What's The Headline - podcast cover

What's The Headline

Ambrosia For Headspodcasters.spotify.com
What’s The Headline is Ambrosia For Heads’ podcast, hosted by AFH’s Founder Reggie Williams and its Editor-In-Chief Jake Paine. On each episode, AFH examines the week in Hip-Hop news, providing deep context about the biggest stories. Topics include music, TV, film, sports, current events, and more—all through the lens of Hip-Hop. In addition to news and analysis, some of Hip-Hop’s most respected artists occasionally drop in to discuss their work. What’s The Headline is for those who love Hip-Hop and want to see it reported with the respect and care it deserves.
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Episodes

Redman On The 10+ Year Journey Of Making Muddy Waters Too

Redman sits down with Ambrosia For Heads for his FIRST exclusive interview about the decade-long journey behind Muddy Waters Too. This intimate conversation showcases the life-changing decisions, creative evolution, and personal growth that shaped the long-awaited sequel to his classic album. What to Expect: Redman shares why he quit bud and became celibate for 2.5 years How he overcame fears about his relevance to create his best work The evolution of Muddy Waters Too from its early 2010s versi...

Jan 13, 20251 hr 30 minEp. 111

The D.O.C. Interview On His Documentary, Work With Dr. Dre, The Codefendants

The D.O.C. joins this episode of Ambrosia For Heads ' What's The Headline podcast. He discusses his new documentary, his first verse in 19 years, performing for the first time in 33 years and more. He also details his formula for how to be a great MC. 0:00 The D.O.C. has begun performing again for the first time in 33 years 3:15 The D.O.C discusses why the message in Rap music has changed for the worst 5:35 The D.O.C. is considering putting out more new music. 6:50 The D.O.C. explains how he is ...

May 13, 202342 minEp. 109

Jack Harlow Calls Out Whites Who Want To Be Black From Afar

ack Harlow's Jackman. album is his best yet and also his most controversial. We discuss the album, the best and worst posthumous Rap albums of all-time, Pras Michel's conviction and more on this week's episode of Ambrosia For Heads ' What's The Headline podcast. 0:00 Intro 2:34 Jack Harlow’s Jackman. album is his best yet 13:41 Jack Harlow blasts white fans who are down with black culture but not black people on “Common Ground” 40:40 Jack Harlow lists the many things his success is due to outsid...

Apr 29, 20231 hr 45 minEp. 108

Dear Mama Shows There Is Still So Much We Don't Know About Tupac

In this week's episode of AFH's What's The Headline podcast, we discuss our new partnership with BET to let fans decide who is the Greatest Rap Crew Of All-Time. We also review the new Dear Mama docuseries about Tupac and Afeni Shakur, remember Ahmad Jamal, discuss how AI will transform the music business and more. 0:00 Intro 3:00 Ambrosia For Heads is partnering with BET in a tournament to let fans decide who is the Greatest Rap Crew Of All-Time 21:20 Reviewing the Dear Mama docuseries about Tu...

Apr 24, 20231 hr 44 minEp. 107

Reviewing Black Thought & El Michels Affair's Glorious Game Album

In this week's episode of Ambrosia For Heads' What's The Headline , we review Black Thought and El Michel Affair's new Glorious Game album and take an in-depth look at how his solo releases have impacted his legacy as an MC. We also discuss the new J. Dilla documentary, Snoop Dogg's career-altering decision 30 years ago, and more. 0:00 Intro 4:55 Black Thought has released 6 projects in the last 5 years 7:30 Black Thought is in the prime of his career in his 50s 13:30 Black Thought’s career has ...

Apr 15, 20232 hr 2 minEp. 106

Royce 5’9 Explains How He’s Taking Control Of His Music Destiny

Royce 5'9 joins this week's episode of What's The Headline , along with his 25-year business partner, Kino Childrey. This is not an interview. It is an amazing conversation between trusted colleagues and friends. Here's what we discussed: 0:00 Royce 5’9 joins AFH for a special edition of What’s The Headline 0:10 How 2020 transformed Hip-Hop 3:00 Why Royce 5’9 does not want to do a Verzuz battle 6:40 Royce 5’9 on being a pioneer of Grown Man Rap and how Hip-Hop’s elder statesmen should move 13:00...

Apr 10, 20232 hr 7 minEp. 105

The LOX & Dipset Want A Verzuz Rematch ... Should They Do It?

This week in Hip-Hop was jam-packed. We discuss Nipsey Hussle's legacy 4 years later, the potential Verzuz rematch between The LOX and Dipset, protests against Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Akademik's criticism of J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and Drake, and new music from Larry June & Alchemist, DJ Drama, Royce 5'9, Tyler, The Creator and more. 0:00 Intro 6:00 Remembering Nipsey Hussle 4 years later 19:45 The LOX and Dipset want a Verzuz rematch. Here’s why they should not do it 31:20 How should Afrika Ba...

