Easy Mo Bee

A 1991 court ruling deciding the case between Warner Music and Biz Markie for his sampling of Gilbert O’Sullivan on the song “Along Again” changed how rap producers approached beat making and helped solidify the unique sound of our guest, Easy Mo Bee. Easy got his start producing multiple tracks on Big Daddy Kane’s sophomore album It’s A Big Daddy Thing but his signature sound came together on Craig Mack’s classic “Flava In Ya Ear.” That was the debut single for Bad Boy Records, a label Mo Bee would continue to have success with through his work with the legendary Notorious B.I.G. on songs like “Going Back To Cali” and “Gimmie the Loot.” Mo Bee also has classic tracks with GZA, Tupac, Busta Rhymes, Public Enemy and more. We discuss how he came to his trademark style, the stories behind some of his classic tracks, producing the final Miles Davis album just before his passing and his new book ICONIC BEATS: Easy Mo Bee's Unforgettable Tracks for Biggie, Tupac, & Hip-Hop's Greatest.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Smashing Pumpkins are having a revival of sorts. They’re in the middle of their RATS IN A CAGE tour commemorating 30 years since the release of their album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. With no less than four singles—Zero, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Tonight Tonight and 1979—Mellon Collie was an absolute phenomenon when it was released. 30 years later and Corgan and the Pumpkins are enjoying a true resurgence of interest from young fans, a rededication from long-time fans and if not a full critical reassessment of the band’s legacy, at least an acceptance that The Pumpkins are a band that we’ll always have to contend with when discussing the alternative music surge of the 1990s. As for Corgan, he’s never sat patiently waiting for a new peak. Instead he’s spent the last few decades exploring seemingly any interest: owning the National Wrestling Alliance / NWA and a contract with TNA wrestling, an outspoken advocate of free speech through appearances on InfoWars, Joe Rogan and Bill Maher’s show. He also has his own podcast “The Magnificent Others” that’s a part of Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast network. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from Billy Corgan HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Legend has a new album out. This is his eleventh but he hasn’t made anything quite like it before. It’s called Muse and it’s a 16-track record produced in full by Pharrell Williams, who also helped co-wrote and appears on six songs. The two have been friends for more than twenty years, but this is their first full-length collaboration. The project took shape after Legend appeared on Clipse’s comeback album, Let God Sort Em Out last year which Pharell also produced. The result trades the straightforward love-song approach for more of a concept album feel: a narrative story driven by dramatic strings, big horns, and cinematic soundscapes layered over contemporary beats. All the while, Legend has also been working on the theater side of his career. He wrote the music for Imitation of Life, a new musical at The Shed in co-production with the National Black Theatre, starring Tony winner Adrienne Warren.On today’s episode, Justin Richmond talks to John Legend about making Muse with Pharrell, what it meant to make something a little out of his oeuvre and how writing for the stage on Imitation of Life differs from writing for his own repertoire. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from John Legend HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To close out the year we’ve been revisiting some favorite conversations from over the years. We started a couple of weeks ago with Patti Smith and Raphael Saadiq. This week we’re revisiting a conversation with English pop singer/songwriter RAYE. RAYE just won the Mercury Prize over the weekend for her sophomore release, THIS ALBUM MAY CONTAIN HOPE. that featured the huge single Where Is My Husband?But this conversation covers her debut album, MY 21ST CENTURY BLUES which won Album of the Year and a historic total six wins at the 2024 Brit Awards. In our chat we discuss how a quote from Nina Simone gave her the courage to take control of her career and she explains the inspiration behind her sprawling multi-part single, “Genesis.” You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite RAYE songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For more than 20 years, Rhiannon Giddens has explored the musical traditions that shaped American culture, often bringing overlooked Black musicians and their contributions into focus. On her new album, Hope Is the Thing with Feathers, she brings together collaborators from throughout her career for a collection of songs deeply rooted in her native North Carolina. In this conversation with Bruce Headlam, Rhiannon talks about the making of the album, how Emily Dickinson’s poetry inspired the title track, and why preserving the human element of music is more important to her than ever. She also discusses her new book, Go Back and Fetch It, which explores the early history of Black music in America and the Caribbean, and the influence of musicians like Elizabeth Cotten and Ola Belle Reed. Along the way, Rhiannon reflects on the importance of making music with other people, the traditions we've lost along the way, and the creative process behind her Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, Omar. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from Rhiannon Giddens HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we’re revisiting a conversation with R&B great Raphael Saadiq. Since this conversation aired, Raphael’s brother and bandmate in trio Tony! Toni! Toné!, D’Wayne Wiggins, passed away. In this episode we revisit some of the early days and recordings sessions of Tony! Toni! Toné!, their reunion tour and D’Wayne’s early involvement with Destiny’s Child.  