The Vault: Classic Music Reviews Podcast

B. Cox and Domo look back at Toni Braxton 's mega hit second album Secrets . Coming off her massively successful self-titled debut album released three years prior containing several charting singles, she avoided the dreaded sophomore slump by putting forth a phenomenal effort that was once again produced by Babyface. Featuring a all-star cast of musicians', engineers and background vocali...

B. Cox is joined by Kahlil Wonda and Agard of Reggae Lover Podcast to review dancehall reggae legend Shabba Ranks hit album As Raw As Ever as it turns 30. After a few releases that made him a dancehall star in his native Jamaica, Ranks burst onto the scene and emerged as the first dominant reggae superstar in the 1990s with a sound that would catapult dancehall as a genre in the world's consci...

B. Cox looks back at NWA 's 2nd and final album Niggaz4Life (stylized as Efil4Zaggin). Dubbed "The World's Most Dangerous Group" after their classic debut, the outfit entered their last LP minus their most prolific emcee Ice Cube and was poised to show the hip-hop world that they could do it without him. Led by the prolific pen and sinister rhymes of MC Ren, focused and hard hittin...

The crew reviews Jodeci 's smash debut album Forever My Lady as it turns 30. The group was quintessential to shaping a standard for male R&B groups in 1990s with their distinctive melodies, sharp production and street style not seen by R&B acts at the time. Their style harkened more towards hip-hop as they became the standard bearers for R&B of that period and became a model that m...

B. Cox reviews De La Soul 's classic second album De La Soul Is Dead , a project that saw the Native Tongues group rise after its classic debut 3 Feet High & Risin g to fight back against the duel battles of their images as "hippies" and against the changing hip-hop landscape that was favoring more towards gangster rap and more negative vibes. The album was once again produced by t...

B. Cox is joined by special guest Nathan "The Professor" Rideaux ( Playerz From The South & Food Dope podcasts) to look back at Master P 's seismic 1996 album Ice Cream Man . After spending years in California running his record store and label, the hustler turned rapper soon to be mogul returned home to New Orleans and released his fifth studio album which broke down the door for...

In a special bonus episode, the crew takes time out to memorialize a fallen legend. Earl Simmons bka DMX , who passed away at the age of 50 after being in a vegetative state after a heart attack. He was a transcendent emcee and artist that ushered hip-hop back into the streets who became the first artist in history to have his first five albums all reach No.1 on the Billboard 200. He would later c...

B. Cox and Domo review Maxwell 's groundbreaking and culture-shifting debut album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite . It was an album that signaled a paradigm shift from R&B music of the day that featured a more hip-hop sound back to a traditional feel that combined soul, jazz and funk in a way that changed the game. It was one of trinity of albums (along with D'Angelo 's Brown Sugar...

The crew reviews Busta Rhymes ' 1996 debut solo album The Coming . It was a ceremonious debut tafter a successful career with the Leaders of The New School, unleashing a power packed assault filled with energy packed bars and punchlines with legendary cast of producers and guest spots, setting in motion a decorated career for the next quarter century. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Onli...

B. Cox once again welcomes special guests  D & T  of  The Perfectly Imperfect Couple Podcast  to help him review the  India Arie's debut classic album, the incredibly majestic  Acoustic Soul . It was an album that projected the best that neo-soul had to offer, combining jazz, blues, hip-hop and folk music to express themes of self-love, black love, women's empowerment and redemption. I...

In this edition of The Guest Lounge , B. Cox sits down with Uchay & QD (Q. Deezy) of The Ill-Advised Wise Guys Podcast . The fellas talk about their podcast journey, what keeps them motivated, their take on what makes classic hip-hop albums and their ideal and dream interviewees. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! http...

The crew reviews Memphis rapper and Hypnotize Minds Camp Posse member Project Pat 's second album Mista Don't Play , a hard hitting, fast moving and steel charged project filled with tales from the dark corners, strip clubs and streets of North Memphis, complimented by a unique flow over menacing and dark production. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join...

