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.

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.

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.

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.

Sacha Jenkins is a journalist, filmmaker, TV producer, author, musician, and all-around hip-hop polymath. He got his start chronicling graffiti and rap music in homemade zines before joining with a diverse crew of hip-hop obsessives to form the collective that came to be known as Ego Trip. That crew was responsible for a successful and influential magazine, two books, and multiple television projects – all of which explored music and race through a smart, funny, occasionally inflammatory lens.

In addition to his work with Ego Trip and writing about hip-hop for basically every other outlet that covered it, Sacha has co-written many books about graffiti, co-wrote Eminem’s autobiography The Way I Am, played in rock and hardcore bands, and has done much more than we can fit in this space. His latest project is a documentary film about hip-hop fashion called Fresh Dressed.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/124/ for full show notes and comments.

Darlene Ortiz is best-known for her iconic pose on the cover of Ice-T’s 1988 album Power, a shot that no one who has seen it has ever forgotten. But there’s far more to her than bathing suits and guns.

She was right by Ice-T’s side during his rise to the top of the rap game. The two met when Darlene was a 17 year old hip-hop obsessive, and she and Ice quickly became rap’s first power couple. She appeared on his album covers and in his videos, and was right by his side for tours, TV appearances, movie roles, and the infamous “Cop Killer” controversy.

Darlene has a brand-new memoir called DEFINITION OF DOWN:My Life with Ice T and the Birth of Hip Hop, published by Over the Edge Books.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/131/ for full show notes and comments.

David “Chino” Villorente is not only one of the foremost graffiti artists ever to pick up a spray can, he’s also a true historian of the art form. His work has been seen on television, in magazines, and in galleries. He has also written numerous books about different aspects of graffiti culture (including several with our Episode 124 guest Sacha Jenkins) , and served a huge role in popularizing the culture as the editor of The Source’s influential “Graf Flix” column.

To see all of the art we talk about during this episode, check out this episode’s image gallery.

In addition, Chino gave us a very special playlist of music that inspired him during his writing days. You can check it out on our YouTube page.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/162/ for full show notes and comments.

Joe Budden first came to prominence in the mixtape scene of the early 2000s, due to an affiliation with DJ Clue’s Desert Storm crew, which also included Fabolous, the A-Team, and more. His 2003 debut self-titled album yielded a smash hit with “Pump It Up,” but the record’s sales didn’t match expectations, and led to problems between Joe and his label Def Jam - problems that would play out across the rapper’s increasingly popular and well-regarded Mood Muzik mixtape series.

Joe’s introspective, heavily personal style won him a devoted fanbase – one that he reached out to directly via the Internet, well before that became the standard thing to do. He nurtured those fans by continuing to release superb projects like Padded Room, A Loose Quarter, and No Love Lost. But he also expanded into new realms by appearing on the TV shows Love & Hip Hop and Couples Therapy. He has also moved into podcasting with his popular show I’ll Name This Podcast Later.

Joe’s new album, out this coming Friday, October 21st, is a collaboration with the producer AraabMuzik called Rage & the Machine.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/172/ for full show notes and comments.

Ben Westhoff is an award-winning journalist and hip-hop contributor who has worked for almost every major media outlet: the Guardian, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Vice, NPR, L.A. Weekly, the Wall Street Journal, and more. He wrote the 2011 book Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-Hop.

But none of that is why we wanted to talk to him. Westhoff’s new book is Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap. As the title implies, it tells the whole story of rap in Los Angeles and beyond, from the birth of the scene in the 1980s through the tragic deaths of Tupac, Biggie, and Eazy-E over a decade later. The book is fascinating and exhaustive, with tons of never-before-reported information about the lives and careers of the scene’s key players.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/177/ for full show notes and comments.

Ron is a producer who is best known for his time as part of Bad Boy Records’ Hitmen production collective. Ron teamed up with Deric “D Dot” Angelettie, Diddy, Stevie J, and Nashiem Myrick to create iconic hits for Biggie, Mase, Diddy, Faith Evans, Mary J Blige, The Lox, and many more. After that run ended, Ron made beats for the likes of Beyoncé, Aretha Franklin, and Luther Vandross.

Ron is also a hip-hop historian and documentarian, and has made several films dealing with unjustly ignored aspects of hip-hop’s history. Most notable among these is the documentary Founding Fathers, which deals with the mobile DJ scene of the 1970s in Brooklyn and Queens. Any fan of the genre needs to see the movie in order to understand that there was a lot more to DJing in that era than just what was happening in the Bronx.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/207/ for full show notes and comments.

Evidence first became known to most hip-hop fans as a member of Dilated Peoples. The group, which consists of Ev, Rakaa Iriscience, and the virtuosic DJ Babu, were beloved champions of hip-hop’s underground in the early 2000s.

