On a single Saturday in 2000, Marshall Mathers assaulted two separate men with a pistol and fought with his wife outside a nightclub, resulting in lawsuits and charges that hung over the completion of his original trilogy of albums. For that one day, the rap persona Slim Shady had escaped into the real world. How had Slim Shady come to be, and why had he gotten out? For a full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.com This episode was originally published on November 5, 2019. To listen...

This week in the After Party, Jake has the 1970s on his mind as he prepares for next week's episode on Al Pacino. We want to know: Who is the greatest actor of the 1970s? What films and performances from the 70s do you continually revisit? Plus, the conversation about great female singers of the 21st century continues - join the party at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod. To cop some new merch, head to disgracelandpod.com/merch now! To hear an extended...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks about how his sixteen-year-old self influenced who he is today. We want to know: What were you listening to when you were a teenager? Whose poster was on your wall? How did your cultural obsessions when you were a teen shape who you are today? Jake takes your emails, texts, and voicemails and gets into your takes on who the greatest female singer of the 21st century is. Plus, Jake tackles your suggestions for future episode subjects. Get in touch with...

Slick Rick has one of the most iconic voices in hip hip history. His style is completely his own, and his success owes as much to his delivery as it does to his hustle. Slick Rick worked hard to get to the top, and once he made it he was nearly cut down by drugs and violence - violence inflicted upon him by someone from his inner circle. Listen to hear how Slick Rick fought back and continued his flow. This episode was originally released on June 11, 2019. To see the full list of...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks about the artists who have faced challenges to their mental health and wonders if they actually have a truer perception of reality beyond what the rest of us can see. Jake takes your emails, texts, and voicemails, and explains the origins of his unique accent. Plus, we want to know: who is your favorite female singer from the 21st century, and what makes her great? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials...

Donny Hathaway was a singer, songwriter, and performer so inspiring that he compelled Stevie Wonder to change the way he sang, got Amy Winehouse to name-check him in her lyrics, and made musical giants like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin stand up and take notice. But he was as troubled as he was talented. He suffered from hallucinations and paranoia, and was haunted in the recording studio just hours before his mysterious death at the age of 33. This episode contains themes that may be...

What happens when the hardest working man in show business takes a break? Idle hands are indeed the devil’s workshop. This episode will detail James Brown’s scorching career as well as the scorching high speed chase he led cops on that led to his arrest and jail sentencing for drugs and firearms. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. This episode was originally published on June 26, 2018. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks about the unique social conditions that created the vibrant 1970s NYC music scene that birthed Talking Heads, the subject of this week's episode. Crime, grime, sanitation strikes, baseball, blackouts - Jake covers it all, plus your emails texts, and voicemails. What are the best books and films about 1970s New York? Where were you when the lights went out? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and...

From 1976 to 1977, unsuspecting young people in New York City were snuck up on in the darkness and shot in cold blood. Six dead, murdered by David Berkowitz, AKA the Son of Sam, a serial killer who held all five boroughs in the grip of fear for one year. A year in which punk rock and new wave took hold, the Yankees went on a tear, a garbage strike left trash rotting in the heat, a blackout plunged millions into terror and violence…and the singer of a new band called Talking Heads got to work...

Whitney Houston was The Voice. A stunning beauty. An early MTV star and leading actress. But when she passed away in a hotel suite bath, the music industry gala downstairs that she was supposed to attend went on without her. How did it all come to this? The drugs and her husband Bobby Brown weren’t answers, just ways to avoid the question: what was the private tragedy of Whitney Houston? For a full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.com This episode was originally published on...

Ray Charles was hooked on heroin, arrested by federal agents, and once survived a near-death plane ride by helping the pilot - as a blind man. He invented R&B. He was powerful enough to bring black and white culture into one. He was a genre-melding musical genius. Despite being born into a literal dirt poor existence in the Jim Crow era Deep South, despite going completely blind by the age of seven, and despite his addiction, Ray Charles influenced everyone from the Beatles to Belushi....

Gianni Versace was a runway iconoclast who outfitted the likes of Madonna, Demi Moore, Prince, Sylvester Stallone, and Don Johnson. He lived like Louis XIV and counted Princess Di and Elton John among his friends. He was plagued by rumors of ties to the Calabrian mafia and a secret health diagnosis. Those rumors continued to persist long after he was gunned down by a serial killer who had been on the lam after murdering four other men in three states. This episode contains themes that may be...

