Episode notes
The album: Intro: Intro (Atlantic, 1993)
This week rapper, producer, and songwriter Phonte (Foreign Exchange, Little Brother) joins Oliver and Morgan to talk about R&B group Intro’s 1993 self-titled debut album. The release was part of the changing tide of R&B music, when slow jams were giving way to more uptempo hits and singers were exchanging suits for Timbs and jeans.
Phonte shares about what Intro’s brand of new jack swing meant to him as a teenager learning about life in Greensboro, North Carolina. Don’t get him wrong: he was a hardcore hip-hop head, but he grew up both in an R&B household and in the church where singing was a big part of his musical formation. Phonte breaks down the group’s influence on his understanding of songwriting, lyrics, and the balance between uptempo and down-tempo songs. He also discusses the album’s mature themes, crediting them for helping a young brother’s macking game.
More on Intro
More on Phonte:
- Phonte’s biography
- Phonte’s Twitter, Instagram
- More on Foreign Exchange’s latest release, Hide & Seek
- Hear Phonte every week on Pandora’s Questlove Supreme
Tracklisting:
- Intro: Love Thang
- Intro: Let Me Be The One
- Jodeci: Forever My Lady
- Brick: Dazz (1976)
- Heavy D & The Boyz: Mr. Big Stuff
- Jade: Don’t Walk Away (1992)
- A Tribe Called Quest: Award Tour
- Mary J. Blige – You Don’t Have To Worry
- Intro: Come Inside
- Intro: Why Don’t You Love Me?
- Intro: Ribbon in the Sky
- Intro: One of a Kind Love
- Faith Evans: Reasons
- Intro: Ecstasy of Love
- Intro: So Many Reasons
- Intro: Don’t Leave Me
- Intro: It’s All About You
- Foreign Exchange: If She Breaks Your Heart (feat. Yahzarah)
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In this episode...
Guests
- Phonte
About the show
Hosted by Oliver Wang and Morgan Rhodes, every episode of Heat Rocks invites a special guest to talk about a heat rock – a hot album, a scorching record. These are in-depth conversations about the albums that shape our lives.
Our guests include musicians, writers, and scholars and though we don’t exclusively focus on any one genre, expect to hear about albums from the worlds of soul, hip-hop, funk, jazz, Latin, and more.
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