From Broadway stars to legendary DJs to the best of the battle rappers, OTL has hosted a spectrum of voices — each with an individual story to tell. This episode takes us through the very best of OTL — its highs and lows, its most memorable soundbites, and its most resounding voices. Join us as we take you through Part 1 of OTL’s best.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/74/ for full show notes and comments.

From Broadway stars to legendary DJs to the best of the battle rappers, OTL has hosted a spectrum of voices — each with an individual story to tell. This episode takes us through the very best of OTL — its highs and lows, its most memorable soundbites, and its most resounding voices. Join us as we take you through Part 2 of OTL’s best.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/75/ for full show notes and comments.

Welcome to The Cipher! Outside the Lines With Rap Genius has been renamed, rebranded, and improved. We begin the podcast’s new chapter with Strange Music’s favorite “White Rapper,” Rittz. We talked to the Atlanta artist on the day his latest album, Next to Nothing, was released. We spoke about syllable matching, the dark side of partying, how the 1996 Olympics changed everything, and tons more.

Rittz’ fast-rapping style first grabbed fans’ attention on Yelawolf’s “Box Chevy Pt. 3” in 2010, after a decade of grinding in the Atlanta underground. He signed to Tech N9ne’s Strange Music label, where his fast-rapping acrobatics and introspective, painfully honest lyrics fit right in. Next to Nothing continues and improves on his patented style while adding some new twists — including a fair amount of singing, which we talk about during the interview.

Make sure to follow The Cipher on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Most importantly, subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes.

About the re-launch:

The Cipher is a revamp and continuation of the long-running and critically acclaimed podcast Outside the Lines With Rap Genius. We’ve taken the show outside of the Genius family in order to devote the time and attention necessary to really make it great. For those who loved the podcast previously, we still have the same in-depth conversations, the same questions no one has ever asked before, and the same variety of awesome guests. But we’ve improved everything else — the sound, the look, the format, and more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/76/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we have a two-fer. We begin with a really awesome interview with a true West Coast legend, DJ Quik. He has a new album, The Midnight Life, and we talk to him about that, his relationships with longtime collaborators Suga Free and guitarist Robert Bacon, “Hitler microphones,” that time Dr. Dre broke his speakers, and a lot more.

In the second half of the show, we introduce a new artist. Eric Biddines is a Florida-based rapper whose new project, Planet Coffee Bean 2, came to our attention recently. Eric’s futuristic, imaginative, and caffeinated music — and personality — are not to be missed.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/77/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we have a wide-ranging convo with Gene “No Malice” Thornton of Clipse. No Malice (formerly just Malice, before a religious epiphany several years back) and his brother Terrance, a.k.a. Pusha T, form one of rap’s greatest duos. Their smart, vicious raps — often about their real-life experiences dealing cocaine — first brought them to prominence with the massive hit “Grindin’” back in 2002. The group quickly became a critical and commercial favorite, thanks to the brothers’ rhymes and some production help from The Neptunes.

But after some label issues and legal problems, Clipse went on hiatus. No Malice released his solo debut and a memoir, while his brother joined forces with Kanye West. We talk to No Malice about God, going solo, the past (and future) of Clipse, which lyric he regrets most, and more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/78/ for full show notes and comments.

Lisa Leone has lived a life for the ages. She began photographing some of the most important figures in the early days of hip-hop culture (who were also her friends) as a teenager. Then she took some of the best, most revealing photos ever of musical icons like Snoop Dogg, Nas, The Fugees, Mary J. Blige, and tons more. Lisa moved from there into working on music videos, before her career took an unexpected left turn.

She turned a short research photo assignment for a friend into four years working closely with film legend Stanley Kubrick on his final film, Eyes Wide Shut. Then she took that experience and co-directed the iconic documentary on sneakers and sneaker heads, Just for Kicks.

A gorgeous book of Lisa’s hip-hop photos, Here I Am - Photographs By Lisa Leone, is available now. An exhibit of that name is running through January 11th at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. You can view a slideshow of some of her photos over at Complex.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/79/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we talk to author Brian Coleman. Coleman has written three volumes of what he calls “invisible liner notes” — blow-by-blow accounts of the making of classic hip-hop records from the people who were there. The newest entry in the series is Check the Technique, Vol. 2, which you can (and should!) cop here.

We discuss KMD, the differences between the two emcees in Black Star, the reason Licensed to Ill never made it into his books, why first or second albums are always a group’s best, and plenty more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/80/ for full show notes and comments.

This episode, we have a truly great conversation with Sage Francis. Rising up out of the battle-rap and poetry slam scenes in the late 1990s, Sage first came to many fans’ notice with his incredible 2002 debut album Personal Journals. That started a non-stop grind of running his own record label while putting out five albums and doing countless tours over the next eight years. After 2010’s Li(f)e, he took a four-year hiatus from recording and touring — one that ended with this year’s Copper Gone.

