Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
Bullseye from NPR is your curated guide to culture. Jesse Thorn hosts in-depth interviews with brilliant creators, culture picks from our favorite critics and irreverent original comedy. Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney's, which called it "the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world." (Formerly known as The Sound of Young America.)

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Blogroll:

Syndication

We’re concluding Rap Month with Buffalo MC Benny the Butcher. Alongside Conway the Machine and Westside Gunn, he’s a member of the hip-hop collective Griselda. He’s an incredibly prolific rapper. Benny’s not even forty yet and he’s got dozens of LPs, mixtapes and other releases to his name. He joins Bullseye to talk about his upbringings in Buffalo, New York and how he got into rapping. Plus he breaks down his track “10 More Commandments” – a response to a classic Biggie Smalls song.

Direct download: NPR6572504663.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:05pm EDT

In the story of Master P, there’s plenty of success. He’s launched careers and sold millions of dollars in records. His label, No Limit Records, was home to a phalanx of stars like Silkk the Shocker and even Snoop Dogg. On Bullseye, Master P stops by to chat about his success as a rapper and as the founder of No Limit Records. He also gets candid about the many losses in his life from his failed professional basketball career to the loss of his family members throughout the years. Plus, he talks about his newfound passion for breakfast cereal.

Direct download: NPR6681266689.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:29pm EDT

It’s Week 3 of Rap Month on Bullseye. Next up is Bun B of UGK. Bun B and his partner Pimp C put Port Arthur, Texas on the map when they founded one of the most influential Southern rap groups of all time. UGK crafted a genre on their own terms. Whether you call it country rap or chopped and screwed music, their influence is undeniable. On Bullseye, Bun B stops by to chat about his time in UGK and his longtime friendship with Pimp C. He shares the story behind his verse on UGK’s iconic track “Murder.” Plus, he gets real about his legacy and what he wants his grandchildren to remember about him when he’s gone.

Direct download: NPR3215855071.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:26pm EDT

Many of you may know Angie Stone as a soul-singer. But before her singing career took off, Angie was an MC in a rap group called The Sequence. Back then, she went by the name Angie B. The Sequence was signed to Sugar Hill records and was one of the first ever all women rap groups. Angie Stone joins us for Rap Month to talk about her early years as a rapper. She also gets into how The Sequence was discovered backstage at a Sugar Hill Gang concert. Plus, she talks about having her first hit solo records later on in her career.

Direct download: NPR4967830845.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:54pm EDT

Next up on Rap Month is viral rap star CHIKA. CHIKA’s never been afraid to keep it real, especially online. The Alabama-born rapper went viral for the first time at 19 years old. Since then, she’s been steadily building her career as a rapper. Earlier this summer, she dropped her debut LP: Samson: The Album. On Bullseye, CHIKA stops by to chat about her latest project and her journey to making music. Plus, her transition from a social media sensation to a real dues-paid MC in the midst of a global pandemic.


Rap month continues here at Bullseye. Next up, the trap music pioneer Jeezy. On his major label debut in the mid-aughts, he called himself your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper. Jeezy, alongside T.I. and Gucci Mane helped bring trap music into the mainstream. Jeezy recently published a book: Adversity for Sale: Ya Gotta Believe. Jeezy joins Bullseye to talk about his new book and he gets into the first time he found his love of music. Plus, he reflects on some of the toughest parts of his childhood and time hustling on the street.


In 2018, the Chicago rapper Saba released the critically acclaimed Care for Me. A frenetic, beautiful album recorded after the loss of his cousin Walter. It brought Saba a lot of attention, and changed his life in ways he couldn’t process. Saba joins Bullseye to talk about living up to those expectations, collaborating with No I.D. and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and finding peace in self reflection. Plus, he shares some music gear recommendations!


Rakim changed the rap game forever. He’s one half of the groundbreaking hip-hop duo, Eric B. and Rakim. And a legendary solo rapper in his own right. On Bullseye, Rakim kicks off Rap Month by looking back at his almost 40 years in hip-hop. He gets into how he met Eric B. and his mentorship with Marley Marl. Plus, how his career has changed now that he’s in his 50s.


John Wilson is the host and creator of the HBO series How To with John Wilson. Each episode of the show makes a simple, straightforward promise to the viewer: to teach them how to do something. Then, each episode inevitably veers off course when interviews and found footage take him in different directions. When we asked John about the thing he wishes he’d made, he picked a classic documentary: 2003’s Los Angeles Plays Itself.