Apr 01, 20231 hr 57 minEp. 104

JAY-Z, J. Cole, Kendrick & More Share Their Secrets To Success

This week, J. Cole released his first interview in years, and it was INSPIRATIONAL. On this week's episode of Ambrosia For Heads ' What's The Headline , we break down Cole's interview and compare his secrets to success with those of Kendrick Lamar, Rapsody, Big K.R.I.T., Ab-Soul and JAY-Z. The similarities are fascinating...We also discuss how Tupac tried to change the culture at Death Row Records, DJ Premier's inside story on the making of Biggie's "Ten Crack Commandments" and new music from Hi...

Mar 25, 20231 hr 45 minEp. 103

Logic Has Made It Hard To Like Him & It’s Not Just Joe Budden

On this week's episode of Ambrosia For Heads' What's The Headline podcast, we take a hard look at the conflicting versions of himself that Logic has presented over the years. We also discuss the passing of music great Bobby Caldwell, Just Blaze's status as at Top 10 Hip-Hop producer, and some new music by Statik Selektah, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and Raekwon, as well as releases by T-Pain and Curren$y and Jermaine Dupri.

Mar 18, 20231 hr 29 minEp. 103

Melle Mel Explains Why Busta Rhymes Is Greater Than JAY-Z

On this week's episode of AFH 's What's The Headline , we discuss Grandmaster Melle Mel's sharp critique of Billboard and VIBE 's list of the 50 Greatest Rappers Of All Time, and his comments about JAY-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Lil Wayne. We also talk about Jadakiss taking record labels to task about some of the content they promote. We discuss Snoop Dogg returning Death Row Records music to streaming services, Dreamville's Creed III soundtrack , Talib Kweli and Madlib's new joint album and ...

Mar 11, 20231 hr 49 minEp. 102

How Biggie Went From Ashy To Classy: By People Who Styled Him

Biggie Smalls was the illest…Big had a top-notch flow, a booming voice, and lyrics drenched in authenticity and humor. The all-time great MC born Christopher Wallace said it was all a dream, and then he took us on a ride from his time as a stressed-out kid in the streets of Bed-Stuy…to when he made that dream a reality by becoming one of the biggest stars on the planet. And he did it all through sheer force of will and talent. As metamorphic as Big’s life was, his iconic style shape-shifted too....

Feb 28, 202319 minEp. 101

Remembering The Life & Legacy Of Dave From De La Soul

On this week's episode of Ambrosia For Heads' What's The Headline , we discuss the life and legacy of Dave from De La Soul. We also talk about Billboard 's recent list ranking the top 50 rappers of all-time, debate whether Drake has surpassed Lil Wayne, and more. We also breakdown the sale of Quality Control, Pharrell's new position at Louis Vuitton and more. 0:00 Intro 3:48 Remembering the life and legacy of Dave from De La Soul 8:50 What De La Soul has meant to us as fans of Hip-Hop 14:54 How ...

Feb 20, 20231 hr 53 minEp. 100

The Highs & The Lows Of The 2023 Grammy Awards

On this week's episode of Ambrosia For Heads ' What's The Headline , we breakdown the highs and the lows of the 2023 Grammy Awards, with deep dives on the year's biggest surprises, best performances and the most important Hip-Hop moments. 0:00 Intro 5:08 The lead up to the 2023 Grammy Awards 13:40 Slick Rick is honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award 15:36 The Roc Nation Brunch experience 17:30 A famous star mistakes Reggie for Stevie J 19:04 Grammy party gift bags 21:50 How Will Smith’...

Feb 06, 20231 hr 26 minEp. 99

Black Sheep Is Suing Universal Music For $750 Million

On this episode of Ambrosia For Heads' What's The Headline , we discuss De La Soul's announcement that music they recorded for Tommy Boy is coming to streaming services, as well as Black Sheep's lawsuit against Universal Music Group for $750 million. We also talk about Dr. Dre's impending sale of his music catalog, as well as new music from Skyzoo and Dr. Dre. 0:00 Intro 2:56 RIP Gangsta Boo 3:56 De La Soul’s music is coming to streaming services after years of battling 6:48 A timeline of De La ...

Jan 17, 20231 hr 18 minEp. 98

The Best Rap & Hip-Hop Albums Of 2022

On the final episode of the year for AFH 's What's The Headline , we run down Ambrosia For Heads' 15 Best Rap Albums of 2022, and discuss why each one made the list. 0:00 Intro 3:40 Our process for reviewing albums for this list 7:00 Key trends in Hip-Hop in 2022 13:20 Why we don’t rank our year end list 16:00 The 15 best Rap albums of 2022 (in no particular order) 16:12 Black Thought & Danger Mouse - Cheat Codes 20:36 Joey Bada$$ - 2000 26:55 Lupe Fiasco - DRILL MUSIC IN ZION 32:28 Black St...

