Podcaster

Writer, Producer and Co-Host

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The Rap Writers Show

THE RAP WRITERS SHOW is the show no one asked for, where writers talk about rappers. Hosts Reed, Eric and Manny are former and current rap journalists who love spewing their opinions. Shows are a blend of talk, music and takes, featuring guests from the industry. Recorded at Red Bull Studios NY.

I joined the podcast in 2018 after a three-year hiatus. With our engineer Hasan Insane, we created 22 episodes before wrapping up our fourth season. I helped with brainstorming our segments, researching topics, fact checking, writing social media copy for our episodes, and booking talent. I also had my own segment called #DiepThoughts where I got weird and emotional on life and current events.

**Jermaine Hall, editor-in-chief of LEVEL**

Jermaine Hall, editor-in-chief for Level, joins the show. Recorded on Combat Jack Day, the veteran editor shares stories on his early days interning for VIBE, running things at King, his favorite era of VIBE, and more. Manny, Reed, and Eric discuss Jermaine's latest endeavor - launching the Medium vertical Level - and what it means to black and brown men in their 30s.

I used to intern for Jermaine Hall at VIBE and later worked with him at BET. So it was an honor to reconnect with him to do this episode talking about his latest career move to Medium and helming the LEVEL publication. J shares stories on running things at King, his favorite VIBE era, climbing the ladder from intern to EIC at VIBE, mentoring writers, and so much more.

Gary Suarez, freelance writer and music critic — Gary Suarez, freelance writer and
music critic

Gary Suarez, freelance journalist and music critic, joins the show. Gary shares his untraditional journey of getting into professional music writing, building up bylines at esteemed publications through "hustle and luck" before specializing in música urbana. Manny and Eric get the 4-1-1 on music's most important wave, and Gary shares his takes on why Rosalía stirs so much controversy.

Gary Suarez is one of my favorite hip-hop writers. The guys were very excited to get Gary on the show, and he talks about his untraditional journey of breaking into the industry, driven by his hardwork and passion. Now an established name with bylines on websites like Forbes, Noisey, VIBE, Rolling Stone and The New York Times, Gary’s focus is on contextualizing música urbana for listeners and setting the record straight on issues that define it.

**Paul Cantor, writer, editor, and producer**

Writer Paul Cantor joins the show to share his story from growing up in Staten Island wanting to produce for Ghostface to writing feature stories on Combat Jack and J. Cole. We also examine the state of celebrity profiles and the ways artists control their narratives.

I used to see Paul Cantor’s byline in a lot of back issues during my time at XXL. That’s how I knew he’s been doing this hip-hop journalism thing for a very long time. He was the perfect guest to expand on the conversation behind the New York Times article “R.I.P., the Celebrity Profile” after penning in-depth stories on the late, great Combat Jack and J. Cole for Vulture. In this episode, we dive into the dynamics of a profile story and what shapes a strong piece during a time when journalists only get limited access.

Frannie Kelley, co-host of Microphone Check, joins the show. We share stories from times we let emotions get in the way of facts, talk about who gets to tell artists' stories and what would happen if writers went independent. We also rate Travis Scott and Earth Wind and Fire's Grammy performance and Eric shares #DiepThoughtz on turning 31.

Frannie Kelley was my wishlist guest after being a longtime fan of Microphone Check. After recently moving back to NYC from Los Angeles, she gave us the origin story of Microphone Check and linking up with Ali Shaheed Muhammad at NPR, and dived into Artist vs. Journalist, the conversation topic inspired by her professional relationship with Ali. Listen for Frannie and my story on “borrowing” champagne bottles at Mike Dean’s loft party in NYC.

Hunter Harris, staff writer at Vulture/New York Magazine — Hunter Harris, staff writer at
Vulture/New York Magazine

Hunter Harris, staff writer at Vulture, breaks out of Twitter jail to join the show. We do a deep dive on Hunter speaking her truth about "A Star Is Born" and Taylor Swift's #Mayochella. We also discuss Lizzo's reaction to a lukewarm Pitchfork review and the importance of critics in today's media landscape.

Not only is Hunter Harris one of the funniest people to follow on Twitter, she’s also a talented writer who has a gift for storytelling. A month after she published her excellent Megan Thee Stallion profile, Hunter came on the show to talk about her relationship with hip-hop and R&B, her favorite movie A Star Is Born, and the role of the music critic after Lizzo sparked a debate on Twitter.

Additional episodes feature Christine Werthman, Allison P. Davis, Sowmya Krishnamurthy, Kathy Iandoli, Shawn Setaro, Timmhotep Aku, Alphonse Pierre, Regina Cho, Mikey Fresh, Adelle Platon, Dan Rys, and more. Listen to the podcast on Anchor, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.