Being Black- The '80s - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

Feelin' Love from the Lovies Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

theGrio Black Podcast Network is proud to announce that Being Black: The '80s has received a Lovie Awards nomination. Click here to vote in the Arts, Entertainment & Sports category to help Touré bring home the win!

Vote For Being Black: The '80s Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

Being Black: The '80s has been nominated for a Signal Award! Help us win the People's Choice award for best Limited Series: Music, by voting here: https://tinyurl.com/bb80sSignal

Jay-Z Almost Bankrupted Me Sep 01, 2023

Show notes

Star Stories with Touré is an animated series about the unpredictable and sometimes unbelievable backstage interactions with some of the most iconic men in music of the modern era.

These animated stories are unforgettable recollections of the larger-than-life experiences with music journalist Touré .

To hear the podcast visit: https://pod.link/1697986415

To watch the series visit: https://thegrio.com/starstories/

Touré played poker with Jay-Z one night in a swanky Manhattan penthouse suite. Each hand was worth thousands of dollars. Why was Touré in the game? He’s not rich enough for a game like that. It could have bankrupted him. The answer: He’s insane. Also, he was willing to risk everything to glean the very interesting bit of psychological insight he could get from being head-to-head in a hand of poker with Jay-Z.

Watch here: https://thegrio.com/starstories/1368617/#sp=star%20stories

Credits:

The Takeover

Writer: JAY-Z & Kanye West

Label: Roc-A-Fella Records

Publisher: Roc The World

The Story of OJ

Writer: JAY-Z, No I.D., Nina Simone, Gene Redd Jr. & Jimmy Crosby

Label: Roc Nation

Publisher: Carter Boys Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Virgin Records, EMI Longitude Music, New World Music, Warner Music Group, EMI Music Publishing Group, Filmtrax, Eleven East Music, Bucky Music, Rolls Royce Music Company, BMG, Let The Story Begin Publishing, EMI Waterford Music, BMG Monarch, Warner/Chappell, Delightful Music, Round Hill Music, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Carbert Music & Stephanye Music

Ice Cube x Dopeman: The Good, The Bad, & The Crazy Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

NWA's Ice Cube talks about the influence of crack on their hit song “Dopeman” and the contradiction of how drug money destroyed the community and propelled his career. “Dopeman” Is one of the illest songs ever made because it takes you deep into the drug dealer’s perspective on selling drugs. The crack dealer was evil but we should still seek to understand what drove him and when we look into his soul we find that like the fiends he served, he too was an addict, but he was addicted to power and money. Crack dealers and their culture had a deep influence on hiphop culture and the Black community. In this ep we go into "Dopeman” with The D.O.C. from NWA and talk to several former drug dealers about how dealers changed the world around them.

Guests:

Nelson George, Filmmaker

Royce Da 5’9, Rapper

Biba Adams, Writer

The D.O.C., Rapper

Samson Styles, Journalist and Filmmaker

Kevin Chiles, CEO Don Diva Magazine

Jim Jones, Rapper

Credits:

NWA - Dope Man

Writer: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Sugarfoot, Junie Morrison, Marshall “Rock” Jones, Greg Webster, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, Norman Napier & Andrew Noland
Label: Ruthless Records
Publisher: Ruthless Attack Muzick & Bridgeport Music

NWA - Fuck Tha Police

Writer: The D.O.C., Ice Cube & MC Ren
Label: Universal Music Group, Ruthless Records & Priority Records
Publisher: Universal Music Group

Notorious BIG - The Ten Crack Commandments

Writer: The Notorious B.I.G. & DJ Premier
Label: Bad Boy Entertainment
Publisher: B.I.G. Poppa Music, Gifted Pearl Music, Justin Combs Music & EMI April Music

Alpo Martinez, FEDS Magazine

Toure Show Jul 21, 2023

Show notes

Star Stories with Toure` Coming August 1st Jul 20, 2023

Show notes

Star Stories with Toure` is an animated series about the unpredictable and sometimes unbelievable backstage interactions with some of the most iconic men in music today.

These animated stories are unforgettable recollections of the larger-than-life experiences with music journalist Toure` and Black celebrities.