Dec 20, 20221 hr 33 minEp. 97

The 10 Best Rap Verses Of 2022

On this episode of Ambrosia For Heads ' What's The Headline , we discuss the best Rap verses of 2022 and which ones made our top 10. Check Spotify or the site to follow along with a playlist on our page. 0:00 Intro 5:40 The criteria for what makes a great verse 9:30 14 verses are contending for the 10 best verses of 2022 10:30 JAY-Z - “GOD DID” 19:00 J.I.D. - “Crack Sandwich” 24:10 Kendrick Lamar - “Mother I Sober” 28:08 J. Cole - “Johnny P’s Caddy” 34:11 Lupe Fiasco “On Faux Nem” 38:30 Kendrick...

Nov 30, 20221 hr 30 minEp. 96

Reviewing Nas & Hit-Boy's King's Disease III, Song By Song

Nas has released King's Disease II I, the third in his series of KD albums produced entirely by Hit-Boy. In this episode of Ambrosia For Heads ' What's The Headline podcast, we review the album song by song and rate it on a scale of 1 to 10. We also rank the albums in the King's Disease series. 0:00 Intro 1:55 The problem with hot take reviews 7:15 Attending the release party for Nas’ King’s Disease III 11:45 Reviewing Nas’ King’s Disease III song by song 11:48 “Ghetto Reporter” 14:54 Hit-Boy ha...

Nov 16, 20221 hr 27 minEp. 95

The 2023 Grammy Rap Nominations, Predictions, and Snubs

The nominations for the 2023 Grammy Awards are in, and they are not without controversy. Some of Rap's best artists have been snubbed, and the stage is set for an epic clash of the titans between JAY-Z and Kendrick Lamar. On this episode of Ambrosia For Heads' What's The Headline , we break down each of the categories featuring Rap artists, assessing the nominations, discussing the snubs, suggesting who should win and predicting who the eventual winner will be. 0:00 Intro 3:57 Best Rap Performan...

Nov 16, 20221 hr 7 minEp. 94

The History Of Violence In Hip-Hop: 6 Years Changed Everything

Last week's death of Takeoff from the Migos marks more than 60 Rap artists who have been lost to gun violence. The latest episode of AFH's What's The Headline examines the history and evolution of violence in Rap music. The conversation, which draws from actual statistics, also looks at why 1987 - 1993 marks a turning point in the musical content and imagery that is very much still driving the consumption of Rap music. 0:00-2:00 intro - More than 60 rappers have died from gun violence 2:01 - 6:1...

Nov 07, 20221 hr 41 minEp. 93

The Game Says Dr. Dre Has Never Produced A Song For Him

0:00 Intro 3:00 Coolio’s Rap legacy 9:20 Do people think of Coolio as an LA artist? 11:15 The Game names his top 5 LA Rap albums 13:20 What are the top 5 Rap albums of all-time? 29:00 How 50 Cent clowned Ja Rule for making pop records, while making pop records 32:20 The Game says Dr. Dre has never produced a song for him 39:28 Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre are releasing a new album in November 46:30 Why was there a two-year delay between the video shoot for Kendrick Lamar’s "N95" and the release of his...

Oct 11, 20221 hr 27 minEp. 92

Rapper Big Pooh Talks His New Album, Little Brother's Status & More

Rapper Big Pooh joins AFH 's What's The Headline to discuss his album To Dream In Color, fighting to keep his dreams alive, working with TDE and Dreamville, the status of Little Brother and more. 0:00 Intro 1:00 Rapper Big Pooh joins the What’s The Headline podcast to discuss his album To Dream In Color 2:00 Rapper Big Pooh details the life lessons he learned from his grandmother 4:24 How becoming a rapper was by divine intervention for him 7:53 The origin story or Little Brother 9:25 Rapper Big...

Sep 26, 20221 hr 26 minEp. 91

Cormega Explains Why The Realness 2 Is A True Sequel

Cormega joins the latest episode of AFH 's What's The Headline to discuss his album The Realness 2. This is one of the realest interviews of the year. 0:00 Intro 1:25 Cormega speaks on what his purpose is in music 3:44 Why it’s important for him to spread wisdom through his music 7:15 Why it was important to make The Realness 2 a true sequel to the original 9:10 Cormega shares his thoughts on the origins of Hip-Hop 15:23 The current state of Cormega’s relationship with Nas 25:30 Why artists lie ...

