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Heat Rocks — Arts
Heat Rocks

Scorching guests and sizzling records: join music writer Oliver Wang and music supervisor Morgan Rhodes each week as they invite their favorite artists, critics and scholars for in-depth conversations about the albums that shape our lives. Each week our special guests will take you deep into their heat rocks from the world of hip-hop, soul, dance, jazz, funk and more. Get with us!

Latest Episodes:

100th Episode Spectacular: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings' "100 Days 100 Nights" (2007) Aug 22, 2019

Show notes

The Album: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings 100 Days, 100 Nights (2007)

On the occasion of our 100th episode, we decided to devote a Host’s Choice episode to talking about the breakout 2007 album from Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Coming out hot on the heels of Amy Winehouse’s best-selling Back to Black (2007) which featured the Dap-Kings horn section, 100 Days, 100 Nights made it clear who the queen (and kings) of the retro-soul sound was. As their third album, that latest LP showcased the group’s growing prowess as songwriters and Jones was in top form with a voice able to bring heft and spark to the group’s stylings on Southern soul, uptempo funk and deep gospel.

Morgan and Oliver are mostly excited to have made it to #100 and we wanted to thank all our listeners, guests and producers for their support of our show over its first two years. Here’s to 100 more!

More on 100 Days, 100 Nights

She's Not Anybody's Backup Act (The New York Times)
Tiny Mixtape's review of 100 Days, 100 Nights
Gabriel Roth's Shitty is Pretty essay

Show Tracklisting (all songs from 100 Days, 100 Nights unless indicated otherwise):

100 Days, 100 Nights
Nobody's Baby
Amy Winehouse: He Can Only Hold Her
Solange: I Decided, Part 1
Raphael Saadiq: 100 Yard Dash
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: She Aint A Child No More
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: Stranded In Your Love
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: All Over Again
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: Cut That Line
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: Window Shopping
Amy Winehouse: You Know I'm No Good
The Poets of Rhythm: More Mess On My Thing
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators: If This Ain't Love (Don't Know What Is)
Repercussions: A Gentle Kind of Love
Repercussions: Let's Do It Again
Alice Russell: Somebody's Gonna Love You
Mayer Hawthorne: Just Ain't Gonna Work Out
Durand Jones & the Indications: Can't Keep My Cool
Saun & Starr: Big Wheel
Keep On Looking
Let Them Knock
100 Days, 100 Nights
Otis Day & The Knights: Shout
Tell Me
When The Other Foot Drops, Uncle
LeAndria Johnson: I Couldn't Have Done It
Answer Me
Thee Lakesiders: Parachute
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings: All Over Again
James Ingram: One Hundred Ways

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Raphael Saadiq on Earth, Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World" (1975) + Remembering Nipsey Hussle Aug 15, 2019

Show notes

The Album: Earth, Wind & Fire That's The Way Of The World (1975)

On March 15, 1975, Columbia Records released "That's The Way Of The World" the sixth studio album of Earth Wind & Fire, a band of 10 members who fused rock, jazz, funk and soul. The album sold five million units, and won a Grammy for the single "Shining Star" (Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group). Produced by Maurice White and Charles Stepney, the album focused on EWF's familiar themes, spirituality, oneness, love.

Oscar and Golden Globe nominated composer Raphael Saadiq joined Oliver and Morgan in studio to talk "That's The Way of The World" and all the things that made EWF iconic including, Philip Bailey's falsetto, Maurice White's mysticisms and drum heroics, Charles Stepney's production and the harmonies that caught his ear and his attention and the happy feelings the band's music inspired in his own musicianship as a youth growing up in Oakland.

You'll want to catch this one. Because Reasons.

And stay tuned after the interview for a special segment celebrating the life and music of Nipsey Hussle, who would have turned 34 this week. Rest in power, Nipsey.

