0:00
wow man that's from a clip from wmx
0:02
presents that's actually the trailer
0:04
iconic record season one life after
0:06
death hosted by Angie Martinez
0:10
but she didn't do it alone
0:13
she did not do it alone this is to me
0:15
one of the most important series uh
0:18
that's come out of this whole hip-hop 50
0:20
celebration that we've been having
0:22
because of some of the Architects that's
0:26
writer producer uh on their personality
0:30
podcaster historian archivist Guru griot
0:39
this man is sit down with the likes of
0:41
Chadwick Boseman Clyde Davis Jay-Z just
0:48
uh double XL magazine mtv2 Slam Magazine
0:53
Chief editor-in-chief of the source just
0:57
Tracy G that's right cold written
0:59
award-winning films 2018 Manhattan Film
1:03
Festival winner for story Ave just to
1:06
can't stop won't stop a bad boy story
1:12
and his work keeps on growing man I'm
1:15
proud to have this brother here I
1:16
consider him a brother and and I
1:19
definitely consider him a brother and
1:20
what we do here for the culture welcome
1:22
him back to the show The One and Only
1:29
just to name a few it can't be the goat
1:33
if the goat's over here talking you know
1:35
there's enough room in the pastors for
1:37
more than one goal it's a lot of ghosts
1:39
eating right now there's enough room in
1:42
the pasture for one more than one goat
1:45
um bansu welcome welcome man here this
1:47
morning bro congratulations absolutely
1:49
man you might think you Tracy everybody
1:51
yeah I see the heart what is that the
1:54
heart to earn merch absolutely
1:55
absolutely come on man if you don't know
1:58
man this is probably in my opinion one
2:00
of the most interesting podcasts in the
2:02
game right now is hard to earn it's
2:03
we're still a baby man but you know
2:05
we're here I mean it's a so hard to earn
2:08
is uh my podcast with my partner Torrey
2:12
podcast dedicated to reviewing r b and
2:15
rap albums track by track top to bottom
2:18
having conversations about every song we
2:21
um you know uh Classic Albums on their
2:23
pivotal anniversaries where the 20th uh
2:28
um you know and also you know we discuss
2:29
current music you know whether that's
2:31
Jack Hollow or Freddie Gibbs you know
2:32
but we discuss these albums break them
2:34
down have conversations between every
2:36
song we give context of Classic Albums I
2:38
mean and you know again we're a baby
2:40
podcast but you know this we're the only
2:42
podcast doing it dedicated to and I'll
2:44
say it black music you know there you go
2:46
get a round of applause you can say it
2:48
um you brought up Jack Harlow
2:50
who said he's the hardest white boy
2:53
rapping since Eminem what is your
2:56
I disagree with that okay he doesn't
2:58
even rap hard to me he's a good rapper
3:00
this funny thing is Jack Carlos actually
3:02
our next episode um we have to record
3:03
this week um unless Ty are you around Ty
3:07
are you going you in the Derby Derby two
3:09
or what the hell you're in New York Ty
3:15
Jet Set a tie Jesus Christ
3:18
um but yeah Jack Hall's the um he's the
3:20
next episode but um he doesn't I think
3:22
he's a good rapper I wouldn't say he's
3:26
um yeah I mean as far as like white the
3:28
funny thing is so I will one of my
3:30
previous episodes was we um we reviewed
3:33
the uh who's the Man soundtrack right on
3:35
the 30th anniversary and we were talking
3:37
about how much we loved Everlast right
3:39
and I was like yo Everlast God of course
3:41
he got a bad rap because you know it's
3:42
it's it's early 90s and you know we
3:45
would definitely we had we were
3:47
traumatized by Vanilla Ice and over that
3:49
but I'm like yo Everlast was a hard body
3:51
like he had legit ROMs he had the great
3:53
voice he had this beat selection was
3:55
tough I feel like you know he was
3:57
short-lived so you know I'm not a you
3:58
know I'm very much a hip-hop curator and
4:01
I'm very much a gatekeeper and ever
4:03
since but like I never had a problem
4:04
with Everlast you know so I've been
4:06
laughing so it's very dope went to
4:08
Whitey Ford yeah yeah I mean he
4:11
definitely transitions people stop
