This Is Culture

We're back and we're discussing recent music news like the Madden Colin Kaepernick controversy, the whole 6ix9ine situation and his subsequent rebrand, Demi Lovato's relapse, and Warped Tour coming to an official end. Also we give our impressions about recent releases from The Internet, Mac Miller, YG, Travis Scott, and more; and specifically discuss if Astroworld is Album of the Year worthy. Chec...

We're back and we're finally doing it! We're finally getting around to listing our top 20 albums of the year...so far. First we list our individual lists then try to come to a consensus top 20; it's a great mix of big name, established acts and a whole lot of left field wild cards, so check it out and let us know what would've made your list. Check the full episode out above and tell us your thoug...

It's finally here! Drake's long awaited double-disc LP, Scorpion, is here and we give our track-by-track impressions and debate whether it lived up to the hype or not. But before that we talk a little music news with a bunch of lawsuits involving Coachella, Ed Sheeran, and Azealia Banks, and we discuss the recent passings of Joe Jackson and young up and coming Toronto rapper, Smoke Dawg. Check the...

We're back and with special guest and artist/photographer/videographer Sara Meghdari (@szmeghdari). We discuss the difficulties of being a photographer in NYC, her first live public performance, which showed the very private act of covering and putting on her hijab, and recent art shows around the city. We continue with art news such as more interactive art exhibits popping up across the country,...

We're back and talking about the tragic news of XXXTENTACION's death at the young of 20 and the need for a mentality change in the culture and community at large. Then we touch on Nas' latest Kanye produced project, 'Nasir', and Beyoncé & Jay-Z's long rumored joint album, 'Everything Is Love.' We give our reactions and opinions and discuss if both projects lived up to the immense hype surrounding...

We are back and we are in the full blown midst of Yeezy season. But before we get into the new albums we discuss Drake apparently wanting no more smoke with Pusha T, then we get to 'ye' and 'Kids See Ghosts' and discuss where they stack up to everything Kanye's had a hand in putting out thus far. Specifically if 'ye' is his worst album yet? We give our expectations for the Nas album which had stil...

We're back and joined by guests and frequent contributors Shannon Griffiths and Stephen Silver to talk about the latest happenings in film and TV - what is must watch, the recent wave of blockbuster films, and releases just around the corner. And we discuss whether we think 'fanboyism' has started to become to toxic to the very things they love. Check the full episode out above and tell us your th...

Ohhh boy, we're here for all the smoke!!! The long simmering 'beef' between Pusha T has full on erupted with Drake responding to "Infared" with the appropriately hard "Duppy Freestyle" then Pusha T escalated things to a whole other level with one of the most disrespectful disses we've heard in years with "The Story of Adidon." We talk about who we think has the upper hand, what's Drake's next move...

In this week's episode we talk about Spotify removing R. Kelly and XXXTENTACION from their playlists, the ongoing Kanye roller coaster, and Donald Glover's (aka Childish Gambino) turn as a SNL host, his mind blowing new video for "This Is America", and question whether he should be considered the greatest multi-talented artist we've ever seen. Then we end things by talking about a bunch of new alb...

We're back and we're talking about the biggest movie of the year, Avengers: Infinity War. But before we dive all in, we talk about Michelle Wolf's brutal roast at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and subsequent backlash and give our spoiler-free reactions to the movie. Then we hold back nothing talking about all the scenes of Infinity War, analyzing potential meanings, and theories for the f...

We're back and talking about Kendrick Lamar becoming the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer prize for music, Meek Mill finally being released from prison and whether we'll get a Drake collab to capitalize on the moment, and give our expectations for Drake's recently announced next album, Scorpion. Then of course we talk about all of the madness surrounding twitter and Kanye W...

We're back and we finally got Cardi B's long anticipated debut album. We discuss our thoughts about the project and whether or not we believe it lived up to the immense hype and talk whether Nicki Minaj was being petty for starting her rollout right after it's release. We also talk about Apple Music removing the ability to download music and the increasing hold streaming services are having on peo...

