Friday
October 2, 2026
Autumn · 3 entries
The Read
popville.comEND OF AN ERA: DUKEM Ethiopian Closing after almost 30 Years on U Street next month.Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant on U Street NW in Washington, D.C. is closing permanently after nearly 30 years, with final service on November 7. The closure marks the end of a longstanding community institution in a neighborhood that has undergone significant transformation over the past three decades.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50The Listen
RadiolabA 4-Track MindA neurologist puts a ragtime pianist in an MRI and proves he can simultaneously track four full symphonies in his head — a controlled experiment that forces you to rethink the upper limits of human cognition. The spatial, cinematic way Bob describes his inner ear is unforgettable.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Rapping in my 40s is a different act than it was in 2001. What remains is my feistiness – it still comes out when it needs to. But this time I am present. I don’t have anybody breathing on my neck, saying: “We’ve got to sell these records.” I also have a total sense of wonder about my life, that it’s taken me this far. I wake up and think, “Damn. How did a girl from Philly get here?”
All of which led to the success of Scorpion. I was a huge fan of all genres of music, from Biggie Smalls to No Doubt, and when I wrote Let Me Blow Ya Mind I knew we should get Gwen Stefani to feature on it. I was the only girl in the boardroom in those major label meetings and that Philly girl often had to come out. They were initially resistant because I was a rapper and she was a rock star, but I said: “Guys, this will work. Trust me.”
Even though I won that particular fight, the response to a lot of my suggestions was often: “Oh, that’s cute. We’re not doing that.” I felt I couldn’t be my full, excited self because there were so many miserable motherfuckers around me in those boardrooms. The atmosphere made me feel like I had to suppress myself and stay small. Decades later, my old A&R actually called up and apologised. He said: “I really wish we listened to you a little bit more – you had some good ideas.” That was validating.
All of which led to the success of Scorpion. I was a huge fan of all genres of music, from Biggie Smalls to No Doubt, and when I wrote Let Me Blow Ya Mind I knew we should get Gwen Stefani to feature on it. I was the only girl in the boardroom in those major label meetings and that Philly girl often had to come out. They were initially resistant because I was a rapper and she was a rock star, but I said: “Guys, this will work. Trust me.”
Even though I won that particular fight, the response to a lot of my suggestions was often: “Oh, that’s cute. We’re not doing that.” I felt I couldn’t be my full, excited self because there were so many miserable motherfuckers around me in those boardrooms. The atmosphere made me feel like I had to suppress myself and stay small. Decades later, my old A&R actually called up and apologised. He said: “I really wish we listened to you a little bit more – you had some good ideas.” That was validating.
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