We also dive deep into Raphael’s solo career which has seen him release five albums starting with 2002’s Instant Vintage. His most recent album, Jimmy Lee, is a collection of very personal songs about the real traumas he and his family experienced growing up in Oakland, CA. Raphael’s also done some amazing work behind the board. He’s produced and written for the likes of D’Angelo, TLC, Mary J. Blige, Solange, Earth Wind and Fire and just recently he worked on a handful of songs on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. He’s also earned an Academy Award nomination for his work as a film composer. Justin Richmond talks with Raphael Saadiq from his studio in Los Angeles about some of the incredible work he’s done recently. Raphael breaks down his collaboration with D’Angelo on the classic track “Lady,” and how Sly Stone bassist Larry Graham influenced a generation of musicians coming up in the Bay Area.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian singer-songwriter Grace Cummings has one of those voices that’s hard to forget. It’s raw, powerful and deeply expressive, capable of moving from a delicate whisper to a full-throated roar. Broken Record host Justin Richmond first discovered Grace in 2019, when her debut album, Refuge Cove, was released on Flightless Records, the label founded by members of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. With its stripped-down arrangements, plaintive songwriting and commanding vocals, the album quickly became one of Justin’s favorites. Since then, Grace has expanded her sound considerably. For her two most recent albums, 2024’s Ramona and this year’s Bloodhorse!, she teamed up with Topanga Canyon-based producer Jonathan Wilson, who has worked with artists including Angel Olsen, Father John Misty and Margo Price. Together, they’ve moved beyond the spare acoustic sound of her early recordings, building lush, dramatic arrangements around Grace’s unmistakable voice and deeply personal songs. On today’s episode, Grace talks with Justin about making Bloodhorse!, her Irish heritage and the influence of traditional Irish folk music on her songwriting. She also treats us to two performances, playing “Judy’s Pool” and “John Lennon.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Broken Record re-wind: Today we’re throwing it back to a conversation Malcolm Gladwell had with the one and only Patti Smith. Patti is the consummate downtown NYC artist. Her 1975 debut album Horses is credited as one of the masterpieces of its time. It also cemented her as one of rock n roll’s great lyricists. But her writing extends far beyond music. Her 2010 memoir, Just Kids, won the National Book Award for its brilliant portrayal of the ‘70s bohemian art scene in New York, and Patti’s experience living in the Chelsea Hotel with the famed photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe. Today Patti publishes near-daily offerings of poems, songs and serialized fiction on her Substack newsletter. It’s a journal of sorts that she started during the solitary days of the pandemic. On today’s episode, Malcolm Gladwell talks to Patti about her writing in the studio Jimi Hendrix built, Electric Lady. It was there, she tells Malcolm, that she met Hendrix in 1970—just weeks before he passed away. Patti also talks about hanging out with and writing lyrics for Janis Joplin, and she recalls the fun she had during a failed attempt to cover Adele in concert. Hear a playlist of all of our favorite Patti Smith songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Susanna Hoffs rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and guitarist of the Bangles, the Los Angeles band behind hits like “Manic Monday,” “Walk Like an Egyptian” and “Eternal Flame.” Inspired by the Beatles, the Byrds and the melodic pop of the 1960s, the Bangles brought jangling guitars and rich vocal harmonies to a decade dominated by synthesizers. Hoffs' distinctive voice and gift for melody helped give the band its signature sound. Since the Bangles' heyday, Hoffs has continued to explore her musical influences through solo records and collaborations, while also branching out into fiction with her bestselling debut novel, This Bird Has Flown. Now she's returning with The List, a deeply personal collection of original songs that grew out of informal writing sessions with producer and multi-instrumentalist C.J. Camerieri and a group of collaborators. Drawing on stories from her own life, the album explores love, loneliness, memory and the passage of time, pairing Hoffs' unmistakable voice with the kind of timeless melodies that first made her famous. On today's episode, Bruce Headlam talks with Susanna Hoffs and C.J. Camerieri about the making of The List, the musical influences that shaped her, and the stories behind the album's songs, including a chance encounter with the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir. They also discuss her approach to songwriting, what writing a novel taught her about storytelling, and how she's finding new ways to express herself more than four decades into her career.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States has far more homicides than any of its peers around the world. Why?  In his new audiobook book, The American Way of Killing: The Invention of an Epidemic, Malcolm Gladwell explores the American “peculiarity” — how the world’s wealthiest country came to suffer from a problem typically only seen in the world’s poorest countries.  Drawing on original interviews, archival and social science research, and his trademark insight, Gladwell approaches the American paradox through a series of stories. What can we learn from the miracle of a young gunshot victim in Washington, D.C.? How have the legal troubles of a seventeenth-century English knight influenced American attempts at gun control? Why would a European police chief be baffled by the graduation ceremony at any American police academy?  In a sweeping narrative, Gladwell travels from a shooting range in North Carolina, to the South Side of Chicago, to an old plantation house in Alabama, painting a picture of a country that does not understand its most pressing social problem, and as result, does not understand how to fix it.  Here's a preview. Get the full audiobook at pushkin.fm/audiobooks or wherever you get audiobooks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.