Helio-Tropes

Chris Gayomali is the editor of  SSENSE  and runs a health and wellness Substack called  HEAVIES . Previously an editor at  GQ , he's also written for  Fast Company ,  Highsnobiety , and more. Live from Bed-Stuy, Chris joins us to break down the recent GRAMMY nominations—his predictions about who deserves to win versus who will actually emerge the victor in some of the major categories. We also ge...

Dylan Green is a journalist, critic, and podcaster, as well as the founder, writer, and editor of Hearing Things , a thoughtful music publication. He's also the host and producer of the Reel Notes podcast. Dylan joins HT today to talk about Yash's favorite rap group of all time—the infamous Mobb Deep—and their new album Infinite , which Dylan recently reviewed for Pitchfork . We break down the alb...

Melissa Emert-Hutner lives in New York and is an SVP of Creative at Kobalt Music, one of the largest music publishers in the world. She joins us today to clear the smog-filled air on music publishing and share what she does day to day to help artists and songwriters make lasting connections and collect royalties. She explains how every artist feels their music is syncable but it's rarely the case,...

SoundFynd is a music discovery platform putting their own spin on the meaning of new media. Founder Tal Kamara and community leader Jocelyn Motley join us to talk about the platform and the broader digital landscape in music coverage of emerging artists. We dig into whether modern-day payola for social media placements is making or breaking the business model, corporate music power structures mono...

Theravada is a rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. Fresh off the release of his new album The Years We Have , he joins us from a Brooklyn studio for a wide-ranging conversation to discuss all things in his orbit as of late —from Nike Foamposites to his production on Earl Sweatshirt's latest album Live, Laugh, Love . We also dig into his background as a DJ, including his inventive use o...

Mike Isaac is a music writer and technology correspondent for The New York Times . He joins us from sunny San Francisco to discuss his recent story on the Deftones, their resurgence, and what it was like to kick it with the band as they dug through crates of vinyl at Atomic Records in Burbank, Calif. We also dive into the idea of digital streaming platforms as tech companies, exploring how Spotify...

Helio-Tropes 50. Please excuse the audio quality as we continue to experiment with ways to get this plane off the ground. This rare solo episode features Yash, kicking off a new chapter for Helio-Tropes — and life itself. Yash discusses the return of Clipse and their new album Let God Sort 'Em Out : what worked, what didn't, and what was left to be desired. He also explores the pros and cons of st...

Justin Staple is for the culture. A journalist, director, and documentarian, Justin's days at VICE led him to shoot his 2020 Hulu documentary American Rapstar , where he chronicled a rebellious new wave of young rappers who used SoundCloud to build intense stan armies — from XXXTentacion to Lil Peep. We get into how this era turned internet fame into million-dollar record deals and opened the door...

EricTheYoungGawd is a media personality and journalist with bylines in COMPLEX and a YouTube channel that you should definitely subscribe to. We get right down to business, unpacking the return of Clipse, their new deal with Roc Nation, and how Pusha T is using familiar tricks to stir up controversy. We also talk about Brooklyn rapper MIKE and Tony Seltzer's impressive collaborative album Pinball...

Stephen Malbon is a golf addict who will never recover from it. The founder of Malbon Golf joins us to talk about his interest in music and art—starting from the days of co-founding FRANK 151 to building a golf brand inspired by whatever lifestyle interests cross his mind. We get into his history growing up in Virginia and the early sounds and brands that helped shape his identity. Yash explains h...

Anna Zanes is the editor in chief of Alternative Press Magazine. She joins us to talk about honoring the magazine's legacy while driving it forward—diversifying coverage, spotlighting new voices, and pushing the envelope beyond the sausage fest of yesteryear. We also chat about Corbin's very good new album 'Crisis Kid' and some of the history Yash has with the artist formerly known as Spooky Black...

On this week's episode our guest is the founder of SAD PRT, a platform based on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube that showcases emerging underground artists. We talk about how the platform highlights artists and storylines that often don't appear in traditional media, and the ways in which they've successfully built a community of passionate followers around niche music. We get into the rise of 2Hol...

