50 For 50 | Life, Music, & Friendship

Boyz II Men and the End of an R&B Era | The Cool Check-In

We're not doing a full 50 for 50 on Boyz II Men — but with them recently finishing The New Edition Way Tour alongside New Edition and Toni Braxton, the timing felt right for a Cool Check-In. We cover the origin story (sneaking backstage to sing for Michael Bivins is still one of the best origin stories in R&B), the full discography with tiers, the Michael McCary chapter, why there's been no new original album since 2014, and Shawn Stockman's podcast On That Note. Best-selling R&B group of all time. Let's talk about it. 🌐 https://www.50for50.net [https://www.50for50.net/] 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/50-for-50-life-music-friendship/id1857746432 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/50-for-50-life-music-friendship/id1857746432] 🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ADmN7bp4fXQzAZsnSuFQj [https://open.spotify.com/show/0ADmN7bp4fXQzAZsnSuFQj] 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@50_For_50 [https://www.youtube.com/@50_For_50] 🐦 X: https://x.com/roheblius [https://x.com/roheblius] 🦋 Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/roheblius.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/roheblius.bsky.social] 📸 Garrett: https://www.instagram.com/roheblius/ [https://www.instagram.com/roheblius/] 📸 Mike: https://www.instagram.com/detoxpodguy/ [https://www.instagram.com/detoxpodguy/]

Top 5 ATCQ Songs: Scenario, Check the Rhime, We The People & More

Mike Joseph and Garrett Gonzales make their case for the Top 5 A Tribe Called Quest songs of all time — and the debate is real. The ATCQ catalog is deep enough that leaving a song off the list hurts. In this episode, Mike and Garrett each defend their picks across the full catalog — from the immortal posse cut "Scenario" and the call-and-response perfection of "Check the Rhime" to the politically charged "We The People," the infectious energy of "Buggin' Out," the criminally underrated "Find a Way," and more. Every pick gets a case made for it. Not everyone agrees. That's the point. 50 for 50 is a deep-dive podcast covering the greatest albums and artists of all time — one episode at a time. 🌐 Website: https://www.50for50.net 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/50-for-50-life-music-friendship/id1857746432 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ADmN7bp4fXQzAZsnSuFQj ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@50_For_50 📸 Instagram (Mike): https://www.instagram.com/detoxpodguy/ 📸 Instagram (Garrett): https://www.instagram.com/roheblius/ 🐦 X: https://x.com/roheblius 🦋 Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/roheblius.bsky.social

ATCQ's Low End Theory, the Rapaport Doc, Phife's Death & Their Final Album | 50 for 50

A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory is one of the greatest albums ever made — and on this episode of 50 for 50, we treat it that way. We cover the full ATCQ story: two childhood friends from Queens, a Native Tongues collective that changed hip-hop's culture, and a second album that stripped the genre down to bass and jazz and rebuilt it from the ground up. We get into the making of The Low End Theory — including jazz legend Ron Carter playing live upright bass, Pete Rock's fingerprints on "Jazz (We've Got)," and the Neve console John Lennon once recorded on. We also get into the harder stuff: Phife Dawg's diabetes diagnosis, the creative tensions that pulled Q-Tip and Phife apart after Midnight Marauders, why the group went quiet for 18 years after The Love Movement, and what a Tonight Show performance in 2015 sparked — and what they lost before it was finished. Plus: the Michael Rapaport documentary the group tried to block, full album tiers, trivia, and Grammy history. 50 for 50 is a deep-dive podcast covering the greatest albums and artists of all time. Find everything at 50for50.net.

Brandy Top 5: Brokenhearted, Sittin' Up in My Room, Long Distance & More

What are the greatest Brandy songs ever recorded? Mike Joseph and Garrett Gonzales rank their Top 5 favorites and defend every pick. Before the list, they play Rock With It/Stop With It on two of Brandy's most iconic tracks — "The Boy Is Mine" and "Baby" — forcing some tough choices. Then it's straight into the countdown, featuring "Brokenhearted," "Top of the World," "Sittin' Up in My Room," "Long Distance," and more. If you love Brandy, R&B, or just two people who take their music opinions very seriously — this one's for you. 🌐 Website: https://www.50for50.net/ 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/50-for-50-life-music-friendship/id1857746432 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ADmN7bp4fXQzAZsnSuFQj

Brandy's PHASES Memoir: All 7 Albums Ranked, The Boy Is Mine Legacy & Her Full Story | The Cool Check-In

Brandy Norwood just released PHASES, her long-awaited memoir — and we're going deep on every chapter of her career. On this episode of 50 for 50, we break down the full Brandy discography: from her self-titled 1994 debut (6 million copies worldwide) to Never Say Never (16 million copies and a Grammy), through Full Moon, Afrodisiac, Human, Two Eleven, and B7. We cover the producers who shaped her sound (Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Timbaland, Keith Crouch, DJ Camper), the singles that defined her, the Babyface collaboration on "Sittin' Up in My Room," and we rank every studio album in Tiers. We also talk about what made Brandy different — the vocal architecture, the church roots, the Cinderella moment, Moesha, and what PHASES reveals about the woman behind all of it. Topics covered: • Brandy's origin story — McComb, Mississippi to Atlantic Records at age 14 • Full discography breakdown with album themes, producers & sales • The Babyface / LaFace connection • Album Tiers: Must-Listen, Mid, and For Stans Only • PHASES: what the memoir says about Brandy's life and legacy If you love R&B history, vocal excellence, or just want to understand why serious music fans consider Brandy one of the greatest of her generation — this is the episode. 50 For 50: https://50for50.net 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/50-for-50-life-music-friendship/id1857746432 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ADmN7bp4fXQzAZsnSuFQj