I would say you were one of the first persons to do a Podcast on Hip Hop/Rap. before Murder Master I hadn’t even heard about a Podcast or what that was about.
Right in fact I started in the same year the term Podcast was coined by some guy in the UK. At the time I had no idea what a podcast was. Prior to this everything I did was in print so everything was a learning experience for me.
When did you start Murder Master? What year was it. How did you get the idea to do a Podcast?
I started it in 2004. As far back as I could remember I was always a huge fan of Yo! MTV Raps and BET’s Rap City. I wanted to have something like that but online radio format because I was never the type to be in front of a camera. Everything I did in the past was all in print. I wanted to do something to showcase my interviews by playing small five or ten minute segments or excerpts of the interviews. I would also play songs off the albums I was reviewing. This way they would get to hear what I was talking about.
Everyone is doing a Podcast now.
Facts! I remember about 6 or 7 years ago one of my co-hosts Mac Jay said, “This is gonna be the year of the podcast”, and he wasn’t lying. Everyone has a podcast in Hip Hop pretty much, plus just about everything else. Many would take ideas from us. We would interview people no one was interviewing and then they would end up on other podcasts. But it was dope to be able to give some of these artists a new breath of fresh air. Almost like bringing back some from a stagnant position. That’s always a positive.
How did you get the name Murder Master?
I had to come up with a format so I used the two magazines I was writing for as inspiration. Of course, Murder Master Music Show was most influenced by Murder Dog Magazine. That’s where the name Murder in the title comes from. Plus I wouldn’t be doing any of this if it wasn’t for Murder Dog giving me a chance to interview the artists I grew up listening to and reviewing their music. The second part of the name came from Street Masters Magazine which was an underground Memphis publication that lasted 2004-2008. So I combined the two and came up with Murder Master Music Show. My readers who knew me from those publications would know what to expect.
Who were some of the first artist you did on your Podcast.
The first run we had people like BG, Tech N9ne, The Game, 50 Cent, Master P and many others. It lasted from 2004 to 2008. Then in 2012 I brought it back but this time it was live. My first guest in the second run was K-Rino. I literally hit him up 5 minutes before I was to go on the air, and asked him if he wanted to be my first guest back. He said sure when? I said 5 minutes, and he did it and I haven’t stopped since.
You probably have done like a 100 or more now. Who are some of the more interesting stories you did. Ones that was really good.
Actually this year in about 24 episodes from now we will have done our 1000th episode since the return in 2012. Some of our most memorable would be Jerry Heller. Pieces of that interview went everywhere including books and documentaries. MC Shan was always a favorite, but some of the surprise call-ins and round tables were my personal favorites. We had RBX call in to surprise The DOC. We also had one where Kokane and Spice-1 were reminiscing about Tupac and we had DJ Yella from NWA call in to surprise both of them. On our 400th episode we had DJ Paul, Bushwick Bill, Ganxsta NIP, Mr. Serv-On, Poohman, Dayton Family and others all on the line. Another favorite was when we were interviewing Bushwick Bill and we had our friend DJ Ready Red of the Geto Boys call in. The two of them reminisced for a long time, it was pure magic to hear. Sadly both Bill and Red are gone.
How did you get it out there. How did you get to others listen to your Podcasts.
My years at Murder Dog Magazine helped greatly because I had a base of readers who remembered my work. Of course, Hip Hop media also started to pick up on my podcast and next thing you know sites like allhiphop, Vibe, The Source, HipHopDX, etc started to quote content from the podcast. Some shows went viral to the point to where all of them were talking about certain episodes at the same time. What is unique about us is no matter what kind of press we get we still remain within the underground. The archive is full of unknown artists as well as legends and pioneers. We kept that Murder Dog formula because we know some of the best music is not always the stuff that gets the shine.
Do you have all the Podcasts you did?
From the first four year run I only have about 10 episodes. But from the second running I have them all. Close to 1000 of them.
What do you feel about Hip Hop moving from the streets to the internet? Was it a positive move for music? Hip Hop /Rap?
It’s a positive and a negative! I was always a CD collector so I love physical copies. I miss the days of getting press kits with actual CDs in them. Back then for artists there was more money. It was getting 7-10 per sale verses pennies for streams. But the internet is why I am able to even do a podcast. So it has its advantages. The downside is the saturation. I know many of these streaming sites pay artists pennies but many are selling their music digitally themselves on their own websites. So the internet definitely has pitfalls , you just have to navigate around them and find ways to make money. I know of artists who are stuck not doing well and other artists who are thriving. They are using the internet to it’s full potential and making it work. Lil Sicx of Sac-Town or C-Mob are great examples. They have the physical copies for the collectors but also have their music on various platforms online.
Who were some of your favorite rappers.
Of course K-Rino, Spice-1, Geto Boys, Three 6, Bone, Pac, Dayton Family, there are so many.
Are you from the Midwest? How did you get in to Hip Hop?
I was born in Berwyn, Illinois not far from Cicero in Chicago. I lived on 27th & Cuyler a couple blocks from Cicero. I could walk to Cermak (22nd) take a right and cross Cicero Ave and be right in Chicago. I got into the Run DMC and Fat Boys wave that took over in 84-86. I was 6 or 7 and just fell in love with rap and it stuck, I never grew out of it. Some of the earlier songs were Run DMC Rock Box, Fat Boys Can You Feel It, Whodini with Friends, it grabbed the nation by storm. As I got older I found Ice-T, Eazy & NWA, Short and others. Then I started getting into the underground stuff which took me on a journey I am still on today forty years later.
You were also a writer for Murder Dog Magazine. How did that all happen?
I went into a record store in Kentucky owned by an older cat named LG Jones and his two sons Tim (RIP) and Keith. They had underground stuff and on the counter was a big ass magazine called Murder Dog. I fell in love with it right away. I started to call and bug the office. One day Mary put me on the phone with Black Dog and he asked me if I wanted to sell and promote Murder Dog in my area. Not long after he asked me if I wanted to do album reviews. He recognized my passion for the music and gave me a chance. Next, he was sending me a tape recorder and an adapter to hook up to my phone and now I was doing interviews. I think the first thing I did was an Esham/Natas discography in ’98. I was with MD from 1998-2013 and very happy to be back on the team in 2024. We still here!
How old were you when you started being a part of Murder Dog/ that movement?
When I first found Murder Dog in 96 I was 17 or 18. I was 19 or 20 when I started to write for Murder Dog. It’s amazing because this was over 25 years ago and I still have readers post up some of the articles or reviews I did from all over the globe. People like Brian at Rapzines who is a rap magazine archivist has many issues of Murder Dog.
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