More on The Velvet Rope ‘The Velvet Rope’: How Janet Jackson Tied Herself In Controversy (uDiscoverMusic) The Velvet Rope: how Janet Jackson inspired a whole generation (The Guardian) The Making of The Velvet Rope...
Sep 10, 2020•41 min•Ep. 164
This week, we are kicking off Take Two, a new miniseries where we look at two seminal albums of one artist. First up, we're discussing Janet Jackson's third studio album "Control" We talk about Janet's changing image at the time, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' production techniques that helped usher in New Jack Swing, and this album's influence on artists like Beyoncé, Britney Spears, and Taylor Swift. More on Janet Jackson and Control Music video for Control Janet on Jimmy Fallon discussing Nasty S...
Sep 03, 2020•52 min•Ep. 163
Chicago has given us plenty of great artists: Noname, Chance the Rapper, Common, and of course today's focus, Lupe Fiasco. Lupe might not have known it at the time, but his debut album helped usher in a new era of rap. This new class of freshmen were raised by videogames, skateboard culture, and anime, but also addressed issues that affected them like systemic racism and gun violence. Filmmaker Tiffany Johnson sits down with Oliver and Morgan to discuss Food & Liquor, the interesting product...
Aug 27, 2020•48 min•Ep. 162
In honor of GZA's birthday and the release of multiple members' solo debut albums, we're recutting and remastering our episodes on the Wu-Tang Clan. If you like what you hear, please listen to the full conversations in the archives! Show Tracklisting: Open Mike Eagle (ODB's Return to the 36 Chambers ) Damage Shimmy Shimmy Ya Intro Baby C'mon Brooklyn Zoo Thelonius Monk: Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are Cuttin' Headz Brooklyn Zoo Goin' Down Drunk Game (Sweet Sugar Pie) Hippa To Da Hoppa David Ma (GZA's...
Aug 20, 2020•55 min•Ep. 160
You'd think being dropped from a major label would hurt your career, but in Emily King's case, it helped fuel her success. In 2008, she left a major label, J Records, and began working on an independent record. With the help of producer/composer Jeremy Most, she created "Seven" a seven-track EP filled with soulful ballads and heartfelt lyricism. Singer/saxophonist Braxton Cook joins Morgan to discuss this album, Emily King's powerful voice, watching her perform live (remember live shows?), and t...
Aug 13, 2020•43 min•Ep. 159
We are in the final stretch of the #MaxFunDrive! If you like what we do, please consider becoming a member and supporting our show. maximumfun.org/join Rapper/songwriter Duckwrth joins us to talk about Philly soul group Blue Magic and their spooky soul LP Thirteen Blue Magic Lane. We discuss the band's place in the Philly soul scene, pillow talk in music, and we invent a new subgenre of music #pinkysoul More on Duckwrth Check out Duckwrth's newest single "Coming Closer" Duckwrth Treats Hip-Hop A...
Aug 06, 2020•56 min•Ep. 158
We are in the middle of our annual #MaxFunDrive! If you like what we do, and are in a good financial spot, please consider becoming a member of the network and supporting our show. maximumfun.org/join "Every one of us is worthy" This is the mantra that permeates throughout all of India.Arie's 2019 album, Worthy . It had been six years since she last released a proper LP, and India didn't miss a beat. She discusses injustice in Black America, finding love, and gives us some uplifting words that w...
Jul 30, 2020•47 min•Ep. 157
