A Waste Of Time with ItsTheReal

Latest Episodes:

#221: Meek Mill's Engineer Anthony Cruz Dec 04, 2018

Show notes

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome Meek Mill's engineer Anthony Cruz to the Upper West Side to talk how Championships was put together, when he first heard the Jay-Z vocals, how the Drake collaboration came together, how he felt when Meek shouted him out, and how he felt when The Joe Budden Podcast shouted him out. With Meek's videographer Will joining in, we discuss Meek's shining disposition, how grounded he is, how diligent he is in the studio, recording sessions in Los Angeles and New York City, their best Rick Ross stories, and how they spent their time while Meek was away. Cruz gets into his upbringing as an Army brat, moving from Oklahoma to Colorado to Georgia, graduating from Georgia State with an English degree, leaving his job in sales and putting all of his savings into learning to engineer at Full Sail University, making his way to New York where he worked two jobs to maintain while being shut down by studio after studio, and the miraculous circumstance that led to an internship at Roc the Mic. Cruz talks about studying at the arm of Young Guru, how he learned by playing his part and not overstepping his bounds, covering a Jay Electronica session, how OG Juan and Desiree were instrumental in his career, how he and Meek found a one-of-a-kind working relationship, his partnership with A&R Dallas Martin, plus stories about J. Cole, Teyana Taylor, Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige, Ed Sheeran, Robinson Cano, Why Don't We and so much more!

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#220: Russ Bengtson Nov 27, 2018

Show notes

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal we welcome NBA/sneaker/hip-hop writer, editor, commentator and confidant Russ Bengtson to the Upper West Side! Russ talks growing up in Long Island, his early interest in journalism, being a Chicago Bulls fan in New York, attending the University of Delaware, his classmate and fellow journalist Jeff Pearlman, and his first job out of college working for a tiny newspaper in rural Pennsylvania where he was hands-on in every aspect of the publication. We discuss how SLAM Magazine reached out to him, what exactly "Senior Editor" meant, his early dealings with Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippin and Charles Barkley, JR Rider being cut from the Hawks before an interview, Kobe Bryant's respecting SLAM over other publications, Allen Iverson's magnetism, Stephon Marbury's unbelievable heart and talent, connecting Kevin Garnett and Jonathan Mannion for a legendary photo shoot, and the good and bad realities of choosing a magazine cover months ahead of time. Russ gets into his time as Editor in Chief of SLAM, his great partner in crime Lang Whitaker, in what ways Shaq and Nigel Sylvester are similar, Patrick Ewing not acknowledging him for two years, SLAM's reputation according to beat writers as opposed to enthusiasts, and why his time at the publication came to an end. We cover his freelance days, his introduction to Complex, the early days of Twitter, how page views and traffic changed the way writing worked, where Quickstrike - his sneaker show with Clark Kent - succeeded and where it missed opportunities, and his new documentary with Complex, Sole Origins. All that, plus stories about Pig Miller, Rasheed Wallace, Mobb Deep, Gregg Popovich, getting robbed on his apartment's front steps, University of Delaware's short time in the NCAA tourney, his Twitter block list, his love of heavy metal and much more!

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#219: Kenny Beats Nov 20, 2018

Show notes

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome arguably the producer of the year Kenny Beats to the Upper West Side! Kenny talks growing up in Connecticut always the tallest kid in his class, taking breakdancing classes, noodling on the guitar, the moment his mind awakened to music production, and the days he'd spend in a beat-making program recreating Timbaland beats he'd heard in the Jay-Z documentary Fade to Black. Kenny talks about his high school internship at RCA, his off-the-books internship for Jonny Shipes, going off to Berklee College of Music, getting ahead of his peers, becoming a staple of the hip-hop scene in Boston, trading his own supply of weed for the opportunity to hang with Ab-Soul, how that friendship got his first beats placed with ScHoolboy Q and Smoke DZA. We discuss transitioning into the EDM scene, touring the world as the DJ LOUDPVCK, putting on elaborately produced shows, how his beats weren't a huge departure from his hip-hop catalog, how ultimately his heart wasn't in the EDM world and the dark results it had on him physically, mentally and emotionally. Kenny talks giving up the DJ life, his reset, being down to his last $1k, locking himself in his room and composing records he truly cared about, and how he reintroduced himself into hip-hop through his work with HoodRich Pablo Juan, Key!, Rico Nasty, Lil Wop and more. All that, plus how he separates himself from other producers, why he prefers being in studio with an artist, how he stepped up his vocal production, what working on full projects with Vince Staples and 03 Greedo mean to him, his special collaborative album with ALLBLACK, how he knew his beats were winning, and so much more!

