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Explore every episode of the podcast Being Black- The '80s

Dive into the complete episode list for Being Black- The '80s. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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TitlePub. DateDuration
Feelin' Love from the Lovies04 Oct 202300:01:32

theGrio Black Podcast Network is proud to announce that Being Black: The '80s has received a Lovie Awards nomination. Click here to vote in the Arts, Entertainment & Sports category to help TourƩ bring home the win!

Vote For Being Black: The '80s21 Sep 202300:00:22

Being Black: The '80s has been nominated for a Signal Award! Help us win the People's Choice award for best Limited Series: Music, by voting here: https://tinyurl.com/bb80sSignalĀ 

Stevie Wonder x MLK31 May 202300:40:23

Stevie’s legendary song ā€œHappy Birthdayā€ was originally part of the long, hard battle to turn Dr. King’s birthday into a national holiday. When Dr. King was assassinated, his approval rating with white people was very low. At that point, he was not beloved by them. It took a lot of careful, steady, thoughtful, diplomatic work by Coretta Scott King to change his image and win over politicians. Stevie Wonder was committed to that struggle and this song is just one of the things he did for Dr. King. In this episode, we talk to King's daughter Bernice as well as the engineers who worked with Stevie on the song. We talk about how they got us to having a King holiday and what that fight meant to Stevie. And why he usually records in the middle of the night.

Ā 

Guests:

Dr. Chrissy Greer, Professor, Fordham UniversityĀ 

Jelani Cobb, Professor, Columbia UniversityĀ 

Lon Neumann, Recording Engineer, Happy Birthday

Gary Adante, Lead Engineer, Happy Birthday

Dr. Bernice King, CEO The King CenterĀ 

Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds, Journalist

Ā 

Credits:

Stevie Wonder - Happy BirthdayĀ 

  • Writer: Stevie Wonder
  • Label: Motown Records
  • Publisher: Black Bull Music Inc, Jobete Music Co Inc

Ā 

Public Enemy - By the Time I Get to Arizona

  • Writer: Chuck D, Neftali Santiago, Mandrill, Stuart Robertz, G-Wiz & C-Dawg
  • Label: Def Jam and Colombia Records
  • Publisher: Sony Music Entertainment

Ā 

Stevie Wonder sings "Happy Birthday" Martin Luther King, CSPAN

Stevie Wonder on creating Martin Luther King Day 1983, CNN

Public Enemy, Arsenio Hall (1993)

Martin Luther King, Jr. on Income Inequality and Redistribution of Wealth, Insaaf Blog

Harold Washington, CBS Chicago

Republican President Reagan’s Jaw-Dropping Press Conference the Day Martin Luther King Holiday Was Passed, Mediaite

Public Enemy Chuck D Interview, ABC News (1992)Ā 

Diana Ross x Gay Liberation31 May 202300:40:49

ā€œI’m Coming Outā€ was meant to be a gay liberation song but the song’s writer and producer Nile Rodgers didn’t tell Diana Ross that. Which led to a whole thing. It’s a crazy story. The origin of the song is fascinating but more interesting is how disco in general was part of the gay rights movement. We chart the rise of disco and look at the way it dovetailed with the struggle for LGBTQ rights and how being gay is so different for Sylvester than for Tyler the Creator.Ā 

Ā 

Guests:

Wesley Morris, Critic, New York Times

Craig Seymour, Music Critic and ActivistĀ 

Nile Rodgers, Record Producer and Chic Founder

Bill Coleman, Artist ManagerĀ 

DJ Jellybean Benitez, Deejay

Nelson George, Filmmaker and AuthorĀ 

Ā 

Credits:

Diana Ross - I'm Coming OutĀ 

  • Writer: Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers
  • Label: Motown Records
  • Publisher: Chic Music, Inc

Ā 

Chic - Le Freak

  • Writer: Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers
  • Label: Atlantic Records
  • Publisher: Chic Music & Cotillion Records



Sylvester - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

  • Writer: Sylvester & James Wirrick
  • Label: Fantasy
  • Publisher: Bee Keeper Music, Tipsyl Music

Ā 

Barry White - You’re The First, My Last, My Everything

  • Writer: Peter Sterling Radcliffe, Tony Sepe & Barry White
  • Label:Ā  20th Century Fox Records
  • Publisher: SaVette Music Co.

