Marley Marl is a man of many talents. He’s blessed us with classic hit after classic hit, helped introduce some of the most important artists in hip-hop history, and has influenced just about everyone from Pete Rock to DJ Premier. But hip-hop is a young man’s game, so with the Queensbridge native eager to continue contributing to the culture, he’s found the perfect way to do so with a new podcast, Legendize.
Co-hosted by Marl and MC Craig G’s tour DJ Callie Ban, Legendize digs into the origin stories of some of hip-hop’s greatest heavyweights and dissects the classic records that helped define our childhood. It features candid interviews with hip-hop royalty, breaks down the history of iconic samples—which Premier might not be particularly fond of—and will provide an intimate peek into the sound and culture that changed the entire world.
During the show’s inaugural season, we’ll be treated to familiar names like DJ Clark Kent, KayGee of Naughty by Nature, and Juice Crew alumni like Big Daddy Kane and Roxanne Shante, with more guests to be announced. And in the show’s debut episode, fellow Juice Crew rapper MC Shan drops jewels on his creative process as both an artist and producer and he finally clears the air on his beef with Marl and KRS-One over the 1986 diss track “South Bronx”, which cemented The Bridge Wars into hip-hop lore.
Shan also digs into the history of songs like “The Bridge,” “Beat Biter,” and “Kill The Noise,” and offers some unique insight into other hip-hop favorites like the Juice Crew’s “Road to Riches,” “Plug Tunin’” by De La Soul, and Nas’ “Disciple.”
Ever since the tragic loss of podcasting pioneer Reggie “Combat Jack” Osse in 2017, there’s been a significant void in shows that not only examine and celebrate hip-hop’s founding mothers and fathers, but give them their flowers while they’re still here to appreciate them. Hopefully, Legendize disrupts this trend and creates a place for some of yesteryear’s greatest rappers and producers to revisit their contributions to the culture.
Legendize premiers on June 1st and you can listen to a trailer for the show below.