00:00:00 Speaker 1: Quest Love Show is a production of iHeart Radio. 00:00:17 Speaker 2: What's Up, Everybody. 00:00:18 Speaker 3: This is Cousin Jake, producer co producer of The Questlove Show. And I'm sitting here with our very own family member open Mike Eagle. 00:00:27 Speaker 1: I need a family name. I need to figure out what my relation is. 00:00:31 Speaker 2: You know, I don't know how I got cousin Jake. It was funny. 00:00:33 Speaker 3: It was like the first or second time back in twenty twenty two. I sat in and I was laughing because I always was a fan of Questlove Supreme and I'd known Fonte a long time, and Amir just was like cousin Jake, and I laughed because at one point I was telling somebody, I was like, man, I feel like Oliver on the Brady Bunch, Like I don't like this is the family and I'm here for a weird like season and whatever it is, it works, and I don't because cousin, as far as I know, is not a reference to a TV show or anything else. 00:01:02 Speaker 1: But not that I'm familiar with either. But you know, it sounds good. 00:01:06 Speaker 3: But you got one of the coolest names period. But you know, we got to probably get something specific to this environment. 00:01:11 Speaker 1: I think so we'll find that together. We will. 00:01:14 Speaker 2: We will with the Big Boss involved as well. 00:01:16 Speaker 3: But I you know, there was something We taped this interview with Riz Amoud and you know, to pull back the curtain. It was originally supposed to be in person in New York and this show has often you know, existed, thrived, survived, evolved around travel plans, you know, and you know, a mirror ended up having to be in California for a couple of weeks during the hiatus of the Jimmy Fallon Show, so we moved it to virtual and it was funny. I shout out to Riz. He was dealing with parenthood. He was in the middle of a press day, which I'm sure you've done. 00:01:52 Speaker 2: It's always a day. 00:01:53 Speaker 1: Probably a different level because he's probably promoting the movie I'm sure to a show. Yeah, and I have been there for a show, but even in its basic cable it's a different world than you know, you're being television. I'm saying I've been there, But because I've been there, I could say there's certainly levels to it, and the level that he's operating on is probably it would probably kill me to have to be kind of press that he had to do well. 00:02:17 Speaker 2: It's funny. 00:02:18 Speaker 3: We did it in iHeart Studios, la a Mere's part and Riz was in I Believe New York and there was an echo just because you know, studios try to assist and I am not the tech savvous person despite being a producer of award winning podcast. So there was echo for the first few minutes and at one point Riz and you won't hear this in the final but was like, hey, can you guys just check something I'm getting like echo effect, And but it turned into a really cool discussion. And you know what was interesting is like, and I love this about this show. Things go where they're going to go, and then you know, if there's something to promote, there's a reason Deetra it comes back in. But Riz want to talk about music, He asked a mirror a lot of questions. 00:02:59 Speaker 1: I mean, he's a huge hip hop hit. Yeah yeah, and you know a lot of people don't know that about it, but he's huge. 00:03:05 Speaker 2: Have you ever in your capacity, like shared a stage or a bill. 00:03:08 Speaker 1: Or I have not. I have not. I've just I've heard him talked about by people who I knowed really know what's up, and they tell me he really knows what's up. 00:03:17 Speaker 2: Yeah, and that came across Oh go ahead, I'm sorry. 00:03:19 Speaker 1: Uh, he makes music. I think he's done some stuff with heems. Yeah, so yeah, I mean that's that's the homie. Okay, that's probably the closest connection between us. 00:03:29 Speaker 2: So yeah, but I thought of you. 00:03:30 Speaker 3: I thought of myself at one point, you know, they Emir kind of asked him a term that you and I have used on this platform about north stars, and I felt like it might be resonant to your journey especially, but he was like, you know what really guided you? And Riz was really honest and kind of pointed to the whole you know, raucous records movement and adjacent figures. He says, you know, most of ya sen by to lib quality, he mentions common to black thought. And I thought that that was just interesting because I think you and I are of a similar age group and a similar taste profile. You know, what did you think when you heard that? 00:04:12 Speaker 1: It wasn't surprising at all. I'm part of that same generation where at if you had asked me from the ages of you know, sixteen to twenty four who my favorite rappers were, I would have said those