SAD PRT
Helio-Tropes
On this week’s episode our guest is the founder of SAD PRT, a platform based on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube that showcases emerging underground artists. We talk about how the platform highlights artists and storylines that often don’t appear in traditional media, and the ways in which they’ve successfully built a community of passionate followers around niche music. We get into the rise of 2Hollis and his polarizing major label debut album star, the intentions behind how albums are crafted, and how clips of crowd reactions at live shows have become a critical marketing tool in...
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Kieran Press-Reyonlds
Helio-Tropes
Kieran Press-Reynolds is a writer with a weekly column at Pitchfork called "Rabbit Holed," exploring songs and scenes at the intersection of music and digital culture. He has written for publications such as The New York Times, Business Insider, No Bells, and more. This episode of HT is a journey into the sprawling world of ASMR, as documented in one of Kieran's latest stories on the topic. Yash admits he is an ASMR truther, while Kieran expands on the many layers and complexities of the styles he has encountered in his everyday life—and those thriving beneath the surface. We also discuss...
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Andrew Matson of Finals
Helio-Tropes
Andrew Matson is the co-founder of Finals, a music blog that is rumored to be among the best. He joins us to talk about J Critch and long-time producer cohort Laron's expansive collaborative album titled Plus Ultra and the evolution of both their sound and chemistry, which has history that pre-dates college and record deals. We go deep into contemporary New York rap and how pre-drill artists have had a hard time staying relevant as rap shapeshifts in the city. We also get into Fish Narc's excellent new album Frog Song and how his GothBoiClique roots with Lil Peep don't define him but inform a...
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Will Schube of The Hobbyist
Helio-Tropes
Will Schube is The Hobbyist—a writer and music critic based in New York with bylines in GQ, FLOOD, Pitchfork, Passion of the Weiss, and many more. He joins us from Austin following the launch of his aptly titled newsletter, The Hobbyist, to talk about the best hobby we both indulge in: Golf—with a capital G. We discuss how the culture has co-opted golf in the fashion space while somehow leaving music out of the equation. We also dive into Life Is Beautiful—the new album from Larry June, The Alchemist, and 2 Chainz—and how 2 Chainz steals the show by design. We explore the...
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Steffanee Wang
Helio-Tropes
Steffanee Wang joins us today to talk about 67th GRAMMY Awards that aired earlier this month and more. She is a New York City-based professional editor, writer, and reporter who currently is an associate editor at The FADER. She previously served as the music editor at NYLON, has written for Teen Vogue, The FACE, Billboard, NPR Music, and other notable publications. We talk about the best looks at the GRAMMY's, Kanye and Bianca's shenanigans on the carpet, Rap Album of The Year nominees, Chappell Roan's controversial speech, world-building via performances, YouTube's algorithm vs Spotify's,...
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Jane Marie
Helio-Tropes
This is the first podcast of 2025 and we're calling it Monetizing Hope with Jane Marie, an award-winning podcaster, podcast producer, writer, and author of Selling The Dream: The Billion Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans. Jane joins us from her home in LA, just after the devastating wildfires had somewhat subsided. This episode was recorded a few weeks prior to its release. Jane shares stories from her formative years in Michigan where she grew up, including her experiences seeing Nirvana live at The Blind Pig, watching LL Cool J hump women uncontrollably on stage, Insane Clown Posse, and...
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Gary Suarez of CABBAGES
Helio-Tropes
Gary Suarez is a writer and podcaster who founded CABBAGES, a media outlet and podcast dedicated to covering independent artists. A Queens, New York native, Gary has contributed to esteemed publications such as The Quietus, Forbes, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The New York Times, NPR, and more. In this special two-hour year-end finale, Gary joins us to share his favorite albums of 2024—including standout projects from Cavalier, Roc Marciano, Vayda, and Your Old Droog—and reflect on the journey of launching his own publication and podcast via a newsletter during the pandemic, back...
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Aurielle Sayeh
Helio-Tropes
Aurielle Sayeh is a mom, creative director, brand consultant, strategist, creator, and DJ based in Los Angeles. A true multi-hyphenate, she shares how she got her start in culture through modeling and DJing in Paris and Amsterdam back in 2013. As an Atlanta native who hustled her way through the global zeitgeist, Aurielle reflects on her journey of tapping into different creative scenes and building relationships and collaborating with brands like Adidas and VFILES. To be in the club—or not to be in the club—north of 30: that is the question. We also dive into topics like patriotism,...
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Yak Ballz on 'YOUNG YASHAR'
Helio-Tropes
Yash breaks down the newly released Yak Ballz EP titled 'YOUNG YASHAR' produced by longtime collaborator Mondee. This marks the first official Yak Ballz music in over a decade. Listen to 'YOUNG YASHAR' Follow Helio-Tropes - Follow Yash - Follow Yak Ballz -
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Cambrian "Bam" Strong
Helio-Tropes
Cambrian Strong can't be boxed in. The Memphis, TN native and co-CEO of Drumatize Music Group with Tay Keith, whom he also manages, comes on the show to talk about how he figured out being of service in the music industry is the way he would build his brand. He tells us how being an athlete in high school gave him his work ethic and despite having a family who all pursued music as a career, he never saw being an artist as a viable path for himself. Instead he explains that his pursuit of advertising, graphic design, and media lead him to where he is today. He tells about Memphis' love for...
info_outlineAlphonse Pierre is a music critic and journalist at Pitchfork. He joins us from home base in Canarsie, Brooklyn where an ice cream truck soundtracks our conversation about the Knicks and the 76ers round 1 playoff bloodbath. We talk about Ice Spice's timely verse on Cash Cobaine's "Fisherr" remix and how an independently released song can get ratcheted up with the help of a huge feature and some major label muscle. We talk about Tupac's estate issuing a cease and desist to Drake (when it's convenient) for the AI powered "Taylormade Freestyle," and just how much Future is too much sauce across multiple albums. He breaks down his review of rapper Xaviersobased's latest mixtape which received the coveted "Best New Music" status at Pitchfork, and why a healthy dose of outside influences on the internet coupled with real life uptown swagger make for a thrilling ride. We also get into the wild and emerging Milwaukee rap scene comprising unhinged twerk, slap, and low-end subgenres. All of which are underscored by the song of the moment, JP's "Bad Bitty," to go along with Alphonse's experience in the Wisconsin city's underbelly with several rappers including Munch Lauren and 414bigfrank. Of course we had to shake him down for his Top 5 songs right now (all of which came by way of SoundCloud links) as we proceed to bring you what you didn't know you needed on this special episode.