Kenya Barris and Audible’s Rachel Ghiazza Unpack ‘Gangsta Grillz Podcast’ Collaboration and Talk Upcoming Projects

variety.com:

Jaden Thompson DJ Drama, the Grammy-winning “King of the Mixtape,” is known for his “Gangsta Grillz” series, which has featured a myriad of prominent hip-hop artists over the years from Lil Wayne to Tyler the Creator.

On the new Audible original “DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz Podcast,” presented by Kenya Barris‘ Khalabo Ink Society, Drama sits down with some of the notable musicians he’s worked with to unpack his iconic mixtape series. “He was arrested in a sting for mixtapes.

And so he had a special story,” Barris said of his friend during Variety + Audible’s Cocktails and Conversations at Sundance, hosted by Variety’s executive editor Brent Lang.

Speaking about his desire to tell DJ Drama’s story and the cultural significance of “Gangsta Grillz,” Barris said, “Everyone in music has done one, it’s almost an honor to do one. [DJ Drama] wanted to talk about the mixtape genre, he wanted to talk on the verge of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop [about] what hip-hop and music meant to him.” In conversation with Audible chief content officer Rachel Ghiazza, Barris acknowledged that one might not imagine Audible to be the home for this particular podcast — though that would be a misconception. “They got it very quickly.