Ā 

Diana Ross - Love Hangover

  • Writer: Pam Sawyer & Marilyn McLeod
  • Label: Motown Records
  • Publisher: Jobete Music Co. INC

Ā 

A Taste of Honey - Boogie Oogie Oogie

  • Writer: Perry Kibble & Janice Marie Johnson
  • Label: Capitol Records
  • Publisher: On Time Music, INC

Ā 

Donna Summer - Love to Love You Baby

  • Writer: Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder & Pete Bellotte
  • Label: Casablanca, Oasis
  • Publisher: Saturday Music and Cafe Americana

Ā 

Grace Jones - Pull up to the Bumper

  • Writer: Sly Dunbar, Alex Sadkin, Chris Blackwell, Sly & Robbie & Grace Jones
  • Label: Island
  • Publisher: EMI Music Publishing Ltd

Ā 

Candi Stanton - Young Hearts Run Free

  • Writer: Dave Crawford
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Publisher: Ghati Music Inc

Ā 

Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive

  • Writer: Dino Fekaris & Freddie Perren
  • Label: Polydor Records
  • Publisher: Perren-Vibes Music Co.Ā 

Ā 

Tyler the Creator - I Ain’t Got Time

  • Writer: Tyler, The Creator
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Publisher:Ā  Columbia Records & Sony Music Entertainment

Ā 

Tyler, The Creator Used To Be Accused of Homophobia, Now Raps About ā€œKissing White Boysā€, Genius

Tyler The Creator And Funk Flex Have an Honest Conversation Plus, Hot 97

Donna Summer x Women’s Liberation31 May 202300:27:12

ā€œShe Works Hard for the Money,ā€ is Donna Summer’s classic that was born when she saw a waitress sleeping during her shift and thought, damn she works hard for the money. In this episode we talk about the birth of the song with Summer’s husband and we talk about Black women’s economic issues and how Black women can accrue more wealth and what society needs to do for Black women and how sisters can get more venture capital funds so they can start and grow their own businesses.Ā 

Guests:

Bruce Sudano, Donna Summer’s HusbandĀ Ā 

Omi Bell, CEO, Black Girl Ventures Foundation

Lauren Maillian, CEO, Digital UndividedĀ 

Nina Banks, Professor Bucknell University

Ā 

Credits:

Donna Summer - MacArthur Park

  • Writer: Jimmy Webb
  • Label: Casablanca Record and Filmworks Inc.
  • Publisher: Canopy Music

Ā 

Donna Summer - Hot Stuff

  • Writer: Keith Forsey, Harold Faltermeyer & Pete Bellotte
  • Label: Casablanca Records
  • Publisher: Sweet Summer Night MusicĀ 

Ā 

Donna Summer - Bad GirlsĀ 

  • Writer: Joe Esposito, Edward Hokenson, Bruce Sudano & Donna Summer
  • Label: Casablanca Records
  • Publisher: Sweet Summer Night MusicĀ 

Ā 

Donna Summer - She Works Hard For the MoneyĀ 

  • Writer: Michael Omartian & Donna Summer
  • Label: Casablanca Record and Filmworks Inc.
  • Publisher: Phonogram International B.V.

Ā 

Gwen Guthrie - Ain't Nothin Goin On But The RentĀ 

  • Writer: Gwen Guthrie
  • Label: Polydor
  • Publisher: Universal Polygram International Publishing Inc
Bob Marley x Black Determination31 May 202300:23:20

ā€œRedemption Songā€ by Bob Marley and the Wailers is one of the ultimate songs about the Black spirit and the immense determination that has gotten us through life in America. I’m talking about a specifically Black determination that has powered our resistance and carried us through life in America. A sense of Black determination that we hear in Redemption Song as well as Sam Cookie’s ā€œA Change Gonna Come,ā€ Maya Angelou’s ā€œStill I Rise,ā€ and Kendrick’s ā€œAlright.ā€ No matter how hard things have been we have always been certain that one day we would overcome.

Ā Guests:

Roger Steffens, Author, So Much Things to Say

Michael Eric Dyson, Professor, Princeton University

Credits:

Bob Marley and The Wailer's - Redemption SongĀ 

  • Writer: Bob Marley
  • Label: Tuff Gong & Island Records
  • Publisher: Fifty Six Hope Road Music Limited, Primary Wave/Blue Mountain

Ā 

Sam Cooke - A Change is Gonna Come

  • Writer: Sam Cooke
  • Label: RCA Victor
  • Publisher: Kegs Music Corp.Ā 

Kendrick Lamar - AlrightĀ 

  • Writer: Kawan Prather, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams & Sounwave
  • Label: Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment & Interscope Records
  • Publisher: EMI April Music, New World Music, Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music Publishing Group, PECF, BMG Firefly, BMG, Warner/Chappell, Top Dawg Entertainment, Sony/ATV Allegro, In Thee Face Music Publishing, Hard Working Black Folks Publishing, BMG Gold Songs, Beat Bully Productions, More Water From Nazareth & EMI Pop Music Publishing

Still I Rise, Maya Angelou

Yvonne Orji, The Toure Show

#TrumpRally protesters chant "We gonna be alright", Chicago Reader

Being Black: The '80s with Toure` starts June 1st08 May 202300:01:00
Jay-Z Almost Bankrupted Me01 Sep 202300:07:27

Star Stories with TourƩ is an animated series about the unpredictable and sometimes unbelievable backstage interactions with some of the most iconic men in music of the modern era.

