Episodes

  • Let's Vote!
    Oct 5 2023

    theGrio Black Podcast Network is proud to announce that two of our original podcasts, Being Black: The '80s and theGrio Daily, have received nominations from The Lovie Awards for their outstanding work. Click here to vote for Touré and here to vote for Michael Harriot and spread the word! Let's show the world we value Black storytelling.

    Show more Show less
    2 mins
  • Jay-Z Almost Bankrupted Me
    Jul 31 2023

    Touré played poker with Jay-Z one night in a swanky Manhattan penthouse suite. Each hand was worth thousands of dollars. Why was Touré in the game? He’s not rich enough for a game like that. It could have bankrupted him. The answer: He’s insane. Also, he was willing to risk everything to glean the very interesting bit of psychological insight he could get from being head-to-head in a hand of poker with Jay-Z.

    Watch here: https://thegrio.com/starstories/1368617/#sp=star%20stories

    Credits:

    The Takeover

    Writer: JAY-Z & Kanye West

    Label: Roc-A-Fella Records

    Publisher: Roc The World

    The Story of OJ

    Writer: JAY-Z, No I.D., Nina Simone, Gene Redd Jr. & Jimmy Crosby

    Label: Roc Nation

    Publisher: Carter Boys Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Virgin Records, EMI Longitude Music, New World Music, Warner Music Group, EMI Music Publishing Group, Filmtrax, Eleven East Music, Bucky Music, Rolls Royce Music Company, BMG, Let The Story Begin Publishing, EMI Waterford Music, BMG Monarch, Warner/Chappell, Delightful Music, Round Hill Music, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Carbert Music & Stephanye Music

    Show more Show less
    14 mins
  • Snoop Was a Legit P-I-M-P
    Jul 31 2023

    Touré hung out with Snoop Dogg at his unassuming ranch house in southern California. As his children played nearby, Snoop seemed like a dedicated family man, and he was. He had constructed a whole youth football league for his sons and kids throughout the area. But not long before this chapter of his life, Snoop said, he had been a pimp. He talked about how he got into the life, controlled women, and went to a player’s ball, a virtual pimp convention. But what did his wife say while all this was happening, and why did she take him back when he was through? Snoop said because long ago, the biggest pimp in Long Beach was her own daddy…

    Watch here: https://thegrio.com/starstories/1368618/#sp=star%20stories

    Show more Show less
    14 mins
  • The Reason Why Kanye West Hates Me
    Jul 31 2023

    Touré first met Kanye back when he was first becoming a superstar and Jesus Walks was on the radio. He had just bought an expensive neck chain with lots of colored diamonds and a pendant that was an image of Jesus Christ… with blonde hair and blue eyes. When Touré asks, ‘Why is it a white Jesus?’ Kanye goes into a tailspin that is only made worse hours later when they run into Jay-Z and get Jay’s opinion.

    Watch here: https://thegrio.com/starstories/1368616/#sp=star%20stories

    Credits:

    Jesus Walks

    Writer: Ari Miri Ben, Curtis Leon Lundy, Che Smith, Kanye Omari West

    Label: G.O.O.D. Music & Def Jam Recordings

    Publisher: Please Gimme My Publishing, EMI Blackwood Music, Universal Music-MGB Songs, Universal Music Group, Solomon Ink, Mirimode Music, Curwan Music, BMI, UMPG / We Publish Music, AMRA, ASCAP, AdRev Publishing, Sony Music Entertainment, LatinAutor, CMRRA, UBEM & AMRA BR

    Show more Show less
    18 mins
  • O.G. Rap Beef: Queens vs. The Bronx
    Jul 31 2023

    KRS-One is one of the legends of hip-hop, but before the fame, he was a teenage runaway who ended up in a homeless shelter. That became the source of his rap name and the place where he met his partner DJ Scott La Rock. Scott was a counselor at one of the shelters KRS stayed at. They talked about hip-hop, formed a duo that rewrote hip-hop history, and lifted KRS out of homelessness.

    Watch here: https://thegrio.com/starstories/1368615/#sp=star%20stories

    Credits:

    Criminal Minded

    Writer: Scott La Rock, Lawrence “Krsone” Parker, Joe Thomas

    Label: Boogie Down Productions

    Publisher: Bun Bun Music

    The Bridge - M.C. Shan

    Writer: Shawn Molkee and Marlon Williams

    Label: Bridge Records

    Publisher: Pop Art Music

    South Bronx - DJ Scott La Rock, Blastmaster K.R.S. One, D Nice

    Writer: Lawrence “Krsone” Parker and Khadijah A Sterling Scott

    Label: Bridge Records

    Publisher: Bun Bun Music

    Kill That Noise - M.C. Shan

    Writer: Shawn Molkee and Marlon Williams

    Label: Bridge Records

    Publisher: Cak Music Publishing Inc. and Songs Of Marl

    The Bridge is Over

    Writer: Lawrence “Krsone” Parker and Sterling Scott Monroe

    Label: Boogie Down Production

    Publisher: Boogie Down Production and Univeral Music Z Tunes LLC

    Show more Show less
    13 mins
  • Suge Knight Kidnapped Me!
    Jul 31 2023

    Touré goes to Death Row Records to interview Suge Knight at the height of his power. In the middle of the interview, Touré asks the wrong question, and Suge gets angry. Touré gets up to leave, but Suge won’t let him go. Suddenly there are gangbangers at the door threatening a beatdown, and Touré sits in his office for an hour in absolute terror as Suge slowly applies psychological torture.

    Watch here: https://thegrio.com/starstories/1368614/#sp=star%20stories

    Show more Show less
    17 mins
  • Chappelle Was Right: Prince Got Game
    Jul 31 2023

    Touré played one-on-one basketball with Prince at Paisley Park, which was glorious. The purple man had game. He shot, moved, and dribbled like a ballplayer. Eventually one on one morphed into two on two with Touré and Prince on the same team. One problem. This was during Prince’s symbol era when his name wasn’t Prince, it was an unpronounceable symbol. So what do you do when you pass the ball to Prince, and he doesn’t see it coming, and it’s heading right for his nose? You’re not supposed to say “Prince,” but you don’t want your two-on-two to end with him getting a bloody nose, but they told you absolutely, positively never call him Prince but you don’t know anything else to call him so you yell out… Prince! Chaos ensues.

    Watch here: https://thegrio.com/starstories/1368613/#sp=star%20stories

    Show more Show less
    14 mins
  • Star Stories with Toure` Coming August 1st
    Jul 13 2023

    Star Stories with Toure` is an animated series about the unpredictable and sometimes unbelievable backstage interactions with some of the most iconic men in music today.

    These animated stories are unforgettable recollections of the larger-than-life experiences with music journalist Toure` and Black celebrities.

    “I spent over two decades working in music journalism, and it left me with a wealth of awesome stories about the time I spent hanging out with many intriguing stars. I played basketball with Prince. I played poker with Jay-Z. I went jewelry shopping with Kanye. I was briefly kidnapped and threatened with torture by Suge Knight. All these stories reveal something interesting, funny, or real about these stars. There is also a contrast between the life of a star and the life of a journalist. It is centered around true stories, which are definitely for adults, not kids." Toure`

    Show more Show less
    Less than 1 minute