Rapper Big Pooh got his start in the critically beloved North Carolina trio Little Brother. But over the past decade, he’s made a series of excellent and increasingly ambitious solo records, culminating in the new EP Words Paint Pictures.

We talked to Pooh about Little Brother’s early success and major-label stumbles; the truth about radio; the demise of the middle class; and the bizarre cease-and-desist letter that put one of his albums on hold for almost three years.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/101/ for full show notes and comments.