These animated stories are unforgettable recollections of the larger-than-life experiences with music journalist TourƩ .

To hear the podcast visit: https://pod.link/1697986415

To watch the series visit: https://thegrio.com/starstories/

TourĆ© played poker with Jay-Z one night in a swanky Manhattan penthouse suite. Each hand was worth thousands of dollars. Why was TourĆ© in the game? He’s not rich enough for a game like that. It could have bankrupted him. The answer: He’s insane. Also, he was willing to risk everything to glean the very interesting bit of psychological insight he could get from being head-to-head in a hand of poker with Jay-Z.

Ā 

Watch here: Ā https://thegrio.com/starstories/1368617/#sp=star%20stories

Ā 

Credits:

The Takeover

Writer: JAY-Z & Kanye West

Label: Roc-A-Fella Records

Publisher: Roc The WorldĀ 

Ā 

The Story of OJĀ 

Writer: JAY-Z, No I.D., Nina Simone, Gene Redd Jr. & Jimmy Crosby

Label: Roc Nation

Publisher: Carter Boys Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Virgin Records, EMI Longitude Music, New World Music, Warner Music Group, EMI Music Publishing Group, Filmtrax, Eleven East Music, Bucky Music, Rolls Royce Music Company, BMG, Let The Story Begin Publishing, EMI Waterford Music, BMG Monarch, Warner/Chappell, Delightful Music, Round Hill Music, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Carbert Music & Stephanye Music

Ice Cube x Dopeman: The Good, The Bad, & The Crazy14 Aug 202300:32:08

NWA's Ice Cube talks about the influence of crack on their hit song ā€œDopemanā€ and the contradictionĀ of how drug money destroyed the community and propelled his career.Ā ā€œDopemanā€ Is one of the illest songs ever made because it takes you deep into the drug dealer’s perspective on selling drugs. The crack dealer was evil but we should still seek to understand what drove him and when we look into his soul we find that like the fiends he served, he too was an addict, but he was addicted to power and money. Crack dealers and their culture had a deep influence on hiphop culture and the Black community. In this ep we go into "Dopemanā€ with The D.O.C. from NWA and talk to several former drug dealers about how dealers changed the world around them.

Ā 

Guests:

Nelson George, Filmmaker

Royce Da 5’9, Rapper

Biba Adams, Writer

The D.O.C., Rapper

Samson Styles, Journalist and Filmmaker

Kevin Chiles, CEO Don Diva Magazine

Jim Jones, Rapper

Credits:

NWA - Dope Man

  • Writer: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Sugarfoot, Junie Morrison, Marshall ā€œRockā€ Jones, Greg Webster, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, Norman Napier & Andrew NolandĀ 
  • Label: Ruthless Records
  • Publisher: Ruthless Attack Muzick & Bridgeport MusicĀ 

Ā 

NWA - Fuck Tha Police

  • Writer: The D.O.C., Ice Cube & MC Ren
  • Label: Universal Music Group, Ruthless Records & Priority Records
  • Publisher: Universal Music Group

Ā 

Notorious BIG - The Ten Crack Commandments

  • Writer: The Notorious B.I.G. & DJ Premier
  • Label: Bad Boy Entertainment
  • Publisher: B.I.G. Poppa Music, Gifted Pearl Music, Justin Combs Music & EMI April Music

Ā 

Alpo Martinez, FEDS Magazine

Toure Show21 Jul 202300:00:43
Star Stories with Toure` Coming August 1st20 Jul 202300:00:23

Star Stories with Toure` is an animated series about the unpredictable and sometimes unbelievable backstage interactions with some of the most iconic men in music today.

These animated stories are unforgettable recollections of the larger-than-life experiences with music journalist Toure` and Black celebrities.