We talked to Sage (who was in the midst of a European tour) about what he does and doesn’t owe his fans, how he makes ideas rhyme, what it took to get through hard times and make a comeback, and tons more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/81/ for full show notes and comments.

Nino Bless got his start in the NYC mixtape scene in the mid to late 2000s. He first came to many fans’ attention with a killer verse on Joe Budden’s 2008 song “Slaughterhouse.” From there, he released a string of increasingly personal and powerful projects that revealed a true artist with a unique vision. His R.O.A.M. series of records, three albums deep, are complex, varied, and like nothing else out there. His latest project is Illuminati Reject.

We talked to “the Chomsky of Ebonical speech” about getting encouragement from your idols; how he made “Rhyme of the Year (MK Ultra),” his epic “response to the response” to Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse; how New York City has changed; how Drake is truly the realest rapper out; and much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/82/ for full show notes and comments.

Live from Bed Stuy’s Restoration Plaza, we bring you a very special event with Buddha Monk and Mickey Hess, authors of a new biography of the Wu’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Occurring only blocks from Dirty’s childhood home, this conversation features not only the authors, but also special appearances from the Wu member’s family and friends. Buddha Monk was Dirty’s close friend since they were children, and had a front row seat to the artist’s rise and fall. His book, co-written with Rider professor Mickey Hess, is The Dirty Version: On Stage, In the Studio, and In the Streets With Ol’ Dirty Bastard, published by Harper Collins. You can buy it here.

If you like this episode, be sure to check out our recent article on the Wu for Radio.com

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/83/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we have an epic sit-down with producer 88-Keys. 88 got his start as a teenager, choosing samples for groups like A Tribe Called Quest while working for a record dealer. He easily moved from there into production, and was a key voice in underground hip-hop during the Rawkus Records heyday. His work on albums by Black Star, Mos Def (now Yasiin Bey), and others helped cement the sound of the era.

88 has continued to make music for everyone from Beanie Sigel to Macy Gray, in addition to releasing his own solo album, The Death of Adam, in 2008. In recent years, his name made headlines again when he produced the hit song “No Church in the Wild” for Jay Z and his longtime best friend Kanye West.

We talked to 88 about his past, present, and exciting future, including his Locksmith Music label.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/84/ for full show notes and comments.

Most people know author Adam Mansbach from his 2011 “children’s book for adults,” Go the Fuck to Sleep. It became a sensation and led to readings by Werner Herzog and Samuel L. Jackson, a movie deal, a popular GTFTS-themed Obama ad, and countless morning show appearances. Now he returns with a sequel, You Have to Fucking Eat — a funny and realistic take on a whole new parenting challenge.

Regular listeners know that Adam does much more than write books with curses in the title. We discussed his literary novels and life in jazz in our first talk. This time, we talk screenwriting, thrillers, middle grade books, and the best child rappers of all time.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/85/ for full show notes and comments.

Our 2nd annual Christmas episode features former Def Jam exec and noted Christmas music obsessive Bill Adler. We discuss the 30th anniversary edition of his yearly Christmas mix (available EXCLUSIVELY from us — visit here) and his part in the new holiday music documentary Jingle Bell Rocks.

We also find time to talk about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, protest movements past and present, and plenty more. Happy holidays from The Cipher! Again, you can listen to Bill Adler’s 30th anniversary Xmas Jollies mix ONLY on our Soundcloud page.

P.S. We’re honored to have been chosen as one of Slate’s “Best Podcasts About Music” this year. You can see the complete list here. And, as mentioned in the show’s introduction, you can find Cornell University’s online exhibit of Bill’s Def Jam materials on the university’s website.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/86/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we celebrate the new year by bringing you an improved, remixed version of our talk with Ron Isley. Isley is the legendary lead singer of The Isley Brothers, and a soul music icon who has been a vital force in popular music for over half a century.

The Isley Brothers first reached the charts with the 1959 hit “Shout,” and had an amazing run all the way through 1983’s oft-sampled “Between the Sheets.” Ron’s career was revitalized by a series of collaborations with R. Kelly starting in 1996, including 2001’s memorable hit “Contagious.” His most recent solo album, released right around the time of this conversation, was This Song Is For You, which featured the single “Dinner and A Movie.”

We talked to Ron about his whole career, from his early years singing gospel straight through to today, with stops in Motown, his influential songs of the 1960s and 70s, the inside scoop on working with R. Kelly, and lots more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/87/ for full show notes and comments.

Our interview with the enigmatic Divine Styler starts with him present, via his DJ father, at the very beginnings of hip-hop. He then became a part of Ice-T’s Rhyme Syndicate crew, which included a pre-House of Pain Everlast. His second album, Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light, drastically expanded the range of what a hip-hop artist could do with its spoken word-industrial-rock hybrids.