4:13
seeing him the same way oh yeah he was
4:14
different absolutely I I got off the
4:16
trade also okay I think also being a
4:19
curator bonsu you help us to understand
4:22
the definition from a lot of words that
4:24
we just throw around a lot right so in
4:27
this instance what would you define what
4:29
are the defining differences between
4:34
um well I mean they're not synonymous I
4:37
mean you could be hard and bad you could
4:39
um am I but we pausing
4:44
man I don't remember to do that but
4:48
uh no I mean so what I'm saying like in
4:51
his approach like I think Jack Hollow is
4:54
a good rapper um I think you know a lot
4:56
of the I don't know if it's just like
4:58
him just being an emcee and like I think
5:00
it's like a prerequisite for MCS just
5:02
talk about them being the greatest or
5:03
the best you know I think he's still
5:05
growing as an artist but he can
5:06
definitely rap but um it's still to me
5:08
is still you know still see me
5:10
one-on-one you know it's still very
5:12
contemporary it's very Yacht Rock rap to
5:19
okay I appreciate it you know and I [ __ ]
5:21
with y'all you know I'm a BG's you know
5:26
I love them all you like that blue eye
5:28
soul I I love it but you know but I'm
5:31
just saying like you know there's
5:32
there's Michael McDonald and then
5:33
there's you know Luther Luther James you
5:37
know what I'm saying there's a
5:38
difference there okay I like that Bon
5:40
Sue Thompson this year we're going to
5:41
talk about iconic record season one life
5:43
after death hosted by Angie Martinez if
5:46
you had to review your favorite
5:49
interview you've done who would it be
5:53
one of them it's hard to do everything
5:57
straight 3000 Andre 3 000. it's a
6:00
toss-up it would say it would either be
6:02
Dre it flip-flops but either Dre 3000 or
6:06
Jay-Z but I've interviewed Jay-Z more
6:09
I think I've been to Jay-Z more than
6:11
anybody else actually yeah I don't think
6:13
anybody's interview Jay-Z both rare
6:14
interviews to snag too so that's crazy
6:17
that you got both you know and that's
6:19
why I was going with with Stacks because
6:20
I'm like it's Dax is you know he's just
6:22
like chasing a unicorn right yeah I
6:24
think I've interviewed Stacks two or
6:28
um and Jay-Z more than that but yes but
6:31
just because the conversation we had
6:32
like I interviewed Three Stacks right
6:35
um love below album okay and I mean I'm
6:38
a massive massive Outcast fan like you
6:42
know used to kick it with big boy big
6:43
boys the one who like really introduced
6:44
me to like Atlanta which is a unfair way
6:47
to introduce Atlanta because I got
6:48
addicted but um but like yeah like I was
6:52
nervous because I'm like we know Dre
6:53
from quemini and I mean I've been
6:56
rocking with him since Southern
6:56
playalistic right and you know hey yeah
6:59
comes out and I'm nervous like yo is he
7:01
is he is he doing the Whitey Ford thing
7:03
yeah is he gonna go to the other side is
7:05
he going to survive you know I'm
7:06
concerned for my brother you know and
7:08
then um we're getting like his I pull up
7:10
he'd be getting his Rover we just drive
7:12
around Atlanta and we just have like the
7:13
most in-depth conversation about
7:15
everything from why he doesn't believe
7:16
in monogamy to Q-tip being his favorite
7:19
art I mean like we got into almost an
7:21
argument because he was saying Q-tip was
7:22
his favorite rapper and I'm like do you
7:24
listen to yourself and you argued him
7:26
over tip because no because yeah cause
7:28
I'm like you're better than Q-tip like
7:30
like how could you be your favorite
7:32
rapper when you could wrap circles
7:33
around Q-tip I didn't understand what
7:36
was his response he started quoting
7:38
tropical Quest vines that still and I
7:40
started calling okay slots back to him
7:42
like but you're alive is better like
7:43
we're gonna do returning to gangster
7:45
compare that to suck a [ __ ] love them
7:48
both but lyrically [ __ ] [ __ ] was
7:50
dope though suck a [ __ ] was fire that's
7:51
my that's probably one of my favorite
7:53
Q-tip records okay but I'm saying but
7:55
they're still this is for double XL this
7:58
was 2000 and well right before this uh
8:01
love below album so I mean yeah 2004 but
8:03
then second [ __ ] came out what year
8:05
second [ __ ] was 93 yeah so I mean damn
8:08
how you arguing that yeah
8:10
because I'm like 26 years old okay all
8:13
right all right all right all right all
8:15
right I'm also sitting with my favorite
8:16
rappers how could you how could you talk
8:18
about anybody else when you are I'm
8:20
looking at him he's a unicorn like do
8:22
you hate yourself like you know what was
8:24
the ROM after um at the end of stank oh
8:27
yeah with the with the Untitled joint
8:29
you know like that's I'm like Q-tip
8:32
could never do that but again whatever
8:34
you know I was also more Fife than Q-tip
8:35
anyway but that's another conversation
8:37
for another day okay all right all right
8:38
I think it's interesting that you the
8:39
argument that you had with him about
8:41
himself do you think it was the reason
8:42
why he didn't want to say anything
8:43
because does he not see himself the way
8:46
that we see no I mean if you know Andre
8:49
he's wild insecure yeah like
8:52
surprisingly like when you hear him and
8:55
you hear his ability right and this we
8:57
always get people we always put people
8:59
in these boxes right we we think that
9:01
how we perceive them or what we how
9:02
we've consumed them is their everything
9:04
like like Eddie Murphy is a brilliant
9:06
person on stage like he's a complete
9:08
weirdo off of it you know what I'm
9:09
saying like Richard Pryor was amazing on
9:11
stage he was funny on film he's a whole
9:13
train wreck outside of it you know like
9:15
so I think we put people in these boxes
9:17
because of what we take that's great
9:18
about them but there's a whole other
9:19
Robin Williams was brilliant but like he
9:22
was going through it Philip Seymour
9:23
Hoffman was going through it and I mean
9:25
you know so I think I only saw his
9:27
ability as opposed to who this person
9:28
was and he was an only child super shy
9:31
and secure doubted himself he also had
9:34
like I forget about the term is but he
9:36
has like um like social anxiety which is
9:39
insane to be a pop star you know he's a
9:42
Grammy winner and you have social
9:43
anxiety that's a lot to deal with so of
9:45
course me again young journalists young
9:47
Three Stacks fan I'm not aware of all
9:50
this when I'm having this conversation
9:51
about Q-tip and three stacks how has
9:53
your um interviewing skills evolved from
9:56
when you were in your 20s until now
9:58
I would think I'd get better every year
10:00
although there's certain like approaches
10:02
yeah I don't used to do that you no
10:04
um no I think I'm just I'm just a better
10:07
listener now and I can hear the rhythms
10:10
of a conversation better you know it's
10:11
just that's just experience but I know
10:13
I've always I never wanted to interview
10:15
people my job was to make people feel
10:17
like they're in a conversation and in
10:18
order to make people feel like they're
10:19
in a conversation you have to make them
10:21
comfortable in order to make them
10:22
comfortable you have to come to the
10:23
table extremely researched and and
10:26
nuanced and make them feel like this is
10:29
something that they're discussing that's
10:30
personal to them and not the regular
10:32
because you know we you know we have we
10:34
have to go through we have to be a part
10:35
of press schedule sometimes right so you
10:37
could be the 10th interview that day you
10:39
got to make yourself stand out it's
10:41
almost like speed dating right how you
10:42
gonna stand out it's a room full of fly
10:44
dudes how you gonna make her feel
10:45
impressed well you you have a you have a
10:48
method that you use obviously because
10:50
you've done so well at it Anthony from
10:52
Yonkers want to ask you a question just
10:54
about this very topic Anthony welcome to
10:56
the show what up Aunt what's up
11:04
what's your question
11:06
the honor to speak to you bangsu um as a
11:09
rising journalist I want to ask what
11:11
