This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome marketing executive, party promoter and cultural connector Dela Yador to the Upper West Side! Bronx born and raised, Dela discusses meeting hip-hop heroes like Big Pun and DMX, moving from Catholic classes to a public high school and literally fighting for respect, gaining leadership from coaching youth basketball, taking a chance by joining school chorus, and what his Ghanan parents expected from his higher education. Dela talks about heading to Buffalo, New York for college, immediately finding himself on academic probation, returning to school with a more serious outlook, joining student government, finding a passion for promoting parties, linking up with DJ Enuff's Heavy Hitters crew, and fast becoming the big man on campus by bringing Snoop Dogg, Colin Powell, Kanye West, DJ Kast One and others to Buffalo. We get into Dela's return to New York City, his day jobs with VH1, BET, Pernod Ricard, his evenings out at clubs with the Heavy Hitters, and bringing the right mix of people, music and energy together for Opal Fridays. We also dive into the early days of HennyPalooza, his forever bond with Kam McCullough, the infamous iPhone note Dela wrote as an invite, the belief that this was bigger than just a basement game night, the work that each and every player put in, what the 5-year anniversary meant, why certain partnerships didn't work out, and why Dela appreciates the D'usse move. All that, plus Beyonce and Jay-Z as superheroes, why Dela has a reputation for being impossibly late, visiting Ghana in 2017, friends giving haircuts in college, doing good work in Nipsey's image, Dela's exciting new endeavors, which will bring together corporations, culture and youth empowerment, and much more!

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This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we celebrate episode 250 with our mom, who through resolve, strength, commitment, curiosity, love and generosity, has made her way through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We're thrilled to share her incredible journey, and know you'll enjoy this milestone episode. 

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This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we finally welcome Parks from The Joe Budden Podcast to the Upper West Side! We discuss growing up in Elmira, New York, his timing writing bars, one time outside a bar, and his time behind bars, interning in Chicago, moving to NYC, barely making ends meet on $200 a week as an audio equipment salesman, talking himself into a gig at DJ Premier's studio, meeting Joe Budden and becoming not just his engineer but also his therapist, watching Slaughterhouse form, working together and independently with Joe, Joell, Royce and Crooked I, meeting Eminem, his thoughts on all the Slaughterhouse projects, including the unheard album, touring as Joe's DJ, how he got a rep as a bad driver, why his crazy high school girlfriend was a worse driver than him, how he came to be a part of the podcast, what he thinks of being off-camera, what his girlfriend thinks of the podcast recording in their home, 6am sessions with Azealia Banks, how he's getting recognized these days, how the podcast tour handled the Nipsey Hussle tragedy, and so much more! #ParksHive activate!

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This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we are welcomed into Cash Money's NYC vault - really - to sit down with Birdman and Juvenile! We discuss a million things including Birdman's interest in Jeff's Bar Mitzvah, who can call him Birdman Baby or Bryan, Juve's work with A-Trak, recording in the same Houston studios as Destiny's Child, Anthony Davis wanting to leave New Orleans, appearing (or not) on MTV Cribs, how the Cash Money distribution negotiations went down with all the labels, Juve taking a leave of absence from his Shell Gasoline job to sign to Cash Money, how close Kanye West came to signing with them, where they were for the Saints Super Bowl run, the weirdest sound Mannie Fresh suggested to them in the studio, when the last time they went somewhere they weren't recognized, their thoughts on Brad Pitt's work post-Katrina, how the Ha Remix with Jay-Z came about, when they first met Bun B, what Juve thought when Swizz Beatz sent Down Bottom, which New York artists were their biggest supporters, and so much more! 

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This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal we welcome manager Ramya Velury to the Upper West Side! Known for her work with Ravie B, Goldlink, Tommy Genesis, Amrit and EQT, Ramya discusses growing up an only child in an Indian family in tiny Ashland, Kentucky, with big dreams, destined for the big city. Ramya talks about making the move and leaving her Kentucky roots and accent behind, her early days at New York University, designing her own major, studying in a class based around Diddy, customizing her own wardrobe, getting to know up-and-coming artists, befriending A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg and Action Bronson, and finding her place in the scene. We get into why she may have been a bad intern for Karlie Hustle, introducing herself to Funk Flex, working at Hot 97's Summer Jam, the importance of knowing what you don't want to do, working the door at Up & Down, the myths of club life, promoting shows, meeting Harry Bernstein of Agency88 and starting work in the agency world, and easing up on her studies so she could focus on having real New York City experiences. Ramya remembers her post-graduate life, moving to a fifth-floor walk-up at St. Mark's, how she and Goldlink connected and built trust, how she dove in the deep end on their first European tour, what value she brings to each of her clients, flying to Paris to pitch Tommy Genesis on building a business together, the subsequent album and tour rollout, the importance of building relationships horizontally, and the exciting future at EQT. All that, plus competitive tap dancing, #FutureHive, her friendship with David Amaya, Nur Ozdamar's skin care, the difference between a Southern accent and a country accent, hanging out at Walmart, the wrong way to dye your hair, putting your phone down and much, much more!

