The smooth criminal on beat breaks.

Never put me in your box if your shit eats tapes.

Let's talk about don't put me in your boom box if it eats cassette.

There was a time when you put a cassette in a boom box.

And if you push the wrong button, it would spit out all the, it would spit out all the cassette tape.

It would eat that tape.

So, actually, today, we're talking about a song from one of the greatest rappers of all time, and easily one of the most masterful storytellers hip-hop has ever seen. His poetic realism and philosophical rhymes paint a vibrant portrait of the community, and it kind of is unparalleled anywhere else in hip-hop. And the beat on this track is by one of hip-hop's greatest all-time producers, DJ Premier. Not the first time we've talked about him on the show. Probably won't be the last. No. And the sample itself is hypnotic for reasons we're going to delve into, but in part it's because it contains a note that you rarely heard in music, in popular music, I should say, at the time this song came out. Also, this song is a large part why the album got five mics in a magazine called The Source.

For those of you don't know, you're going to find out a little bit about the source.

And even for those who do know, you're going to find out the story behind him getting

five mics in the source.

We've got so much to unpack.

We're talking one song, and that song is New York State of Mind by Nas.

Rapids are monkey flipping with the funky rhythm.

I be kicking, musician, inflicting composition.

A pain, I'm like scarface, sniffing cocaine.

Hey, one song listeners. If you love our show, you should check out Trappital, the podcast where technology meets culture.

Each episode, Tropital host and founder, Dan Runcie, digs into the strategy behind the media and technology that drives our attention.

You'll hear Tropital explore topics like YouTube's growing influence in music and entertainment,

the never-ending saga about TikTok's future, and how AI is shaping the future.

Media is one of the first industries to get disrupted by new tech.

It's Trappital's job to keep you ahead of the latest trends.

You can listen to Trappital wherever you get your podcast. That's Trappital, T-R-A-P-I-T-A-L. I'm actor-writer, director, and sometimes DJ D'A-L-R-R-R-R-Riddle.

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