His latest record Def Mask comes after a 15-year hiatus. From NYC park jams to getting arrested the day after signing a record deal to having a front-row seat for “Jump Around“‘s massive success to pushing musical boundaries to making pilgrimages to Mecca, Divine Styler shares his whole fascinating story.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/88/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we sit down with Harlem’s own Smoke DZA and Bluntsmoker, a member of his R.F.C. crew. They’ve just released an album called The Outsiders. Talking in a studio just down the block from DZA’s native “911” (Harlem’s 119th Street), we discuss how Harlem has changed, the overlap between pro wrestling and hip-hop, how his style and voice have mutated over the years, and tons more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/89/ for full show notes and comments.

Shea Serrano is a Houston-based writer and illustrator whose funny, insightful work on rap, sports, and even action movies has appeared almost everywhere – you undoubtedly saw his brilliant holiday piece Three Wise Migos. In addition, he wrote Bun B’s Rapper Coloring and Activity Book and created the viral Tumblr sensations Drake-ing Bad and Sex Questions From Seventh Graders.

We spoke to Serrano about his life and career, why ‘94 will always be r&b’s peak year, and why he’s okay with you loving J. Cole, even if you’re wrong.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/90/ for full show notes and comments.

Robert “Rocky” Ford Jr. got his start at Billboard in the 1970s. A busy nightlife (and a chance encounter on a Queens bus) led him to Russell Simmons and NYC’s burgeoning hip-hop scene. Rocky gave the genre its very first mainstream coverage with his 1978 article “B-Beats Bombarding Bronx.” From there, it was a quick move to writing and producing hits for Simmons’ good friend Kurtis Blow – and then for Full Force, Hi-Five, and even Tom Hanks!

We talk to Ford about writing hits like “The Breaks,” his relationships with Simmons and one-time roommate Nelson George, and why he cast Full Force as House Party’s villains. Ford did it all in the 1970s and 80s, and shares his story here.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/91/ for full show notes and comments.

Lisa Cortés lives up to her self-description as a “hip-hop Zelig.” She began her career in 1986 as one of the first employees of a then-tiny record label called Def Jam. From there, she went on to manage legendary producers; discover hit rap, reggae, and r&b acts; and even run a label herself.

After her time in the music industry came to an end, Lisa re-invented herself as a successful film producer, starting at the bottom and working her way up to playing a key role in the Oscar-winning movie Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire. She is currently producing, writing, and directing a number of fascinating film projects, which we discuss here.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/92/ for full show notes and comments.

We speak to the rapping team at the head of the powerful rap/rock group ¡Mayday! – Ben “Wrekonize” Miller and Bernardo “Bernz” Garcia. Since the early 2000s, the band has been delivering powerful music to a growing legion of fans. That fan base was dramatically increased when the Miami group teamed up with Tech N9ne’s Strange Music label a few years ago. The most recent album released by the hardworking collective is a joint project with West Coast legend Murs called, appropriately enough, Mursday.

Wrek and Bernz talk about their career and songwriting process, but also find time to discuss their famous relatives, partying with Lil Wayne, and which group member is best with a slow cooker.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/93/ for full show notes and comments.

Tanya Morgan, as the title of one of their mixtapes states, is a rap group. Von Pea and donwill have been putting out classics since their 2006 debut Moonlighting. They’ve gone through successes, failures, lineup changes (original member Ilyas left in 2012), and more while continuing to reach for new sounds and concepts. Their most recent release is the EP 12 Minutes at Karriem’s. We talked to the group about touring disasters, childhood friendships, Google Maps, that time donwill almost ended up on Cops, and much, much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/94/ for full show notes and comments.

Joseph Schloss is the author of two of the definitive scholarly works on hip-hop culture. Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based Hip-Hop is a look inside the insular world of hip-hop producers, showing us their rules, worldview, and day-to-day lives. Foundation: B-boys, B-girls and Hip-Hop Culture in New York investigates the history and practice of hip-hop dance, as seen by the b-boys and b-girls themselves.

In our wide-ranging talk, we discuss the influence of West Side Story on hip-hop; what the “b” in “b-boy” really stands for; why having rap records at all wasn’t always a sure thing; and much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/95/ for full show notes and comments.

Bishop Lamont is one of the West Coast’s premiere lyricists. He first came to rap fans’ attention with his 2004 mixtape Who I Gotta Kill To Get A Record Deal. The title proved prophetic, as shortly afterwards he was scooped up by Dr. Dre.

During his time on Aftermath, Bishop released a ton of fantastic free “street albums,” but not a proper debut, and he left the label after several years in limbo. His latest release is The (P)Reformation, and his long-awaited album The Reformation will be out later this year.

We talked to the often-controversial rapper about his relationships with Dilla and Proof, how he was rhyming about Selma before it was cool, his pre-rap life as a stuntman – and, of course, cartoons. Plenty of cartoons.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/96/ for full show notes and comments.