More on Raphael Saadiq

Raphael Saadiq Finally Put His Past on the Record (The New York Times)
Raphael Saadiq is a Real One(Afropunk)
Twitter | Instagram

More on That's The Way Of The World

Earth, Wind & Fire: 12 Essential Songs (Rolling Stone)
BBC's review of That's the Way of the World
Key Tracks: Earth Wind, & Fire's That's the Way of the World (Red Bull Music Academy)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from That's The Way Of The World unless indicated otherwise):

See The Light
Raphael Saadiq: So Ready
Earth, Wind & Fire: On Your Face
The Jacksons: Show You The Way To Go
Al Green: I'm Still In Love With You
B.B King: Heed My Warning
War: Why Can't We Be Friends
Rick James: Bustin' Out
2 Men, A Drum Machine and A Trumpet: Tired of Getting Pushed Around
Funkadelic: (Not Just) Knee Deep
Earth, Wind & Fire: Love Music
Earth, Wind & Fire: Love's Holiday
Earth, Wind & Fire: Imagination
Earth, Wind & Fire: Yearnin' Learnin' (Live)
Minnie Ripperton: Les Fleur
Africano
Earth, Wind & Fire: Can't Let Go
All About Love (First Impression)
Shining Star
That's the Way of the World
Shining Star
Happy Feelin'
Reasons
Shirley Murdock: As We Lay
Erick Sermon: Stay Real
Earth, Wind & Fire: Boogie Wonderland
The Emotions: Don't Ask My Neighbors
Ramsey Lewis: Sun Goddess
The Randy Watson Experience & Bilal: Can't Hide Love
Nipsey Hussle: Hussle in the House
Nipsey Hussle: FOREVER ON SOME FLY SHIT
Nipsey Hussle: They Roll
Nipsey Hussle: Face the World
Nipsey Hussle: Shell Shocked
DJ Khaled: Higher

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Mark "Frosty" McNeill on Nina Simone's "It Is Finished" (1974) Aug 08, 2019

Show notes

The Album: Nina Simone It Is Finished (1974)

It Is Finished is an ominous title, least of all given where Nina Simone was in her personal life at the time. Much of the early ‘70s had seen the High Priestess of Soul escaping to Barbados, first to avoid a troubled marriage, then to avoid the IRS. But RCA Records lured her back to New York to tape a live show, much of which would go into It Is Finished alongside a few tracks from an earlier studio session. One of those vault cuts, “Funkier Than a Mosquito’s Tweeter” would become an unlikely hit on the funk/soul dance floor circuit but It Is Finished was far more than one-tracker, especially as Simone dipped into Afro-Caribbean spirituality via the (under-credited) participation of Exuma on much of this album. Our guest, Mark “Frosty” McNeill is the co-founder of the long-running Dublab internet (now terrestrial) radio station and together, we got deep into Nina’s public and personal tribulations of that era, how the album reflects a particular moment in black cultural identity and a spirited debate about Tina vs. Nina.

More on Mark McNeill

Dublab: Morning Becomes... Erotic (LA Record)
Dublab Presents: In Conversation
Twitter | Dublab

More on It Is Finished

Nina Simone: The 'Princess Noire' (NPR)
Nina Simone's 'It Is Finished' Review and Thoughts (A Short Man In A Wide World)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from It Is Finished unless indicated otherwise):

Obeah Woman
Nina Simone: Wild Is The Wind
Nina Simone: See Line Woman (Masters at Work Remix)
To Love Somebody
Nina Simone: Revolution (Live at the Harlem Cultural Festival)
Mr. Bojangles
Kumbaya (earliest known recording)
Walter Hawkins: Come By Here Good Lord
Com' By H'Yere Good Lord
Exuma: Mama Loi, Papa Loi
Ike and Tina Turner: Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter
Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter
Let It Be Me
Elvis: Let It Be Me
I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl
Obeah Woman
Esther Phillips: Home is Where the Hatred Is
Ganga and Hess OST: Survival Drive
Exuma: Exuma, The Obeah Man

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Summer Spectacular feat. Quetzal (redux) Aug 01, 2019

Show notes

Guests: Quetzal

The Albums:

Alé Kumá: Cantaoras (Alé Kumá, 2002)
Mary J. Blige: What's the 411? (Uptown, 1992)
The Smiths: Louder Than Bombs (Rough Trade, 1987)
Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly (TDE, 2015)

Note: This is a rerun of an episode from 2018 that has been re-edited and remastered.

