Episodes

In a bonus episode, B. Cox looks back 20 years ago to the Summer of 2002. It was a summer packed with hit songs that would become classics. Among the memorable tracks that would populate this soundtrack would be Nelly 's two massive #1 Hot 100 hits: "Hot In Herre" and "Dilemma" featuring Kelly Rowland. The two songs spent a combined 17 weeks atop the charts. Also dominating the summer was R&B singer Ashanti, who brought in the summer with her #1 single "Foolish", but also contributed on key sing...

B. Cox welcomes back in Charlee D of the Word To The Mutha Podcast to the show to review the original soundtrack to the black romantic comedy Boomerang . The film starring an all-star cast of Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, Robin Givens, David Alan Grier, Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock and the late Eartha Kitt and John Witherspoon, was a huge hit grossing over $160 million in the summer of the 1992. The film was accompanied by an equally powerful all-star soundtrack released on LaFace Records. The album...

B. Cox commemorates Capone-N-Noreaga 's debut album The War Report as it turns 25. In the midst of an identity crisis for New York rap, the two Queens natives arrived on the scene - unheralded, yet determined. After appearing the "Unsigned Hype" section of The Source in 1995, the duo was signed to a record label and began recording their debut. In the midst of recording, Capone was jailed for a parole violation, leaving Noreaga to finish the album. Assisted with features by the likes of Juice Cr...

B. Cox & J. Owe look back on Pete Rock & CL Smooth 's debut album Mecca and The Soul Brother as it turns 30. After jumping on the scene the previous year with their EP All Souled Out , the producer-emcee duo made their splash into the mainstream with an unforgettable debut. Powered by Rock's production which was a combination of smooth jazz, soul and funk records over snapping drums and vocal breaks over CL Smooth's smooth, yet witty bars, the album helped to close a chapter of transition in hip...

B. Cox and J. Owe look back at rap super group's Wu-Tang Clan 's second album Wu-Tang Forever as it turns 25. In the almost four years since they burst on the scene with their classic debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the collective of emcees continued to have an impact on the industry with a number of acclaimed to classic solo LPs by group members, Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Raekwon, GZA and Ghostface Killah. As a part of RZA's "Five Year Plan" for the group, the double album dropped a...

B Cox reviews Eminem 's fourth album The Eminem Show as it turns 20. On the heels of two massively successfully albums in The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP , Eminem sought to take a different approach on his latest effort. Taking over the production reins in this album, Eminem brings us a closer look into his personal life and the turmoil that surrounded it. While he gave us full glimpse of his Slim Shady alter-ego in his past efforts, the album gives us a more mature and transparent...

B. Cox is joined by Kahlil Wonda of the Reggae Lover Podcast (and Highlanda Sound System ) to review dancehall deejay Super Cat' s major label debut album Don Dada as it turns 30. After mixing it up in Jamaica in the sound system scene and growing "dancehall" scene in the mid-to-late 80s, Super Cat traveled to New York to sign a deal with Columbia Records, becoming one of the first reggae dancehall acts to sign with a major US label. A key artist and influencer in a scene that was growing in pop...

B. Cox and Domo look back on Musiq 's (previously known as Musiq Soulchild ) second studio album Juslisen as it turns 20. Not even two years after his wildly successful debut album Aijuswanaseing was released, the Philadelphia soul singer was back at it to eclipse his previous effort. Teaming back up with the likes of producers Carvin & Ivan , Dre & Vidal , James Poyser , Vikter Duplaix and 88-Keys among others, his sophomore debut was jam packed with a variety bag of soulful goodness, featuring...

B. Cox reviews hip-hop duo Gang Starr' s third album Daily Operation. After their critical and commercial breakthrough with their sophomore album Step In The Arena the year before, Guru and DJ Premier sought out to capitalize on their notoriety and recognition within hip-hop circles while staying true to the underground. Featuring appearances by the likes of Jeru the Damaja and Lil' Dap (soon of Group Home fame), the album was driven by a more lyrically confident, yet introspective, confident Gu...

B. Cox and Domo review Mary J. Blige 's pivotal third album Share My World as it turns 25. After a three-year hiatus from her sophomore album My Life and a split from producer, manager and mentor Sean "Diddy" Combs, the annointed "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" reemerged on a new label and with a change in sound. After suffering from clinical depression and bouts with drugs alcohol, Blige made an effort to clean up her life and found a renewed focus on her music. Departing working with Diddy for the fir...

B. Cox reviews R&B singer Adriana Evans self-titled debut album Adriana Evans as it turns 25. The daughter of jazz singer Mary Stallings, Evans emerged in the mid-90s featuring on her future collaborator and producer (and also future husband) Jonathan 'Dred' Scott's 1994 album Breakin' Combs . After starting with Capitol Records when she started recording her debut, she landed on hip-hop powerhouse label Loud Records to finish and release her album. Working with Scott and musician and arranger R...

B. Cox and J. Owe review Das Efx 's innovative debut album Dead Serious as it turns 30. After meeting as students as Virginia State University in the late 80s and being discovered by EPMD during a talent show, the duo of Dray and Skoob set out to make a splash in the industry with their unique stream of consciousness flow and their style of "sewage language" aka "the iggity flow". The album spawned the #1 rap chart and Top 100 hit "They Want Efx" and another #1 rap chart hit "Mic Checka". The pr...

