Eric and Jeff Rosenthal, better known as ItsTheReal, presented a podcast called The Blog Era with prominent figures from the time. Curren$y, founder of Nanahright.com, Ahsmi "Eskay" Rawlins, and Capitol Music Group's SVP of Digital Marketing, Dimplez, talked about the impact of SXSW, how the internet has altered rap music and culture, and the culture's future.
The two hosts discussed the blog era as "the intersection where hip-hop really met the internet and thanks to a handful of nobodies behind keyboards," before the spring premiere of their new podcast series.
The almost hour-long discussion included contributions from industry pioneers. The discussion explored participant's first impressions of each other, their appreciation of The Cool Kids, and their individual and collective roles in the history of Hip-Hop and digital media.
When asked how he became interested in rap blogs, my homegirl typed it in to see if I was making any waves with the mixtape. I had left Cash Money and was no longer working on the record.
"The gatekeepers were kind of in the way," he said. "They were posting my pictures every time I put a song out."
The Blog Era podcast will be released on April 18 and is officially described as "the dynamic tale of how complete unknowns crafted a world free of music industry gatekeepers," -the global superstars it spawned, the kingmakers you've never heard of - and how big buildings and big money snatched back the power.
Below is a sneak peek at the show.