B. Cox & J. Owe look back at Houston's own Geto Boys third album, We Can't Be Stopped ; an offering that sprung the hardcore rap group into the national spotlight with tracks that combined gangster rap, horrorcore, political commentary and a classic single that would cement their legacy for years to come. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Pri...

B. Cox welcomes special guests D & T of The Perfectly Imperfect Couple Podcast to help him review the Fugees second and final album, the magnum opus The Score . It was a once in a lifetime occurrence in hip-hop in 1996 with a unforgettable story: How a $135,000 advance after a disappointing debut with full creative control led to a legendary bounce back and one of most influential albums of th...

B. Cox and J. Owe take a look back at 2Pac 's acclaimed fourth studio album, 1996's All Eyez On Me . It was a double-disc of classic singles and historic album cuts fueled by Shakur's emotions surrounding his recent incarceration and perceived betrayal of those closest to him. He used this classic to take Death Row Records from a top rap label to a pop cultural brand that shot to the t...

B. Cox & Domo look back at 90's R&B girl group Total's 1996 debut album the self-titled Total. It was an stellar effort with an all-star cast of producers who helped to craft a sound for one of the most recognizable groups of 90s. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/6002560777...

In a bonus segment of Cards, Dominoes, Drinks & Smoke, the crew looks back at year of 2001, a year that held tragedies and game-changing moments that would resonate for the next two years: the beginning of "The Fast and The Furious" franchise, the tragic death of R&B superstar Aaliyah, the devastating catastrophe of the 9/11 terror attacks, the War in Afghanistan and the now legend...

In a bonus segment of Cards, Dominoes, Drinks & Smoke B. Cox and Domo reminisce on the phenomenon that was the year of 1996 in music and pop culture. They talk about the amazing array of classic and high quality albums released, the moments that shaped the music and their personal takes on most anticipated, surprising and disappointing albums of 1996. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Onli...

B. Cox and J. Owe look back at Compton rap icon DJ Quik 's 1991 debut classic album Quik Is The Name , an early adopter in the G-Funk sound which would come to define Southern California hip-hop in the early 1990s. It was a project that would combine references to urban Los Angeles/Compton hood culture and fun-loving times on the West Coast. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vau...

In our first episode of 2021, B. Cox looks back at Gang Starr 's 1991 second album Step In The Arena ; an effort that saw the duo take a significant step up from their debut and truly began their ascent as one of the genre's most revered and respected units. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook.c...

The crew ends an eventful 2020 by looking back at the top albums of 1990, 1995 and 2000 and apply their honorable mention and Top 5 rankings of albums for each respective album. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/600256077743122 Support The Vault Classic Music Review on Buy Me A Coffee https...

In this edition of "The Guest Lounge" , B. Cox chops it up with "The Professor" Nathan T. Rideaux of Urban Science Media LLC. Nathan is a hip-hop historian, author and content creator with his experience in the culture spanning from the early days of hip-hop. He is the writer and creator or Hip-Hop's #1 scripted podcast Playerz From The South , a drama chronicling the rise and...

B. Cox and J. Owe review Brand Nubian 's debut effort One For All ; an almost completely self-produced effort that infused soul, jazz and funk samples around rhymes that interspersed between politically and socially charged verses and fun loving lyrics familiar to hip-hop at the beginning of 1990s. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook L...

n this two-part "Throwback Edition" bonus episode of Cards, Dominoes, Drinks & Smoke , B. Cox takes on a journey in his past. In Part 1- The '95th Element , he talks about how the summer of 1995 and a bond of friendship based on music and hip-hop culture, coupled with a banner year for the genre, changed his life forever. In Part 2- Soul Ownership , he speaks on the impact that fou...

The crew looks back at Erykah Badu's 2000 masterpiece Mama's Gun; an album that discussed themes such as love, jealousy, insecurity, self expression and heartbreak all over a equally jazzy and funky musical backdrop highlighted by her genre defining voice and message. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www....