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#218: Tru Life Nov 12, 2018

Show notes

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome Tru Life to the Upper West Side for one of the realest, most harrowing, most compelling and inspiring conversations we've ever had. Tru details his tough early years in New York City's Lower East Side, how he decided school wasn't for him, how music led to recording sessions at Mark and Donnie Wahlberg's studio, connecting with Snoop Dogg, and how Ving Rhames looked out strictly because he believed in Tru Life's talents. We discuss the DVD era and how the drama undermined an artist's talents, how Sickamore brought out the best in Tru's abilities, how Green Lantern called up Jay-Z and convinced him to not fly out of town and instead take a meeting with Tru Life, how Jay refused to let Tru leave the office until he signed a deal with Roc La Familia, and how Cipha Sounds started off as Tru's A&R, but became as close as blood brothers. Tru gets into his time away, the weight of facing a life sentence, figuring out whether loyalty and codes really meant anything, the tears he shed over not seeing his kids grow up, why he dedicated himself to his studies, and what ultimately got him through his eight years behind bars. We get into the realities of going from the system to freedom, how he wasn't ready for the trappings of the music industry upon his release, how he's grown over the past two years, moving to the suburbs, and what he's bringing to the table with his new music. All that, plus stories about Jay, Beyonce, TI, Future, Bobby Shmurda, Tory Lanez, Jim Jones, the inmates who broke out of Clinton Correctional Facility while he was there, and so much more!

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#217: Super Publicist Yvette Noel-Schure Nov 05, 2018

Show notes

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome super publicist (Beyonce, Destiny's Child, John Legend, Mariah Carey, Prince) and favorite daughter of Grenada, Yvette Noel-Schure, to the Upper West Side! Yvette discusses growing up in Birch Grove, Grenada, living with her grandparents when her mother was sent to the United States for medical treatment, doing the extensive shopping her for grandfather's supermarket as a child, and knowing early how special her homeland was. We talk about her move to New York City as a teenager, how hard a transition it was socially and environmentally, working hard in school in the hopes of one day becoming a writer, riding the subway for the first time, and taking a job at Burger King where the love of her life would be standing on line. Yvette gets into her college years studying journalism at City College of New York with her first son by her side, living next door to the Hells Angels, getting her drivers license in order to commute to her first gig at a newspaper, eventually finding a position at Black Beat Magazine, scoring a coveted interview with Tupac on the set of Poetic Justice, and why Sony Music approached her to become a publicist. We discuss landing Mariah's Ebony Magazine cover, getting trampled by teenagers looking to get a piece of Bow Wow in Times Square, Prince's incredible memory of the first time he was in a room with Yvette, and what how Yvette worked to set Destiny's Child apart in an overly-crowded girl-group space. We talk about John Legend's classic debut album, the stellar team who worked at Columbia/Sony Urban in those days, giving journalists a midnight phone call to announce Beyonce's surprise album release, the wonderful humans that Tina Knowles-Lawson and Matthew Knowles are, and how Yvette's role as publicist has evolved as Beyonce's one-of-a-kind stature and talent has grown through the years. All that, plus why she'll never write a book about the music industry, how she sees every person that enters her life, why she left Sony Music, the house fire that changed her life, and so much more!