Mr. Lif has had a key role in a number of music success stories, from the rise of the Boston hip-hop scene to the reign of underground rap empire Def Jux to the continued worldwide popularity of Thievery Corporation. We explore his entire career, from the very first songs and freestyle sessions to his newest group, Terra Bella.

We make plenty of stops along the way at his key moments – his fiery 9/11 response “Home of the Brave,” the powerful 2002 concept album I Phantom, his development into a celebrated live performer, and more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/97/ for full show notes and comments.

“Prince” Paul Huston is one of hip-hop’s most notable producers. He began in the mid-1980s as a teenage DJ with Stetasonic, “the hip hop band.” But his career really took off in 1989 when he produced De La Soul’s classic debut 3 Feet High and Rising.

Paul helmed the group’s first three albums, and went on from there to release a wide variety of projects under his own name, as a producer, and as part of a group. Just a short list of his collaborators reads like a who’s-who of musicians and comedians: RZA, Queen Latifah, Bernie Worrell of P-Funk, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Big Daddy Kane, and even Cat Power, to name only a few.

In the first half of our conversation, we talk about Stetsasonic, De La Soul, his relationship with a pre-Wu-Tang RZA, his surprising-sounding 2003 solo album Politics of the Business, and much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/98/ for full show notes and comments.

In Part 2 of our epic sit-down with Prince Paul, we talk Psychoanalysis and A Prince Among Thieves; making records with Everlast, MF DOOM, MC Paul Barman, and Dino-5; and even the cult tv show that cemented his bond with Dan the Automator. 

We also find out what was behind his most disturbing song, what it’s like at the lows between career peaks, and, of course, the kind of presents John Waters sends to his daughter. Plus, he shares his reaction to the “Blurred Lines” verdict, and gives us an exclusive peek into his upcoming projects.

If you missed Part 1 of our interview with Paul, you can find it here.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/99/ for full show notes and comments.

Our special 100th episode finds us with a flood of special guests. We have Metermaids, an NYC rap duo signed to Sage Francis’ Strange Famous label. Their newest album We Brought Knives is a powerful examination of fatherhood, legacies, changing times, and the awesomeness of Bruce Springsteen.

They’re followed by Gabriel Roth. Roth is the co-founder of Daptone Records, a Brooklyn-based label that has released some of the finest soul, funk, Afrobeat, and other roots music of this generation. The band he leads, The Dap-Kings (who normally back the powerful singer Sharon Jones), played a key part in one of the most popular records in recent memory, Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black.

This being an anniversary party, we start the show with a special surprise guest.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/100/ for full show notes and comments.

Rapper Big Pooh got his start in the critically beloved North Carolina trio Little Brother. But over the past decade, he’s made a series of excellent and increasingly ambitious solo records, culminating in the new EP Words Paint Pictures.

We talked to Pooh about Little Brother’s early success and major-label stumbles; the truth about radio; the demise of the middle class; and the bizarre cease-and-desist letter that put one of his albums on hold for almost three years.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/101/ for full show notes and comments.

DJ EFN is a key player in Miami’s hip-hop scene. He was arguably the city’s first mixtape DJ, and certainly its most influential. His mixtapes, featuring exclusives and freestyles from hip-hop’s biggest names, made him a power broker in the region and enabled him to move into marketing, clothing, and even movies, with his recent Coming Home series of documentaries. His new album Another Time features appearances from Scarface, Talib Kweli, Juvenile, Kurupt, Killer Mike, and Ras Kass, among many others.

We talked with EFN about breaking Rick Ross and giving advice to a young Pitbull; why mixtape culture is dead; the never-released album that could have changed the face of Miami rap; and much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/102/ for full show notes and comments.

Oliver Wang is a writer, critic, audio blogger, and DJ. He is best-known among hip-hop fans for his features and reviews for LA Weekly, Urb, NPR, and basically everywhere else. We discuss his new book Legions of Boom: Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The fascinating book looks at a previously unexplored and nearly forgotten scene from the late 1970s through the early 90s. Young people in the Bay Area, almost entirely Filipino, were inspired by the disco craze to form DJ crews and start throwing parties. At its height, there were scores of crews throughout the entire Bay. Some of the scene’s most prominent alumni were QBert, Mixmaster Mike, and Apollo. The three of them would form the Invisibl Skratch Piklz and go on to invent an entirely new kind of DJing, where virtuosic scratching took center stage.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/103/ for full show notes and comments.

Brad “Scarface” Jordan first came to the public’s attention as a member of Houston’s controversial group The Geto Boys. The trio - Scarface, Willie D, and Bushwick Bill - made dark, edgy, and often disturbing music. Their songs like “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” and “Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangsta” gained them legions of both fans and critics.

Scarface released his first solo album in 1991, and has since put out classics like Mr Scarface Is Back, The Diary, and The Fix, that continue his career-long streak of well-crafted storytelling and unflinching honesty and self-examination. Now he has a new project - a memoir written with Benjamin Meadows-Ingram called Diary of a Madman: The Geto Boys, Life, Death, and the Roots of Southern Rap, published by Harper Collins. The book covers his life with the same directness and power we’ve seen in his raps.

