Music

Pop the Trunk

Everyone has a podcast, but Vinnie Paz finally has one about the thing that changed his life: Music.

“Pop the Trunk” is Vinnie’s first podcast where he’s actually going to talk about music and all the different realms it touches from pop culture to sports, movies, books…it’ll be a free-flowing conversation from his scattered brain. So, come join Vinnie , Brendan, and Billy for what’ll be an unhinged tour through a wide range of topics that all started with a career in music that is one of the more unlikely DIY success stories.

Latest Episodes:

"No Assembly Required" | Episode 11 | Pop the Trunk Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

No guest, no filter. Vinnie, Brendan, and Billy go deep on one of hip hop's most unspoken rules — everybody got put on by somebody. From The Jaz (Jaz-O) opening doors for Jay, to Dre's Aftermath becoming a graveyard for careers that never were, the crew breaks down the co-sign, what it's worth, and what happens when it doesn't deliver. Junior Mafia, Wu-Tang affiliates, Two Chains betting on himself — it's a full autopsy on who made it, who got left at the bus stop, and why.

Before all that, the guys catch up on shed suspicions, IKEA assembly nightmares, and Billy's kids accidentally dropping slurs at the Dollar Store.

Episode 10: Scott-Free Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

Scott Vogel, frontman of Terror, joins the crew for Episode 10, before heading out on a six-and-a-half-week North American tour behind Terror's new record Still Suffer. What starts as a technical difficulty turns into an instant PTT classic moment. Once connected, Scott and Vinnie go deep on the parallels between hardcore and hip hop culture, tracing their origins from Black Sabbath and Run DMC to Agnostic Front and DITC. The conversation covers Scott's upbringing in Buffalo, his stepbrother Jay as the gateway to everything, the early days of Slugfest and Buried Alive, and how those scenes mirror each other more than most people realize.

After he signs off, the crew hits the mailbag — including pointed feedback about Brendan's background art choices — and gets into the unwritten rules of barbershop culture, the business of underground music, and why the "gift and the curse" of recognition hits differently at this level.

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Episode 9 - Great Scott Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

Vinnie finally gets his studio engineer and longtime collaborator Scott Stallone out of the lab and in front of a mic to talk about it all — the Ruffhouse era, the flood that destroyed his studio the night they finished Legacy of Blood, and what he's been building behind the scenes ever since.

Twenty-one years in, they pull back the curtain on how their sessions actually work, why Scott barely takes outside clients anymore, and what he's been quietly building in the world of sync. One of the most private figures in Vinnie's world, and this is the first time he's talked about most of it.

KEOTB Bonus Episode - The Return Jab (Episode 206) Apr 10, 2026

Show notes

Pop the Trunk Presents: Knock 'Em Out the Box — Bonus Episode (Ep. 206)

This is not a Pop the Trunk episode — this is the one the Knocker Nation has been asking for. After a long hiatus, Vinnie and Brendan are back in their corners for a bonus round of Knock 'Em Out the Box, the boxing podcast that started it all. No guests, no hip-hop detours — just straight boxing talk, picking up at Episode 206 right where they left off. On tap: Boots Ennis vs. Xander Zayas at Barclays Center, Bivol's mandatory defense, the sanctioning body circus, Vito Mielnicki Jr. at Boardwalk Hall, the state of UK heavyweight boxing, and a thorough breakdown of why Barclays Center needs this fight more than it lets on. These bonus episodes will live on the Pop the Trunk feed and will drop when the fight calendar demands it — this one was too good to skip.

Episode 8 - Space Jam Apr 08, 2026

Show notes

Pop the Trunk is officially in the building! Episode 8 marks the first time the show records in-studio, and the crew is joined by Philadelphia legends Outerspace — Planetary and Crypt the Warchild — for a conversation 28 years in the making.

They go all the way back: Puerto Rican families landing in Philly, finding each other in East Oak Lane, older brothers as the cheat code into hip hop, and the G-Rap moment that made Planetary pick up a pen. From there it's Footwork open mics, cassette tapes in the trunk, Super Regular Records, Army of the Pharaohs, and the grinding East Coast tours that built everything. No filter. No holds barred. This one runs deep.

Episode 7 - Cheesesteaks Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

The guys pick up where they left off, with Vinnie settling the record on some yellow journalism that's been circulating since last episode — and Brendan may or may not be heading to HR for a pre-show text that nearly ended the whole thing before it started. From there, the crew sits down for a full Pop the Trunk Pause, watching and breaking down the music video for "Cheese Steaks" off God of the Serengeti in real time. Billy directed it, and the behind-the-scenes stories are as raw as the footage — zero budget, gorilla-style, GoPro on a barbershop floor, Vinnie being dragged out of Liberty Bar every twenty minutes to shoot scenes he didn't want to do.

Vinnie opens up about the sophomore slump anxiety going into God of the Serengeti, how the Beat Nuts beat became an anthem, and why at this point in his career, making videos painless is non-negotiable. The episode closes with listener mail, a full Brendan Long roast courtesy of the comments section, a tease of upcoming boxing content, and Vinnie going to war with the podcast's email address.

Episode 6 - Tour (War) Stories Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Pop the Trunk, the boys dive deep into the unwritten rules of backstage etiquette, Vinnie’s run in with a little person, the lack of respect for hip-hop's architects, and the chaotic reality of life behind the curtain.

Episode 5 - Mailbag - Skateboarding, Philly Slang, and Rap Legends Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

The boys open up the Pop the Trunk Mailbag! From the "unintentionally funny" rise of Nu-Metal to the crossover of 90s skateboard culture. The guys also dive deep into the legendary Chung King Studios, sharing a classic (and chaotic) story about Foxy Brown "wildin" over a missing turkey burger. Plus, we pay tribute to the late, great Bob Power, the sonic architect behind A Tribe Called Quest and D'Angelo.

Episode 4 - "Czarmy of the Pharaohs" Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

In this landmark episode of Pop the Trunk, Vinnie and Brendan welcome their very first guest to the show: the legendary MC Esoteric (Czarface, Army of the Pharaohs, 7L & Esoteric).

Spanning over three decades of friendship and collaboration, this conversation dives deep into the "cheat codes" of discovering hip-hop culture as outsiders and the relentless "delusion" required to build an independent empire. From the early days of mailing cassette tapes between Philly and Boston to the global success of Czarface and AOTP, this is a masterclass in staying power and creative evolution.

Episode 3: "Ten John Lennons" Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, the boys dive deep into the monumental release of Wu-Tang Forever. Vinnie breaks down the sheer impossibility of the group's lineup, comparing the collective brilliance of the nine members to finding "ten John Lennons and McCartneys" in a single project.

Vinnie also shares personal stories of hearing the record in real-time while guest-hosting with Bahamadia on Philly radio and watching the culture shift in an instant.

Write to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mailbag@popthetrunkpod.com Follow us on Instagram @popthetrunk.pod Subscribe to the Youtube page @jmthiphop. Remember to like, subscribe, comment and review the show!!!

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