New Rory & MAL - Best of Rory & Mal: Week of 10/13

Episode Date: October 19, 2025

This week on New Rory & Mal Drake's lawsuit vs UMG is dismissed, Hitmaka shares what it was like to work with Nicki Minaj, the new Mobb Deep album is incredible, and Rory and Mal remember D'Angelo #volume All lines provided by hardrock.betSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

So let's get to it. Listen to the. the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam Jay.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. This is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far, but I'm John Green. Co-host of the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things,

football, soccer is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Al-Urcon and John Green on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on the Army. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Bowker.

On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines, the biggest decisions, and the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. The volume. I guess we have to get into what I'm sure,

not so much our listeners, but the people that don't listen to our podcast unless they want to just come here to be mean to us. They're all at the edge. They came to this episode just to hear us. Let's talk about the Drake lawsuit. Mm-hmm. And what's the best way you want to approach it? Do we want to satisfy them and be like, yo, you guys are the greatest.

You guys are right. We're losers. We're fucking lames. Like, we're fucking, yeah, you know, you guys, hey, man, do you guys win? Is that how you want to, is that how you want to answer, respond to? Oh, no. I don't, I mean, I don't really care, which is kind of funny, but. Of course, anytime, whether it be the report of the judge dismissing the defamation case or even I forgot what the other big announcement was, that video of me speaking about the case, maybe 30 minutes after just the announcement came out.

Like, I was just speculating of what we knew at that time, which was nothing. Right. And that video, they have positioned, like I said it yesterday. Yeah. I had no information like anyone else. We were all speculating. I was like, hmm, I don't know what the case is. At this point, defamation wasn't even in the case.

I was like, oh, this could be interesting. They have ran that clip to the ground. I've enjoyed it though. Like, it actually makes me laugh not by the people that like are really reacting to it. Like, yeah, man, you had this one wrong, this or that. It's like the people that are like, this is why he should die. those are my favorite the ones that they get there

like somebody should die behind all of this yeah and then they also just go like after that like yeah and his co-host should commit suicide and it's like because he likes a rapper that you don't absolutely I don't know it's weird

I mean I'm not here to like really defend any of my position even though I said from Rip that I don't care if Drake is doing this for artists. It's weird that you could have a video and they will remix exactly what you said in the video to a complete, like, I'm like, wait,

you're commenting under a video with a quote. The videos are, I didn't say that. I did not care if Drake was doing this for himself or for other artists. I never said he was. I just thought it could be helpful if UMG had to open their books and show shit. That was about it.

It then turned into this old defamation and everything else. I just don't like care that much now. About the case or? Yeah, because I cared about it more when I had the idea of, oh, this could lead to UMG having to reveal certain things. Like that happens in cases, whatever deposition is happening. I was curious. I didn't care what Drake's intentions were.

They could be just for him or just for other artists. I didn't care. I just thought it would be cool if we finally made them open up. Right. and reveal some shit. Other than that, I mean, cool. Yeah. A lot of my, you know, my phone went crazy when the news.

Was we here, Peach? I had just left, so I think y'all was still here. Yeah, me and Pete was here. My phone started going crazy. But it was just, it was funny to see people's reaction. And again, people still not understanding what the case was about. I, as someone that thought I understood it, now I actually don't. like, because I know he was, from my understanding, initially suing for UMG,

promoting, pushing, and using bots about a song that was defaming him. Then the result was, all right, the case is dismissed because there's no defamation. I didn't know, I didn't even think he was suing for that. So now I'm just lost. So that's why I say, that's why I say you guys win, like, k.k.com, the whole world. Y'all win. I'm sorry. I'm an A K dot K-Buy. I'm sorry. I was wrong. I have no idea what the fuck is going on. Clearly the paperwork that I initially read is not even where the case ended up. Because I thought he was suing UMG for them promoting a song that defamed him. Well, it was because when I agreed with the judge, because I initially came in here when you and I would argue where I'd be like, do you really think anybody actually sits and thinks that Drake is a fucking pedophile? It's just a battle. Like no one is really, really walking around thinking that. I agreed with what. what the judge said. Like, this is just a battle back. No one really thinks that. But I didn't think that was the lawsuit. I thought it was illegally promoting outside of the industry standard a

song that was defaming him. And now it, how the judge made it sound, it was like, all right, yeah, he said mean things about you, but you said mean things too. What was the words non-actionable? What was the But I agree with what the judge said. Like I said, wrap that. I just didn't think that was what the The law, no, that was the lawsuit. The main thing in the case was the defamation and the false statements. That's why there were things brought up in the lawsuit about like how it affected like Drake's family. Like that's why you know shit like that. It's the defamation lawsuit.

But if you can't, whether they were on top of falsely or amplifying the defamation, it was mainly about defamation. But if you can't prove the defamation, then the amplifying of it doesn't mean anything. Fair. So that's where it was. Yeah. at this point I also want to like give flowers to the OVO stands for sure because the way they flipped it I thought the K-bots were going to be the ones that were going to be fucking celebrating. Drake may have some of the most positive fans I've ever seen in my life.