Few pop artists achieved the dizzying creative and career highs that Prince did. An artist who famously stayed away from drugs and most anything that would cause him to lose control, Prince was aided in his legendary musical output by a small army of creative alter egos, who helped him maintain control and helped him reign supreme as one of the greatest pop musicians of all time, until of course, all control was lost. This episode was originally published on June 9, 2020. To view the full...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks different music scenes, balancing points of view, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on Bobby Brown, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. What is the greatest music scene of all time? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To cop some new merch, head to disgracelandpod.com/merch now! To hear an extended version of the After Party with a story about a young...

Bobby Brown thrusted and gyrated his way to the top of the charts with Don’t Be Cruel, one of the biggest records of the late 1980s and an album that brought hip-hop’s hard-knock sensibilities to R&B. But fame did not change the Boston bad boy. At the height of his superstardom, Bobby Brown was arrested onstage for violating a lewd act law. He claimed to have a sexual encounter with a ghost at his lavish Atlanta mansion. And his party-hard ways may have been the reason why Mike Tyson...

In 1968, Van Morrison was hiding out from the New York City Mafia in Boston, Massachusetts. Recently the victim of a physical attack from a Genovese crime family member, Morrison was desperately trying to piece together a band to complete what would become his landmark creative statement, Astral Weeks. One of the musicians who would help him achieve this goal—a young, handsome guitar player from Emerson College named Rick Philp—would mysteriously go missing and eventually wind up dead....

This week in the After Party, Jake talks boring versus exciting news, charitable organizations, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on OJ Simpson, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. What charitable organization benefiting victims of drunk driving should Jake donate to? Which three disgraced athletes would you team up with for your fantasy charity golf tournament? Where were you when OJ Simpson was leading police on a chase in his white Bronco? Drop a line at...

This is not the O.J. Simpson story you were expecting. This is the story of what happened after the former running back was acquitted of the murder of his ex-wife and her friend. It’s an insane story that involves sports memorabilia, ex-cons, a gun, a simple plan gone horribly wrong, and one of the most unbelievable armed robberies in Las Vegas’s sordid history. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including domestic violence and graphic depictions of...

XXXTentacion was one of Generation Z’s most talented hip hop stars but his ascent was marked by violence and drama; beatdowns, beefs (what’s up, Drake?) and abuse. XXXTentacion’s music quickly rose from Soundcloud to the top of the charts due in part to the relative loneliness and alienation he repped in his lyrics, sentiments his audience quickly latched onto. XXXTentacion’s connection to his audience was (and still is even in death) unique and powerful. Their connection via social...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks the super-fame of José Canseco, the exploits of Dock Ellis, performance... altering? drugs, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on José Canseco, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. What athletes embody the rock star vibe? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with stories about José Canseco's legendary...

Jose Canseco was a big league slugger who gave the people what they wanted. Not just massive home runs and a whole lot of stolen bases. He provided entertainment. And his audience, not just baseball fans but the world, ate it up. The private encounter with Madonna in her apartment that nearly cost him a spot on the roster. The obsession with performance enhancing drugs that made him the self-proclaimed godfather of steroids. But entertaining quickly spun out of control. Car crashes. SWAT...

TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was known as “the crazy one.” She did, after all, burn down the mansion of her boyfriend, NFL player Andre Rison. But given the fact that it was done after one of many domestic assaults, Disgraceland sees Left Eye as a badass—and not “the crazy one.” This episode digs into what really happened that night, who Lisa Lopes really was as a person, and the details surrounding her own premature death. This episode was originally published on April 17, 2018. To see the...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks the nefarious nature of social media, the public's denial of obvious horrors, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on R. Kelly, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. Is R. Kelly the most evil villain in music history? Drop a line at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with a story about R. Kelly attempting to bribe his brother...

R. Kelly openly groomed teenage victims while on trial for child pornography – a trial based on sex tapes that were once sold at Tower Records. He wrote a song designed to help Michael Jackson turn attention away from his own troubling allegations, and he wrote that song while he was illegally married to a 15-year old. That marriage eventually brought about his downfall. But not before R. Kelly went on a 20-year reign of terror – all conducted in plain sight while he was one of the biggest...