We wanted to dedicate an episode to talking about the music of summer, easily the one season that people have the deepest sonic associations with. To that aim, we invited the two founding members of L.A.'s Quetzal, Martha Gonzalez and Quetzal Flores. Since 1992, the group has melded the son jarocho tradition into all manners of other genres, resulting in seven albums (and counting), including 2017's The Eternal Getdown.

Together, each of our quartet got to pick an album that we associate with the summer and as you see above, we covered a whirlwind of styles and eras that bring up all manners of thoughts and feelings for us. Summer love may be fleeting but it lingers, always.

More on Quetzal

Tiny Desk Concert (NPR's All Songs Considered)
"The Fiery Music of Quetzal" (KCET's Artbound)
Website | Facebook

Show Tracklisting:

Quetzal: Olokun y Yemayá
Alé Kumá: Las Olas De La Mar
Alé Kumá: Volá Pajarito
Alé Kumá: ¿Por Qué Me Pegá?
Alé Kumá:Oiaymeló
Mary J Blige: Love No Limit
Mary J Blige: Slow Down
Mary J Blige: Reminisce
Mary J Blige: Sweet Thing
Mary J Blige: What's the 411?
Mary J Blige: Leave a Message
Mary J Blige: I'll Do 4 U
Mary J Blige: You're All I Need
Mary J Blige: I Don't Want to Do Anything
The Smiths: Sheila Take a Bow
The Smiths: Shoplifters of the World Unite
The Smiths: Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
The Smiths: Half a Person
The Smiths: Panic
Kendrick Lamar: Momma
Kendrick Lamar: You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)
Kendrick Lamar: Alright
Kendrick Lamar: These Walls
Kendrick Lamar: i

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Jimetta Rose on Rufus & Chaka Khan's "From Rags to Rufus" (1974) Jul 26, 2019

Show notes

The Album: Rufus & Chaka Khan From Rags to Rufus (1974)

Los Angeles soul singer, Jimetta Rose, has been making music for a long time, working with artists like Talib Kweli, Meshell Ndgeocello, and Shuggie Otis. Her velvety smooth vocals and thoughtful writing made her a force of nature in the LA music scene, bodying anything from R&B to jazz, to rap, and so much more.

Jimetta was on a journey, searching for a Chaka Khan dance record, and on her way there, found the funk. Jimetta sat down with us to talk Rufus and Chaka Khan's "From Rags to Rufus." We discussed the origins of Rufus and their transition to funk, the impact Chaka had on the band, and why her voice resonates with women from all walks of life, including a young Jimetta Rose.

More on Jimetta Rose

Jimetta on Sly5thAve's rendition of "Let Me Ride" (YouTube)
Jimetta Rose Raises Higher Vibrations (Random Length News)
Website | Instagram

More on From Rags to Rufus

Graded on a Curve: Rufus, Rags to Rufus (The Vinyl District)
Rags to Rufus' Wikipedia entry

Show Tracklisting (all songs from From Rags to Rufus unless indicated otherwise):

I Got The Right Street (But The Wrong Direction)
Chaka Khan: I Know You, I Live You
Chaka Khan: Stop On By
Chaka Khan: So Not to Worry
Donna Summer: Dinner With Gershwin
Ray Parker Jr.: You Can't Change That
Eddie Kendricks: Girl You Need A Change Of Mind
You Got The Love
Rags to Rufus
The American Breed: Bend Me, Shape Me
Walkin' In The Sun
In Love We Grow
Sly5thAve: Let Me Ride
The Golden Gate Quartet: Swing Down Chariot
Swing Down Chariot
Walkin' In The Sun
Swing Down Chariot
Smokin' Room
Tell Me Something Good
Prince: I Feel For You
Chaka Khan: I Feel For You
Ain't Nothin' But A Maybe
Sideways
Smokin' Room

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

David Ma on GZA's "Liquid Swords" (1995) Jul 18, 2019

Show notes

The Album: GZA Liquid Swords (1995)