“I spent over two decades working in music journalism, and it left me with a wealth of awesome stories about the time I spent hanging out with many intriguing stars. I played basketball with Prince. I played poker with Jay-Z. I went jewelry shopping with Kanye. I was briefly kidnapped and threatened with torture by Suge Knight. All these stories reveal something interesting, funny, or real about these stars. There is also a contrast between the life of a star and the life of a journalist. It is centered around true stories, which are definitely for adults, not kids." Toure`

Tracy Chapman x Affirmative Action Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

Tracy Chapman became one of the biggest musicians in the world thanks to two critical 80s concepts—affirmative action and the diasporic mindset. Because of the diasporic mindset, many Americans thought of Africa as part of their world, as if Africa’s problems are our own, and we are not truly free until South Africans suffering under Apartheid are free. And affirmative action did nothing less than change Chapman’s life. We’ll explore how those ideas helped Chapman and how they relate to "Fast Car." We’ll also look at what Chapman’s life might have been like if she’d never been helped by affirmative action.

Guests: Jelani Cobb, Dean, Columbia Journalism School

Credits:

Tracy Chapman - Fast Car

Label: Elektra
Writer: Tracy Chapman
Publisher: PURPLE RABBIT MUSIC

Tracy Chapman - Fast Car (Live Version)

Label: Elektra
Writer: Tracy Chapman
Publisher: Purple Rabbit Music

Elizabeth Cotten - Freight Train

Writer: Elizabeth Cotten, James Paul, William Frederick
Label: Folkways Records FG 3526
Publisher: Figs D Music

Elizabeth Cotten - Goin Down the Road Feelin Bad

Writer: Elizabeth Cotten
Label: Folkways Records FG 3526
Publisher: Folkways Records FG 3526

Tracy Chapman | Rare Interview, Planet Rock Profiles

Tracy Chapman 1996, Charlie Rose

Tracy Chapman Talks Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman Online

Elizabeth Cotten, Series Down Home

Elizabeth Cotten, Rainbow Quest TV

I Am Somebody, Jesse Jackson LP, Respect Records (1971)

Living History presents Jesse Jackson, Rutherford Living History

De La Soul x Crack Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

"My Brother’s A Basehead” is a true story. Posdnous from De La Soul had an older brother who had a crack addiction and it was very damaging for the whole family. For Pos and his parents, crack was literally in the house just as it was in many houses and many families during the crack era. Crack decimated many families and De La Soul made one of the most powerful songs about all that. In this episode we talk about how crack destroyed families and what went into the making of "My Brother’s A Basehead.” We talk to Prince Paul, De La Soul’s producer who’s sometimes called the 4th member of the group. We also talk about a very different song about crack users, Public Enemy’s Night of the Living Baseheads, which looked down on people who used crack while one of the members of PE was a crack addict. PE's producer Hank Shocklee joins us for that.

Guests:

Prince Paul, Producer - De La Soul is Dead

Hank Shocklee, Producer - Public Enemy

Credits:

De La Soul - My Brothers a Basehead

Writer: Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove, Prince Paul, Maseo, Clint Ballard Jr. & Robby Krieger
Label: Tommy Boy Records
Publisher: Tee Girl Music, MCA Music, Shapiro Bernstein & Doors Music Co.

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5 - The Message

Writer: Clifton ‘’Jiggs’’ Chase, Sylvia Robinson, Duke Bootee & Grandmaster Melle Mel
Label: Sugar Hill Records
Publisher: Sugar Hill Records

De La Soul - Me Myself and I

Writer: Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove, Prince Paul, Maseo, George Clinton & Philippe Wynne
Label: Tommy Boy Records
Publisher: Birdsong Edwin Music Pub, Bridgeport Music Inc, Daisy Age Music, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Co

De La Soul - Potholes on My Lawn

Writer: P. Huston, K. Mercer, D. Jolicoeur, V. Mason
Label: Tommy Boy Records
Publisher: Tommy Boy Music

Public Enemy - Night of the Living Baseheads

Writer: Chuck D, Eric Sadler & Hank Shocklee
Label: Def Jam Recordings
Publisher: Def American Songs Inc, Reach Global Songs, Shocklee Music, Songs Of Reach Music, Terrordome Music Publishing Llc, Your Mother S Music Inc

Crack User in the 80’s epic interview, EurointheCut

What is the Drug War? With Jay-Z & Molly Crabapple, Drug Policy Alliance

Lawn Order, 99 Percent Invisible

Toure: Why I Quit, Touré

Speaking Freely: Chuck D, Freedom Forum

Malcolm X’s Fiery Speech Addressing Police Brutality, Smithsonian Channel

NWA x Selling Crack Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

N.W.A’s “Dopeman” Is one of the illest songs ever made because it takes you deep into the drug dealer’s perspective on selling drugs. The crack dealer was evil but we should still seek to understand what drove him and when we look into his soul we find that like the fiends he served, he too was an addict, but he was addicted to power and money. Crack dealers and their culture had a deep influence on hiphop culture and the Black community. In this ep we go into "Dopeman” with The D.O.C. from NWA and talk to several former drug dealers about how dealers changed the world around them.

