This week, we talk to April Walker. She’s the founder of Walker Wear, a clothing brand that was worn by all of the top entertainers and athletes of the early 1990s, from Tupac to L.L. to Mike Tyson to her neighbor Biggie Smalls.

Walker began her career with a small custom shop in Brooklyn. But early on, she started attracting hip-hop’s elite, and she soon began a styling division that dressed artists in countless videos, motion pictures, album covers, tours and photo shoots.

She began her own line, Walker Wear, in 1992. It became a huge success, and a favorite brand of many, many stars. Walker Wear ended in 1998, after the oversaturation and subsequent collapse of the urban fashion world. But in 2013, Walker brought back her eponymous company, and now sells both retro and new pieces online.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/133/ for full show notes and comments.

Allah B is a longtime member of the Nation of Gods and Earths, formerly known as the Five Percenters. He grew up in Harlem in the 1950s and 60s, a time when the Nation of Islam had huge influence thanks to its minister, Malcolm X. Clarence 13X Smith was an NOI member who became disenchanted with the group around 1963, and formed his own organization the following year. Clarence quickly became known as “Allah” or “The Father,” and most of his early disciples were teenage boys, Allah B among them.

The group, originally known as the Five Percenters and now as the Nation of Gods and Earths, grew steadily until Allah’s murder in June 1969. It would have a rebirth in the 1980s and 90s, as many of the young children raised in the group’s beliefs would go into hip-hop and spread Five Percenter beliefs, slang, and practices far and wide.

If you’ve ever listened to Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, or the Wu-Tang Clan, said “Peace” or “word,” or stood in a b-boy stance, you owe a huge debt to the Gods and Earths, whether you realize it or not. Allah B has been there for the group’s whole history, and shares it with us in this interview.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/151/ for full show notes and comments.

Krizz Kaliko first became known to hip-hop fans in the early 2000s as the ever-present hookman and onstage foil to Tech N9ne and other Strange Music artists, lacing tracks with both singing and rapping. His solo career would begin in 2008 with the album Vitiligo, and each record after that would reveal a diverse musical personality, equally comfortable with double-time raps, r&b hooks, and even Sinatra-style crooning.

Krizz’ latest album, released this past April, is called GO.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/153/ for full show notes and comments.

Salaam is a producer who is behind some of the most popular hip-hop, r&b, pop, and dancehall songs of the past several decades. His work with icons like Nas, Amy Winehouse, and The Fugees has been on the airwaves and on the charts consistently since the 1990s.

Salaam is the son of a musician, and got his start early, working on songs with the likes of Kurtis Blow as a teenager in the mid-1980s. By the early 90s, he was already producing hip-hop and dancehall. He did some remixes for an under-appreciated rap group called The Fugees whose first album was on the verge of flopping, and that quickly led to him producing the song “Fu-gee-la” on their monster hit follow up album The Score.

But it was in the early 2000s that Salaam really hit his commercial stride, as he began working closely with Nas on, including many others, the iconic single “Made You Look.” And Remi began working closely with a young singer from London named Amy Winehouse on her 2003 debut Frank, and also produced five songs on her smash hit follow up Back to Black. Miraculously, that’s only the beginning of Salaam’s track record as a producer, musician, composer, and executive.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/183/ for full show notes and comments.

Brothers Eric and Jeff Rosenthal have been merging comedy and hip-hop since 2007, when they began by making short sketch videos poking fun at (and, in short order, with) rappers. They took their comedic vision and love of hip-hop culture through a bunch of different projects: sketches, absurdist interviews with artists, podcasts, and even their own original music.

Most recently, the brothers have their own podcast, A Waste of Time With ItsTheReal. They also have a brand-new album called Teddy Bear Fresh, and an upcoming live show at the New York City nightclub SOBs on February 23rd.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/189/ for full show notes and comments.

This is episode 200, and features a return from Kevin Coval. However, since it is our 200th, our producer Josh got Kevin, who’s also a big fan of the show, to turn the tables without us knowing and interview the show’s host Shawn. So if you’ll excuse a little self indulgence here’s the episode 200 with Kevin Coval, Shawn Setaro AND Josh Kross.

Kevin is a poet and educator who is the artistic director of Young Chicago Authors, and the author and editor of a whole bunch of great books. The latest of these is A People’s History of Chicago. The book, true to its title, covers the entire history of the city, while focusing on the experiences and victories of its working people and those struggling for justice. The book’s foreward is by a young artist who has learned a lot from Coval, Chance the Rapper.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/200/ for full show notes and comments.

Alan is the head of rock and urban at Entertainment One Music, a record label you may know better by the name it had until 2009, Koch Records. Koch is a label that had hits with veteran artists like Fat Joe’s Terror Squad, KRS-One, The Game, and Snoop Dogg; while also breaking new artists like Unk, Rich Boy, and even a then-new DJ Khaled. Hip-hop fans will remember the period in the mid-2000s where they had huge hits with Jim Jones, the Ying Yang Twins, Unk, Khaled, and more.

But Entertainment One is only a part of Alan’s story. He started out at Sony getting the Fresh Prince his first millions, and then worked at Relativity Records in the early 1990s just as the label was first getting into hip-hop, with artists like Fat Joe, the Beatnuts, and a young guy out of Chicago who called himself Common Sense. Alan was also responsible for helping to make then-regional acts like Three 6 Mafia and 8Ball & MJB rise to national prominence. He even played a key role in Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records during the period of its greatest success.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/203/ for full show notes and comments.