After a number of successful Dilated projects, Evidence decided to go solo in 2007 with The Weatherman. Since then, he’s continued to release music on his own, with the group, and even with his longtime friend, the producer Alchemist, as the Step Brothers. His latest release is Weather or Not.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/232/ for full show notes and comments.

Sage Francis and B. Dolan are both from Providence, are both rappers who have roots in spoken word, have toured and sporadically recorded together for years, and even share a label—the Sage-founded Strange Famous Records. But it has taken them until 2018 to release a full project as a duo: the Epic Beard Men.

Sage is a beloved underground rap veteran who has been releasing albums of his smart, introspective, and emotional music consistently since 2002, and touring the universe maniacally to support them—all while running Strange Famous. B. Dolan is an equally talented wordsmith whose solo work is as likely to give new life to old union hymn as it is to pay tribute to the Ol’ Dirty Bastard. The group has a new EP, Season 1, and an album on the way.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/234/ for full show notes and comments.

Soundset is a festival in the Minneapolis area put on by the Rhymesayers label. It’s been running since 2008, and has grown from a show in a warehouse to a day-long outdoor event featuring some of music’s biggest acts.

This past May, we went to the festival to hang out and talk to the performers, and and this is the second of two episodes where you can hear the results. This time, you’ll find conversations with Murs, Nikki Jean, OG Grip, and Evidence. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the conclusion of The Cipher’s Soundset special.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/242/ for full show notes and comments.

The University of Birmingham is set to host its first Arts & Science Festival to showcase the wealth of ideas, research and collaboration across its campus.

With the age of literary correspondence dying, it seems more important than ever to provide spaces of warmth and comfort in which writers can not only retreat

Financial advisers from across the West Midlands attended a course on auto enrolment yesterday – the new regime for workplace pensions that has begun to roll out.

How Welsh National Opera is helping city music students

Birmingham conference aims to improve arts access for disabled youngsters.

Donors needed at Birmingham Donor Centre due to low stocks.

"Help us to help you get the treatment you need across Birmingham and Solihull."

Joey and Lee talk about everything from cats, sports and music. Joey's childhood friend Loubs calls in. Originally aired 9/3/12. 

Joey and Lee chat about music, comedy, tv and life. Mr. T, one of Joeys teachers calls in.

Originally aired 09/05/2012.

Joey and Lee get ready for the first week of the NFL season, and more important betting season. Joey tells us about something great he saw at the ATM drive thru. And childhood friend Greg calls in. 

Streamed 09/09/2012

Joey and Lee talk about the anniversary of 9/11, techniques for losing weight and Joey tells a story about when he hid in a dumpster all day.

Joey's ex - girl friend Devan calls in. They talk about their crazy days in Seattle.

Recorded live 09/10/2012

Joey and Lee talk about his betting days, his days as a thief, and Joey gives dating advice to Albert, a 50 man from Boston.

Tim, the driver in the Jewlery store heist calls in to talk about the upcomming anniversary. 

Live Streamed on 09/10/2012.

Joey and Lee talk about Joey's trip to the mid west, people standing on line, stinky people on planes and much much more. 

Get it together!

Recorded 09/17/2012

Joey and Lee talk music, the best comedy movies, and about the character of the people in this country. Joey's childhood friend Martin calls in for one of the best conversations so far. 

Live streamed on 09/19/2012

Joey and Lee talk about UFC 152, the NFL games, and more childhood stories. Joey's friend, who also happens to be named Joey, calls in to talk about growing up in North Bergen and Joey Diaz' best friend and the other Joey's cousin,  Darren. You won't want to miss this conversation.

Recorded live on 09/23/2012

Joey and Lee talk about living life to the fullest, what it was like robbing gas stations, and why he cant go back to Seattle. Joey's friend since summer school, George, calls in.

Streamed Live on 09/24/2012

Joey and Lee talk with his friend Mike who was with Joey in Colorado durring the cocaine "explosion." Listen to find out what kind of animal tranquilizer Joey used to take to relax. 

Streamed live on 09/26/2012

Joey and Lee talk about his time in Baltimore, how lucky he is to have his group of friends, and how to live your life without caring how other people think. Joey's friend Steve calls in to talk about music and the Pink Floyd Story.

Streamed Live on 10/01/2012

Joey and Lee talk about Joey's upcoming blood test, other "medical tests." and some of the teachers Joey had as a kid. Joey's friend Uncle Mike called in to talk about their days as "running partners" in Boulder and later in Los Angeles. And you'll never guess who contacted Joey on Facebook.

Streamed live on 10/03/2012

Joey and Lee talk about what it means to have character, how to be confident and what confidence can do for you. Also, even though Joey is from New Jersey, you may be surprised to find out how he feels about the Boston Red Sox. Joey's adopted brother Mike calls in and they talk about their days living in Mike's basement.

