De La Soul x Crack

"My Brother’s A Basehead” 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.” 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.     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 Message  Writer: Clifton ‘’Jiggs’’ Chase, Sylvia Robinson, Duke Bootee & Grandmaster Melle Mel Label: Sugar Hill Records Publisher: Sugar Hill Records   De La Soul - Me Myself and I Writer: Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove, Prince Paul, Maseo, George Clinton & Philippe Wynne  Label: Tommy Boy Records Publisher: Birdsong Edwin Music Pub, Bridgeport Music Inc, Daisy Age Music, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Co   De La Soul - Potholes on My Lawn Writer: P. Huston, K. Mercer, D. Jolicoeur, V. Mason Label: Tommy Boy Records Publisher: Tommy Boy Music   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, Touré Speaking Freely: Chuck D, Freedom Forum Malcolm X’s Fiery Speech Addressing Police Brutality, Smithsonian Channel  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Black music by the decades.  Each season will deconstruct the most popular Black music of the decade, including what was happening in Black America at each moment in time.  Each episode of this audio docuseries focuses on a single song that defined a decade and changed the world. This music series explores cultural, political, and creative change one decade at a time. The first season will explore the Black music of the 80s and the sociopolitical roots of that music. Each episode looks at a single song from the era and what was happening socially at the moment that led to that song. We tell the story of each decade through music. Our host and lead writer Touré, interviews experts, cultural commentators, academics, and political thinkers, who will leave you feeling like you learned more about the music of the period.