Episode 269: Danny Brown

“Y.B.P.” (feat. Bruiser Wolf)

Danny Brown started his career in 2007 by handing out mixtapes in Detroit, where he’s from. In 2011, he put out his acclaimed second album, XXX. Since then, he’s collaborated with rappers like Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky and JPEGMafia, but he’s also worked with electronic bands like Purity Ring and The Avalanches, and he did a verse on a remix for Korn.

When I first heard him, around when XXX came out, I was really drawn to his voice. And I also appreciated that, given how young so many artists are now when they get really famous, Danny Brown’s career really started taking off in his 30s. He put out his sixth album, Quaranta, in 2023. And for this episode, I talked to him about one of the songs from that album, called “Y.B.P.,” which features guest vocals from Bruiser Wolf.

You can buy or stream “Y.B.P.” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Skywlkr and Kassa Overall – producers
Bruiser’s verse mentions Rodney Peete, Barry Sanders, Isiah “Zeke” Thomas, Malice Green, Y.B.I., and Butch Jones
Blade Icewood, J Dilla, Nelly

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Episode 268: Rhiannon Giddens

“You Louisiana Man”

Rhiannon Giddens has released five solo albums since 2015. Before that, she was a member of the Grammy-winning band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops. She is now also the artistic director of the Silkroad Ensemble, the musical supergroup that Yo-Yo Ma founded.

Rhiannon Giddens is one of those people where I feel like they have to start inventing new awards, because she’s already won all of them. She’s got multiple Grammys, she won the Pulitzer Prize for an opera she co-wrote called Omar, she’s a MacArthur Genius, and the new Beyonce song “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the one that features the banjo? That’s Rhiannon Giddens playing the banjo. (I guess that’s not technically an award, but it feels like one to me.)

In 2023, Rhiannon released an album called You’re the One, and I talked to her about the song she wrote called “You Louisiana Man,” which was nominated for a Grammy for Best American Roots Performance.

You can buy or stream “You Louisiana Man” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes:
Jack Splash – producer
Niwel Tsumbu – acoustic guitar
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Contra dance (versus English country dance)
Freedom Highway
Fretless banjo

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Episode 267: Green Day

“Basket Case”

Green Day is a punk band from the East Bay in California. Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool have playing music together since 1987. They’ve sold over 90 million records. They’ve won four Grammys, including twice for Best Rock Album. They put out their first album in 1990, and in 91, they put out their second album, Kerplunk!. And then they moved to a major label, and in 1994 they put out their third album, Dookie, which was huge. It helped bring punk into the mainstream. And this month is its 30th anniversary. So for this episode, I talked to Billie Joe Armstrong about the making of one of Green Day’s biggest hits of all time: “Basket Case.”

Coming up, you’ll also hear from Rob Cavallo, who produced the album. Plus you’ll hear two different demo versions of “Basket Case,” the first of which is basically a totally different song.

Billie Joe Amstrong traces the history of “Basket Case,” from its origins as a cassette recording in a punk basement, all the way to becoming a song that helped define an era of music.

You can buy or stream “Basket Case” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes:
Andy Ernst’s studio, Art of Ears
Fantasy Studios
The Muffs’ self-titled album

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