Welcome to a special episode of The Cipher. This is an episode dedicated to Houston. Like countless people around the world, we were devastated by news of Hurricane Harvey and its effects on the city. If you’re a regular listener, you’ve noticed that we have many episodes discussing Houston music and culture with the city’s artists, businesspeople, and authors.

So, because of that love for Houston’s music, culture, and most of all its people, we decided to reach out to three H-town rap legends and find out what’s really going on in the storm and its aftermath, and to find out what you can do to help. We caught up by phone with Trae tha Truth, Killa Kyleon, and Z-Ro. All three have been involved in recovery efforts —in fact, you may have seen Trae on the news, rescuing people by boat. And all three have seen first-hand the devastation the storm has caused.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/213/ for full show notes and comments.

Kalyn is a rapper and the leader of the eclectic Denver-based group Wheelchair Sports Camp, who have garnered critical acclaim for their music and their energetic live performances almost since their founding in 2009.

Wheelchair Sports Camp - named after a real camp that Kalyn, who has brittle bone disease and has been in a wheelchair her whole life - used to attend, is a group that pushes the boundaries in sound and subject matter. Most performances consist of Kalyn, drums, and trumpet, and their latest album No Big Deal explores everything from gentrification to the pressure artists put on themselves to important social issues.

In addition to being a great rapper, Kalyn is also an activist, and now a politician. She participated in a big protest against the repeal of the ACA that had her and other activists taking over a senator’s office. And now she’s running - or rather, as she puts it, rolling - for Mayor of Denver.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/240/ for full show notes and comments.

Soundset is a festival in the Minneapolis area put on by the Rhymesayers label. It’s been running since 2008, and has grown from a show in a warehouse to a day-long outdoor event featuring some of music’s biggest acts.

This past May, we went to the festival to hang out and talk to the performers, and on this episode and the next one, you’ll hear the results. This time, you’ll find conversations with Rapsody, Grieves, K-Salaam, Sa-Roc, and Prof. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the first half of The Cipher’s Soundset special.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/241/ for full show notes and comments.

K-Salaam is a producer and DJ who, both by himself and with his production partner Beatnick, has made beats for some of your favorite artists. A short, by no means complete list includes Nas, Freddie Gibbs, Talib Kweli, Trey Songz, Lil Wayne, Murs, Bun B, Sizzla, and Young Buck.

K-Salaam got his start in Minneapolis, where he was an integral part of the early years of the Rhymesayers label. He DJ’d for many of the label’s acts, as well as for their signature radio show. In recent years, he and Beatnick also worked extensively with Ms. Lauryn Hill, and even had one of their tracks featured in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/246/ for full show notes and comments.

What better way to celebrate the potential arrival of warmer months than with a Halfmoon Walking & Writing Workshop over Cannock Chase.

The University of Birmingham is set to host its first Arts & Science Festival to showcase the wealth of ideas, research and collaboration across its campus.

Local ambulance chiefs are reminding bikers not to turn a minor mishap into something more serious.

A charity concert has raised £700 for the Edgbaston-based charity Ammalife.

Donors needed at Birmingham Donor Centre due to low stocks.

Director Peter Segal calls in to talk to Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt

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Recorded live on 04/08/2014.

Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt do the first remote Church podcast. They welcome guest Alder Hampel to the show for the first time. Alder is the owner and coach at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Van Nuys. 

This podcast is brought to you by:

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Recorded on 05/04/2014.

Jiu Jitsu Coach John Evans joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt in studio with a special call from Dr. Joel Crandall.

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Onnit.com. Use Promo code CHURCH for a discount at checkout.

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Recorded on 09/21/2014

Hugh Fitzgerald, Actor, writer, director and Jiu Jitsu Coach joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt live in studio.

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Onnit.com. Use Promo code CHURCH for a discount at checkout.

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Recorded live on 10/30/2014.

Music:

Tupac - I'm A Straight Rider

Black Sabbath - Snowblind

Steve Simeone, Comedian and Host of The Good Times Podcast joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt live in studio followed by live call's from listeners.

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Joey Fillato, Friend of Joey and Big Al, Former Criminal who was working at the same time as Joey F and Joey Diaz call into the podcast to Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt.

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Recorded live on 07/13/15

Music: 

For The Love OF Money - The O'Jays

Wanna Be Around - Tony Bennet

Michael Dowd and Walter Yurkiw, former NYPD featured in the new documentary "The Seven Five," calls in to Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt.

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Mike Dowd, former NYPD Officer and the subject of "The Seven Five" documentary came to LA from New York for a TWO NIGHT Special Event with Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt.

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Alberto Crane, the first American to recieve a black belt from the Gracie Barra Academy and Owner of Legacy Jiu Jitsu in Burbank joins joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt live in studio. 

This podcast is brought to you by:

Joey Alvarado, fitness/mma and bjj coach. He holds a Black belt in Bjj under Roger Machado as well as black belts in Hapkido and Tae Kwon Do under Grand Master S.R. Moreland, joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt live in studio.

Headspace: Go to headspace.com/joey and download the Free Headspace App and start your Take10 10 day free trial.

Sebastian Maniscalco, comedian whose new Showtime comedy special "Why Would You Do That?" premieres Saturday, October 1 at 10pm., joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt live in studio!

Ralphie May, Comedian seen on Last Comic Standing and in multiple Netflix comedy specials, joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt live in studio.

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Jorge Masvidal, a UFC Welterweight division fighter, who similar to Joey, is of Cuban descent, joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt live in studio.

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Ralphie May, Comedian, seen on Netflix and NBC, joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt live in studio. Ralphie also has a residency at Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.