Guests:

Nelson George, Filmmaker

Royce Da 5’9, Rapper

Biba Adams, Writer

The D.O.C., Rapper

Samson Styles, Journalist and Filmmaker

Kevin Chiles, CEO Don Diva Magazine

Jim Jones, Rapper

Credits:

NWA - Dope Man

Writer: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Sugarfoot, Junie Morrison, Marshall “Rock” Jones, Greg Webster, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, Norman Napier & Andrew Noland
Label: Ruthless Records
Publisher: Ruthless Attack Muzick & Bridgeport Music

NWA - Fuck Tha Police

Writer: The D.O.C., Ice Cube & MC Ren
Label: Universal Music Group, Ruthless Records & Priority Records
Publisher: Universal Music Group

Notorius BIG - The Ten Crack Commandments

Writer: The Notorious B.I.G. & DJ Premier
Label: Bad Boy Entertainment
Publisher: B.I.G. Poppa Music, Gifted Pearl Music, Justin Combs Music & EMI April Music

Alpo Martinez, FEDS Magazine

Public Enemy x Mass Incarceration May 31, 2023

Show notes

“Black Steel In the Hour of Chaos” is Public Enemy’s look at prison and mass incarceration. In this episode, we leap from that song into talking about the New Jim Crow and mass incarceration and how being in America is like being in a prison.

Guests:

Dr. Christina Greer, Fordham Professor

Hank Shocklee, Producer

Adam Bernstein, Director, Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos

Jim Jones, Rapper

Credits:

Public Enemy - Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos

Writer: Chuck D, Eric Sadler, Hank Shocklee & Flavor Flav
Label: Def Jam Recordings & Columbia Records
Publisher: Shocklee Music, Songs Of Reach Music, Songs Of Universal Inc, Terrordome Music Publishing Llc, Your Mother S Music Inc

Public Enemy - Fight The power

Writer: Flavor Flav, Gary G-Wiz, Chuck D, Hank Shocklee, Eric Sadler & Keith Shocklee
Label: Def Jam Recordings
Publisher: Reach Global Songs, Shocklee Music, Songs Of Reach Music, Songs Of Universal Inc, Terrordome Music Publishing Llc, Your Mother S Music Inc

Public Enemy - Burn Hollywood Burn

Writer: Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane, Chuck D, Keith Shocklee & Eric Sadler
Label: Def Jam Recordings & Columbia Records
Publisher: Cold Chillin' Music Publishing Inc, Gangsta Boogie Music, Universal Music Corporation

Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet

Writer: Chuck D, Eric Sadler & Keith Shocklee
Label: Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records
Publisher: Bridgeport Music Inc, Reach Global Songs, Songs Of Universal Inc

Jay Z - 99 Problems

Writer: JAY-Z, Rick Rubin, Ice-T, DJ Aladdin, Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, N.D. Smart II, Leslie West, Bun B, John Ventura, Norman Landsberg, Billy Squier & Felix Pappalardi
Label: Def Jam Recordings & Roc-A-Fella Records
Publisher: Carter Boys Music, EMI April Music, Rhyme Syndicate Music, Copyright Control, Ammo Dump Music, Carrumba Music, Songs of the Knight, Spirit Two Music, Warner Music Group, Universal - Songs of Polygram International, BMG & Careers-BMG Music Publishing

Muhammad Ali Gives His Stance On The Vietnam War, The Dick Cavett Show

Muhammad Ali Refuses Induction, Opposing Vietnam War, The Boys Who Said NO!

Michelle Alexander Extended Interview, Religion and Ethics Weekly, PBS

Speaking Freely: Chuck D, Freedom Forum

House Negro/Field Negro, Malcolm X Message To The Grassroots