The Opus Podcast
Whitney Houston’s Historic Billboard Run Contains Multitudes
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS It’s hard to underestimate Whitney Houston’s stardom. For better and for worse, the world knows so much more about the late diva than we do about most artists from her era. Houston’s meteoric rise would eventually place her own personal life under a microscope, and it’s the tragic details that all too often overshadow her unparalleled legacy and groundbreaking influence. Looking back, though, Whitney Houston wasn’t just a pop star. She wasn’t just an incredible voice. No, she was a trail blazer, the first of her kind, who opened the door for so many artists to follow. For its highly anticipated 10th season, The Opus plans to trace those footsteps, and put a spotlight on the star t...
The Opus Celebrating the Greatest Love of All With Whitney Houston’s Self-Titled Debut
For nine seasons, Consequence of Sound and Sony’s The Opus podcast has examined the legacy of a range of iconic albums. Previous seasons dug into Bob Dylan (Blood on the Tracks), The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Electric Ladyland), Jeff Buckley (Grace), Willie Nelson (Red Headed Stranger), Ozzy Osbourne (Blizzard of Ozz), The Clash (London Calling), Simon & Garfunkel (Bridge Over Troubled Water), Miles Davis (Bitches Brew), and Mobb Deep (The Infamous). For the series’ 10th season, host Andy Bothwell, a.k.a. Astronautalis, will celebrate the greatest love of all with Whitney Houston. In 1985, Houston celebrated Valentine’s Day with the release of her self-titled debut. It was a minor splash that would become an unstoppable tidal wave as the record gathered speed over 55 weeks to reach...
Mobb Deep Crafted Their Own Language
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS For decades now, rap and hip-hop has been the most fertile soil for slang and new language across pop culture. But when looking back on Mobb Deep, the duo didn’t just have their own slang, they had their own language. In this bonus episode of The Opus, host Andy Bothwell breaks down the history of “The Dun Language” with rappers Slug (of Atmosphere) and Evidence (of Dilated Peoples), who discuss the influence that language has played on their own work. Editors’ Picks Shortly after, we’ll hear from original member Havoc, legendary hip-hop photographer Chi Modu, and The Infamous executive producer Schott Free, who shed a light on the oft-elusive, secret third member...
Mobb Deep’s The Infamous Samples Sounds from a Rich Cultural Heritage
The Opus: The Infamous is currently ongoing, and you can subscribe now. To celebrate the new season, stream Mobb Deep’s iconic album via all major streaming services. You can also enter to win a copy of The Infamous on vinyl — signed by rapper Havoc himself. Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Follow on Facebook | Podchaser If they’d never released another album after 1995’s The Infamous, Albert “Prodigy” Johnson and Kejuan “Havoc” Muchita of Mobb Deep would still reign as hip-hop visionaries 25 years later. Heavy on realism and scant on hope, the record stands as one of the most unflinching documents of hip-hop’s East Coast Renaissance. As our own Okla Jones put it in a recent retrospective, “The indelible legacy of [The Infamous] will be that it helped shift the co...