ā€œI spent over two decades working in music journalism, and it left me with a wealth of awesome stories about the time I spent hanging out with many intriguing stars. I played basketball with Prince. I played poker with Jay-Z. I went jewelry shopping with Kanye. I was briefly kidnapped and threatened with torture by Suge Knight. All these stories reveal something interesting, funny, or real about these stars. There is also a contrast between the life of a star and the life of a journalist. It is centered around true stories, which are definitely for adults, not kids."Ā  Ā  Ā Toure`

Tracy Chapman x Affirmative Action01 Jun 202300:29:29

Tracy Chapman became one of the biggest musicians in the world thanks to two critical 80s concepts—affirmative action and the diasporic mindset. Because of the diasporic mindset, many Americans thought of Africa as part of their world, as if Africa’s problems are our own, and we are not truly free until South Africans suffering under Apartheid are free. And affirmative action did nothing less than change Chapman’s life. We’ll explore how those ideasĀ  helped Chapman and how they relate to "Fast Car." We’ll also look at what Chapman’s life might have been like if she’d never been helped by affirmative action.

Guests: Jelani Cobb, Dean, Columbia Journalism School

Credits:Ā 

Tracy Chapman - Fast Car

  • Label: Elektra
  • Writer: Tracy ChapmanĀ 
  • Publisher: PURPLE RABBIT MUSIC

Tracy Chapman - Fast Car (Live Version)

  • Label: Elektra
  • Writer: Tracy ChapmanĀ 
  • Publisher: Purple Rabbit Music

Elizabeth Cotten - Freight Train

  • Writer: Elizabeth Cotten, James Paul, William Frederick
  • Label: Folkways Records FG 3526
  • Publisher: Figs D Music

Elizabeth Cotten - Goin Down the Road Feelin Bad

  • Writer: Elizabeth Cotten
  • Label: Folkways Records FG 3526
  • Publisher: Folkways Records FG 3526

Tracy Chapman | Rare Interview, Planet Rock Profiles

Tracy Chapman 1996, Charlie Rose

Tracy Chapman Talks Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman Online

Elizabeth Cotten, Series Down Home

Elizabeth Cotten, Rainbow Quest TV

I Am Somebody, Jesse Jackson LP, Respect Records (1971)

Living History presents Jesse Jackson, Rutherford Living History

De La Soul x Crack01 Jun 202300:29:52

"My Brother’s A Baseheadā€ is a true story. Posdnous from De La Soul had an older brother who had a crack addiction and it was very damaging for the whole family. For Pos and his parents, crack was literally in the house just as it was in many houses and many families during the crack era. Crack decimated many families and De La Soul made one of the most powerful songs about all that. In this episode we talk about how crack destroyed families and what went into the making of "My Brother’s A Basehead.ā€ We talk to Prince Paul, De La Soul’s producer who’s sometimes called the 4th member of the group. We also talk about a very different song about crack users, Public Enemy’s Night of the Living Baseheads, which looked down on people who used crack while one of the members of PE was a crack addict. PE's producer Hank Shocklee joins us for that.Ā Ā 

Ā 

Guests:

Prince Paul, Producer - De La Soul is Dead

Hank Shocklee, Producer - Public Enemy

Credits:

De La Soul - My Brothers a Basehead

  • Writer: Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove, Prince Paul, Maseo, Clint Ballard Jr. & Robby Krieger
  • Label: Tommy Boy Records
  • Publisher: Tee Girl Music, MCA Music, Shapiro Bernstein & Doors Music Co.

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5 - The MessageĀ 

  • Writer: Clifton ā€˜ā€™Jiggs’’ Chase, Sylvia Robinson, Duke Bootee & Grandmaster Melle Mel
  • Label: Sugar Hill Records
  • Publisher: Sugar Hill Records

Ā 

De La Soul - Me Myself and I

  • Writer: Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove, Prince Paul, Maseo, George Clinton & Philippe WynneĀ 
  • Label: Tommy Boy Records
  • Publisher: Birdsong Edwin Music Pub, Bridgeport Music Inc, Daisy Age Music, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Co

Ā 

De La Soul - Potholes on My Lawn

  • Writer: P. Huston, K. Mercer, D. Jolicoeur, V. Mason
  • Label: Tommy Boy Records
  • Publisher: Tommy Boy Music

Ā 

Public Enemy - Night of the Living Baseheads

  • Writer: Chuck D, Eric Sadler & Hank Shocklee
  • Label: Def Jam Recordings
  • Publisher: Def American Songs Inc, Reach Global Songs, Shocklee Music, Songs Of Reach Music, Terrordome Music Publishing Llc, Your Mother S Music Inc

Crack User in the 80’s epic interview, EurointheCut

What is the Drug War? With Jay-Z & Molly Crabapple, Drug Policy Alliance

Lawn Order, 99 Percent Invisible

Toure: Why I Quit, TourƩ

Speaking Freely: Chuck D, Freedom Forum

Malcolm X’s Fiery Speech Addressing Police Brutality, Smithsonian Channel

Ā 

NWA x Selling Crack01 Jun 202300:30:20

N.W.A’s ā€œDopemanā€ Is one of the illest songs ever made because it takes you deep into the drug dealer’s perspective on selling drugs. The crack dealer was evil but we should still seek to understand what drove him and when we look into his soul we find that like the fiends he served, he too was an addict, but he was addicted to power and money. Crack dealers and their culture had a deep influence on hiphop culture and the Black community. In this ep we go into "Dopemanā€ with The D.O.C. from NWA and talk to several former drug dealers about how dealers changed the world around them.