does it take to build trust from the
11:13
very beginning because that's one
11:15
challenge I'm facing right now as a
11:18
trust from the with the subject you're
11:21
like trust with people you want to have
11:23
future interviews with
11:25
oh I mean again I would go back to
11:28
research the more you know
11:30
um the more people feel like you are a
11:31
trusted Source you've done your homework
11:33
they're safe with their story in your
11:36
um they're comfortable enough to give
11:37
you you know sometimes when people are
11:39
comfortable and if you're comfortable
11:40
like you get the gold and the gold are
11:43
you know nuggets or pizza information
11:45
that you never anticipated getting you
11:46
get that because when people are
11:48
comfortable they just talk you know and
11:50
they actually people want to be heard I
11:51
mean you could be a five times platinum
11:53
artist you want to be heard so if
11:55
there's something about your life about
11:56
your craft about your process that
11:58
hasn't been explored um or even you know
12:00
uh even um kind of even if like um
12:03
thrown out there by the artists you know
12:06
if you give them that that that that
12:07
that plate that comfortable bed to kind
12:09
of like put their feet up they'll give
12:11
it up to you you know so I mean that's
12:13
what I think the trust comes from like
12:14
you know but that also comes with I'm
12:16
not just a person trying to get a check
12:18
I'm not here as a job I'm actually here
12:20
invested in you as a person as an artist
12:22
um you know as a Craftsman I thank you
12:25
for your question Anthony bonsu Thompson
12:27
is here we're talking wmx presents
12:29
iconic record season one life after
12:31
death posted by Angie Martinez new
12:34
episodes drop every Saturday 8 P.M you
12:36
can watch for free on channel 1137 on
12:39
the Roku Channel also on YouTube on
12:41
YouTube every Monday on YouTube yeah
12:42
actually episode two drops
12:45
um you know I forget how
12:59
I played hypnotized uh from that album
13:04
um obviously I had a very intimate
13:06
connection with Notorious B.I.G I know
13:08
this yes it's uh it runs deep man it
13:11
runs back in the days of partying
13:14
[ __ ] and dreams and little singles
13:16
were dropping in early 90s early 90s and
13:19
I was in the bay receiving all this
13:20
music I played dreams off of DJ Clue
13:24
mixtape and then I would take all his
13:26
drops off and put my own drops on so
13:28
people thought I had it first and Cali I
13:31
said it clue but I said it black people
13:33
gonna make a way we made a way you know
13:35
but when big first came to Northern
13:37
California it was my promotion company
13:39
StreetWise that took him and Craig Mack
13:41
around and so my brother uh T Cal was
13:44
very instrumental in Taken big to all
13:46
the little little hot spots in the Bay
13:48
Area at that time the acorns which was
13:51
like projects a six nine field taken to
13:53
San Francisco all these different place
13:56
um and our promotion company too we want
13:59
to um radio station but we used to do a
14:01
club called the jungle and so we would
14:04
bring action to town that didn't have
14:06
enough exposure big was one of those
14:07
acts really and so we got old school
14:10
classic footage of big performing in San
14:12
Francisco for the first time so it was
14:14
you that got big out of trouble with E40
14:24
they would I could have been
14:25
instrumental in that that part of it but
14:30
um by the time this album came out
14:32
almost jumped to life after death you
14:34
know there was a whole lot of tension in
14:35
it yeah man um with the East Coast
14:37
so-called East Coast West Coast uh beef
14:41
that really cold the so-called wasn't
14:43
really to get a manufactured beef and so
14:45
I got a chance to talk to Big a few days
14:48
before his his untimely death but when
14:51
they hypnotized yeah we did the
14:53
interview and we got some this footage
14:55
all over the Internet about it
14:57
um but when hypnotized came out
15:00
now hypnotize was produced by DDOT D dot
15:07
what's the other guy's name Ron yes Ron
