DISGRACELAND

Cappadonna may have taught a lot of the guys in Wu-Tang Clan how to rhyme, but he wasn’t around when the group first formed and released their incredible debut album. Because Cappadonna was in Rikers Island, doing time for someone else’s crack rocks. When Cap was released, the Clan welcomed him as the honorary tenth member of the group. But he brought someone else into the fold, too. A shady character who, unbeknownst to Cap and the rest of the guys, wasn’t what he seemed … a federal informant testifying in two major cases, one involving the mob. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Support our Advertising Partners: Fabric: meetfabric.com/disgraceland Factor: factormeals.com/disgraceland50 Code: DISGRACELAND50 ZBiotics: ZBiotics.com/DISGRACELAND Code: DISGRACELAND Liquid IV: liquid-iv.com/disgraceland Code: DISGRACELAND Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan Group TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At just 15 years old, Inspectah Deck had to learn how to hold his own against older, more dangerous convicts when he was sent to jail for selling crack to an undercover cop. It wasn’t the first time he did hard time. Multiple stints behind bars gave him nothing but time – to reflect, to strategize, to learn how to rap, and to take that new skill and use it to turn his life around on the outside. But years later, the bad decisions of his youth were just some of the reasons why the the NYPD, the ATF, and the FBI were so interested in his groundbreaking hip-hop group. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Support our Advertising Partners: Factor: factormeals.com/disgraceland50 Code: DISGRACELAND50 ZBiotics: ZBiotics.com/DISGRACELAND Code: DISGRACELAND Liquid IV: liquid-iv.com/disgraceland Code: DISGRACELAND Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan Group TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wu-Tang episodes are back, and it's got Jake talking Inspectah Deck and Cappadonna. Plus your emails, cartels, Tiny Desk, and U2. What other artists are worthy of a whole season of Disgraceland? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, on socials @disgracelandpod, or disgracelandpod@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wu-Tang Clan were inspired by more than just other musicians. They were kung fu film fanatics, and they used the mythology of countless movies to build their own world. Like the films of Bruce Lee, whose classic kung fu epic Enter the Dragon is baked into Wu-Tang's first album title. In this archive episode from BADLANDS, Jake Brennan's other show about the intersection of entertainers and true crime, hear all about how Bruce Lee got into so much trouble as a kid in Hong Kong that his parents banished him to the place of his birth: America. There he found all kinds of new trouble to get into. He upset kung fu traditionalists with his revolutionary style of fighting. He challenged long-held perceptions in racist Hollywood. He was an outsider determined to change the system the hard way – but did bringing about change cost Bruce Lee his life? To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com/badlands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The After Party returns this week while DISGRACELAND takes a break from our full season on the Wu-Tang Clan, and Jake is talking the Wu's influences, Ringo Starr, Bruce and Brandon Lee - and of course your voicemails, texts, and DMs. What other artists are worthy of a full season in Disgraceland? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. After Party is brought to you by FUM - go to https://tryfum.com/ and use the code DISGRACELAND to save 10% off when you get the Journey pack today. After Party is brought to you by Blueland - get 15% off your first order by going to https://blueland.com/disgraceland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ringo Starr’s first show as the Beatles’ new drummer was nearly ruined by a hostile audience that wanted him out of the band. Although he was finally accepted as one of the Fab Four, he was still targeted by those who did not wish him well. French-Canadian separatists in Montreal threatened to kill him. Mexican Federales tried to lock him up and throw away the key. And a decades-long running gag that he wasn’t creatively on par with his fellow Liverpool lads nearly undermined his legacy. It wasn’t until Ringo conquered his own beaucoups of blues that he got the respect he deserved and the world recognized him for what he is: in the words of his old mate John, “the greatest.” This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners and includes descriptions of domestic violence and suicide. If you're thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Support our Advertising Partners: Factor: factormeals.com/disgraceland50 Code: DISGRACELAND50 Rocket Money: rocketmoney.com/disgraceland Code: DISGRACELAND ZBiotics: ZBiotics.com/DISGRACELAND Code: DISGRACELAND Liquid IV: liquid-iv.com/disgraceland Code: DISGRACELAND Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan Group TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we take a quick break from the Wu-Tang Clan season to release an archived episode of DISGRACELAND on Ringo Starr, and Jake is talking the connections between the two, as well as some juicy music history of the past and present. Is Zach Bryan the first artist to get arrested while he was at the top of the charts? Who is your favorite Wu-Tang member? Drop Jake a line with any of your thoughts at 617-906-6638, on socials @disgracelandpod, or disgracelandpod@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ghostface Killah allegedly tried to steal three thousand dollars from a parking lot attendant. They said he was shot in the neck and shoulder in Steubenville, Ohio, shortly before the RZA went on trial for attempted murder. Or so the story goes. And it is true that he was busted with a .357 Magnum, hollow-point bullets, and a bulletproof vest during a routine traffic stop. It was stories and transgressions like these that led the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to dig deep into Wu-Tang Clan’s past in order to build a new narrative that the music was merely a front for organized crime – a narrative that would soon go all the way to the FBI. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Support our Advertising Partners: ZBiotics: ZBiotics.com/DISGRACELAND Code: DISGRACELAND Liquid IV: liquid-iv.com/disgraceland Code: DISGRACELAND Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan Group TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a teenager, Method Man won $800 on a $5 bet in a dice game. He used those winnings to set himself up as a crack dealer on Staten Island. Dealing was dangerous. Meth was chased by drug squads and dragged down the street when a potential buyer stole his product. His life was saved by a friend who pulled him out of the wrong place at the right moment – a moment in which he literally dodged a bullet. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our full season on Wu-Tang Clan continues, and Jake is talking Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, and 50 Cent, and asks which Wu-Tang member is your favorite? Let him know at 617-906-6638, on socials @disgracelandpod, or disgracelandpod@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Corey Woods, aka Raekwon, was addicted to the styles, sounds, and crimes of hip-hop street culture in the 1980s. He sold weed, coke, and later crack to fund his expensive taste in clothes and parties. But that life wasn’t all glamor. He was shot four times and nearly killed when he was caught in the crossfire. And times were changing. The NYPD launched a street-level anti-drug task force to target low-level dealers – dealers like Raekwon, who found life as he knew it was about to suddenly change. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bobby Diggs (aka the RZA) grew up on a steady diet of kung fu movies and hip-hop music. As a kid he hung around junkies and prostitutes in Times Square. As a teenager he hustled dime bags of weed to day traders on Wall Street. But on Christmas Eve 1991, in Ohio, he was caught up in a shooting that landed him in a fight for his life. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in the pre-party, Jake reads your emails about Metallica, Gang Starr and more, and looks back at some important events in musical history. Stay tuned this week for the season 13 premiere on The RZA, kicking off Disgraceland's 10 episode serialized season all about Wutang Clan. Get in touch with Jake at 617-906-6638, on socials @disgracelandpod, or disgracelandpod@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jake dives in to the Wu-Tang Clan as DISGRACELAND embarks on a new season all on the group. Are they the best super group of all time? If not, who is? Plus, Bumblefest, Low Cut Connie, and your correspondence. Get in touch at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month we launched an all new season of BADLANDS, and we’re bringing you a preview here. This is the show where DISGRACELAND host Jake Brennan blends history and true crime to tell the transgressive stories of some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including the mysterious deaths of Marilyn Monroe and Natalie Wood…Tim Allen’s former career as a low-level drug dealer…the curse of the movie Poltergeist…how porn star John Holmes got caught up in the infamous Wonderland murders…and more episodes on Winona Ryder, River Phoenix, Gianni Versace, Robin Williams, Heath Ledger, Sharon Tate, Robert Downey Jr., and so many more. Search BADLANDS to hear 70+ episodes, including this new episode on Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp prefers the shadows to the limelight, whether he’s building a bomb with Hunter S. Thompson in the Rocky Mountains, or downing bootleg quaaludes laced with arsenic. After emerging as the leading art flick actor of the 1990s, prodding paparazzi’s desire to paint him as a “novelty boy” often drove him to outbursts that ended in arrests, wrecked hotel rooms, and a miffed Kate Moss and Roger Daltrey. Yet even with camera flashes constantly lighting up his private life, plenty of mysteries still surround Johnny Depp…including the unsolved disappearance of his former Viper Room co-owner – who went missing just days before he was supposed to testify against Johnny in court. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wu-Tang Clan made history with some of the most compelling hip-hop music of all time. They also made enemies with the NYPD, the ATF, and the FBI – the latter of which classified them as a "major criminal organization." The story of Wu-Tang's rise from the streets of New York to the world's stage is full of hustle, paranoia, bad drug deals, police shootouts, federal informants...and it's also the subject of the 13th season of DISGRACELAND. The first serialized season of DISGRACELAND starts Tuesday, September 5th, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday and Thursday, and bonus mini episodes every Monday. Rocka rolla. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in the pre-party, Jake reads your emails, looks back at the very first episode of Disgraceland, and looks ahead to Season 13. Stay tuned this week for season 13's trailer, hitting your feed on August 29th. Get in touch with Jake at 617-906-6638, on socials @disgracelandpod, or disgracelandpod@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's re-release of the second part of the Notorious BIG episode comes along with somenew developments in Tupac's murder case - and maybe related to BIG's murder. Who do you think killed BIG? What about Tupac? Jake also talks Prince's acting career, nü metal, new metal, and non-biopic music movies. Drop Jake a line about these topics at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part two of the Notorious B.I.G. story we see the young star trying to deal with life after the death of his rival (and one-time friend), Tupac Shakur. We also get a glimpse into the motivation behind the making of his final album, the aptly titled, Life After Death and get deep into the mystery behind his still unsolved murder. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in the pre-party, Jake weighs in on Mark David Chapman, Morgan Wallen's record-breaking hit, and the ongoing Lizzo controversy. What are your thoughts? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, on socials @disgracelandpod, or disgracelandpod@gmail.com, and stay tuned for the special re-release of part 2 of our episode on the Notorious BIG, dropping on August 22nd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices