ItsTheReal's own Jeff and Eric Rosenthal keep applying pressure in 2019 // A Waste of Time Review of Recent Podcasts

Written by Greg Harris

For listening pleasure, Podcasts are some of the safe havens that listeners find themselves enjoying in random spaces of time. Although the podcast circuit has been flooded with countless material but it’s only a few that’s been able to differentiate themselves in their own genre. ItsTheReal’s own Jeff and Eric Rosenthal have double-handedly changed forefront of music/culture podcasting with their insight on their topics and their effectiveness on getting onto things early with featuring special guests on their show.

Recently it’s been so much material that they have been putting out and we wanted to highlight some of our favorites that has been released. These range from the likes of Houston buzzing artist Megan The Stallion, Legendary SLAM writer Russ Bengston, Variety’s 2018 Manager of the Year Dre London, The-Dream, and more.

Check out the insightful interviews and get tuned in below.

A Waste of Time: Megan The Stallion

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome Houston, Texas rapper, newest signee to 300, Instagram legend and current student at Texas Southern University, Megan Thee Stallion to the Upper West Side! Megan discusses growing up loving school, getting trouble for cursing at a young age, making best friends during a food fight, always being the tallest in her grade, trying every sport and giving up, why she'd be a Plastic in her version of Mean Girls, and how she didn't win Prom Queen but still ended up bodying the night. We talk about secretly writing rhymes during high school, how shy she was as a teen, going to college with plans to be a nurse, putting stress aside and forming a new persona, finding beats on YouTube and starting a rap career on campus, when she found out her mother was a rapper, and the skepticism when her mom found out she rapped. We get into her debut show at SXSW, why she won't perform in a skirt anymore, her viral freestyle over Tay K's The Race, Missy Elliott shouting her out on Twitter, Q-Tip reaching out to offer advice and support and encouraging her ratchetness, Drake and The Migos throwing money to her song in a Houston strip club, what it was like when Kevin Liles walked in the room to sign her to 300, how much her mother likes her raunchy lyrics, and the surprising song that her mom feels she should emulate. All that, plus how her grandmother lurks on IG, practicing what it will be like when she finally meets Beyonce, how she's waiting for a dude to approach her in real life instead of DMing emojis, her southern accent, the dumbest way she's broken a nail, her upcoming project Fever and much more!

A Waste of Time: Russ Bengston

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal we welcome NBA/sneaker/hip-hop writer, editor, commentator and confidant Russ Bengtson to the Upper West Side! Russ talks growing up in Long Island, his early interest in journalism, being a Chicago Bulls fan in New York, attending the University of Delaware, his classmate and fellow journalist Jeff Pearlman, and his first job out of college working for a tiny newspaper in rural Pennsylvania where he was hands-on in every aspect of the publication. We discuss how SLAM Magazine reached out to him, what exactly "Senior Editor" meant, his early dealings with Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippin and Charles Barkley, JR Rider being cut from the Hawks before an interview, Kobe Bryant's respecting SLAM over other publications, Allen Iverson's magnetism, Stephon Marbury's unbelievable heart and talent, connecting Kevin Garnett and Jonathan Mannion for a legendary photo shoot, and the good and bad realities of choosing a magazine cover months ahead of time. Russ gets into his time as Editor in Chief of SLAM, his great partner in crime Lang Whitaker, in what ways Shaq and Nigel Sylvester are similar, Patrick Ewing not acknowledging him for two years, SLAM's reputation according to beat writers as opposed to enthusiasts, and why his time at the publication came to an end. We cover his freelance days, his introduction to Complex, the early days of Twitter, how page views and traffic changed the way writing worked, where Quickstrike - his sneaker show with Clark Kent - succeeded and where it missed opportunities, and his new documentary with Complex, Sole Origins. All that, plus stories about Pig Miller, Rasheed Wallace, Mobb Deep, Gregg Popovich, getting robbed on his apartment's front steps, University of Delaware's short time in the NCAA tourney, his Twitter block list, his love of heavy metal and much more!

A Waste of Time: Dre London

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal we welcome Variety's 2018 Manager of the Year Dre London to the Upper West Side! In this wide-ranging and personal conversation, we discuss everything from becoming a trusted member of French Montana and Max B's inner circle a decade ago to helping guide Post Malone into uncharted streaming territory throughout 2018, the aftermath of being kicked out of high school in South London at age 15, hustling to get by, moving to the United States with no connections and no green card, leading with his gut instincts, studying the game, moving to Los Angeles, meeting a young, video-gaming, super-talented genreless musician and joining him on a ride that has them currently selling out arenas, and for the first time, talking about what it was like in the troubled private plane with Post on their way to England, when they had to prepare for the worst. All that and so much more in this very inspirational and very funny episode!

A Waste of Time: The-Dream

Today on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, for Day 7 of the #12DaysOfPodcasts, we welcome the legendary singer/songwriter/producer The-Dream to the Upper West Side for a wide-ranging and personal conversation!