B. Cox briefly looks back at En Vogue 's second album 1992's Funky Diva s. On the heels of their successful debut 1990s' Born To Sing , the Oakland based R&B quartet ( Dawn Robinson, Maxine Jones, Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron ) came out blazing with their 2nd album which eclipsed their debut. Teaming up once again with producers and songwriters Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster, the group scored a commercial hit with the album, placing scoring two Billboard R&B and Soul #1 hits in "Never Gonna Ge...

B. Cox looks back and briefly reminisces about hip-hop group Arrested Development debut album 3 years, 5 Months and 2 Days In The Life Of.. . as it turns 30. In the midst of a shift in tone in hip-hop where gangster hip-hop and conscious hip-hop were delineating their lines in the sand, the Atlanta-based group emerged as an alternative to the gangster trend that was on the rise. Combining hip-hop, R&B, soul, funk, jazz and poetry, the group addressed issues such as crime, black unity, homelessne...

The crew looks back on the Notorious B.I.G 's final album Life After Death . Released as a double disc two weeks after his murder in Los Angeles, Biggie's final studio is a sobering triumph of one hip-hop's greatest emcees. Contining on the excellence from his iconic debut Ready to Die, the Brookylyn emcee put forth on the strongest efforts of the 90s with guest appearances by the likes of Jay-Z, the LOX, Ma$e, 112, BONE Thugs & Harmony, Too Short, Lil Kim and others. The album also featured pro...

B. Cox and Domo review Brandy 's 2002 classic third album album Full Moon . After two wildly successful albums and taking a break after her second album which was followed by a nervous breakdown, a relationship breakup and before what was soon to be the birth of her daughter, the vocal prodigy was ready to get back in the saddle. Teaming back up with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins yet again after their collaboration with her sophomore album Never Say Never , Brandy explored all of the themes that em...

The crew recalls a truly unforgettable and tragic event: the murder of Christopher Wallace bka The Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie aka Biggie Smalls 25 years ago. His murder sent shockwaves throughout the hip-hop and music industry, only six months after the death of his former friend and rival Tupac Shakur . The crew examines the many theories surrounding Biggie's murder, the events of the night in question, where they were when they head the news and the personal impact that the loss of one of th...

B. Cox is joined by Charlee D . of the Word To The Mutha Podcast as they review TLC 's debut album, 1992's Ooooooohhh...On The TLC Tip . After forming as a group in Atlanta in the early 90s under the tutelage of writer and producer Dallas Austin , TLC burst on to the scene as a combination of R&B and rap, similar to their contemporaries of Bell Biv Devoe. With three big singles, the group made up of T-Boz , Left Eye and Chili quickly found commercial and critical success. With their inventive fa...

In another bonus segment of Relics Of The Past , B. Cox examines briefly yet another staple of the golden era-the freestyle cypher in high school. He recalls how the cypher played a important part in developing different tastes in hip-hop and also how it moved forward the acceptance of the culture in a school where the demographics changed in the mid-to-late 90s. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook.co...

The crew looks back at Erykah Badu 's debut album Baduizm . In a what was becoming a burgeoning sub genre of neo soul, the Brooklyn-born, Dallas-raised songtress burse onto the scene with a style not typically seen by R&B ladies during that time. WIth her trademark headwraps and dialed down attire that harkened towards the heyday of Afrocentrism, she blew critics and fans away with music that was equal parts soul, jazz and hip-hop and voice that drew comparisions to the legendary Billie Holiday....

In a bonus episode of Relics of The Past, B. Cox takes us on a journey back to a staple of those of who came up in the golden era of hip-hop: the blank cassette tape. He talks the role that the blank tape played in fandom, how it served as currency in a segment of society and how it advanced the culture in a time when hip-hop was still in its infancy. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/600...

B. Cox and J. Owe review the Bronx rap duo Camp Lo 's cult classic debut Uptown Saturday Night. After spending the initial parts of their careers together apart, Sonny Cheeba and Geechie Suede rose through the independent rap scene and collaborated with up and coming producer Ski for their debut album. Bolstered by the megahot single "Luchini (This is It)", the group compiled their album highlighted by Ski's mix of funky soulful and suspense filled beats with flows that were smooth and silky, ye...

In a new bonus episode segement Relics of the Past , B. Cox reminsces about what was the excitement of Record Release Tuesdays. From the late 1980s until 2015, the music industry designated Tuesdays as its Global Release Day; the day that new albums were released. He talks about the hype, anticipation and journey about going to the record/music store on release day and how the day fit into the culture of music (most specifically during the commerical rise and popularization of hip-hop) and fanho...

In a bonus episode of Pop Culture Corner , the crew looks back on the motion picutre Juice as it turns 30, featuring the film debuts of Omar Epps and the late Tupac Shakur. The film, which also starred Khalil Kain and Jermaine Hopkins , tells a coming of age, yet ill-fated story of four friends in Harlem on a journey for respect on the streets. Featuring a heavy hip-hop influence and score with DJ culture at its forefront, the film also stars music industry stars Cindy Herron of En Vogue and Que...