Our talk with Face covers his musical influences in great detail, and also finds time to cover his own career, the book, how he felt trapped by his own name, and lots more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/104/ for full show notes and comments.

RJD2 began his career as a DJ in the mid-1990s, but it wasn’t until his 2002 solo album Deadringer that he really started making noise. That record got a ton of attention for its creative sample-based approach to instrumental hip-hop, and RJ became an important part of the El-P led Def Jux label, which was a huge force in the underground rap scene of the era.

Since then, he has released a ton of wildly varying, but always worthwhile and interesting, projects, from hip-hop records to synthesizer-based soundscapes to pop songs with his own vocals. One of RJ’s tracks, “A Beautiful Mine,” is best-known to most people as the theme for AMC’s hit show Mad Men. His brand-new album with rapper Sugar Tongue Slim is called STS X RJD2.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/105/ for full show notes and comments.

John Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, is a true punk legend. He was the singer of the Sex Pistols, the ground-breaking British punk band. The Pistols formed in 1975, and their raw sound combined with Lydon’s powerful, unfiltered lyrics taking shots at the Queen, the music industry, and the system as a whole created something entirely new – a sound, look, and attitude that would quickly be picked up and copied by legions of bands to follow, and would spark the punk rock revolution.

The Sex Pistols broke up in early 1978, and Lydon went on to form the influential group Public Image Limited, or PiL. The group went in an entirely different direction, making often-danceable, experimental music. Their second album, 1979’s Metal Box, is generally regarded as a landmark release, and was chosen as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone.

Lydon’s new memoir, which covers the entirety of his life and career, is called Anger Is An Energy: My Life Uncensored (Dey Street).

We were joined by legendary photographer Janette Beckman (soon to be a Cipher guest herself), who took some pictures – the first time she had photographed Lydon since she took now-famous shots of him with the Sex Pistols and in the early days of PiL, like the image you see above.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/106/ for full show notes and comments.

Nicholas “Murs” Carter is a rapper who has seen and done it all. He began his career in the Los Angeles underground scene as a teenager in the early 1990s with his friends in the Living Legends collective. By the early years of the next decade, he had become a major player in the world of underground rap.

His subsequent solo albums on both indie and major labels, as well as his collaborations with artists like Slug and 9th Wonder, have cemented his status as one of the most notable rappers out there, underground or otherwise.

His brand-new album is Have A Nice Life.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/107/ for full show notes and comments.

J-Zone is a rapper, producer, musician, and author whose ability to find and chop the perfect sample is paired with a rap persona that combines raunchiness, self-depreciating humor, social commentary, and a deep love for all of rap history, including some of its more bizarre corners. And, naturally, an alter ego who just happens to be a four foot three, baseball bat wielding rodent named Chief Chinchilla.

His first album, 1999’s Music For Tu Madre, began life as a college senior project, but quickly caught on with the underground scene. He then released a ton of albums - with his Old Maid Billionaires crew, solo, with collaborators like Celph Titled, and even a record of malt liquor jingles.

But by 2009, he was noticing diminishing returns financially and creatively, and decided to get out of the rap game, a decision he explored in his 2011 memoir Root for the Villain: Rap, Bull$hit, and a Celebration of Failure. In a surprising turn of events, the book’s success inspired him to return to music to create his first new solo album in nine years, 2013’s Peter Pan Syndrome.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/108/ for full show notes and comments.

Janette Beckman has taken some of the most iconic photos out there not only of hip-hop, but of music and youth culture as a whole. She got her start in Britain in the late 1970s, using her art-school education to take photos of the then-burgeoning punk movement. But in 1983, she saw the very first international hip-hop tour, and was so taken by the music and culture that she hopped on a plane to New York City and never left.

She has taken classic photos of LL Cool J, Salt N’ Pepa, NWA, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Afrika Bambaataa, and tons more. She’s also shot famous album covers for the likes of EPMD, Ultramagnetic MCs, Run-DMC, the Police, Gang Starr, and others. And if that wasn’t enough, she’s also done popular photo series on Mexican street gangs, Harlem bikers, and underground fight clubs.

We talked to Janette about the entirety of her life and career, and got the inside stories behind tons of her iconic photographs and album covers. You can see her hip-hop work for yourself through September 13th at the Museum of the City of New York in Manhattan, as part of the exhibition Hip-Hop Revolution: Photographs by Janette Beckman, Joe Conzo, and Martha Cooper. On June 3rd at 6:30 PM, Janette, past Cipher guest Bill Adler, and upcoming Cipher guest Cey Adams will be part of a panel called “Hip Hop’s Visual Style: A Look Behind the Scenes” at the Museum.

