Summertime
...and the livin' is easy.
Summer is finally here, so you know what that means:
Go outside and do something after you read this.
What We’re Up To
Hey y’all. Hope all is well on your side of the inbox. Since our last newsletter, we dropped not one, but two episodes about one of the greatest producers of all time, Teddy Riley. His resume is so long that we had to break up his story into two parts, one for his production discography and another for his career as a performer with Guy & Blackstreet. You can check them out below if you haven’t already heard it.
We also have a new episode dropping on Friday, so make sure to check that out when it hits your podcast service of choice.
Miguel recently posted a new class on Skillshare, so if you or someone you know is interested in starting their own podcast, click the photo below to access the course. You’ll receive one free month of Skillshare too!
What We’re Watching
How Music Got Free on Paramount+
If you’ve ever used Napster, Kazaa or Limewire to procure music, movies or other things, then this is the show for you.
How Music Got Free details the fascinating, and often funny, inside story of the technology-driven disruption that changed music during the late-90s and early-2000s. File-sharing technology, combined with the insatiable demand for new music, created both the means and the motive for millions of young people to participate in outright theft – and be celebrated for it.
This two-part series goes into detail how these things were making their way to file sharing services weeks and sometimes months before they were to be released to the public. This is a deep dive into who these people are and what their motivations were.
What We’re Reading
Shakira talks about bouncing back from a rough couple of years in this Rolling Stone cover story.
Will Smith doesn’t need a redemption tour by David Dennis, Jr.
Malice & Pusha T discuss the upcoming, long-awaited Clipse album with Vulture.
Missy Elliott talks about her first solo headlining tour and possible new music.
Billboard interview with Marsha Ambrosius about her new album, Casablanco. Which leads us to…
What We’re Listening To
Casablanco by Marsha Ambrosius
December 12, 2021, Marsha posted this photo and caption to Instagram.
I just finished recording an album with Dr. Dre “Casablanco” I had an amazing time!! This is some of my best work!!!
2+ years later, it’s finally here. As she says in the above interview, this album is kind of hard to define, genre-wise. It’s really jazzy, but with a lot of hip hop undertones to it. The production is handled by Marsha, Dr. Dre, Focus…, Blu2th & Dem Jointz, and sonically, it’s similar to Dre’s album, Compton. They’ve put together something very lush and cinematic.
Because of the many samples and interpolations, Casablanco is full of familiar references. From the Perry Mason theme song to “Funky Child” by Lords of the Underground, there are easter eggs hidden all over it. This is definitely a winner.
Listen to Casablanco here.
You Down Wit’ O.P.P.? (Other Peoples Podcasts)
One Song by Diallo Riddle and Blake “LUXXURY” Robin
On each episode of ONE SONG, friends Diallo Riddle ( Emmy-nominated star and creator of HBO Max’s South Side and IFC’s Sherman’s Showcase) and Blake "LUXXURY" Robin (Music Producer & TikTok creator) will hilariously break down ONE SONG from the pop music canon that you know - or need to know - but have never heard quite like this.
On this show, Diallo and Blake take stems (a type of audio file that breaks down a complete track into individual mixes) from some of their favorite songs, and dissect how the song was produced and recorded, along with some inside stories about them. If you’re a music nerd, or just like to know how the sausage is made, then this is for you.
Listen to more episodes of One Song here.
Random Internet Shenanigans
Big Ellie is a top 3 mascot of all time. Get familiar.
Shameless Plugs
If you enjoy the content that we're making and you're looking for ways to support our independent podcast, here’s a little something that you can do:
Please leave us a 5 star rating or review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser or Goodpods.
You can also drop a few coins in our tip jar here: https://ko-fi.com/troypodcast if you're feeling generous.
Check out our online store, Nuthin’ But A Tee Thang.👇🏾
However you choose to support, know that it is greatly appreciated as always. 🫡
Closing Time
That’s all for this month, we’ll be back in August with more goodies and new episodes! Until then,
