While in New York City for a month-long stint of filming sketches for An Ode To Hannibal Buress, I was asked to help film an acoustic performance of Young Fathers’ “Only Child” for Okayafrica. A sister channel of Okayplayer, Okayafrica specializes...
Anik Khan is a SMNTCS favorite who makes us believe in the Brown Alliance that Q-Tip once rapped about– and his new single, “Renegade,” is only serving to strengthen his impressive sophomore season. The Bengali-born, Astoria, Queens-raised MC is the...
By the time this picture was taken, Chuck D and I had met and interviewed several times, most recently for the UGK documentary. For some reason, he kept saying yes to my interview requests. I was 20 when we first met. At that age, you...
Drake and I have the same mentor: Bun B. I always wondered when we’d get to meet, and under what circumstances. Our first meeting ended up happening because of seeds I had planted several years prior, here’s the story… One sunny L.A. afternoon, I...
Before Paris, Chance the Rapper and I met in Houston when he was opening up for Mac Miller. I had lined up an interview with Mac for my UGK documentary (shoutout to Quentin Cuff), so Chance being there was just a bonus. While wandering around...
My first big project was the All Star Tribute to UGK documentary series. I made two of ’em. You might be asking, Who is UGK? I’ll tell you who, the god damn UnderGround Kingz. Pimp C and Bun B aka the Pimp and the Bun aka Tony Snow and...
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the 30th anniversary of this phenomenon we call Prince’s Purple Rain. On June 25th, 1984, six months after Michael Jackson’s Thriller premiered on MTV, the world was introduced to Prince, the icon....
JMSN, one of our personal favorites here at SMNTCS, has some new magic for our ears. The magic is called “Most of All,” and finds JMSN handling drums, piano, guitar, singing, and writing duties, with a little help from Aaron Provisor on the Rhodes, Yuki...
For part two of my spotlight on the newest Jet Life signee, Le$, we talked with Jet Life’s lead pilot himself, Curren$y, and a certified Houston veteran, Chamillionaire, who so far is the only Houston rapper to win a Grammy (for his inescapable 2006 hit,...
The story of An Ode to Hannibal Buress started with Bun B, as many good stories do, and wound up with Chris Rock getting involved. Here’s how it happened… Three and a half years ago, while working on my first surprise UGK documentary for Bun, I met...