same people like those were Those were at that time north stars in terms of rappers that people knew about, Like those were the cream of the crop, and it was representative of you know, that wave of true school hip hop, raucous records, lyricist lounge, you know, Daylight's re emergence to where they're connecting with people like Common and Most Death and it's turning into soul query. It's like that whole era was some of the most important music that was ever made to me, And honestly, it's sort of a golden era of rappers with values that aligned with mine, both you know, societally and craft wise, really flying close to the sun. 00:05:28 Speaker 2: What do you mean by that that this. 00:05:29 Speaker 1: Was the time when we had gone through the early times of hip hop where it seemed like almost equal time between public enemies and NWA's like the full spectrum, right, things had started to get homogenized, I believe around like bad Boy, you know, the way that Biggie was able to marry street rap and club rap sort of changed everything to where everything was going in that direction. And then for this moment in the mid nineties up until like early two thousands, there was a sense almost like it was coming back, and I won't say mainstream hip hop, but like major labels were still putting resources into what felt like vital alternative voices and rap, and so common albums felt way big. Most stef albums felt way big. And then you would see people like Tribes suddenly doing songs with like punchline and Wordsworth and stuff. It was like, oh okay. And then you know, one of the ways I marked this era too, is that I was a big music video head, so watching Rap City, watching your MTV raps, and the way I would experience these shows is that seventy percent of the stuff with stuff that I was like, Okay, you know this is I like watching these shows. I like seeing what's happening. A lot of the videos that they're playing it's not stuff that I like. But then like every block there's one video it's like, Oh, that's that's the one I like. So it's it's misfat Booty or it's Jay Ruse, You're playing yourself. Fuji's like that that sort of thing, And if Fujis was another example of what I'm talking about, where this underground hip hop trio suddenly sell like ten million albums or something like really really cross over. So there was a moment where we felt like, oh, this is coming back. This is about to be you know, bigger and better, and there's going to be more of a balance. And when you look back on it that, you know, ninety five to two thousand, that was the golden age of alternative voices having a foothold on that level in the industry. Because I feel like largely it's gone away from that. 00:08:06 Speaker 2: That makes that really resonates too. And even Rap City. 00:08:08 Speaker 3: I remember around the time where their intro became bee Boy document the later version, you know, with high mighty most definite skills, and they would even show that part of like the subterranean yep. And I was like, wait, and you're absolutely right, like you might get two or three videos in that hour or two, but it was mixed in, you know. I remember hearing definition on radio in Pittsburgh from Black Star. 00:08:33 Speaker 2: It was very hard to find the. 00:08:34 Speaker 3: CD M, but we were we were exposed to it, and then you learned years later about things like the Telecommunity Communication Act in ninety seven changed. Yeah, but you're right, like Rockets felt like it was punching up and and and also it was really cool when I'm sure you alluded this with Dayla, but like I didn't know Farrell munchrom organized Confusion, like that was a little bit before my time. So to watch this guy that comes out as a solo artist and has this massive song that is I don't use these words but a club banger yep. And then to go back and see Oh my God, and he and Prince Poetry made three really great albums, and there's a previous history or ge rap, you know, all these different folks that were coming as trains on that car. 00:09:15 Speaker 2: It was really cool and I love and. 00:09:17 Speaker 3: Getting back to the question of show conversation, I'm always astonished at how many people in hard to reach places right now are pointing back to the same sort of experience that you and I had as fans, yeah, and saying how inspiring it was to them. 00:09:34 Speaker 1: It was a special moment. It really was. And that doesn't hip hop is such an interesting phenomenon historically because there's like this, there's like a constant battle for its soul happening, like it's a counterculture thing, but it also embraces capitalism, and there's just always this dance like who does it belong to? Does it belong to people, Does it belong to the corporations, Does it belong to the rich rappers? Does it belong to the underground rappers? Like that is a constant sort of tug of war for like the esthetic heart of this thing. And you know, the side that I feel like I'm on usually doesn't win, like it was winning at that time, and even then it was, you know, it was a fraction of what was happening, but it just felt so impactful. 