Hyphen Nation

I've been listening to more music in 2021 compared to recent years, so I had to jump in and share my thoughts on Mac Miller's Faces and Wale's Floarin II. But I lead off things with a fun ride through Nas' discography that sees me steal The Source's mic rating system while calling them irrelevant, and ends with my thoughts on King's Disease II.

I miss my friend Derrick Ferguson. Today I talk about how I met Derrick, how much he meant to me, and explain why I’ve been gone so long. Thank you for everything Derrick. Rest easy my friend.

I'm joined by my wife Angel and our daughter Aaliyah as we remember our first dog Brooklyn, who passed away in April 2020. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hyphen-nation/support

On a Sunday afternoon, I sat down with my semi-regular co-host Marcus "Showinmadlov" Robinson so we could complete our quest to discuss the anniversaries of two more Jigga albums! As we continue on, Marcus and I cover Jay-Z's 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt and his 2001 LP The Blueprint. What was the best Biggie/Jay-Z collaboration? OG U Don't Know or the remix? Was Can I Live II or Ji...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AALIYAH! Lawry and Burnett. Corleone and Hagan. Kiss and Styles. Enough of the iconic duos, Marcus is back in the semi-regular co-host chair! For the 184th episode of THE BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST, we're talking Jay-Z. 2006's Kingdom Come. 2011's Watch The Throne. Am I hearing things or did Jay rap lighter the whole album? Was WTT peak Kanye? How...

As we proceed into a new episode of THE BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST, I have a guest! And not just any guest, I have No Name Tim, the producer of the last two theme songs you hear at the start of every episode! This was his fee: free beat; have him on as a costar. No problem! Tim and I discuss how he got into producing, his friendship with Marcus D'Tray, what it's lik...

In this episode of THE BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST, I take some time to tell DMX just how important his music was to a kid growing up in West Virginia. Then, I share how overjoyed I was when I watched Bad Boys For Life. After that, I spend some time eulogizing Elgin Baylor. And then I do an off the dome recap of House Party 2 for its 30th anniversary. Get well soon X. Recomm...

In this week's episode of THE BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST, I've found a gem of a conversation featuring Gawd's Favorite, Marcus "Showinmadlov" Robinson! After we recorded Episode #173, the mic was still on and we had more to say. We talk about my exploits into the streaming world, our monthly HPG conference call that Marcus runs, our disinterest in the NF...

So no Morgantown weather report. It was weird for me too. Maybe I'll keep doing it. Instead, I talked about how I'm trying to clean up my act on social media. Then, in the BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST proper, I've been listening to music, so you get reviews! Evermore, Positions, Plastic Hearts, Chromatica, and Folklore are all discussed and ratings are dished out....

It's Tuesday and you know what that means! THE BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST is back! And just in time. While I slept Monday night, Bobby Lashley captured his first WWE Championship, making him the third black WWE Champion in history. I discuss this incredible moment and then I pivot right into crowning the winner of my 2020 Best In The World award. So after a super thorou...

Five years later, here we are. Hyphen Nation is officially five years old! So how else should we celebrate but than to do belatedly! On this episode, in its sapphire year, THE BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST goes back to its roots. Just me and the microphone, I detail what caused the hiatus at the end of 2020, I deliver what may be the best State Of The Podcast Address yet, and...

After last week's excitement, we slow things all the way back down. For the annual Numbers On The Board episode of THE BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST, I'm joined by my two semi-regular co-hosts, Marcus Robinson and George Gerbo... and we just talk. About 2020, about Covid, about plans for 2021, and about how we were feeling in the moment. I'm really proud of this ep...

We interrupt your daily routine for something badass! I'm joined by Melysette of A Frightful Fret with Melysette (she also does a great job running the Hyphen Podcast Group Instagram account) to talk about the glory that is the Youtube Original turned Netflix property Cobra Kai! If you don't want spoiled, come back and see us once you're all caught up. We talk about everything: Johnny!...

