Let It Roll

Host Nate Wilcox returns with cohorts Eugene S. Robinson, lead singer of the art-punk band Oxbow and veteran entertainment attorney Alexei Auld to continue their discussion of Netflix’ Hip Hop Evolution. This week they look at “Pass the Mic” which features Mos Def & Black Star, Eminem and an in-depth look at cyphers and open mics and their role in 90’s undergroun hip-hop. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUB...

Host Nate Wilcox returns with his cohorts Eugene S. Robinson, lead singer of the art-punk band Oxbow, and veteran entertainment attorney Alexei Auld, to continue their discussion of Netflix’ Hip Hop Evolution. This week they look at Notorious B.I.G’s “Life After Death” and his mentoring of Lil' Kim, how Puff Daddy dealt with the loss of his friend and the still-controversial “jiggy era of Hip-Hop"...

Host Nate Wilcox returns with his cohorts Eugene S. Robinson, lead singer of the art-punk band Oxbow and veteran entertainment attorney Alexei Auld to continue their discussion of Netflix’ Hip-Hop Evolution. This week they discuss the first episode of season 2, "A Tale of Two Coasts" which focuses on Tupac Shakur, Suge Knight and Death Row Records and their fatal feud with Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss season 2, episode 4 of Hip-Hop Evolution "A New York State of Mind" which covers Nas, the Wu-Tang Clan and Biggie Smalls aka The Notorious B.I.G. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- The final 15 minutes of this ep...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss season 2, episode 3 of Hip Hop Evolution: "Do The Knowledge" which returns to New York to cover The Bridge Wars and Native Tongues groups like De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss the second episode of Hip Hop Evolution’s second season, “Out The Trunk: The Bay" which takes us to Northern California to talk about Too Short, MC Hammer, Digital Underground and a young 2Pac Shakur. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss the first episode of Hip Hop Evolution’s second season, "The Southern Way", which looks at the first Southern rappers to make a national impact: Florida’s 2 Live Crew and Texas’ Geto Boys and Underground Kings. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss the fourth episode of Hip Hop Evolution "The Birth of Gangsta Rap" which takes us from Schooley D in Philly to Ice T, Eazy E and NWA in Los Angeles. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- The final 15 minutes of this...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss the third episode of Hip Hop Evolution: "The New Guard." The show focuses on the dawn of hip-hop's golden age and the emergence of Run-DMC, Def Jam Records, Public Enemy ,and Eric B. & Rakim. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss the second episode of Hip Hop Evolution "From the Underground to the Mainstream." The episode covers the early New York rap battles caught on bootleg cassettes, Hip-Hop's move from the Bronx to Manhattan and alliance with punk as well as the first hit rap records, The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper’s Delight", and Afrika Bambaat...

Host Nate Wilcox is joined by Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson to talk about the first episode of Netflix' Hip-Hop Evolution: The Foundation. The conversation covers DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- The final 15 minutes of this ep...

Host Nate Wilcox & music writer James Porter continue discussing Ken Burns' Country Music with a look at the emergence of country music's neo-traditionalists like Randy Travis and Ricky Skaggs, and the brief golden period they kicked off before the economics of superstars like Garth Brooks changed the game. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Host Nate Wilcox & music writer James Porter continue discussing Ken Burns' Country Music with a look at the triumph of Outlaw Country practitioners Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings outside the Nashville system, the massive crossover success of Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris’ knack for bringing traditional country to the top of the charts from Los Angeles and more. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO H...

Host Nate Wilcox & music writer James Porter continue discussing Ken Burns' Country Music with a look at episode six “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” which covers the rise of Kris Kristofferson and a new generation of Nashville songwriters, Mr & Mrs Country music George Jones & Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash’s emergence as a superstar and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s successful attempt at rapprochement b...

Host Nate Wilcox & music writer James Porter continue discussing Ken Burns' Country Music with a look at Charley Pride’s efforts to integrate country music, the rise of Roger Miller, Buck Owens & Merle Haggard’s Bakersfield Sound, Loretta Lynn and the new wave of female singers she led. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Host Nate Wilcox and music writer James Porter continue their discussion of Ken Burns' Country Music with a look at the sudden emergence of rockabilly from Memphis, the new generation of stars like Johnny Cash and the Nashville Sound that producers Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley came up with for artists like Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline in response. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPIS...

Host Nate Wilcox and music writer James Porter continue their discussion of Ken Burns' Country Music with a look a Hank Williams, the living avatar of honky tonk, his closest rival Lefty Frizzell, as well as Eddy Arnold, who offered a pop-country alternative, and Kitty Wells whose answer song prefigured feminist country music. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Hosts Nate Wilcox and James Porter discuss Country Music during the Depression and World War 2 and the artists, like Roy Acuff and Bob Wills, and the Maddox Brothers and Rose who dominated the era. ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively...

Hosts Nate Wilcox and James Porter kick off their discussion of Ken Burns' "Country Music" documentary series with a look at episode one, “The Rub.” They talk about the musical sources of country music, Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family. There’s also a little meta discussion about the series and their thoughts on Ken Burns. ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Today special guest scholar and musician Yuri Campbell returns to review the key lessons we learned from Nate’s discussions with Ed Ward about his book “The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964-1977 The Beatles, The Stones and the Rise of Classic Rock” and the Let It Roll series covering it. We talk about Ward's cultural scholarship and what lessons we can learn from his method of studying music...

Nate Wilcox and guest Yuri Campbell look back on Ed Ward's book "History of Rock & Roll 1920-1963⁠⁠⁠⁠ "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and the Let It Roll series covering it. We talk about Ward's cultural scholarship and what lessons we can learn from his method of studying music history. ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "⁠The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock⁠" with a look at the bloating of the music biz in the early 70s and the feeling that everyone was waiting on something to happen, Bob Dylan vs David Geffen, the New York Dolls at the Mercer Arts Center and the collapse of Stax Recor...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "⁠The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock⁠" with a look at the splits between AM and FM, hard rock and soft rock and John, Paul, George and Ringo. ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "⁠The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock⁠" with a look at the origins of reggae in Jamaica and a survey of the funk scene as it stood when James Brown was king and Sly Stone was emerging as his biggest rival. ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "⁠The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock⁠" with a look at 1969, Woodstock, and the invention of “the sixties.” ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- The final 15...