Guests:

Nelson George, Filmmaker

Royce Da 5’9, Rapper

Biba Adams, Writer

The D.O.C., Rapper

Samson Styles, Journalist and Filmmaker

Kevin Chiles, CEO Don Diva Magazine

Jim Jones, Rapper

Credits:

NWA - Dope Man

  • Writer: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Sugarfoot, Junie Morrison, Marshall ā€œRockā€ Jones, Greg Webster, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, Norman Napier & Andrew NolandĀ 
  • Label: Ruthless Records
  • Publisher: Ruthless Attack Muzick & Bridgeport MusicĀ 

Ā 

NWA - Fuck Tha Police

  • Writer: ​The D.O.C., Ice Cube & MC Ren
  • Label: Universal Music Group, Ruthless Records & Priority Records
  • Publisher: Universal Music Group

Ā 

Notorius BIG - The Ten Crack Commandments

  • Writer: The Notorious B.I.G. & DJ Premier
  • Label: Bad Boy Entertainment
  • Publisher: B.I.G. Poppa Music, Gifted Pearl Music, Justin Combs Music & EMI April Music

Ā 

Alpo Martinez, FEDS Magazine

Public Enemy x Mass Incarceration31 May 202300:26:07

ā€œBlack Steel In the Hour of Chaosā€ is Public Enemy’s look at prison and mass incarceration. In this episode, we leap from that song into talking about the New Jim Crow and mass incarceration and how being in America is like being in a prison.

Guests:

Dr. Christina Greer, Fordham Professor

Hank Shocklee, Producer

Adam Bernstein, Director, Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos

Jim Jones, RapperĀ 

Credits:

Public Enemy - Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos

  • Writer: Chuck D, Eric Sadler, Hank Shocklee & Flavor Flav
  • Label: Def Jam Recordings & Columbia Records
  • Publisher: Shocklee Music, Songs Of Reach Music, Songs Of Universal Inc, Terrordome Music Publishing Llc, Your Mother S Music Inc

Ā 

Public Enemy - Fight The power

  • Writer: Flavor Flav, Gary G-Wiz, Chuck D, Hank Shocklee, Eric Sadler & Keith Shocklee
  • Label:Ā  Def Jam Recordings
  • Publisher:Ā  Reach Global Songs, Shocklee Music, Songs Of Reach Music, Songs Of Universal Inc, Terrordome Music Publishing Llc, Your Mother S Music Inc

Ā 

Public Enemy - Burn Hollywood Burn

  • Writer: Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane, Chuck D, Keith Shocklee & Eric Sadler
  • Label: Def Jam Recordings & Columbia Records
  • Publisher: Cold Chillin' Music Publishing Inc, Gangsta Boogie Music, Universal Music Corporation

Ā 

Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet

  • Writer: Chuck D, Eric Sadler & Keith Shocklee
  • Label: Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records
  • Publisher: Bridgeport Music Inc, Reach Global Songs, Songs Of Universal Inc

Ā 

Jay Z - 99 ProblemsĀ 

  • Writer: JAY-Z, Rick Rubin, Ice-T, DJ Aladdin, Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, N.D. Smart II, Leslie West, Bun B, John Ventura, Norman Landsberg, Billy Squier & Felix Pappalardi
  • Label: Def Jam Recordings & Roc-A-Fella Records
  • Publisher: Carter Boys Music, EMI April Music, Rhyme Syndicate Music, Copyright Control, Ammo Dump Music, Carrumba Music, Songs of the Knight, Spirit Two Music, Warner Music Group, Universal - Songs of Polygram International, BMG & Careers-BMG Music Publishing

Ā 

Muhammad Ali Gives His Stance On The Vietnam War, The Dick Cavett Show

Muhammad Ali Refuses Induction, Opposing Vietnam War, The Boys Who Said NO!

Michelle Alexander Extended Interview, Religion and Ethics Weekly, PBS

Speaking Freely: Chuck D, Freedom Forum

House Negro/Field Negro, Malcolm X Message To The Grassroots

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