15:09
Lawrence yes yes and then I'm over I
15:11
think this is I think I pronounce this
15:12
yes and then puff you see puff name on
15:15
it too of course for that song uh
15:18
hypnotized when it came out had a very
15:21
West Coast sound to it to me it hit it I
15:25
thought it hit both I thought it was a
15:27
very smart song and I mean again be
15:29
completely honest I mean massive biggie
15:32
fan he's my favorite rapper of all time
15:34
I didn't love hypnotized when it came
15:36
out yeah you didn't because you were
15:40
I had the unreleased version of my
15:42
downfall like how could I love it okay
15:44
you know I thought it was like a olive
15:46
branch almost huh well I mean with the
15:48
way to sound sonically what it sounded
15:50
like it was like hey hey I think that
15:53
was more of a puff than just trying to
15:54
make a you know a Nationwide commercial
15:57
single I mean the Island Branch was so
16:00
blatant which was going back to Cali
16:01
yeah that was the Olive Branch you know
16:03
but it's something I think people don't
16:04
really understand and I'm I'm glad we
16:06
make the point now in this series is
16:09
that big he didn't just like go to La
16:11
and got killed like they was living in
16:13
La for like three years yeah you know
16:15
like he was around La like he was
16:17
getting love you know what I'm saying
16:18
like I think the uh if I'm not mistaken
16:21
they shot hypnotized video in L.A and
16:23
that's when he did the Joe Claire
16:24
interview that's I think that's
16:25
California so anyway regardless of that
16:27
he was living in California for like
16:31
um getting much love from from the west
16:32
side you know like this wasn't uh East
16:34
Coast West Coast and California didn't
16:36
hate biggie this was a couple of people
16:38
yeah I could I could vouch for that
16:40
Kylie didn't hate biggie at all I don't
16:43
know you can't go multi-platinum in
16:45
without California yeah yeah you know
16:47
like that's facts in the early 90s mid
16:49
90s you can't go multiplying without
16:51
California so it was ridiculous how how
16:53
important you do do you feel like Derek
16:55
D dot um was in too biggies musicals
16:59
yeah huge I wish DDOT was in this series
17:01
he turned us down because he has some
17:03
issues with the estate but huge I mean
17:06
and and you saw DDOT came to the hard to
17:09
earn yes podcast we did a 25th and live
17:12
on 25th anniversary um episode for the
17:14
25th anniversary of Mason's um Harlem
17:17
World album which DDOT he's actually
17:18
produce and he came through as our guest
17:20
and again honored he dropped so many
17:23
gems but he tells you know he's so Cara
17:25
you know he's sewing that animatic and
17:27
like you know he's colorful and like
17:28
he's a real character and I wish we
17:31
could have got that for this series as
17:32
well because he's got probably made
17:34
possibly more biggie stories than
17:35
anybody yeah you know anything from
17:37
Brooklyn so and he's from Brooklyn
17:41
I I heard I saw Clips too of a lot of
17:44
songs that biggie didn't want to do in
17:46
his past were there any songs on this
17:49
album that biggie wasn't in favor of
17:51
life after death uh and not in favor of
17:54
no he had a lot of he had a lot more
17:56
control this album okay and that's
17:57
that's and that was something that we
17:59
touched on as well even from his look I
18:02
mean we have um uh legendary you know uh
18:05
Taylor Guy woods and his wife Shireen
18:07
was who owned five thousand one flavors
18:09
you know people always talk about well
18:10
piggy always talked about Versace this
18:12
Versace that but um you know Versace
18:15
wasn't making clothes for big size you
18:16
know but they didn't even have the money
18:18
initially on writing it ready to die to
18:20
afford that stuff so uh you know guy was
18:22
they were custom making you know stuff
18:24
for him custom-making Versace shirts you
18:27
know like on some Dapper dance style
18:29
um so it's like you know you see his
18:31
Imaging his Imaging he didn't have
18:33
control of his Imaging um he didn't have
18:34