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This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome Hot 97 personality, Interscope recording artist and official member of the Heavy Hitters, DJ Megan Ryte to the Upper West Side! Megan, who escaped an abusive household as an early teen, went to college at age 16, and followed her passion for music and performance from Virginia to Florida to Texas and California before landing her dream job in New York, discusses for the first time in detail her significant health scares from last year. Megan talks about growing up in a household with no popular music, what led her to study pre-med, what it was like to discover hip-hop in college and how she dove head first into DJing. We get into her love of Eminem's music, going on the road with Amerie and K. Michelle, her big move down south, the creative ways she got on radio programmers' radars, living paycheck to paycheck, almost being cast on Love & Hip-Hop Miami, and what it felt like to have a radio vet tell her she wasn't cut out to be an on-air talent. Megan gets into her time as a jack-of-all-trades at a station in West Palm Beach, the opportunity that took her to Houston, how she fell in love with chopped and screwed music, finally finding acceptance and comfort in Texas, and when that same radio vet came back calling to have her audition for a spot at NYC's Hot97, the amazing words that Bun B spoke to send her on her way. We discuss Megan's transition to NYC life, how long it took to get used to being in that famed booth, building relationships with artists both young and established around the country, what she's aiming to bring to the clubs with her new music and everything that her Brooklyn brother DJ Enuff brings into her life. All that, plus meeting a new blood brother as adults, how she kept in shape in Miami, being around shootouts in the club, the quickest way to clear the dance floor (besides shootouts), learning to rely on others after a lifetime of handling everything on her own, and much, much more in this epic episode!

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This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome Roc Nation manager and marketing executive, Nelly Ortiz! Nelly, who is best known for her work alongside DJ Khaled, J. Cole and Big Sean, talks about growing up the daughter of two active members of the Army, what it was like to move cities a dozen times, how it became easier to leave as she got older, where she really considers home, the work she put into making new friends at each stop, and her role in the formative girl group, The Flower Girls. Nelly discusses her college dreams, her thoughts of following in the footsteps of her parents and joining the Armed Services, her passion for marketing, her love of learning and the heartbreak of being turned down for a Fulbright scholarship. We dive into her journey through the music industry, from securing an internship at Sony Music Latin in Miami to buying a one-way ticket to New York in the hopes of taking any position in the label system, why she showed up to work an hour early each day, how she kept relationships alive, and how Roc Nation came to bring her abroad to handle marketing and partnerships. We talk about her going to business school online while working on the rollout of Cole's 2014 Forest Hills Drive, working with DJ Khaled in Miami, being awarded a slot in Billboard Magazine's 40 Under 40 and - after all of these major moves - how it felt to move to Los Angeles to start this new chapter. All that plus: Shark Tank, Lenny S' gold couch, the perfect radio voice, what it means to be a coquito executive, what it was like to be in high school when Nelly Furtado and Nelly were popping when your name is Nelly and much, much more!

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This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome our great friend, the photographer Raven Varona, better known as Ravie B, to the Upper West Side! Known best for her images of Jay-Z and Beyonce, Cardi B, Future, LeBron James, Big Sean, D'ussePalooza and more, Raven discusses how she's leveled up in the last two years and explains her artistic ambitions for the year ahead. In this inspirational and dynamic episode, Raven talks about the logistics of the On The Run II tour, the type of organization it takes to keep track of 4000 new photos a night, the lens and shoes she packed and used while on the road for five months, the pros and cons of international Benihanas, how crew members spent their off-hours, and the picture from South Africa that most significantly matches her vision. We get into how she ended up flying a plane, why she doesn't have her driver's license, watching Game of Thrones with her boyfriend Mike, her rules for game night, teaching Low Key the right way to play Uno, and the biggest news concerning her love of seafood. We break down the values of social media validation, the theoretical perks of being an influencer, her relationships with Yvette Noel-Schure, David Amaya, Renell Medrano, Aleali May, her mother Leigh, what it felt like to see her photographs on a Times Square billboard and on official OTR II merch, and much, much more! 

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This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we welcome acclaimed photographer, visionary and professor Clay Patrick McBride to the Upper West Side! Clay breaks down the stories behind his brilliant images of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, The LOX, Lil Kim, Fat Joe, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Metallica, Nas, Juelz Santana, Indian Larry, Norah Jones, among others. Clay discusses growing up two hours north of New York City in Sullivan County a metalhead prone to vices, living in the shadow of his brother, long in search of himself, getting clean, the support of his father, and the fateful day he picked up a camera and looked through its lens. We talk about his time in France studying impressionist painting, his return to New York City, where he spent a year taking self-portraits and ultimately saw into his subjects' eyes, and how he proved to Vibe Magazine, The Source and XXL that his work could live in their pages. Clay shares incredible tales about his legendary SLAM cover with AI, building the Oval Office for XXL's President Carter cover, putting the Red Hot Chili Peppers into the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band uniforms, and a light almost electrocuting Lil Kim while she bathed in a hot tub. We get into his philosophy behind the lens, on set, in the classroom, regarding legacy, editing, being present, digital vs. film, picture takers vs. picture makers, the imagery he has on his walls at home, and much, much more! 

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This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we travelled to Los Angeles and finally sat down with John Legend for a deep, hilarious and very meaningful conversation! Thanks to Angelo, Richard and Todd at NightBird Recording Studio for the hospitality!

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