Pop the Trunk

The boys are back, and this week there's an elephant in the room the size of Madison Square Garden. Vinnie and Billy are doing their best to ignore it, but Brendan isn't making it easy. The Knicks just won the championship and someone in the studio is way too happy about it — and it isn't the Philly guys. The debate over whether Wu-Tang's halftime performance had anything to do with the outcome is very real, and very heated.From there the conversation shifts to something that's been brewing for a while — the guys announce plans to put together their own Greatest 50 Rappers of All Time list, a direct response to the clickbait list culture dominating hip hop media. Names get floated and opinions get spicy. Don’t miss this one!

The crew kicks things off with a tale of restaurant frustration that snowballs into a broader conversation about bad service, false promises, and the unwritten code between businesses and their customers. From there, the episode digs into Complex's viral Top 50 New York Rappers of All Time list — and the crew has plenty to say. They debate whether the list is a legitimate ranking, deliberate rage bait, or a mix of both, unpacking the criteria, questioning some of the inclusions, and making the case for the names that got left off entirely. From legends who should be higher to modern acts that have no business being on a "best ever" list, it's a deep, opinionated ride through New York rap history.

The mailbag is back! The crew gets into the creative process behind writing rhymes, whether a perfect album is a perfect album regardless of genre, and what happens when ego convinces someone they're an expert in everything. Billy's history with Heelys comes out, fan art makes its way into the studio, and a listener writing in from Berlin has some catching up to do. Tune in for Episode 15 of Pop the Trunk, with Vinnie Paz!

The crew kicks off Episode 13 fired up, sleep-deprived, and somehow already arguing before the intro wraps. They draw battle lines on AI and Brendan drops a Mother’s Day story of a dinner gone sideways. Vinnie and Billy express their Philly sports rage and a full indictment of New York franchises enters the picture. Somewhere between an argument nobody wins, a holiday that went completely off the rails, and a rant that earns every second of airtime, Episode 13 reminds you why you showed up in the first place.|

The boys are back. Vinnie and Brendan are back for a weekend of boxing you can't afford to sleep on. Before they get into the fights, there's no shortage of news — from a massive heavyweight announcement that's been a long time coming, to promotional shake-ups and signings that are quietly reshaping the landscape.Then it's fight time. Two pound-for-pound monsters. Two cards that demand your attention. Inoue vs. Nakatani and Benavidez vs. Ramirez get the full breakdown — the styles, the stakes, the odds, and where each guy stands heading into the biggest weekend of the year. Predictions are locked in. Pop the Trunk streaming on YouTube, all DSPs and your favorite podcast app. @popthetrunk.pod

Scott Vogel, frontman of Terror, joins the crew for Episode 10, before heading out on a six-and-a-half-week North American tour behind Terror's new record Still Suffer. What starts as a technical difficulty turns into an instant PTT classic moment. Once connected, Scott and Vinnie go deep on the parallels between hardcore and hip hop culture, tracing their origins from Black Sabbath and Run DMC to Agnostic Front and DITC. The conversation covers Scott's upbringing in Buffalo, his stepbrother Jay as the gateway to everything, the early days of Slugfest and Buried Alive, and how those scenes mirror each other more than most people realize.After he signs off, the crew hits the mailbag — including pointed feedback about Brendan's background art choices — and gets into the unwritten rules of barbershop culture, the business of underground music, and why the "gift and the curse" of recognition hits differently at this level.Remember to like, review, comment, and subscribe to the show!

Pop the Trunk Presents: Knock 'Em Out the Box — Bonus Episode (Ep. 206)This is not a Pop the Trunk episode — this is the one the Knocker Nation has been asking for. After a long hiatus, Vinnie and Brendan are back in their corners for a bonus round of Knock 'Em Out the Box, the boxing podcast that started it all. No guests, no hip-hop detours — just straight boxing talk, picking up at Episode 206 right where they left off. On tap: Boots Ennis vs. Xander Zayas at Barclays Center, Bivol's mandatory defense, the sanctioning body circus, Vito Mielnicki Jr. at Boardwalk Hall, the state of UK heavyweight boxing, and a thorough breakdown of why Barclays Center needs this fight more than it lets on. These bonus episodes will live on the Pop the Trunk feed and will drop when the fight calendar demands it — this one was too good to skip.

The guys pick up where they left off, with Vinnie settling the record on some yellow journalism that's been circulating since last episode — and Brendan may or may not be heading to HR for a pre-show text that nearly ended the whole thing before it started. From there, the crew sits down for a full Pop the Trunk Pause, watching and breaking down the music video for "Cheese Steaks" off God of the Serengeti in real time. Billy directed it, and the behind-the-scenes stories are as raw as the footage — zero budget, gorilla-style, GoPro on a barbershop floor, Vinnie being dragged out of Liberty Bar every twenty minutes to shoot scenes he didn't want to do.Vinnie opens up about the sophomore slump anxiety going into God of the Serengeti, how the Beat Nuts beat became an anthem, and why at this point in his career, making videos painless is non-negotiable. The episode closes with listener mail, a full Brendan Long roast courtesy of the comments section, a tease of upcoming boxing content, and Vinnie going to war with the podcast's email address.

The boys open up the Pop the Trunk Mailbag! From the "unintentionally funny" rise of Nu-Metal to the crossover of 90s skateboard culture. The guys also dive deep into the legendary Chung King Studios, sharing a classic (and chaotic) story about Foxy Brown "wildin" over a missing turkey burger. Plus, we pay tribute to the late, great Bob Power, the sonic architect behind A Tribe Called Quest and D'Angelo.

In this episode, the boys dive deep into the monumental release of Wu-Tang Forever. Vinnie breaks down the sheer impossibility of the group's lineup, comparing the collective brilliance of the nine members to finding "ten John Lennons and McCartneys" in a single project.Vinnie also shares personal stories of hearing the record in real-time while guest-hosting with Bahamadia on Philly radio and watching the culture shift in an instant.Write to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mailbag@popthetrunkpod.com Follow us on Instagram @popthetrunk.pod Subscribe to the Youtube page @jmthiphop. Remember to like, subscribe, comment and review the show!!!

In this debut episode of Pop the Trunk, Vinnie Paz is joined by co-hosts Brendan Long and "Irish" Billy to discuss the origins of their friendship and the launch of this new creative venture. Shifting away from the strictly boxing-focused discussions of their previous collaborations, the crew dives deep into their shared history within the hip-hop and hardcore subcultures.Write to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mailbag@popthetrunkpod.com Follow us on Instagram @popthetrunk.pod Subscribe to the Youtube page @jmthiphop. Remember to like, subscribe, comment and review the show!!!

Shakur Stevenson dominates Teofimo Lopez en route to a world title in his fourth division at Madison Square Garden in front of the largest crowd in The Garden’s history. Josh Kelly upsets Bakhram and Xander Zayas takes down Abass Baraou. The boys also make a big announcement about the future of this show. Write to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠keotbboxing@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow us on Instagram @KEOTBBOXING Subscribe to the Youtube page @KEOTBPodcast. Remember to like, subscribe, and review the show!!!