Music

Rich Medina: Philly’s World Renown DJ & Producer

November 27, 2019 Artist, Entertainment, Music 49:55
Working a lucrative but soul-sucking corporate job in Philadelphia in the mid-90s, Rich Medina knew he wanted more from his life. He had been moonlighting as a DJ, and decided to go all in. It was a risky proposition. But it was one that ultimately paid off, as 25 years later is one of the most beloved DJs on the planet, playing everywhere from Miami to Melbourne. 
 
In the late 1990s, Medina and Cosmo Baker started a regular party called The Remedy. In the early 2000s, Rich began hosting The Open in NYC with Q-Tip. He also began introducing audiences to Fela Kuti, the father of Afrobeat music. His Jump n Funk parties, starting in 2001, soon took him to Atlanta, LA, and San Francisco. Word of his skill and just as importantly the fun he brought to the dance floor spread, and he is now a true globetrotter, playing shows in cities like Tokyo, Amsterdam, and London. 
 
But he’s not limited to DJing. He also has begun work as a professor at Lincoln University, he’s on the advisory board to Cornell’s renowned hip-hop collection, and he’ll be teaching a class at the Barnes Foundation next spring. He’s also well respected as a spoken word artist and as a writer, having contributed articles to magazines such as the Fader and Complex Magazine.
 
He talked to us about his early days in Philly in the corporate world (“A job with a Fortune 500 company was like handcuffs”), the motto for life he learned by playing basketball (“Put the rock in the hole or sit the fuck down. That’s everything.”) and his family heritage (“I’m mixed up with slave blood and native blood. I’m a real American.”) 
 
Not surprising when speaking to such a Renaissance Man, this is a varied and far reaching interview, from hoops to religion to race to politics. You’ll learn about Afrobeat, what it’s like to travel in Europe as an American in the Trump era, and whether he has to play different songs to get the crowd moving in Philly than he plays in Miami. 
 
Hope you enjoy the latest interview. Thanks as always for listening, and if you could do us a solid and rate us on itunes, we would be much obliged. Enjoy!
 
LINKS:
Rich Medina: Instagram/Twitter

Chris Schwartz: Co-Founder of Philly’s Legendary Ruffhouse Records

July 15, 2019 Entertainment, Music 00:34:46

He paved the way for rappers to tour Europe while managing Schoolly D and made Cypress Hill, Kris Kross, The Fugees, Wyclef Jean, and Lauryn Hill household names. He is Chris Schwartz, Co-Founder of Ruffhouse Records, which sold over one hundred million records worldwide throughout the 1990’s.

Chris has a new book out called, Ruffhouse: From the Streets of Philly to the Top of the ’90s Hip Hop Charts, and he sat down with us at The New Wave Cafe in Queen Village to discuss his early days of working with Schoolly D, the mind-boggling success of Ruffhouse Records, and some ups and downs in his personal life, as well as his new book.

Chris didn’t know it at the time, but he and Schoolly D set the blueprint for Gangsta Rap with the release of P.S.K. and paved the way for hip-hop artists to tour throughout Europe. Schoolly was the first U.S. rap act to tour Europe.

He also walks us through the uniqueness of Cypress Hill’s sound and the movie that jump-started their ascension into rap history. Chris talks about not liking Kris Kross’ mega-hit Jump at first and how Rosie Perez actually introduced Kris Kross to the world through a television appearance.

Chris reminisces about first seeing The Fugees and, ironically, not really noticing Lauryn Hill when he first saw the band perform.

This interview also covers the inspiration for the Ruffhouse name, how German music served as the foundation for many hip-hop classics, substance abuse, the end of the Ruffhouse label, and what Chris is up to these days.

This is an interview that any Philadelphian or music fan has to hear.

LINKS:

Chris Schwartz: Twitter/Instagram/Amazon/Barnes & Noble

New Wave Cafe: www/Facebook/Instagram/Twittey

Ursula Rucker: Philly’s Reigning Queen of Poetry

April 29, 2019 Artist, Entertainment, Music 40:19

She’s performed with The Roots. She has recorded five albums. She’s a 2018 Pew Fellowship Award-winner. She’s Philly’s Queen of Poetry and don’t dare call her a “Spoken Word Artist”. She is Ursula Rucker.

Ursula Rucker was born and raised in Philly by parents she referred to as “Nicetown Gangster meets South Philly girl” in the 1950’s. She has lived in Germantown, Mt. Airy, Northern Liberties, West Philly and possesses a deep love for Philly and is not ashamed to show it.

Ursula was a pivotal player in the early 1990’s Philly music scene. Silk City was the hub for this burgeoning scene that included Rich Medina, King Britt, and The Roots. Her career-changing moment came when The Roots asked Ursula for a last-minute poem called The Unlocking, about a woman coming out on the other side of a gang-bang victoriously. She shares the impact this poem had on her poetry and the freedom she found from censoring herself going forward.