For the one hundred and seventy fifth episode of THE BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST, it's time to talk sports! I'm joined by Marcus and our newly minted semi-regular co-host George Gerbo as we break down the highs and lows of 2020! There's a lot of basketball talk, some black quarterback slander on my part that I have no regrets about, and as usual, George tries to...

HOT DAMN. It's a new day! On this episode of THE BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST, we go back in time! In September 2019, I was joined by Michael Lamerique and my semi-regular co-host Marcus Robinson to discuss Jay-Z's deal to work with the NFL. Before we got into the episode proper, however, Lam and I were talking with live mics, and then Marcus joined us, and then, with...

Once upon a time, people could get their information from reliable sources. Books, newspapers, the television... all these formats had some form of truth to them in return for a fee. Today, these formats still exist. And while the internet has caused us to push the boundaries of getting the most content for less, evil forces still seek to keep that same content unavailable... unless you pay. Giant...

With less than a week to go before the 2020 elections, THE BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST gets political! I discuss the fear of Donald winning a second term and how his reign has led me to be scared to go certain places in WV because I'm black and they could be pro-Donald. I lay it all on the table and even have a lively discussion with the chat who was watching along. The...

So I felt like it had been 5 minutes or so since I mentioned Jay-Z, so here's a whole BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST about Jay-Z! It'll be 20 years since the release of The Dynasty: Roc La Familia on October 31, a Hov album that was born from the scraps of a Roc-A-Fella Records compilation project. I give a little history of the Roc as a label, break down the tracklisti...

So I did this thing. I read a book. Said book being Dave Itzkoff’s Robin, a biography about the late comedian/actor, Robin Williams. But I try my best not to make this whole pod an audio book report. I talk about some of things I discovered about Robin, as well as the tragic events that led up to his untimely passing. I eventually pass along some wisdom I gleaned from the book that I think everyon...

The Eastern Conference Finals ended at the right time as the result of Heat/Celtics Game 6 launches me into an all out NBA Finals preview! On one side, LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Western Champs, the Los Angeles Lakers. On the other, making their first trip to the NBA Finals without Dwyane Wade or LeBron, the Jimmy Butler-led Miami Heat. The Lakers are right where a lot of people expected...

I've been putting it off long enough. This episode of THE BARACK OBAMA APPROVED GREATEST PODCAST brings us back to Star Wars to deal with The Rise Of Skywalker and the Sequel Trilogy as a whole. Marcus joins me to take this show from just another Star Wars episode to a Hot Takes themed Star Wars episode! JJ. Boyega. Ridley. Rian. Kylo. Luke. Han. Our Princess. Darth Vader. Palpatine. Even youn...

The BARACK OBAMA APPROVED WORLD'S GREATEST PODCAST returns on its new release day of Tuesday! In this episode, I talk about how difficult it is for me to watch sports, I reevaluate the impact of Tupac Shakur days after the 24th anniversary of his murder, and then I share the tales of my experiences as a child with the Death of Superman storyline. I even share some current thoughts on the Dooms...

The Milwaukee Bucks boycotted their playoff game against the Orlando Magic yesterday in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake and the ongoing demand for justice and some kind of change in America toward minorities. The NBA postponed the rest of the day's playoff slate and meeting's were held last night to see if the season could even continue. The WNBA followed suit with a powerful statem...

(Kinda) hot on the heels of Catch The Show 71 , I'm joined by Lance Roberson of Def Pen Sports to discuss more Marshall Mathers than you can shake a stick at! While me, Marcus, and EG covered the 20th anniversary of The Marshall Mathers LP on Catch The Show, Lance wanted to talk about what is both of our favorite Eminem album, The Eminem Show. We break down 10 of our favorite (and least favori...

I sat down and turned on my microphone, opened my Google Docs, and an hour of awesomeness happened. I give my take on Lego Masters and why Will Arnett is only good as Lego Batman, spend a little time with Donald and his fateful trip down a ramp, tell Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo how I really feel about their anti-looting thoughts and Bill's idea of diversity at The Ringer, get into why R. Ke...