They say, yeah, y'all didn't even understand Drake's angle. The judge just proved that he's not a pedophile. That was his case the whole time. I said, all right, man. Wait, what? They said the fact that the judge dismissed it, means the judge is like you're not a pedophile so there's no defamation here um and they were like well that was his plan the whole time oh not that's stupid because the defamation would be if i'm

i'm not saying this is logic yeah i'm just telling you what i was reading i'm just telling you what i was reading makes no sense um but yes i had a bunch of people hit me of of all right what y'all going to do on the episode i was like i don't know what what do you want from us do you want me to bow down and apologize? Well, apologize for, I mean, I don't know what people are thinking, because I haven't really talked to many people about this, but it's not. I mean, people have to know that his lawyer, his team, they're going to appeal this and take this to another level.

Yeah, I mean, I, I don't know if people know that. Like, this is not, this is not over with, like. I mean, shit, the shitty, should we just let it go? No, see, no. At this point. No. What, would you? If you had, if you and your team, your lawyers had things in your possession that prove what you're saying is correct.

But why wouldn't, and I'm not saying that it depends the judge and that's why the appeal process exists. It's all. Yeah. Didn't they reveal everything? Because that was also something I saw on the OVO stand side of like, nah, he purposely was trying to lose the first one so he could reveal more. And I was like, well, why wouldn't he just? Yeah, no, I'm not just giving. I'm not speaking to shit.

I'm not speaking to fact. Yeah. Like real things. Like I don't, this is not over it. I know people here, things get in dismissed, but there's a whole other level that I believe this is getting ready to go to it. I don't think this is, it's definitely not over here. Yeah, I mean, I see these side of even people just being objective and aren't on this weird fucking divider stand line of like, hey, Drake, the more you do this, the more, like, you're adding more of like this mystique. and you're making

not like us the greatest battle record of all time the more you do things post the battle. Like you're putting more allure to it. Like I'm sure not like us because of this announcement may chart this week. Just because of the announcement.

Like you're adding more allure to what this battle was with these moves and the appeal is just going to continue that. But I also know that Drake doesn't give a fuck. Yeah, but that's the side that. I see both sides like I... Yeah, but that's the side

that people, see what you just said, a lot of people don't think or speak to that. I know he doesn't care. One, when you don't care, two, when you know what you know and you know what's going on because none of us knows Drake's business with his label. We don't know his, you know, his negotiation, what he was going through with the labor at the time. None of us know the specifics of that.

But when you know and your lawyers know exactly what happened and what went on, when you say just let it go, no, somebody of his caliber and his level is not going to just let that go. because they know what we all do not know. They have information that none of us have. Okay, but then I guess I would ask, if you're Drake, are you looking at good lawyers lose cases? I'm not saying that doesn't happen. If you have all this stuff that we don't know,

why did you go with that approach of the defamation lane? And the judge was clearly like, nah, this is a rat battle. No one actually believed this. You also said in one of the songs to call you a pedophile, like, is this Drake's lawyers making a grave mistake in this entire thing? Like, even going in that approach of going the defamation route, because clearly the judge was like, this is a rap battle. This is not a negotiation for your deal with the universal. I think that, like they said, they should have revealed the stuff that we don't know. Yeah, the whole, yeah, the information that, like, people can.

keeps there's information that the general public doesn't know. Well, I would assume that if there's information that's pertinent to hit this ruling or the lawsuit, it should be in the paperwork. And we all have the paperwork. So that's why it's like, what is this, this magic eight ball information? Well, how many days ago did they ask for the discovery? It wasn't, it was what, maybe two weeks ago? Maybe.

October 9th, 2020. Oh, no. Yeah. Let me say. Push for unredacted. Because even like, while watching. There wasn't that long ago. know even not even the theories but of of the third party that they claimed was hired to to bot

not like us that worked with the universal and worked with apparently uh pg lang like all of like where is all that stuff like at this point now it just feels like it's just like twitter rumors because i we knew that to be true but that's not like kendrick's not the only person to ever use a third party person to boost some shit every artist does but none of that even like came up in the, I know they were trying to serve papers to that guy and like they couldn't find them and I just feel like everything just fell apart and the judge was just like, it's a rat battle, bro. Yeah.

So I, yeah, this is not how I saw this going because I thought there was way more information. I thought this was going to be like a four year long fucking trial. He got partial discovery was granted around the end of June, top of August. Limited discovery on certain communications. limited discovery on certain communications yeah so i don't i don't believe that uh this case this is over i don't believe that drake and his team and his lawyers are are letting us go i do think that this is going to another level um and again that speaks to him his team having things and you know again we don't know the business side of it what you know universal did we do know that he's a top priority

at Universal, he is in the middle of renegotiation. I don't know where that stands today. I don't know if he's even contemplating, you know, any type of negotiation with Universal. But I do know that Universal knows or they know. You know, the internet can say, oh, yeah, told you he lost it. Ask Universal if they think this is over. Like, just ask somebody at Universal if they think that this case is over. We did this little this or that segment.