00:10:36 Speaker 3: I get to work with the Mirror and we spend time together. We don't we don't talk hip hop much, you know. I mean, hey, there's a show to produce, right, but you know, you don't get the moment. And even in our limited dealings, like we only get but so many moments to fan out. 00:10:51 Speaker 2: And it was cool. 00:10:52 Speaker 3: One of the things I liked about Riz that again keeps it a totally organic podcast, is he put a lot of the questions back to back to a mirror and this Amir's answer also really intersected with a space I look at you and a few other folks, you know, like Blue and Exile or Little Brother. You know, that kept that feeling going of everything that we're talking about But there was another thing of just like you know, Amir uses this point, I like people that are different, you know, And I think he was also referring to authentic, character driven rap and he points to a lot of folks that are in your orbit, you know, cool Keith Eedon, who's in Philly right now, MC Paul Barman, you know, doom folks like that. And I was just curious for you, especially as being and I'm this is my opinion you're in that space as well, Like what did that mean, especially after doing a whole season of shows with a mirror kind of talking about his hip hop worldview as it pertains to his own group, you know. 00:11:51 Speaker 1: And that was the interesting thing about it. I've never heard questloves you know, top five for five rappers that he would name like that, And it was so interesting not only to hear the names that he said, but for him to be conscious of the notion of, Okay, I'm in a group with, you know, a person who's widely considered the greatest rapper all time by a lot of people, and thought, it's such a technical marvel and so otherworldly and credible at like rapping his asshole literally, it's interesting that that sort of informs who A Mirror points to as a contrast, Like so it's like it's presupposing that you, of course you know about black Thought, but he names Cool Keith and Edon and m C. Paul Barman, and yeah, these are these are interesting voices, and I think it really dovetails with something Riz was saying too about how he felt, in his modern taste leaned towards musicians rappers that feel like their authentic selves on a song, and like Cool, Keith, Edon and Paul Barman, Yes, and Doom absolutely. I mean, of course Doom wears a mask and plays a character, but he's a unique human being. On the mic, he don't sound like nobody else. He sounds like himself. And that was always the thing, aside from Paul Barman's wordplay. And this was the other thing that was notable to me about Amir saying that, is that is one of the things that first directly linked me in A Mirror was A Mirror given Paul Barman a few beats for the album that he did on Mellow Music Group when I was on Mellow Music Group, and the first song on that album, I can't remember what it's called, but it's and I know that the album cover is. It's just a set of parentheses, but I can't remember right here. Echo Chamber, Echo Chamber, and I think that so the first song is called Echo Chamber. It's the title track. That is a beat that A Mirror gave to Paul, and Paul asked me to get on, and that was like my first real direct connection to a mirror. And that beats crazy too because it's a I don't know if you'd call it a remake or a cover. It references elements of this Stereo Lab song that Dila flip to make this bust of rhymes. 00:14:35 Speaker 2: And the Milky I always get the title the Milk. 00:14:40 Speaker 1: Yeah, And I love Stereo Lab. I love the buster song that Diyla flip that before showed me what you got. I love Paul Barman, I love quest Love. So being on that song was so big for me and all of those ways. So I don't know, it was dope to hear a mirror shout Paul Barman, who also just dropped a great album with Kenny Siegel earlier this year. 00:15:07 Speaker 2: Okay, I need to check that out. 00:15:09 Speaker 3: It's funny, you know, both iterations of QLs have this habit because so fun fact, I'll pull the curtain back for one thing. Anytime a song is quoted sung hum Fonte used to just kill it with the humming, like he could create a melody or a baseline off memory perfectly. It goes into a bank like that's something that iHeart requires of us so and. 00:15:33 Speaker 2: I'm the guy that does it. 00:15:34 Speaker 3: And it's secretly one of my favorite parts of my job because I always listen to everything that is mentioned and it gives it drives my musical taste. MC Paul Barman is one of those names that came up in your interview and you spoke about it just now as an impetus of feeling. You know, you could run up on a Mirr at an airport, yep. But like he's come up two or three times this season. 