Music journalist David Ma has been in the game for a long time, writing for The Guardian, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The Source, and many, many others. He's also the host of Dad Bod Rap Pod, a hip-hop roundtable discussion show from the Bay area. When he told us he wanted to talk about GZA's debut solo effort, Liquid Swords, we knew we were in for a good conversation. We talk about GZA's new jack swing beginnings, his role within the Wu-Tang Clan, and his seemingly endless vocabulary. Even within the Wu's solo efforts, Liquid Swords stands out, with its gritty production, complex lyricism, and hard-hitting flow. It stood the test of time and still bounces, Shogun Assassin samples included.

More on David Ma

David's talk with GZA about Liquid Swords (WaxPoetics)
Dad Bod Rap Pod
Twitter | Website

More on Liquid Swords

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Liquid Swords unless indicated otherwise):

I Gotcha Back
Liquid Swords
Wu-Tang Clan: 7th Chamber - Part II - Conclusion
GZA: Come Do Me
Swordsman
Gold
Raekwon: Ice Cream
Method Man: I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need
Notorious BIG: The What
Shadowboxin'
Dr. Dre: Stranded on Death Row
Liquid Swords
Willie Mitchell: Groovin'
Liquid Swords
Cannonball Adderly: Aries
Gold
Ann Peebles: Trouble, Heartaches, & Sadness
Shadowboxin'
Gold
4th Chamber
Labels
B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)
The Genius: Feel the Pain
Wu-Tang Clan: Clan In Da Front

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Gavin Turek on Carole King's "Tapestry" (1971) Jul 11, 2019

Show notes

The Album: Carole King Tapestry (1971)

LA singer songwriter Gavin Turek's relationship with Carole King's Tapestry album began in her childhood, listening to her father play virtually every song featured on the piano. He taught her the notes, the chords, the vocals until the earth moved under her feet and made her a die hard fan.

She joined Heat Rocks to discuss what made this album fire, the west coast leanings of Tapestry, Carole's lyrical approach to the realness of relationships and why having a cat featured on your cover art is lit and progressive.

There are so many heaters on this album, she had four favorites. Listen in and you'll understand why.

More on Gavin Turek

Gavin Turek "Elevator" Video (Stereogum)
First Look Friday: Get A Good Look At Singer-Songwriter Gavin Turek (Okayplayer)
Website | Twitter

More on Tapestry

Carole King's Tapestry feels like a comfort blanket, until you hear the anxiety within it (The Guardian)
How Carole King Created Her Blockbuster Masterpiece "Tapestry"" (Ultimate Classic Rock)
Carole King's official website

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Tapestry unless indicated otherwise):

Way Over Yonder
Gavin Turek: Frontline (TOKiMONSTA Remix)
I Feel the Earth Move
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
Aretha Franklin: (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
So Far Away
Smachwater Jack
Tapestry
It's Too Late
Carole King: Locomotion
Will You Love Me Tomorrow
The Shirelles: Will You Love Me Tomorrow
Donny Hathaway: You've Got A Friend
Aretha Franklin: Medley: Precious Lord, Take My Hand/ You've Got A Friend
So Far Away
Gary Portnoy: Cheers Theme
Where You Lead
Where You Lead (Gilmore Girls version)
Joni Mitchell: California
Tracy Chapman: Fast Cars

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Art of Sampling #2 with Thes One on Nas's "Illmatic" (1994) Jul 04, 2019

Show notes

The Album: Nas Illmatic (1994)

In our first episode from our four-part Art of Sampling series, we focused on one of the classic sources of samples from the mid-80s: the James Brown anthology, In the Jungle Groove. For #2, we wanted to turn our attention to an album whose use of samples helped influences sampling culture and for that, we went with a giant celebrating its 25th anniversary this year: Nas's debut album, Illmatic.