We did it with JD. We done it with JD. We did with Hit Boy. I felt like there was one more. Either way. Did we do offset? Maybe with offset. But yeah, we grab some of your records where you have to pick which one you would pick out of the two.

We'll start with bounce back or dangerous. I say bounce back because it's about to be diamond. That's my second diamond record. That would be fair. That would be fair to pick that one. But I think that Dangerous did something incredible for me. This when he first got out of jail. And this was like the radio smash that kicked off everything.

for him again. Yeah, now, Dangerous was a joint. Yeah, I think I got a lot of dangerous women after me. But I was back. Because of him. I was back on that one, just because how organically it happened. John or rule the world.

Wow. I'll probably say John, because it's the bigger, bigger record. And nobody knew. I don't have a tag on that record, too. Shout out to A.L. the producer. And that was a crazy story. So John was a song. I went to work with Polo to Don. And this back when Roscoe Dash was signed a Polo to Don. So me and Roscoe dash did a song over the John beat that night at Interscope Studios in LA. And then somehow, some way, shit, I guess Polo just took them off

the song and sent to beat the Wayne. And then that's how it turned up being John. Yeah, I didn't even know you did John until years and years later. Do you still have the, the U.N. Roscoe Dash version? I wish I did. That's got to be somewhere on YouTube. Somebody took that hard drive. Somebody leaked that shit. The first time you heard it was when, like, on the album? Yeah, I ain't know. I wasn't lit like that. My tag ain't even on that.

I had to do the follow-up after the fact, you know, get my lawyers on it. I need my credit. Fucking time about it. But then didn't another version of that end up on Teflon Don? Somebody did a similar beat. Yeah. But it wasn't that. It sounded like the Diet Coke of John.

Yeah. What was the name of that Ross? It was like the second record, I think, on Teflon. It was the second record. Damn. It was hard, but did John Bee? Yeah, it was you could tell the difference when you played them back to back on it. The one or favorite?

Hmm. The one was that record that I was telling you that Vincent Herbert flew in it, flew me back to L.A. and kind of like started my whole L.A. room. But I would have to go favorite just because, man, like, y'all don't understand. Them Nikki Minnais sessions was amazing. And to me, just the work that I put into that record, like a lot of people don't know that I forget her name Candice. Her last name.

She used to be Sina Nio. That's her doing the sample shit. But you know that you need a ride up, ride up, right up, right up, ride up. It's Aaron Ray doing the fucking, yeah, the backgrounds and all that other show on the record. You know what I'm saying? So that was a crazy time, like, for real. I mean, just judging off Nikki's Twitter as of recent, I could only imagine what a private studio session with her would be like. I mean, obviously there's NDAs on NDAs and that.

But what is a typical Nicky Minaj session like? Well, at that time, she worked at a studio called Glenwood that was in Burbank. So I would just go to the studio and she was like

the first person I seen with like the booth like just whatever her mood was. Like I remember walking a booth it was like a beach. Like nigga had sand in the booth like fucking beach balls toys.

Like they were going some crazy shit. The first person I seen with a gigantic sign with their name on it inside the studio. And fucking, um, for me like she would just she would just be there sober doing whatever she'd be doing I would be getting

overly drunk and fucking while smoking weed and then she just let me gave me free rain at one point she was just like yo this is juice this is my studio just go crazy do whatever you want to do so with favorite in general um jeremiah came to the studio I was in another room she was in her room she booked me another room and I was with her engineer while she was doing whatever she was doing And Jeremiah was like, Hey, yo, Burke, I got like seven minutes before I need to go to LAX. I'm like, nigga, what the fuck you even come to the studio for in the first place? Like, you got seven minutes to do on.

On God in my life, nigga, he went in there. He did one take down. And somehow, some way, he said, I just want to be your favorite. I'm like, that's it. Stopped him. Got it. Chopped it up. Copy paste.

Put it like four times and told him to dance around. And he literally left in those seven minutes. And that's how to hook ahead. That's fucking crazy. That's wild. That's super wild. For real. What's her?

process like, Nikki, as far as she, like, approaches songs? To me, it's just like, I think it's great beats. And then she, for me, when her collaborating, she would just have great beats and be like, yo, make some hooks for me, do some shit that I like. Like, even it's a song on her, I'm called Shanghai. I'm on the song. It's me saying, roll up on you and all this other shit on the actual record. So she was just like, go hook crazy for me.

