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. 

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

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   

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

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

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 

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

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`