So much has been said about this LP over the years, we shouldn’t need to make a case for it but here’s the short version: it’s not simply considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time but it’s universally lauded as one of the greatest debut albums in any genre, least of all given the intense hype around Nas leading up to it. Befitting that anticipation, Illmatic drew, really for the first time, a Dream Team-esque assemblage of some of New York’s finest producers including Q-Tip, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor and L.E.S. Their production decisions, including the samples that powered their now iconic tracks, marked one peak in hip-hop’s golden era of sample-based production.

To help us break all this down, we invited one of Los Angeles’s finest: Thes One, half of People Under the Stairs (and composer of our theme song!) While Thes generally doesn’t like talking about other producers’ work, as a 16 year old hip-hop head hyped for Illmatic when it dropped in ’94, Thes brought his insights as both a producer and fan, and we touched on everything from the use of nostalgia in sample choices, how Nas’s flow worked with different beats, and why DJ Premier’s “bubba chip” drum programming was a game changer.

More on Thes One

Thes interviewed by Oliver in 2011 (Part 1 and Part 2)
Thes interviewed on the House List (Part 1 and Part 2)
Website | Instagram

More on Illmatic

The Second Coming (The Source)
Nas's Illmatic 25 anniversary mixtape by Chris Read" (WaxPoetics)
Illmatic by Nas turns 25 (The Independent)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Illmatic unless indicated otherwise):

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Kier Lehman on Steely Dan's "Aja" (1977) Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

The Album: Steely Dan Aja (1977)

If you love the music on Insecure, you'll love the fact that Heat Rocks had an opportunity to sit down with the brainchild behind in. Kier Lehman, well known for his work on Insecure, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Being Mary Jane, Entourage, Love Is, sat down with us to talk about the seminal 1977 album that is a tastemakers dream and beloved across generations.

Walter Becker and Donald Fagen and 36 of the best and brightest musicians and vocalists in the business assembled on the west coast to produce seven tracks which dripped with jazz, rock, punk, soul and fire!

Music writers and critics across publication and decades all agree that Aja is a masterpiece and belongs in the canon of great albums.

What happens when two music supes sit down to unpack it? Tune in to find out.

More on Kier Lehman

Peak Time: Music Supervision with Kier Lehman and Thomas Golubic (Red Bull Radio)
Kier's Interview with Billboard
Twitter | Instagram

More on Aja

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Aja unless indicated otherwise):

I Got The News
Aja
Peg
Home At Last
Black Cow
Deacon Blues
Aja
Josie
Wiz Khalifa: Old Chanel
Peg
De La Soul: Eye Know
Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz: Uptown Baby
Black Cow
MF DOOM: Gas Drawls
Steely Dan: Kid Charlamagne
Kanye West: Champion
Aja
Home at Last
I Got The News
Peg

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

Comeback Albums and Mailbag Special Jun 20, 2019

Show notes

We here at Heat Rocks took a break from recording episodes in order to recharge our batteries. We thought we'd celebrate our return with an episode partly dedicated to our favorite comeback albums. In the second half, we rummage through the Heat Rocks mailbag and answer listener questions about great debut albums, summer jams, the weirdest record sleeve finds, and more!

Show Tracklisting:

Mariah Carey: Butterfly
Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band: Cherchez la Femme/ Se Si Bon
Mariah Carey: Breakdown
LL Cool J: Mama Said Knock You Out
LL Cool J: Milky Cereal
Jay-Z: December 4th
Jay-Z: Dirt Off Your Shoulders
A Tribe Called Quest: Black Spasmodic
A Tribe Called Quest: We The People...
A Tribe Called Quest: Solid Wall of Sound
D'Angelo: Send It On
D'Angelo: Devil's Pie
Brandy: Brokenhearted
Joe Budden: Pump It Up
Young Gunz: Friday Night
Jay-Z: Show Me What You Got
The Rebirth: This Journey In
The Internet: Wanna Be
Missy Elliott: Sock It 2 Me
Digable Planets: Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
Digable Planets: Black Ego
Prince: Diamond and Pearls
Cissy Houston: Warning - Danger
Floyd Anckle: Hey Pocky A-Way
Johnny Nash: Cupid
Chaka Khan: Caught in the Act
Skye: Aint No Need

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

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