And then I just went hook crazy. And it turned out to being whatever it is. Incredible. sexy lady or sexy can I oh my god um I'm not to go sexy can I just because I knew sexy lady was a hit and y'all got to like go back into them LA days like nigga like I was literally like wearing a chinchilla my man my manager at the time was the club promoter at the hottest club or whatever thing was called like fuck Mondays or something like that shout out to tk and all them or whatever and I used to go in a club they used to sneak the bottles in we would go to ralphson

and buy a bunch of bottles before we went to the club and my manager at the time was the promoter so he would set me up at the table next to DJ Echo and they would bring the bottles out and I would wear like a full lymph chinchilla in the middle of like summer or whatever in LA just whiling out performing my song sexy lady and then from there it just blew to this phenomenon sexy can I actually hated sexy can I style's P was supposed to be on sexy can I before me remember Ray J was signed a Koch and epic record's head yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah he and Shadow was doing all the radio shit for epic or whatever at the time.

So Stiles P was supposed to be on that, and I'm glad that Stiles Pete wasn't on sexy Kenna. That seems like a weird choice, much less than a ghost. Hold on, not the worst. Style rapping sexy Ken out to the hate. I'm like, yo, so when they presented me the record, Charlie Walk at the time who like fucking is my god, this thing is like 5'2 looks like Zoolander.

He was the fucking president of fucking epic records at the time. I know exactly what you talking about. And he was like, yo, you need to do this record for Ray J. And I'm like, I was just coming off a sexy lady. And I wanted to go to my song, The Business with with the girl Cash is singing the hook. And I'm like, no, I want to go to this song. He's like, no, you're going to do this is going to be your biggest record. He's like, what is it going to take for you to do this record? I'm like, you got to buy me a chain. He like, for real? I'm like, yeah. I called Jason and Beverly Hills. And I put him on the phone with Charlie Walker. I'm like,

I want an epic record chain. Like you got to make it. He made the chain. It probably came out my budget. You know what I'm saying? He got me to chain. And I never forget it. Me, Billy J. Cap one, We walked from the Lowe's Hotel to Wet Willies in Miami And we just threw bars around While we were doing just talking shit with my brothers And through bars around, I wrote all my parts with them Probably on that walk I laid my part at Circle House where I still work at today

That's how crazy this shit coming full circle And then from there it leads us to the epic Studio session with me, Ray J, the girl Cash and Tierra Marie. I didn't know it was Tierra Marie at the time So like Ray J comes in the studio I think we're at a fucking, we're at a studio. We're at Chalice in L.A. And this one, he just did his vivid deal for the Kim Kardashian tape.

And he was on this porn star shit. So the nigga came in. He's like, hey, yo, Burke, I don't want to disrespect your lady, but you mind if I put these on the TV? I'm like, these. The nigga put out all vivid DVDs of porn and shit like that. So now we're in a session. He got a gun.

Allegedly he had a gun, a strap on a table. It's nothing but white women porn. playing on this big screen inside the studio, and we're finishing the song, sexy cannot. So we end there. And like, there's a girl that's like talking so bad about Ray J. Like, you trash, nigger. You get your weak ass out of here.

And I'm like, who is this girl? Disrespecting Ray Jay like this? I ain't know it was Sierra Maria at the time. Like, it ain't clicked to me. I'm like, yo, the nigger goes in the booth. He's like, I got to hit this last line. He's like, Kim Dungeons says, I'm fun. And she, he's like, nah, this is my Stevie.

she like get your wicked That's my stevie It's my stevie From there We delivered a record And shit that shit shot up to like I think it peaked at number two On the hot 100 or whatever

And it was like Why does Ray J and Youngberg Had this record that all these white people like? I mean yeah that fucking melody is I went to jail Yo I went to jail on the video set Of the video For what?

The first shot of the day We in Miami I'm smoking a blunt Niggas down to like a roach I throw the blunt out of the fucking shit and the police that was unsafe to protect us came, picked up the roach and took me to jail. That's crazy. Shaquille O'Neal bailed me out of jail.

I can't make this shit up, bro. I should have known the record was going down and when Shaq came and beat me out. That is your greatest record. Are you kidding me? It don't get no greater in that. So, bro, that's good. So, hold on.

Let's slow down for a second. So you had Shaq's number memorized. No. Ray J and Shaq had a, a business dealer, and I think he was the investor on Ray J's project at the time. Okay, that makes you.

Yeah, that's, that trash. And he was a police officer in Miami at the time. Bro, the digger came and bailed me out of jail. Come on little man. And I went back on set 12 hours later and it's like, I never went to jail. Yeah, sexy Ken,

I. That's fucking hilarious. Oh, my God. So I guess Kim has a type then because I had heard at every Kanye session, all he would have was just porno on the whole time. Hey, yo.

Like, it would be, it would be, like, it's not that horny. Assistance in PR coming back to the Def Jam office, like shell shocked. Like, yeah, we went to the studio and it was just hardcore porn playing the entire time. It's like, bro. Jesus. The nigga is different, bro. Oh, man. That's a different type of horny.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where

you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to? to do a little kill. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, yeah. But just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS. on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I feel like it was a little bit unbelievable until I really start making money. It's Financial Literacy Month, and the podcast Eating While Broke is bringing. bringing real conversations about money, growth, and building your future. This month, hear from top streamer, Zoe Spencer, and venture capitalist Lakeisha Landrum-Pierre, as they share their journeys from starting out to leveling up.