Streamed live on 10/05/2012

Joey and Lee talk about fake people, being upfront with people and what Joey thinks people should know when looking for a new car. Joey's friend from North Bergen, Guy, calls in and talks about music and growing up in North Bergen.

Live Streamed on October 8, 2012

Joey and Lee talk about how much going home can help someone in need, what it means to have a women in your life and weed stories. Speaking of which, George calls back to tell us what happened when he left a pot cookie out at his 91 year old grandmother's house.

Streamed live on 10/10/2012

Joey and Lee come together on a Special Sunday edition of The Church of What's Happening Now. They talk about UFC 153, weight loss problems and tips, and people on twitter. Joey tells the story of when he first got interested in the UFC and met Anderson SIlva and his manager.

Streamed live on 10/14/12

Joey and Lee talk about Bruce Lee, weed, the UFC and the merits of spending an entire day watching football. Joey's friend Danny B. calls in to after losing touch with Joey for a few years. They talk about Danny's betting service, Joey bringing him guns from Colorado, and Danny's brother who robbed a bank with fishing wire. You wont believe which sports figure Danny has working for him at his company. 

Brought to you by Audible.com. Got to audible.com/church for a free audiobook download.

Streamed live on 10/15/2012

Welcome back! Joey and Lee talk about Lynyrd Skynyrd, working out and much mucch more. This is a crazy episode. Find out what happens when Joey gets too high before he goes to the YMCA. Joeys friend Political Pete calls in and they talk about the cop owned strip club, the Meadowlands Inn. Finally, Joey breaks down one of the greatest movie monologues of all time! Dont miss it.

This episode is brought to you by Audible.com. Go to audiblepodcast.com/church for your free audio book download.

Streamed Live on 10/17/2012

Joey and Lee catch up after a long weekend. Joey breaks down how people used to make "street money." Find out why Joey hates restraining orders. Joey's friend who later became a cop in North Bergen calls into the podcast. Joey plays a scene from The Pope of Grewnich Village. 

Streamed live on 10/22/2012

Joey and Lee with guest Chucky from Joey's days playing basketball in North Bergen. Listen to fond out how to get into Madison Square Garden without a ticket.

Recorded live on 10/24/2012

Joey and Lee have another special edition Sunday gamblng podcast. Joey also gives Lee dating advice. Special Gambling guest Danny B calls in again.

Recorded live on 10/28/2012

Joey and Lee talk about Michael Vick, getting more from your life, and the movie Angel Heart. Joey's friend Jim calls in. He was Joey's boss at Boulder Toyota and taught him about writing down goals every day.

Streamed live on 10/19/2012

Joey and Lee talk about the recent tragedy on the East Coast and what it means for Obama. And Joey's friend Loubs calls in with the update from North Bergen.  Finally, Lee's most uncomfortable moment in life caught on tape. Words cannot describe what takes place.

Streamed live on 10/31/2012

Joey and Lee are back. Joey talks about losing his dear friend Marilyn, the movie Once Upon a Time in the West, and some of the famous singers the Joey cannot stand. Joey's friend Mike calls in to talk about elections in North Bergen.

Streamed live on 11/05/2012

Joey and Lee talk about the election, tattoos, weight loss and much more. George from MMA junkie calls in to talk about health and give some UFC picks. Hear where network tv was 25 years ago.

Streamed live on 11/07/2012

Joey and Lee talk about his trips to Chicago and San Diego, Joey's regret about not joining the armed forces, and Music from the Santana Brothers. Joeys friend, also named Joey, calls back to talk about reading his dad's name at the Vietnam memorial and to tell North Bergen Stories.

Recorded live on 11/11/12

Joey and Lee talk about the upcoming anniversary of Joey kidnapping the guy with a machine gun. They also talk about dating, thank you notes, and the reason why Joey picks some movies over others. The Machine, Bert Kreischer joins us on the podcast today. Dont miss it.

Streamed live on 11/15/2012 

Joey is back from a weekend in Arizona. Joey talks about his feelings on immigrants speaking English, the situation in Israel, and weight loss. Speaking of weight loss Mike Dolce of the Dolce Diet calls in. Check out his holiday recipe book and his website the dolediet.com. Also check out our sponsor Onnit.com, maker of Alpha Brain, new Mood and much much more. Use the code "Church" for a special discount.

11/19/2012

Happy Thanksgiving! Joey and Lee talk about a dream Joey had, Joey getting way too high, and Rodney Dangerfield. An amazing call from Alex, Joey's roommate in the halfway house makes for an amazing podcast.

Visit Onnit.com and use the promo code CHURCH for a special discount

Streamed live on 11/21/2012