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Being Black- The '80s
Author: theGrio
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Black music by the decades. Each season will deconstruct the most popular Black music of the decade, including what was happening in Black America at each moment in time. Each episode of this audio docuseries focuses on a single song that defined a decade and changed the world. This music series explores cultural, political, and creative change one decade at a time. The first season will explore the Black music of the 80s and the sociopolitical roots of that music. Each episode looks at a single song from the era and what was happening socially at the moment that led to that song. We tell the story of each decade through music. Our host and lead writer Touré, interviews experts, cultural commentators, academics, and political thinkers, who will leave you feeling like you learned more about the music of the period.
15 Episodes
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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!
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
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
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
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 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
"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
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
“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
Stevie’s legendary song “Happy Birthday” was originally part of the long, hard battle to turn Dr. King’s birthday into a national holiday. When Dr. King was assassinated, his approval rating with white people was very low. At that point, he was not beloved by them. It took a lot of careful, steady, thoughtful, diplomatic work by Coretta Scott King to change his image and win over politicians. Stevie Wonder was committed to that struggle and this song is just one of the things he did for Dr. King. In this episode, we talk to King's daughter Bernice as well as the engineers who worked with Stevie on the song. We talk about how they got us to having a King holiday and what that fight meant to Stevie. And why he usually records in the middle of the night.
Guests:
Dr. Chrissy Greer, Professor, Fordham University
Jelani Cobb, Professor, Columbia University
Lon Neumann, Recording Engineer, Happy Birthday
Gary Adante, Lead Engineer, Happy Birthday
Dr. Bernice King, CEO The King Center
Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds, Journalist
Credits:
Stevie Wonder - Happy Birthday
Writer: Stevie Wonder
Label: Motown Records
Publisher: Black Bull Music Inc, Jobete Music Co Inc
Public Enemy - By the Time I Get to Arizona
Writer: Chuck D, Neftali Santiago, Mandrill, Stuart Robertz, G-Wiz & C-Dawg
Label: Def Jam and Colombia Records
Publisher: Sony Music Entertainment
Stevie Wonder sings "Happy Birthday" Martin Luther King, CSPAN
Stevie Wonder on creating Martin Luther King Day 1983, CNN
Public Enemy, Arsenio Hall (1993)
Martin Luther King, Jr. on Income Inequality and Redistribution of Wealth, Insaaf Blog
Harold Washington, CBS Chicago
Republican President Reagan’s Jaw-Dropping Press Conference the Day Martin Luther King Holiday Was Passed, Mediaite
Public Enemy Chuck D Interview, ABC News (1992)
“I’m Coming Out” was meant to be a gay liberation song but the song’s writer and producer Nile Rodgers didn’t tell Diana Ross that. Which led to a whole thing. It’s a crazy story. The origin of the song is fascinating but more interesting is how disco in general was part of the gay rights movement. We chart the rise of disco and look at the way it dovetailed with the struggle for LGBTQ rights and how being gay is so different for Sylvester than for Tyler the Creator.
Guests:
Wesley Morris, Critic, New York Times
Craig Seymour, Music Critic and Activist
Nile Rodgers, Record Producer and Chic Founder
Bill Coleman, Artist Manager
DJ Jellybean Benitez, Deejay
Nelson George, Filmmaker and Author
Credits:
Diana Ross - I'm Coming Out
Writer: Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers
Label: Motown Records
Publisher: Chic Music, Inc
Chic - Le Freak
Writer: Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers
Label: Atlantic Records
Publisher: Chic Music & Cotillion Records
Sylvester - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
Writer: Sylvester & James Wirrick
Label: Fantasy
Publisher: Bee Keeper Music, Tipsyl Music
Barry White - You’re The First, My Last, My Everything
Writer: Peter Sterling Radcliffe, Tony Sepe & Barry White
Label: 20th Century Fox Records
Publisher: SaVette Music Co.