If I'm outside with my parents and they're seeing all these people come up to me for pictures, it's like, what? Today now, obviously, it's like 100%. They believe everything. But at first, it was just like, you got to go get a real job. There's an economic component to communities thriving. If there's not enough money and entrepreneurship happening in communities, they fail. And what I mean by fail is they don't have money to pay for food.

They cannot feed their kids. They do not have homes. Communities don't work unless there's money flowing through them. Listen to eating while broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. When you listen to podcasts about AI and tech and the future of humanity, the hosts always act like they know what they're talking about and they are experts at everything. the Nick Dick and Poll show, we're not afraid to make mistakes. What Coogler did that I think was so unique. He's the writer-director.

Who do you think he is? I don't know. You mean it to like the president? You think Canada has a president. You think China has a president? Does La Crosette. God, I love that thing. I use it all the time.

I wrap it in a blanket and sing to it at night. It's like the old Polish saying, not my monkeys, not my circus. It was a good thing. One. I like that snake. It is an actual Polish saying. It is an actual policy. Better version of Play Stupid Games, win stupid prizes. Yes. Which, by the way, wasn't Taylor Swift, who said that for the first time. I actually thought it was. I got that wrong.

Listen to the Nick, Dick and Paul Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars. And now, I guess, also is the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel. Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game, and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, soccer, football, is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team.

Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, its hope, its heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty. Together, we'll find out why,

of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auer Kohn and John Green on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Where do we begin with the Mobbdi Pop? Oh, man. I'm ready to shed it here. It's so good. It's a really good project. It was a really good project.

I was so happy when I put it on play at it. Like they did, they did it right. It feels like this is not, you know, Demaris, I can never say the word. Possumous. Ostumous. Yeah. It's not a possum album. It really feels like Havoc, Prodigy, and Alchemist put out an album in 2025.

Absolutely. It feels like an evolution of Mob Deep in the most beautiful way ever. There's not a fucking skip on it. Prodigy is rapping at the highest level of Prodigy. which is saying something. Havoc sounds incredible. I don't even know what to say more about what this Mobb Deep album is. What is it about 25 where we're seeing, you know, mob deep and...

Mass appeal. Yeah, like, what is it? Like, what's going on? Mass appeal is, I mean, I know people are obviously talking about mass appeal and everything that they're doing, but I still think we need to champion them even more. Everything that Peter, Nause and the whole staff, over there, shit. Anthony, I'm sure just being Nas' manager is heavily involved with it too.

What you guys are doing is how hip hop should age. Like this is the best example ever. When they say no country for old men, nope. Hip hop is aging perfectly because of what Nas and Mass Appeal are doing. Everything is incredible. It's handled with care. It's not just to do it for the fuck of it. They're all moving together too. And they were all at Comic Con,

I believe that was this weekend. Like seeing everyone move together too to promote it. It's been the most beautiful thing to watch hip hop age in this way. Absolutely. Like, Nas does not get enough credit for what, this is what elder statesmen are supposed to do. Not only look out for the younger, but also your peers and the people before you. Make sure things are done right, done with taste, done with attention to detail, curating things properly. I think, like you said, everything you said is correct.

What Mass &Pills has been doing with all of the projects that they've been a part of has been just handled with so much. like you said, care, and, you know, they really, you know, want to make sure things are done correctly and with class and still have that style that, you know, hip hop is supposed to have. So shout out the MasterPil, because they've been getting it right. Yeah, that shit, I mean, just coming off the intro, like, I literally did not take the MabD album off over the weekend. Like, usually I take my break to catch up on my pod shit and, you know, audiobooks and that shit. I, this was probably the first weekend in a while

that I literally did not stop listening to one album for three days straight. Yeah. Out the gate, call me corny, but shit against the world when Prodigy ended that shit we see you on the other side, I legitimately got fucking chills. Yeah.

And even poor of, like, having that verse of, like, already pre-recorded for, if I pass away, was absolutely insane. Yeah. And then having Nas followed that shit up was, I can't even say enough about it. Hearing Ray Kwan and Ghostface with them again was incredible. The clips for the first time, like, it just reminds you how important duos are.

And I know like Ghost and Ray obviously are solo and all that, but they're a duo. Clips, duo. Like, that shit is needed in hip-hop, I feel like. The big group shit, cool, solo cool, but just two fucking people that can rap well, I, I miss that shit so much. And this, this nailed it. Like,

Alchemist, when are we going to have the conversation? Of. I know he gets his flowers. But the way we talk about Swiss, Tim, Kanye, just,

you can make an argument that Al is above some of them at this point. This run for the last five, six years, outside of what Al already accomplished. Yeah.