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#216: 2 Jews and 2 Black Dudes Review Mid90s Oct 31, 2018

Show notes

For Episode 8 of 2 Jews and 2 Black Dudes Review the Movies, Eric, Jeff, Styles and Sheek went to an NYC preview screening of Jonah Hill's directorial debut mid90s, sat down afterwards and broke down the film. There's never been a movie review show as fun as this - listen and let us know what you think!

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#215: The Return of A-Trak Oct 29, 2018

Show notes

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome DJ, producer, Fool's Gold co-founder, travel professional, and our friend A-Trak back to the Upper West Side! We talk the 2nd Annual Goldie Awards (A-Trak's DJ & beat battle, happening Nov. 8th in Brooklyn - get your tickets at goldieawards.com), working with his brother Dave-1 from Chromeo, playing on the same Maxim bill as the Jackass guys (minus Johnny Knoxville), the hidden treasures in SkyMall, the infamous producer group chat that Just Blaze started, the long-rumored Cam'Ron project, Fool's Gold Day Off, what to do when a DJ has to use the bathroom, airlines losing his vinyl, fonts, design, perfectionism, his travel tips website Infinite Legroom, stories about Ice-T, Young Thug, Common, Nick Catchdubs, Lil Jon, Timbaland, Non Phixion, The-Dream, and much, much more!

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#214: 2 Jews and 2 Black Dudes Review Jurassic Park Oct 24, 2018

Show notes

For Episode 7 of 2 Jews and 2 Black Dudes Review the Movies, Eric, Jeff, Styles, Sheek and Jadakiss were joined by a raucous audience at Highline Ballroom in NYC to watch and break down the 1993 blockbuster film Jurassic Park. There's never been a movie review show as fun as this - listen and let us know what you think!

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#213: ESPN's David Jacoby Oct 22, 2018

Show notes

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome the cohost of ESPN's Jalen & Jacoby, David Jacoby to the Upper West Side! Jacoby discusses how he went from cutting pizza slices in Amherst, Massachusetts to cutting lines at the Empire State Building to cutting corners at MTV's Spring Break. Jacoby talks about what he learned in business school, how he got more from selling soaps in Soho than making calls for brokerage firms, how he ended up moving cigarettes through Europe, and ultimately found himself on the shores of Amsterdam. We get into his time at the ESPYs, producing a TV show based around rappers and athletes' shoe collections, shaping Sports Nation during its early years, how he helped Bill Simmons in creating the Grantland Network of podcasts, and the dynamic on-air pairing of Jalen Rose and David Jacoby. All that, plus stories about Don King, Jadakiss’ #T5DOA statue, Trick Daddy, Biz Markie, Jason and Jeremy Giambi, Sugar Ray, Nick Catchdubs, Teck from The Real World, Bobbito Garcia, what ESPN gifts employees after 20 years, and much, much more!

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#212: Jay Park Oct 16, 2018

Show notes

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome Roc Nation singer/songwriter/rapper and son of Seattle, Washington, Jay Park to the Upper West Side! Jay speaks on growing up the son of travel agents in the Emerald City, running around town with his crew on a mission to make a career out of breakdancing, doing poorly in school and hiding his report cards from his parents, and with his back against the wall, auditioned for a Korean talent competition, which ended up getting him cast in a boy band. With his folks going through a tough time, Jay took the gig to support his family and flew to South Korea knowing nothing of the language or culture, not to mention the shock of K-Pop artist development. We discuss his time in 2PM, what differentiated them from 2AM, their supergroup 1 Day, his attempts to work the system and take care of his body and soul without losing who he was over three and a half years before they ever dropped a project, and why he left the group. Jay gets into the reality of coming back to Seattle, his job working at a used tire shop, how his love for music came back, how starting to sing YouTube covers in the bathroom gained him a fanbase, why he felt weird about it, and how it ultimately make him an international draw once again. All that, plus the levels of Korean tattoos, friends by convenience, holding onto creative control, getting a 2 Chainz verse, living in Korea as former member of a boy band, becoming a businessman, his latest project Ask Bout Me, and much more!

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