00:15:58 Speaker 2: You know, mir brings him up. 00:15:59 Speaker 3: Like names that that aren't always on the tip of your tongue. You're Drakesure, Kendrick Lamars, meet me at whatever come up, Like Amy Grant comes up like thirty times in the QLs over different episodes, and I love the organic nature of all that. To echo your point, these are all artists I love. There's a thing called Vinyl Con going on in Philadelphia this weekend and. 00:16:19 Speaker 2: E Don he hasn't put a rap album out in a long time. 00:16:22 Speaker 1: I don't think so he put out Oh he didn't. 00:16:25 Speaker 2: Join Homeboy Sammon. 00:16:26 Speaker 1: Yep, that's the one I was about to mention. 00:16:28 Speaker 2: Any and that was a few years ago. 00:16:29 Speaker 1: That was a few years ago now, Yeah, and it was great. 00:16:31 Speaker 2: And they did that video of my man photo Rob shot of them in a swimming pool. 00:16:35 Speaker 1: Shout out the photo Rob. 00:16:36 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know. 00:16:38 Speaker 3: But Eaton was spinning at Vinyl Con. I got to see Boogie Blind yesterday. Great set. I was hoping he done with Saturday. Turns out he was Sunday. But I'm here with you and I'm happy about it. 00:16:48 Speaker 1: But I love eat On too. That's the homie man, and that beauty and the beat is one of the greatest things. I tell him all the time, like, there's there's nothing like that album. Yep, there's nothing like it. 00:16:59 Speaker 3: And to merge psychedelia and eighties. I don't want to call it old school, but like. 00:17:06 Speaker 1: It's kind it's it's it's old school. It's old school values, like old school rap values. He's not using like simple words, but an old school approach to rap. 00:17:18 Speaker 2: In one of my favorite promo items. 00:17:20 Speaker 3: And I've over the years at times where I needed to pay rent, or to pay bills or to fill tanks. I've sold a lot of the things that I've accumulated, you know, being in the industry. But I still have a Beauty in the Beach shirt and I still wear it, and I've never had anybody ever recognize any of the names on. 00:17:38 Speaker 2: The shirt, and that is a disappointing thing of humanity. 00:17:40 Speaker 1: Because I saw with it. That's sad. That's sad, because I loved one day and I. 00:17:44 Speaker 3: Was like, that's lot Keem Shabbaz, that's Percy p that's grand Master. 00:17:47 Speaker 2: Like it is. It's also one of the greatest cover art. And you know, I made it. 00:17:50 Speaker 1: Himself too, so I'm not surprised that he made it himself. Man is a true artist. 00:17:55 Speaker 3: Last thing, have you had the opportunity yet to see any of the things that RIZ start in New be it Hamlet or Bait or some of the past stuff. 00:18:04 Speaker 2: Is that in your life? 00:18:05 Speaker 1: I don't know that. I know. I feel like I've got to have seen him in something, but I couldn't tell you what. 00:18:11 Speaker 3: Ten years ago, The Night Of was one of still to this day, one of the best mini series ever HBO. It was created by one of Richard Price, who you know did Clockers, He wrote the book Did the Wanderer. Like Richard Price is just one of the great novelists to me, and The Night Of is very dark and it. 00:18:33 Speaker 2: You and I will appreciate this. 00:18:34 Speaker 3: It does feature acting by not just Sticky Fingers, but also Lord Jamar. 00:18:40 Speaker 1: I'm looking at this. I think I have seen this, but I don't remember it. 00:18:43 Speaker 3: John Tuturo. It's good stuff. It's good stuff. But Riz was really cool. He apologized. He was like, guys, my kids are running down the hall. It turned into a really cool episode. And Riz, if you are listening to this, I'm sorry. 00:18:56 Speaker 2: For that feedback. 00:18:57 Speaker 3: I'll fall on my sword for that one. 00:19:00 Speaker 2: But yeah, man, well to everyone. 00:19:03 Speaker 3: Listening, thank you for checking out these many episodes. Again, we're just here to unpack a few things, kind of create a show around the show and just remind folks that we put fifty episodes out a year and we're also doing these. Amir will be back with us very soon. But till then, man, I know you are going to the East Coast and then jumping over the pond to Europe. So check your open Mic Eagle dates. He won't say it, but I will. 00:19:30 Speaker 4: I appreciate it question. 00:19:50 Speaker 1: LOP Show is a production of iHeartRadio.