What he is, even when he posted his, for your Grammy consideration, and you just looked at what he did in the last fucking year. Yeah. And in the middle of doing this, also doing his Eric about due album,

coming off the Freddie Gives shit, doing the Mobb Deep, like, hit boy album. Rapping crazy on that. Yeah. Like, is there even a debate

that Al is not a list hip-hop royalty as a producer? That's not a big. No, but like, it's a different status at this point. Like, he surpassed Tim in my brain. Well,

Tim does more than just hip-hop. Like Tim, you know, he does more than rap. So Tim is a different conversation. He does AI. He does AI. You write about that. But if we're doing a versus this year, you and your fucking bullshit, uh, Korean AI girl versus Erica Badu and Al?

I think I'm going to go out. Oh, no, no, for sure. Absolutely. But, you know, Alchemist is, again, we talk about it. He's the soundtrack to, you know, New York hip-hop. His sound is the, is the backdrop to New York City. As far as I'm concerned, he's one of my favorite. produces ever. And what he continues to do and how he continues to still find ways to be creative

and stay motivated, stay inspired by this new generation and new sounds. It's dope to watch. You know what I'm saying? Him still have fun with it. And things like this, you know, this Mob Deep album, which is obviously very personal for him, for him to still be able to capture that feeling and keep that mob deep sound to a certain level of where we know what to be. it just speaks to aisles of him his dedication to just always staying sharp and keeping his craft at a high level

but yeah definitely alchemist I mean I don't know who argues alchemist is his status in the best produce of all time category I guess I'm just saying now with the second run he's had I think it's undeniable like before maybe there was some conversation

like oh you gotta look Swiss has these huge number one records and with all these A list I just think with this run you can't say all those names and not say Alchemist as well. And not that he gives a fuck. But that makes it even better. He don't do it for that.

He don't care about the recognition of it. He just wants the music and the craft that speaks for itself. And shout out to Havik. I mean, obviously, you know, they called Al the third member of Mobb Deep years and years ago. But to even, you know, have Al part of that as well, I thought says a lot about Havik too. Because have could have been like, no, not this one. This is just, I'm just doing this. me and P. So to collaborate with him there, because I think Hav is one of the most underrated

produced, probably the most underrated drums in hip hop history is have to me. But him also, you know, letting Al be a part of this, I think, was, says a lot about havoc. Absolutely. But sorry for the nerd shit. I just can't say enough about this fucking Mobb Deep album. Infinite. Available now. If you haven't heard it, I don't know what you was listening to, but definitely go listen to that Mobb Deep album. They also announced, um, Naz DJ Premier drop in December 2020. They put out a record a couple months ago. I mean, we've been hearing about this for over a year. I can't wait for this.

Like, what a fucking year? Yeah. We also get a nazz in premiere shit at the end of the year. I mean, we've been talking about this for years. You know, we get a Big L album into it as well. Yeah, yeah. Massa pillars, listen, man, I love it, man. I think, you know, they've carved a very specific thing out for what they want to do and how they want to do things.

And they've been executing at a high level, the quality. has been incredible. So I'm here, man. I'm looking forward to anything that Massapil is doing, I'm looking forward to it. I don't know if there's some type of Grammy or there should be some type of award,

I feel like, for label of the year. Something. They deserve that type of award. And even coming off, was it 50 years last year for hip-hop? Anniversary two years, two years ago. Even Massapil being, you know, behind the celebration at Yankee Stadium,

like, I don't ever want to hear any old head complain that hip hop is in a bad space. Like you look at what they're doing with the genre that we love. Yeah. There's still this side over here. Absolutely. And if you're complaining, you need to start praising fucking mass appeal and what they've done. And on the doc side and on the content side.

I'm sorry. I'm not here dick riding. Mass appeal. I'm sorry. You guys are fucking amazing. It's so fucking good. I totally understand. And what you do.

Like, I appreciate that shit. It's just all we, all podcasting lately is fucking hating. I want to. highlight how amazing a company is doing right now. Yeah. Like for the spirit, all that corny shit of hip hop. Let's stop complaining about shit sometimes

and highlight the people that are doing it correctly. No, the dope shit is out there. I mean, you just got to pay attention to it and highlight it and support it. But it's definitely great hip hop music still being produced,

still being created. So yeah, you just got to support it when you see it. And again, this Mobb Deep Infinite album is one of them. And looking forward to, again, you know, anything that Maspillar is doing

because they are, they're just paying attention to the, to the details, man. Yeah. Just making sure everything is done at a certain level. So you got to support anybody, any creator that's paying attention to the small things and the details of it. No, for sure. And, I mean, anything to get Nause outside, too. I love that just Naz is just running around New York now. Yeah.

Like, this shit is great to see. Yeah, man. Daylaw looks incredible. Everybody looks young, like healthy and shit. Love it. But be the example, man. Hip Hop can age gracefully. Yeah.