Ursula shared the struggles her parents faced being a mixed-race couple in 1950’s Philadelphia, her writing process, the beauty of Germantown, her fears of offending her family through her work, and her fear of crowd-surfing. She also speaks passionately about the work she is doing in Kensington to help people heal through art and open mic nights.

She also gave us one of the ultimate Philly Blunt segments where she slams a quote by Robert Frost after Johnny asked her what he admitted was an “impossible question to answer.”

We recorded this episode at Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books in Germantown, which is owned by Marc Lamont Hill. Uncle Bobbie’s also serves as a community hub designed for sharing, building, learning, laughing, debating, and eating. 

Links:

Ursula Rucker: www/FB/Twitter/Instagram

Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books: www/FB/Twitter/Instagram

Reef the Lost Cauze: Honesty, Empathy & Aging in Hip-Hop

January 7, 2019 Entertainment, Music 38:02

Reef the Lost Cauze has been a force in the Philly and national underground rap since for almost two decades, regularly touring the East Coast and Europe. He’s been a mentor to countless up-and-coming artists and brings a unique blend of passion, empathy and raw emotional honesty to a genre of music where toughness is the norm. 

Reef sat down with us in Fishtown at Johnny Brenda’s for episode 10. Reef, also a co-host of the Philly Blunt, released his latest album, The Majestic, on December 29, 2018.

We find out how Reef’s musical career came to fruition. Oddly, a punishment that his mother regularly administered sparked Reef’s interest in the arts. Reef discusses growing up in West Philly during Philly’s violent 1990’s and the help he regularly received from older friends and family to keep him on the right path.

As a college drop-out, Reef talks about the importance that elder members of the local rap scene played in getting his career started.

We explore how Reef’s music and view of the world has changed as he’s grown older and wiser, as well as the impact of having a child diagnosed with autism.

Reef survived the Philly Blunt segment like a seasoned veteran. Among the things we learned about Reef during the Philly Blunt is his favorite character on HBO’s Girls and the four MC’s on his Mt. Rushmore. He also educates Greg on Trap Music.

Reef chose Johnny Brenda’s in Fishtown for this episode. Johnny Brenda’s spurred the Fishtown revival and remains one of the better venues in the city for live music. They also make a hell of an old fashioned for only $9

LINKS:
Johnny Brenda’s: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Reef the Lost Cauze: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Bandcamp, Spotify

Tayyib Smith: Race, the Roots, and Cultural Appropriation

November 12, 2018 Business, Music 36:12

There are few people in Philadelphia with a more varied resume than Tayyib Smith: from working at Le Bec Fin to producing events for the Roots to starting Two. One. Five magazine to founding the coworking space Pipeline, he’s done it all. His company, Little Giant Creative, has also produced an exhibit showing at 600 Spring Garden from now until November 17th. Called Dream Deferred, it looks at redlining, a practice of systematically denying housing opportunity based on race. Growing up in what is now Northern Liberties, Tayyib saw redlining first hand. 

In this podcast, we discussed with him other forms of racism in our society as well. We talk about things such as cultural appropriation, white privilege, and his views on race in hip-hop (including his thoughts on Kanye.) At a time where discussion on these topics often veers off into angry arguments and talking points, if you’d like to hear four adults discuss it maturely, this is well worth a listen. Tayyib also discusses politics, the “branding” of Philadelphia, and why he doesn’t like Gritty. 
 
We recorded at Pipeline Philly, a co-working space in Center City that Tayyib is co-owner of. 
 
LINKS:

Victor Fiorillo: The Philly Journalist You Either Love or Hate

September 22, 2018 Music, Writers 00:36:47

We dig into Victor’s background and uncover a common theme. This is a cheap man. It’s exactly that frugalness that placed Victor, an unqualified tech support technician, in Haiti and led to a break that catapulted his remarkable career as a journalist.  also the keyboardist and manager of Philly’s very own legend, Martha Graham Cracker.

Victor takes us through his unbelievable life and it’s a tale you should not miss. We learn about the article that has generated the most hate mail, what is was like to knock on the door of and confront the Swiss Cheese Pervert, Victor’s efficient handling of scandalous gatherings, and insight into what makes Philly tick.

This episode was recorded at the iconic Bob & Barbara’s Lounge. Bob & Barbara’s played a special, recurring role in Victor’s life…and its cheap.

If you’re not familiar with Bob & Barbara’s, since 1969, they basically started the City Wide Special, the decor looks like a Pabst Blue Ribbon museum, they host a weekly drag show every Thursday, and on Fridays have the musical stylings of the Famous Crowd Pleasers, who play jazz, blues, and originals centered about a B3 Hammond organ. This spot is just off 15th and South Street and is a Philly Dive Bar Hall of Famer. 

 

Links:
Victor Fiorillo: Twitter/Facebook
Bob & Barbara’s: Twitter/Facebook/Instagram