My Deep And Awkward Love for the Juan Epstein Podcast
L to R: Peter Rosenberg, Cipha Sounds
Juan Epstein was the first hip-hop podcast ever. I got turned on to it by Medium Zach in maybe 2009 or 2010. Juan Epstein is a duo show consisting of Peter Rosenberg, a broadcaster in music and sports and Cipha Sounds, a broadcaster who also has a career as a comedian and to a lesser extent as a live DJ. I knew Cipha Sounds from him mixing the pre-release promo for Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek’s Reflection Eternal (I think he also gets shouted out on the record). I didn’t know much about podcasts but hearing these two radio personalities from NYC chop it up very casually and very behind the scenes was exactly what I needed in my life at that time. I was just getting into being on the radio myself and it was exactly what I wanted to hear: two of the morning show hosts cracking the mic at about 9:30am after finishing the morning show and just talking, complaining, gossiping with a rotating cast of other staff from the station (Hot 97).
I love a well-produced podcast with perfect sounders, transitions topics and a top-flight staff working behind the scenes as much as the next porky white guy in his forties who subscribes to the New Yorker but for me it does not beat that unscripted love and energy I have for a personality-driven podcast. I have now been with Juan Epstein’s ups and downs for 15 years. Although they both have admirable careers, they’ve spent more time nursing their wounds and wondering what could’ve been than celebrating what is working for them. But isn’t that human nature? I am drawn to understanding their struggles. Cipha Sounds was fired with very little notice some months after a really reprehensible joke at the expense of Haitians. It was stupid as shit but understanding the fallout and the career changes made for great radio. Cipha Sounds hasn’t attained the heights he envisioned for himself as a comedian and he feels like he can almost sniff the heights he could’ve reach as a music industry professional. Peter Rosenberg is uncomfortably over employed with multiple radio shifts a week but he still sees a level he hasn’t hit yet in what he can offer as a broadcaster or more. They both regret many choices they made at different forks in the road. Recently, they had a frank and still funny talk about Cipha Sounds’ struggles with overeating. Peter Rosenberg has sounded off about the knee jerk complaints from listeners who barely know his output but judge an out of place soundbite and he’s been forthright about his culpability in his divorce.
I struggle to recommend to the Juan Ep podcast to random people who aren’t familiar. There is so much history there. And so much of what I love about it is is my investment I’ve made in these personalities who are in a similar line of work to the one I’m in. The larger appeal for Juan Ep is no doubt their particular brand of hip-hop coverage. They bring in icons from earlier eras of the music and ask perfect questions. The questions are perfect because they blend nerdyness with the courage to ask a question that might be a feather-ruffler if it didn’t come from a duo who command so much respect inside of hip-hop. For me, it is the comparative filterlessness of the whole thing that is the biggest appeal. They seem to be genuinely frustrated with their “producer” a fair amount of the time. They seem to be genuinely frustrated with each other. In the last couple weeks the normally apolitical Cipha Sounds has been dipping his toe into the MAGA pool. I hate that cause it is not my politics but I love the conflict, the tension. I am amazed at how candidly these two speak about their misgivings at their dayjobs as radio hosts. And Peter Rosenberg tends to share a considerable amount about his life outside of work as well. It makes for moments of hard fought humor. Humor that relies upon pain, upon history and upon a shared love of hip-hop combined with a shared estrangement from it as Cipha, Rosenberg and myself all go deep into middle agedness.
I grew up with these men. Warts and all. I track my successes with theirs, I track my failures with theirs. I feel invested in their stories. Sometimes they get dumb-comment-people in their Patreon complaining about how far the show can stray from hip-hop from time to time. It’s the least of my worries because I am here for the hosts and their journey. Of course I love hip-hop and I am so glad it is at the center of this podcast, but what keeps me glued to the feed is the sloppiness, the humanness, the honesty and the humor. If you are already a fan and you want to talk about the show, I’d love to do that, to my knowledge the only people I know of in MN who listen are me, Medium Zach and Felix. But I’m sure there’s more. If you are looking for a new podcast and you are ready to take some time to get to know the hosts, I’d strongly recommend the reward of really diving in deep into the Juan Ep universe. I don’t think it can be easily enjoyed from time to time. It’s something to stay pretty focused on, that’s where you reap the reward of feeling like you really know these hosts. But if you do, you’ve just made two very real, very endearing, very annoying friends. It is truly beautiful.