We do need to start by saying rest and peace to one of the, greatest musicians, singers, artists of our time. DeAngelo. Yeah, this was one of those. Like when artists die or celebrities die, sometimes like, oh, that sucks. But this one like hurt. Like I felt like I know him. And I've never met him.

Yeah. Yeah, this, I don't even know where to begin on this one. How many times in the last 10 years of podcasting? Have we just discussed how DeAngelo was one of our favorite artists ever, anytime we have an R&B debate, first name we bring it up, like, he was one of them. Absolutely. Like, you can't compare his voice or style to any other artist period, whether B-pop, R&B, Neosville, whatever.

He, I mean, he was a goat with, you know, three albums that he spread out in each generation an era that he put an album out. He changed the face of music during it. Absolutely. So, yeah, I mean, you know, condolences to his family. definitely to his son definitely probably rough rough year for him losing both parents so so praise and condolences to his son as well his daughter yeah too but um did you ever have the privilege of of meeting de angelo uh he was in the studio uh one night i forgot

who session it was he was in the studio but we never i never had the uh the privilege of having a actual one-on-one conversation and kicking it with it kicking it with him and giving him his flowers. But, you know, when you say DeAngelo, you know, for somebody growing up in the 90s, we'd call like the golden era of music, R&B, especially. DeAngelo was the guy that, you know, absolutely changed the style. You know, you used to seeing musicians look a certain way. You're not used to seeing musicians with the talent level of what DeAngelo would have

corn rolls and, you know. leather jackets and no shirt. Like it was like, you know, he just changed the style of what musicians look like, especially in the 90s. Like he just came in and was, you know, just completely, completely just changed the sound and energy in R&B. So many people that are an extension of his talent and his musical genius. So receiving that news of his passing was definitely heavy. Like, you know, because DeAngelo was never somebody that was.

ever really in the headlines. No. So it's easy to kind of like not think about DeAngelo unless you like hearing his music or like you, you know, he happens to be working on a new project. So when, you know, I forgot who hit the chat and it was like DeAngelo passed, I was like, I read that. I was like, whoa.

Yeah. And I mean, just reading that was just like, that's somebody he wasn't expecting to just, you know, read that had passed away. But after privately, you know, battling the illness and things like that, you know, the family decided to keep that, Because he was, again, he was not, DeAngelo wasn't somebody that was ever really in the headlines.

Yeah. It wasn't nothing negative. You know, it was just like, if it wasn't about music, if he wasn't performing, you didn't know what DeAngelo was doing. And I think that's the way he wanted it. That's the way he, you know, part of his mystique and his aura was strictly about the music and his talent. But so young, you know, to pass away at 51. And, yeah, his talent, man. You know, obviously had to live on.

His music lives on. But, yeah, DeAngelo was one of the greats, you know, for him to no longer be with us, you know, so soon. It's just like, it's just kind of like, you know, put you in a fog because you can't really like, damn, like that fast so soon. Like, but, you know, one of the greatest, remember listening to, you know, lady and Brown Sugar being in high school. Like, he was just a soundtrack. If you was like, had a crush on a girl, you had to play DeAngelo. you had to like you know if it was a talent show it was like who gonna sing de angelo like everybody can't do who's gonna try to do that most yeah everybody can't do di angelo like he was just the coolest

of the cool man so prayers and condolace is his family left an incredible legacy um you know just somebody just had so much musical integrity and so much style and and did it his way um so yeah man it's it's a terrible loss for for the culture and for music but you know his work is here his his music is here, the people that he influences here, the artist that he worked with is still here. So, you know, his music and his art lives on for sure. Yeah. When I was working for Kevin Lyles, he was working with DeAngelo. I guess you could say managing DeAngelo at that time for the Black Messiah album.

And DeAngelone, you know, obviously never came to the office. Never was like, you know, part of any meetings or anything. But when I say anytime Kev would play like a song from that album before it came out, like we would all just gather around like the media room door like children and just put our fucking ear to the side to try to hear that shit. So like seeing that project from an office standpoint completely come together was like just an honor to be next to somebody that was working with DeAngelo. Like I had nothing whatsoever to do. I was just in the office.

But that was like one of the coolest times ever of like, damn, I'm listening to a DeAngelo project right now. Yeah. Like nobody's heard. Yeah. But yeah. shit with me and dixon were in um electric lady which is a very famous studio in new york city where you know d'angelo recorded most of his work so aquariums from fuck eric bydo everyone you know recorded out of there we like didn't work for like an hour and a half because we were

just sitting there talking like yo like dangelo sat right here yeah like we shouldn't be allowed in this like why are we working in here like this is nuts like that's the same booth incredible talent man so yeah rest in peace again I don't know if you have any DeAngelo memories not like personal

you guys covered you guys covered everything he's a good job yeah I did see and I'm not sure if this was a rumor confirmed that

prior to his death he was working on did it say like six different projects or something he was working on that wouldn't surprise me so I mean hopefully that means you know we're still going to get

DeAngelo music that he would want out not just some shit that a label threw together with fucking old dat tapes. But he was privately battling pancreatic cancer. So it wouldn't surprise me if he was planning these projects for after his death. So, you know, I hope we get to at least hear those sometimes soon. Absolutely.