NOTE: To see Janette’s photos that we talk about on this episode, you can scroll through the pictures on Imgur or watch the episode on YouTube.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/109/ for full show notes and comments.

Al “Blueprint” Shepard is a Columbus, Ohio-based emcee and producer. He got his start in that city’s vital scene in the late 1990s, along with talents like RJD2, Copywrite, and Camu Tao. However, most rap fans first heard his unique voice, freestyle skills, and creative, melodic beats either via his work on the influential Rhymesayers label, or in his duo with RJ called Soul Position.

Blueprint has been all over the map musically – from straight ahead boom-bap to electronic experimentation to jazzy instrumentals to full-length tributes to his favorite bands. But he’s brought his unique musical sensibilities and inquisitive, ever-searching nature to all of it.

His latest album, released this past April, is King No Crown.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/110/ for full show notes and comments.

Vinnie Paz founded the group Jedi Mind Tricks when he was a teenager in mid-90s Philly. His raps about politics, mythology, war, religion, conspiracy theories, and the paranormal set him apart immediately from most of the underground rap of the era.

The group’s full-length debut was The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness, a bizarre, fascinating, and uncompromising concept album. In 2000, they put out by Violent By Design, a more streamlined and aggressive record that got a lot of attention and remains a fan favorite to this day.

Vinnie and Jedi Mind Tricks would continue through ups and downs, with frequent collaborator Jus Allah and producer and co-founder Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind moving in and out of the group over the years. Vinnie has also released records under his own name, with the Army of the Pharaohs collective, and with Ill Bill as the duo “Heavy Metal Kings.” Through it all, his expansive vision, powerful style, and devotion to his fans has remained consistent. His latest release with a reunited Jedi Mind Tricks is The Thief and the Fallen.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/111/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we talk to Cey Adams – artist, graphic designer, “fourth Beastie,” and founding Creative Director at Def Jam.

Adams got his start as a graffiti writer in his native New York City, and moved from the vibrant graf world into the same East Village art scene as people like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. In 1982, he met Russell Simmons, and quickly started designing anything and everything visual for Simmons’ management company and, shortly afterwards, his new record label Def Jam. At around the same time, Adams met and befriended the Beastie Boys. He has designed countless tour t-shirts, logos, stage backdrops, and album covers for the group.

Adams designed and oversaw historic album covers and logos not only for Def Jam artists like Public Enemy and Slick Rick, but also Bad Boy, Universal, MCA, and others – including the album cover to Big’s Ready to Die and the now-iconic signature-style logo for Mary J. Blige. In addition, he has designed logos and products for The Chapelle Show, NYC’s Hot 97 radio station, Nike, Coca-Cola, and more.

As if that wasn’t enough, Adams co-authored the book DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop and designed the definitive book Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label.

A special note: to see a gallery of many of the images Cey is talking about during our interview, click here.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/112/ for full show notes and comments.

Mikel “Lil Slim” Pettis began his rap career as a teenager in New Orleans in the early 1990s, performing in nightclubs around the city. He was discovered by a then brand-new record label called Cash Money Records. Slim signed with them and became a key part of the first generation of artists on that label - acts like UNLV, PxMxWx, Pimp Daddy, Ms. Tee, Mr. Ivan, and many more, who would quickly turn Cash Money into a regional powerhouse just as the city was inventing a rap style of its own, a raunchy, call-and-response based approach called “bounce.”

During his tenure on Cash Money, Slim discovered a young kid from his neighborhood who, despite being only 10 or 11, already had a notebook full of memorable raps. Slim hooked that kid up with his label, and thus began the career of Lil Wayne.

Lil Slim left Cash Money after his 1995 album Thuggin and Pluggin, citing concerns over his label’s business practices that sound like they could be ripped from today’s headlines. He’s released several projects since then, including most recently the third volume of his Platinum Edition EP series.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/113/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, our guest is Benjy Melendez, founder, President, and singer of the Ghetto Brothers. He is joined by his co-author and friend, Amir Said.

The Ghetto Brothers were one of the largest and most powerful street gangs in the Bronx in the late 1960s and early 70s - a time when the borough, and New York City as a whole, had plenty to choose from. At its height, the organization had around 2,000 members city-wide.

But after one of their key figures got killed by rival gangs, Benjy devoted his efforts to peace, and held a now-famous peace treaty meeting at the Hoe Avenue center in the Bronx in 1971 - a gathering that set the stage for the ending of the gang era and the beginnings of hip-hop.

In addition to being a powerful organization, the Ghetto Brothers were also a rock and roll band. They only released one album, 1971’s Power Fuerza, but it became a prized collectors item, notable for its surprisingly sweet lyrics and Beatle-esque melodies, Latin percussion, and unique backstory.

While parts of Benjy’s story have been shared in the new documentary Rubble Kings and even in a graphic novel, the new book by Benjy and Amir Said, Ghetto Brother: How I Found Peace in the South Bronx Street Gang Wars, is the first place Benjy shares his entire life story.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/114/ for full show notes and comments.