On this week's show we have special guest Miha Pavel (@familiarspot), from the Sacremento area, on to talk about his journey through photography over the years, his Romanian roots and its influence on his music, as well as his thoughts on the role of social media and emerging technologies, i.e. smart phones, in the field of photography as a whole. And of course we go on tangents about conspiracy t...

We're back and this time we're discussing a lot of notable happenings in music like Tekashi 6ix9ine's interview where he gets the better of the usually on point Charlamagne, Drake, Snoop Dogg, and SoundCloud rap's first number ones, and Cardi B finally giving a release date for her debut album. We then question if it's still right to listen to R. Kelly's music despite the seemingly neverending str...

On this week's show we have special guest Kayce Tynan (@kaycelebrity) on, out of Chico, CA, to talk about her psychedelic fantasy art, developing her High Anxiety brand, and augmented reality/immersive art. Then we talk about the recent controversies surrounding H&M, Kendrick Lamar, Robin Thicke, and the constant fight for artists' rights/copyright protections. Check the full episode out above and...

We're back and we're talking about the iHeartRadio Awards show and if they're even worth watching? Also, Chance the Rapper won the innovator award, but is he really an innovator? Jay-Z and Beyonce just announced their On the Run II tour so will we finally get that long rumored joint album? Are we even hyped for it? Then we discuss Elton John's last big hurrah and his upcoming eclectic, star studde...

We're back (Shannon, Dareece, and Dario) and we're ready to discuss our thoughts about the Oscars and most importantly see who won from our prior predictions. But first we open by getting Shannon and Dario's opinions about Black Panther and close with discussions about Lion King 2, Sandlot 2, and Disney's continued (lackluster) effort at making live-adaptations of their classic animated films - wh...

We hop back on the Musicphiles podcast to discuss all of the recent major releases over the past couple of weeks. We tell why both the Migos and Justin Timberlake were major let downs for us, why Kendrick Lamar is at the top of music, and the unexpected dopeness of Skyzoo's In Celebration of Us. Lastly we touch on a few other albums we've had our ears to and list albums to be on the look out for t...

Marvin Touré joins us again to go full on spoilercast about Marvel's Black Panther and go on a deeper analytical dive about its many themes. We finish things off by talking about the recent presidential portraits and possible deeper meanings. Check the full episode out above and tell us your thoughts, comments, and questions about the topics in the episode. 00:02:58 - Spoilercasting Black Panther...

Following up to one of the world's biggest sporting events, Super Bowl 52, we talk about the game and Justin Timberlake's 'controversial' halftime show. We're creeped out by A24's newest trailer for their upcoming psychological horror, Hereditary, talk Faizon Love taking shots at Dave Chappelle, and we get real philosophical when discussing the high concept noir sci-fi of Netflix's Altered Carbon....

Shit gets real in this episode as we speak to Marvin Touré about his upcoming art work, the influences of his West African heritage and being a first-generation immigrant, and his cautious optimism about Marvel's upcoming Black Panther film. We also dive deep into an artist's struggle to convey his own life and perspective while still leaving room for interpretation from a larger audience, untrain...

We return to the Grammys to check our results on our winner predictions and see who came out on top. We also give our general reactions and thoughts about this years awards show and we fix the Grammys biggest problem. Then we end things out talking about some of the latest news and music out there. Check the full episode out above and tell us your thoughts, comments, and questions about the topics...

For this show we have Shannon Griffiths, frequent writer and collaborator, joining us as a co-host. We ask her what shows she's currently watching and her thoughts on Time's Up and this recent wave of change washing across Hollywood and how that may affect this year's Oscars. Then we give our annual predictions on the winners and react to the biggest snubs and surprises. Check the full episode out...

For our first Musicphiles podcast of 2018 we have our very first guest on! Aspiring drummer/artist Jaron Lamar Davis stops by to talk about his upcoming eclectic alternative electric jazz hip-hop album called My View Through the Lense of Music and the process of creating his first album. As well as giving us a trained musician's point of view on Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly and the increas...

We're back with the first new show of 2018 and we open things up by taking care of some housecleaning, discussing our holidays and resolutions for the new year, then movie into impressions of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the backlash Dave Chappelle is facing and whether we think society is too easily offended. Then we end things talking about shows and movies we've been watching over the holidays and...