This is My Years Through My Ears, a series about influential songs that have shaped influential lives. Each guest breaks down the soundtrack to their life story, picking the most personally impactful songs to represent each chapter along the way.

My name is Andres Tardio and today’s guest is Shea Serrano. He’s a writer, a host, and a philanthropist, and other things. His story is an inspirational one, going from humble beginnings to a career in education and eventually, the New York Times Bestseller’s list.

Shea’s sitting down with me just after launching No Skips, a podcast w/ my man Jinx, Brandon Jenkins, and before dropping his newest book, Hip-Hop (And Other Things). Go cop it and follow @sheaserrano everywhere.

Pre-Teens

Vanilla Ice — “Ninja Rap”

Wreckx-N-Effect — “Rump Shaker”

Early Teens

Da Brat — “Funkdafied”

Snoop Dogg feat. Daz Dillinger — “Murder Was The Case”

Late Teens

Lil’ Kim feat. Lil’ Cease & The Notorious B.I.G. — “Crush On You”

Missy Elliott — “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”

Twenties

Juvenile — “Ha”

Kanye West — “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”

Thirties

Kendrick Lamar — “untitled 02 | 06.23.2014”

Cousin Stizz — “Fed Up”