Kieran Press-Reynolds is a writer with a weekly column at Pitchfork called "Rabbit Holed," exploring songs and scenes at the intersection of music and digital culture. He has written for publications such as The New York Times , Business Insider , No Bells , and more. This episode of HT is a journey into the sprawling world of ASMR, as documented in one of Kieran's latest stories on the topic. Yas...

Andrew Matson is the co-founder of Finals , a music blog that is rumored to be among the best. He joins us to talk about J Critch and long-time producer cohort Laron's expansive collaborative album titled Plus Ultra and the evolution of both their sound and chemistry, which has history that pre-dates college and record deals. We go deep into contemporary New York rap and how pre-drill artists have...

Will Schube is The Hobbyist —a writer and music critic based in New York with bylines in GQ , FLOOD , Pitchfork , Passion of the Weiss , and many more. He joins us from Austin following the launch of his aptly titled newsletter, The Hobbyist , to talk about the best hobby we both indulge in: Golf—with a capital G. We discuss how the culture has co-opted golf in the fashion space while somehow leav...

Steffanee Wang joins us today to talk about 67th GRAMMY Awards that aired earlier this month and more. She is a New York City-based professional editor, writer, and reporter who currently is an associate editor at The FADER . She previously served as the music editor at NYLON, has written for Teen Vogue, The FACE, Billboard, NPR Music , and other notable publications. We talk about the best looks...

This is the first podcast of 2025 and we're calling it Monetizing Hope with Jane Marie, an award-winning podcaster, podcast producer, writer, and author of Selling The Dream: The Billion Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans . Jane joins us from her home in LA, just after the devastating wildfires had somewhat subsided. This episode was recorded a few weeks prior to its release. Jane shares storie...

Gary Suarez is a writer and podcaster who founded CABBAGES, a media outlet and podcast dedicated to covering independent artists. A Queens, New York native, Gary has contributed to esteemed publications such as The Quietus , Forbes , Rolling Stone , The New Yorker , The New York Times , NPR , and more. In this special two-hour year-end finale, Gary joins us to share his favorite albums of 2024—inc...

Aurielle Sayeh is a mom, creative director, brand consultant, strategist, creator, and DJ based in Los Angeles. A true multi-hyphenate, she shares how she got her start in culture through modeling and DJing in Paris and Amsterdam back in 2013. As an Atlanta native who hustled her way through the global zeitgeist, Aurielle reflects on her journey of tapping into different creative scenes and buildi...

Yash breaks down the newly released Yak Ballz EP titled 'YOUNG YASHAR' produced by longtime collaborator Mondee. This marks the first official Yak Ballz music in over a decade. Listen to 'YOUNG YASHAR' HERE Follow Helio-Tropes -  https://www.instagram.com/helio__tropes/ Follow Yash - https://www.instagram.com/yashzadeh/   Follow Yak Ballz - https://www.instagram.com/yakballz/  

Cambrian Strong can't be boxed in. The Memphis, TN native and co-CEO of Drumatize Music Group with Tay Keith, whom he also manages, comes on the show to talk about how he figured out being of service in the music industry is the way he would build his brand. He tells us how being an athlete in high school gave him his work ethic and despite having a family who all pursued music as a career, he nev...

Joseph Pepin is a music manager extraordinaire and A&R consultant from New Jersey. He joins us from Austin, Texas where he is based to talk all things music industry related; from his background as a kid enamored by bands and shows happening in Asbury Park to street teaming and managing bands which lead to his days as a plucky A&R at Island Def Jam Mercury. We talk about the differences between be...

This week Yash returns with a solo pod mega mix featuring 10 songs to cruise to in your car or commute. Let it rock.

This episode features Yash's friend, rapper and co-host of 'Call Out Culture' podcast Alaska and producer Steel Tipped Dove. Their new album titled 'Reverberations of a Dead Man's Ego' is out now on Fused Arrow Records. We talk about the relationship between bandcamp and selling merch hand to hand, the divide between what is considered real hip hop vs contemporary rap, Stan Van Gundy's ball handli...

Drew Millard is a writer, editor, podcaster (co-host of Nersey) and author of a very good book called 'How Golf Can Save Your Life.' On this episode we delve into his time at VICE's music website 'Noisey' and an unprecedented time of stunt blogging in the blog era. We also get into Drew's new blog called 'Media Events' and his recently posted story that takes a deep dive on The Black Eyed Peas in...