Diana Ross - Love Hangover
Writer: Pam Sawyer & Marilyn McLeod
Label: Motown Records
Publisher: Jobete Music Co. INC
A Taste of Honey - Boogie Oogie Oogie
Writer: Perry Kibble & Janice Marie Johnson
Label: Capitol Records
Publisher: On Time Music, INC
Donna Summer - Love to Love You Baby
Writer: Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder & Pete Bellotte
Label: Casablanca, Oasis
Publisher: Saturday Music and Cafe Americana
Grace Jones - Pull up to the Bumper
Writer: Sly Dunbar, Alex Sadkin, Chris Blackwell, Sly & Robbie & Grace Jones
Label: Island
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing Ltd
Candi Stanton - Young Hearts Run Free
Writer: Dave Crawford
Label: Warner Bros.
Publisher: Ghati Music Inc
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
Writer: Dino Fekaris & Freddie Perren
Label: Polydor Records
Publisher: Perren-Vibes Music Co.
Tyler the Creator - I Ain’t Got Time
Writer: Tyler, The Creator
Label: Columbia Records
Publisher: Columbia Records & Sony Music Entertainment
Tyler, The Creator Used To Be Accused of Homophobia, Now Raps About “Kissing White Boys”, Genius
Tyler The Creator And Funk Flex Have an Honest Conversation Plus, Hot 97
“She Works Hard for the Money,” is Donna Summer’s classic that was born when she saw a waitress sleeping during her shift and thought, damn she works hard for the money. In this episode we talk about the birth of the song with Summer’s husband and we talk about Black women’s economic issues and how Black women can accrue more wealth and what society needs to do for Black women and how sisters can get more venture capital funds so they can start and grow their own businesses.
Guests:
Bruce Sudano, Donna Summer’s Husband
Omi Bell, CEO, Black Girl Ventures Foundation
Lauren Maillian, CEO, Digital Undivided
Nina Banks, Professor Bucknell University
Credits:
Donna Summer - MacArthur Park
Writer: Jimmy Webb
Label: Casablanca Record and Filmworks Inc.
Publisher: Canopy Music
Donna Summer - Hot Stuff
Writer: Keith Forsey, Harold Faltermeyer & Pete Bellotte
Label: Casablanca Records
Publisher: Sweet Summer Night Music
Donna Summer - Bad Girls
Writer: Joe Esposito, Edward Hokenson, Bruce Sudano & Donna Summer
Label: Casablanca Records
Publisher: Sweet Summer Night Music
Donna Summer - She Works Hard For the Money
Writer: Michael Omartian & Donna Summer
Label: Casablanca Record and Filmworks Inc.
Publisher: Phonogram International B.V.
Gwen Guthrie - Ain't Nothin Goin On But The Rent
Writer: Gwen Guthrie
Label: Polydor
Publisher: Universal Polygram International Publishing Inc
“Redemption Song” by Bob Marley and the Wailers is one of the ultimate songs about the Black spirit and the immense determination that has gotten us through life in America. I’m talking about a specifically Black determination that has powered our resistance and carried us through life in America. A sense of Black determination that we hear in Redemption Song as well as Sam Cookie’s “A Change Gonna Come,” Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise,” and Kendrick’s “Alright.” No matter how hard things have been we have always been certain that one day we would overcome.
Guests:
Roger Steffens, Author, So Much Things to Say
Michael Eric Dyson, Professor, Princeton University
Credits:
Bob Marley and The Wailer's - Redemption Song
Writer: Bob Marley
Label: Tuff Gong & Island Records
Publisher: Fifty Six Hope Road Music Limited, Primary Wave/Blue Mountain
Sam Cooke - A Change is Gonna Come
Writer: Sam Cooke
Label: RCA Victor
Publisher: Kegs Music Corp.
Kendrick Lamar - Alright
Writer: Kawan Prather, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams & Sounwave
Label: Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment & Interscope Records
Publisher: EMI April Music, New World Music, Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music Publishing Group, PECF, BMG Firefly, BMG, Warner/Chappell, Top Dawg Entertainment, Sony/ATV Allegro, In Thee Face Music Publishing, Hard Working Black Folks Publishing, BMG Gold Songs, Beat Bully Productions, More Water From Nazareth & EMI Pop Music Publishing
Still I Rise, Maya Angelou
Yvonne Orji, The Toure Show
#TrumpRally protesters chant "We gonna be alright", Chicago Reader
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