The 45 King has produced some of the most popular rap songs of the past few decades, for artists like Jay Z and Eminem. But before that, he took his keen ear for a funky loop and put it into the creation of beats for one of Golden Age rap’s greatest crews, The Flavor Unit. He served as beatmaker and tour DJ for the Unit’s breakout star, Queen Latifah, producing and mixing the vast majority of her gold debut album, 1989’s All Hail the Queen.

His work with other Flavor Unit members like Latee, Apache, and Lakim Shabazz, his own instrumentals like the classic “The 900 Number,” as well as songs outside his crew with acts like Gang Starr, Eric B & Rakim, and even Madonna cemented his reputation as one of rap’s hottest producers.

After a few years out of the public eye, the 45 King returned with a sparse, Annie-sampling beat that Jay Z turned into his career-making hit “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem).” Shortly afterwards, the producer turned an obscure Dido song into one of Eminem’s biggest hits with “Stan.” We caught up with the 45 King at his home in New Jersey, famous subway turnstile still intact, to discuss his storied career.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/115/ for full show notes and comments.

Luther Campbell needs no introduction. Since starting his career as a DJ in Miami in the late 1970s, he’s been an innovator musically, culturally, business-wise, and even legally. As the mastermind behind 2 Live Crew, Campbell guided the group’s change from a California-based conscious rap group into a pioneering Southern crew who popularized Miami bass music, and whose raunchy lyrics were often imitated.

It was those same raunchy lyrics that would land Campbell and the group in repeated legal hot water. Luke fought and won legal battles not only for his group’s right to be, as his most popular and controversial record would have it, “as nasty as they wanna be,” but also for record stores’ right to sell his work. He also took a battle to parody songs all the way to the Supreme Court - and won. Simultaneously, he was running the fiercely independent Luke Records, which was for a time the largest black-owned record label in the country, and discovering acts like Poison Klan, Trick Daddy, and Pitbull.

Luke has also been fiercely devoted to the children of his native Liberty City neighborhood, starting a popular youth football league, coaching teams himself, and even running for Mayor of Miami in 2011. His latest venture is a memoir (with Tanner Colby) that covers his wild life and times, as well as the history of his hometown. It’s called The Book of Luke: My Fight for Truth, Justice, and Liberty City, published by Amistad.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/116/ for full show notes and comments.

Kevin “K-Def” Hansford is a producer with a long and storied legacy. He hooked up with Marley Marl in the early 1990s and became a key part of Marley’s famed studio The House of Hits. While under Marley’s wing, he produced great records for Tragedy, Da Youngsta’s, and more. But it was his work with Lords of the Underground that would really cement his reputation. K-Def produced half a dozen songs on the group’s classic debut, 1993’s Here Come the Lords, including the omnipresent “Chief Rocka.”

After leaving Marley’s tutelage, K-Def’s production career continued, with songs by Ghostface, Diddy, UGK, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and even his own group, the duo Real Live. In recent years, K-Def has released a number of stellar instrumental works with Redefinition Records, and continues to find new ways to expand the palette of sample-based music.

NOTE: This episode, we have a special contest. Find the answers to the two questions below in this interview, and you can win prize packs from Redefinition Records. E-mail your answers to contest@theciphershow.com by September 7th, and three winners will be chosen at random from all the correct answers.

Question 1: Which artists ended up with a K-Def beat that was originally supposed to be on Illmatic?

Question 2: What song does K-Def credit with marking the end of sample-based hip-hop?

1 Grand Prize: K-Def’s Tape Two on vinyl & cassette + Damu’s Public Assembly Vol. 2 CD

2 Runner-Up Prizes: K-Def’s Tape Two cassette + Damu’s Public Assembly Vol. 2 CD

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/117/ for full show notes and comments.

Joe Conzo Jr. has been called “the man who took hip-hop’s baby pictures” by the New York Times – a title that’s right on the money. Conzo, a third-generation Bronx native, first got into photography as a young boy and took to shooting pictures of his neighborhood.

But it was when he followed some high school friends who had formed a rap group to an early concert that he really found his calling. That group, the Cold Crush Brothers, was perhaps the most influential of hip-hop’s first generation. Joe was there to document their every step, from high school gymnasiums to giant clubs and movie sets. His pictures provide the single best visual record of hip-hop’s early years.

Personal troubles caused Joe to put away his camera for many years. But over the past decade, his work has been re-discovered and used for documentaries, exhibited in museums all over the world - including the Museum of the City of New York, where an exhibit of his photos is running until September 27th - and even published in a book, Born In The Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop. A fictional version of Joe appears in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Netflix series The Get Down, about the early days of hip-hop, where the real Joe was on set as a behind the scenes photographer.

NOTE: To see the photographs that we talk about during this interview, visit this episode’s photo gallery at Imgur

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/118/ for full show notes and comments.