But, yeah, I don't really know how to turn them around. Benzino. This was just a perfect example of sometimes. The Angelo are Benzinos. I know, I know. That's absolutely crazy. It's a perfect example of like sometimes honoring legends that have passed, like you should just sit out. Sometimes we don't need to know what influences you had from him after his death.

Because I do believe that Benzino was influenced by D'Angelo. All of us were. But I didn't need to see like exactly how Benzino was influenced. Okay. I cannot. Okay. No, I don't think Benzino was influenced by DeAngelo. Nothing about Benzino's music.

Just be a shirtless and shadows. Nothing that. I think this is just what call it. This is cloud chasing. I think that's exactly what this is. No. Wait, but is this old? Yeah, he was, come on.

He was giving DeAngelo his flowers before. Yeah, he didn't just do that when DeAngelo died. That would be fucking nuts. Oh, he didn't just do this. No. It's still nuts. Wait, so he had this in the vault? matter of fact i think it's more disrespectful doing this when de angelo is alive so he can see it

why but why oh no p's just gonna have to put that shit somewhere on the screen it's it's the untitled video when d'angelo is is shirtless with that shadow but benzino took that and put his own spin on it um with him being shirtless this is his how does it feel yes okay okay listen man i mean i i stand corrected this was before this video was out before DeAngelo passed. Yes. Okay. And I stand correct.

Maybe Benzino was influenced by. No, no. He was suggesting like, you know, he posted it when Benzino passed. Like, hey, I've been influenced in my career by him. Here's an example of how it made him feel. Okay. And I saw, I saw DeAngel's son post something of, you know, it's been a tough year. Thank you guys for having me in your thoughts and prayers.

I'll definitely need it. I keep telling me that. Do you think this made him feel any better? Like some things, some tributes should just be like kept in the time. I'm sure he read, Beyonce's post and was like, oh man, that's, that's really cool to know that my pop's, you know, influence one of the biggest pop stars ever. Like, those types of things I think help in grief and death. If I saw this, like, that's going to delay like funeral plans. I'm going to be so angry.

Honestly, it probably gave him a laugh. It probably gave him a laugh. Or him and his dad may have. laughed at that together before. And that could have been a good memory. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Like if that was out before his passing, then, um, yeah, I'm pretty sure DeAngelo laughed at that, absolutely. Yeah. Um, I also thought, it's also crazy to think, um, that James got the last recorded DeAngelo record that was put out. Fontmore? Uh, James Samuel for the, um, soundtrack for the, uh, Book of Clarence. It was the Jay-Zo, the Angelo record.

I want you forever. Yeah. Yeah. So that was the last one that was put out while he was alive, which is crazy to think. But shit, now, that would make sense, though, James working with D.N. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah.

I'm sure they had been talking about that for quite some time even before that. Because I think James even went in interviews and like, Hove didn't even know about it. And he just was sending him snippets. And I think he said Hove was on the treadmill, sending him bars while he was running on the treadmill. Because he had this DeAngelo record. Like, yeah, I'll rap for D'Anlo. Yeah, you got a DeAngelo record? Yeah, I'll get on that for sure.

That's such a cool way for hip hop to age. Like a guy in his 50s on a treadmill writing raps to a DeAngelo record. Yeah, for a movie called Book of Claren. And then sending them as voice notes to like someone's iPhone. That shit hilarious to me. Absolutely. But yeah, I wish you guys wanted to shame me so much when I thought DeAngelo was down the hall for me. those months ago.

Oh yeah, I remember that. Oh, yeah, I remember that. When you kept conveniently having to walk to the bathroom? Yeah. Yeah. In the dungeon at flux. Yeah. But I talked to the engineering.

But then when you told us that, I understood it though. Like, I got it. Yeah. I was like, no, listen, that's, that's DeAngelo. I get it. But it's like, there's a way to go about that still. But I understood. It's DeAngelo, bro.

Yeah. As a musician, as anybody, a producer, as an artist, if you have the opportunity to be in the same room, especially a studio and just talk to DeAngelo and pick his brain about music. I mean, you definitely have to take that opportunity whenever you can because you don't know when you'll have that opportunity again. And because he had probably the most unique voice in R&B history, maybe outside of like Marvin Gay, you know when you're walking past a studio and like, all right, that's DeAngelo and I've never heard that song. Right. What the fuck is going on in there?

Yeah. But yeah. Benzino, I guess we all. we all grieve different. We do. That is very true, we do grieve differently. Absolutely. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. This is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far. But I'm John Green, co-hosted the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American soccer is about to explode.

The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on the Army Stewart. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Bowke. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines, the biggest decisions. and the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals.

Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.