Sep 20, 20221 hr 39 minEp. 90

Hip-Hop Is Closer To 100 Years Old Than 50

This week on Ambrosia For Heads ' What's The Headline , we talk about why we disagree about the quality of JAY-Z's "GOD DID" verse, discuss the three things that happened in 1996 which forever divided Hip-Hop and detail the 100+ year history of the elements of Hip-Hop. We also discuss the alleged theft of MF DOOM's rhyme book and great Rap music from the summer of 2022. 0:00 Intro 1:23 Why we disagree with each other about the quality of JAY-Z’s verse on DJ Khaled’s “GOD DID” 7:58 How JAY-Z’s ra...

Sep 12, 20221 hr 28 minEp. 89

Meyhem Lauren & Daringer Detail Making Their Black Vladimir Album

Meyhem Lauren and Daringer have joined forces to create a new album. They speak in detail about the making of Black Vladimir as well as discussing their extensive careers, on the latest episode of AFH's What's The Headline . 0:00 Intro 0:22 Daringer discusses the project that put him on the map as a producer 2:00 Meyhem Lauren and Daringer detail the making of their new Black Vladimir album 5:10 How to make music that’s timeless 7:00 Daringer’s approach to sampling music 8:30 Producers who influ...

Sep 07, 202244 minEp. 88

Diamond D Speaks About His New Album The Rear View

Diamond D speaks in-depth about the making of his album The Rear View . He also discusses the day he spent with Dr. Dre, spending time with Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock, names his top 5 producers, and more on this week's episode of AFH's What's The Headline. 0:00 Intro 1:15 Diamond D discusses his time with Dave Chappelle during lockdown 7:00 How Diamond D and Westside Gunn connected 8:00 How living in Atlanta has impacted Diamond D’s music 9:20 Diamond D on working with Outkast 10:20 Why Diamo...

Aug 15, 202252 minEp. 87

Explaining Pete Rock & Funkmaster Flex's Feud

Pete Rock and Funkmaster Flex are at war over the future of New York Hip-Hop. On this week's episode of Ambrosia For Heads ' What's The Headline we explain why the two icons are fighting, and what's at stake. 0:00 Intro 1:20 Funkmaster Flex is in a feud with Conway The Machine and Pete Rock, and it’s turned ugly 2:18 Pete Rock’s Hip-Hop resume 7:30 What Funkmaster Flex has meant for Hip-Hop 13:00 Conway The Machine’s Hip-Hop credentials 17:35 AFH’s relationships with each of Pete Rock, Conway Th...

Jul 18, 20221 hr 49 minEp. 86

Many Of Hip-Hop's Greatest Rappers Name Their Top 5 MCs

Rappers are fans too...On this week's episode of AFH's What's The Headline, we do a deep dive into the Top 5 MC lists of 30 of Hip-Hop's greatest artists. 0:00 Intro 1:10 Ice Cube said Lil Wayne is the greatest rapper of all-time (besides himself) 7:25 The significance of Top 5 MC lists in Hip-Hop 14:44 Jake’s Top 5 MCs 15:37 Reggie’s Top 5 MCs 17:35 The Top MCs for 30 of the greatest artists of all-time 19:08 Ice Cube’s Top 5 MCs 23:40 Black Thought’s Top 5 MCs 26:38 Snoop Dogg’s Top 5 MCs 30:3...

Jul 12, 20221 hr 42 minEp. 85

The Top 20 Rap Albums Of All-Time As Determined By Millions Of Fans

Rolling Stone recently released an incredibly controversial list of the Top 200 Rap Albums Of All-Time. On this week's episode of AFH's What's The Headline, we discuss the list, reveal our own personal Top 10 lists, and lay out the list of the Top 20 Rap Albums Of All-Time that was decided by millions of AFH readers. 0:00 Intro 1:20 Rolling Stone released a very controversial list of the Top 200 Rap Albums of All-Time 6:50 Why people care about lists 10:55 Ambrosia For Heads has hosted a number ...

Jun 20, 20221 hr 56 minEp. 84

Explaining Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers Albums

After 5 years, Kendrick Lamar has released Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers , his long-awaited follow up to DAMN . Like its predecessor, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is 2 albums in one and loaded with hidden references. On this week's episode of AFH 's What's The Headline , we explain the meanings behind the two albums-- Mr. Morale AND The Big Steppers --and explore Kendrick Lamar's career of complex works of art. 0:00 Intro 7:47 Kendrick Lamar started the rollout for Mr. Morale & The ...

May 16, 20222 hr 33 minEp. 82

Reviewing Black Star's No Fear Of Time Song By Song

Black Star (Yasiin Bey fka Mos Def and Talib Kweli) have released No Fear Of Time , their first album in 24 years. We review the Madlib-produced album on this week's episode of AFH 's What's The Headline , and we discuss the history and impact of Black Star and Rawkus Records. We also discuss Kendrick Lamar's forthcoming Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers , potentially being a double album. 0:00 Intro 0:33 Recapping the history of Black Star and Rawkus Records 8:42 Reviewing the solo careers of M...

May 04, 20221 hr 37 minEp. 82
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