Denaun Porter is best-known as a member of the group D12 – a collective that also featured one of his best friends, a fellow Detroit rapper named Eminem. But Denaun’s real passion has always been for production.

Porter got his start as a beatmaker (after some tips from a young Dilla) with Em’s hard-to-find debut album Infinite, which he produced in its entirety. But as his pal teamed up with Dr. Dre, so did he. Denaun quickly began producing songs for Xzibit, 50 Cent and G-Unit, Busta Rhymes, Rakim, Pharoahe Monch, and lots more.

After the death of fellow D12 member and longtime Eminem hypeman DeShaun “Proof” Holton in 2006, Porter took a break from music. But he’s returned stronger than ever, releasing a brand-new solo EP, Stuff in my Backpack, and taking up his late friend’s hypeman job on top of it.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/119/ for full show notes and comments.

Duval “Masta Ace” Clear is a rap legend whose career dates back to his time with the Juice Crew in the late 1980s. That historic rap collective, led by producer Marley Marl, included stars like Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shante, and Kool G. Rap.

Ace made his recording debut on what is arguably hip-hop’s greatest posse cut, Marley Marl’s “The Symphony.” The success of that song led to Ace’s debut album, 1990’s Take A Look Around, which featured the comic hit “Me and the Biz.”

After leaving Marley’s orbit, Ace successfully reinvented himself with critically beloved albums like SlaughtaHouse and Sittin’ on Chrome - the latter of which, with its West Coast-sounding beats and songs about car culture, got him in a little bit of trouble with a few of his fellow New Yorkers.

After several years of career ups and downs, Ace reinvigorated his career with the 2001 album Disposable Arts. The success of that album, and the renewed audience it brought to his live performances, led to a career upswing that has continued to this day. Ace has released numerous solo, duo, and group albums in the ensuing decade and a half, and tours heavily by himself and with his group EMC. His latest album, with eMC, is called The Tonite Show.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/120/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we have a two guests for you. In the first half of the show, we talk to Baje One, the rapping half of the long-running underground duo Junk Science. And in part two, we sit down with NIKO IS, a Florida-by-way-of-Brazil rapper whose world-class freestyling skills put him on the radar of none other than Talib Kweli, who signed Niko to his Javotti Media label.

Baje One and his group’s producer, DJ Snafu, first met in in their native NYC in the mid-1990s and have been making smart, funny, and ambitious music together since 2003. The success of their 2005 debut album Feeding Einstein led to a deal with El-P’s seminal Def Jux label, which put out their 2007 follow-up, Gran’dad’s Nerve Tonic. The album, in the first of a long run of packaging innovations from the group, came with its own beer, brewed by Sixpoint Craft Ales. Since then, Baje has released three more albums with the group, and several solo and collaborative projects.

NIKO IS was born in Rio De Janeiro, but has spent his rapping life in sunny Orlando, Florida. He made a name for himself in his adopted city as a teenager with his almost supernatural freestyling skills, and started releasing mixtapes in 2012 with Chill Cosby. The following year, he would cross paths with Kweli, and eventually sign to the rapper’s label. NIKO’s first album on Javotti, Brutus, was released earlier this year.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/121/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we talk to Thembisa Mshaka. Thembisa is an author, journalist, copywriter, filmmaker, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. In her career, she’s given the likes of Common and D’Angelo their first magazine covers as the rap editor of The Gavin Report; helped people like Nas, Lauryn Hill, and Beyonce sell over 150 million records during her time writing ad copy at Sony; and wrote and directed multiple film projects, from shorts to documentaries to features.

As if that wasn’t enough, she also found time to write the definitive how-to book for women in the entertainment business, Put Your Dreams First: Handle Your [entertainment] Business. Her latest film, Biscuit, has its New York City premiere this Saturday, October 3rd, at NYC’s Ocktober Film Festival.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/122/ for full show notes and comments.

This week, we talk to MF Grimm, along with his producer and group-mate Drasar Monumental. Grimm is a rapper, producer, and now an award-winning comic book writer, who is just now making some of the greatest music of his long and storied career.

After growing up in the New York City of the 70s and 80s - and making a short stint as a child actor on Sesame Street - Grimm began his hip-hop career on the city’s battle scene. He quickly gained attention, started ghostwriting for more successful acts, and was on the verge of solo stardom when he was shot and paralyzed in 1993, in an incident that also killed his brother.

Grimm recovered, and even executive produced his friend MF Doom’s 1999 solo debut Operation: Doomsday, which was recorded in the basement of Grimm’s Rockland County house. Starting in 2001, he began releasing a string of powerful solo albums that molded the ups and downs of his life into powerful artistic statements. He also moved into another medium, writing the autobiographical graphic novel Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm.

Since 2012, he has been working on the Good Morning Vietnam trilogy of albums with our second guest, producer Drasar Monumental.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/123/ for full show notes and comments.