control or even all the Beats
18:36
um for ready to die but then life after
18:38
death comes and he's just like like I
18:40
mean Somebody's gotta die somebody's got
18:42
um those stories um [ __ ] Bleed yeah
18:45
like those are iconic stories and he
18:47
wrote those to just a loop like he never
18:49
even had drums on those songs like Big
18:51
never heard the final version to
18:53
somebody's got to die never heard the
18:54
final version wow to [ __ ] Bleed he
18:57
never heard that like he the uh the
18:58
sample for somebody's got to die I think
19:01
I think it's Delfonics
19:05
just the loop he wrote that whole story
19:07
just to the loop wow wow and then and
19:09
then um Hashem added the drums and the
19:13
raindrops in the background and the
19:14
sound effects for the story like it
19:16
wasn't even produced yet it was like
19:17
that just shows you how genius big was
19:19
like to make that up with no inspiration
19:22
from the music uh-huh crazy did you find
19:24
that out while doing the research for
19:26
this so that's this information you
19:27
already knew no no we found that out
19:29
while interviewing I didn't know we
19:31
thought me and me I mean I'm directing
19:33
Ange so I wrote and directed this series
19:35
if I had to make that clear but like so
19:36
I'm directing I'm directing the shoot
19:38
and Ange is interviewing nasheem and
19:40
when he says that Ange is like whoa and
19:42
like everybody said it's like wait what
19:44
like I love love like somebody's got a
19:48
DOT is a perfect rap song that's an
19:51
amazing Story I mean if you talk about
19:52
the best stories in hip-hop that's one
19:55
of the the best ones and the fact that
19:57
his Man created that without a sound bed
20:00
like a real banana that's insane that's
20:03
absolutely insane as the writer director
20:07
um talk about your collaboration with
20:10
Angie Martinez like how does that work
20:13
because you have someone who is such a
20:16
stellar condiment professional in this
20:18
game you know what I mean you also come
20:20
from a background as a journalism you
20:21
know how to interview someone really
20:23
well do you let her have free reign do
20:25
you guys have conversations about you
20:27
know the angle of where you want to take
20:29
this interview like what does that look
20:30
like behind the scenes well I mean
20:32
people were like people people didn't
20:33
understand when I say writer and
20:34
director like how did you write this
20:36
like it's yeah you know just interviews
20:37
and I'm like well there's a framework
20:38
right that you have to I direct
20:40
according to the framework
20:42
um I create questions for the
20:43
interviewers I mean for the interviews
20:45
according to the framework so it's me
20:47
just like you know kind of feeding age
20:49
Ang is you know Angela Legend she's
20:51
going to make it happen she's going to
20:52
take the questions and and know how to
20:54
follow up and you know she also has her
20:56
own history with a lot of these these
20:57
guests like she's the OG she knew big
20:59
big came to her birthday party you know
21:02
um so it's my job to make her job easier
21:04
so the framework work was created by
21:06
myself you know what we want to go for
21:09
um you know actually know a little bit
21:10
more about the the music history than in
21:13
an age you know but even though Ange
21:15
knew him you know because you know and
21:16
just talked to everybody in the world so
21:18
she doesn't you know remember everything
21:20
from 1984 where it's like I'm like the
21:22
rap nerd so I'm like oh yeah on this
21:27
exactly exactly literally literally
21:29
that's what's happening okay let's go
21:30
into music man and come back and talk
21:32
about it man this is an incredible
21:34
series iconic record season one life
21:37
after death hosted by Angie Martinez
21:40
written and directed by Bon Sue Thompson
21:42
you can find it on YouTube you can find
21:44
it on the Roku channel channel 1137 uh
21:47
new episode dropping today at noon
21:49
absolutely all right let's go into music
21:51
if you want to talk Notorious B.I.G
