The Ringer
Analyzing the music and meaning of one album per season, one song per episode. Join host Cole Cuchna as he dives deep into albums by Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Radiohead, Beyonce, Tyler The Creator, Frank Ocean, and more. Let's Dissect.
3d ago
J.I.D. and Dissect's Cole Cuchna to break down his Grammy-nominated album God Does Like Ugly. 00:00 Cold Open / Intro 01:45 Album Title Breakdown 05:35 "YouUgly" Breakdown 17:23 "Glory" Breakdown 25:29 "Wrk" Breakdown 31:00 "Community" Breakdown 41:22 "Gz" Breakdown 46:39 Melodic Section of "GDLU" 51:03 "On McAfee" Breakdown 54:51 "Of Blue" Breakdown 01:00:50 "K-Word" Breakdown 01:04:05 What's the message of GLDU? 01:05:18 JID Says Next Project his BEST - Host: Cole Cuchna Guest: J.I.D. Editor: Kevin Pooler Engineer: Jon Jones Producer: Justin Sayles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 9
Dissect's Cole Cuchna is joined by friends Camden Ostrander and Margeaux Labat to discuss their favorite music of 2025, including... Favorite Musical Moments (04:09) Favorite "Underground" Albums (13:09) Favorite Albums of the Year (31:20) Favorite Songs of the Year (1:13:05) You can listen to a playlist of their picks here . - Host: Cole Cuchna Guests: Camden Ostrander, Margeaux Labat Audio/Video Editor: Kevin Pooler Additional Production: Justin Sayles Theme Music: Birocratic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 2
The LSS crew is back with a year-end draft to celebrate the quarter-century mark in music. Cole, Charles, and Justin draft songs across five different categories: Best Song, Worst Song, One-Hit Wonder, Moment Maker, and Personal Favorite. Who won the draft? Hit the comments and let us know. Hosts: Cole Cuchna and Charles Holmes Producer: Justin Sayles Video Producer: Kevin Pooler Engineer: Kayla Talley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 25
Clipse’s Let God Sort ’Em Out is Dissect’s pick for Best Rap Album of 2025 . In this episode, we break down 10 of the most mind-blowing bars from the project, line by line, decoding the layers of wordplay, cultural references, and religious symbolism that make this album so lyrically dense. 🎵 Chapters 00:00 Pusha T, “So Be It” 01:40 Malice, “Ace Trumpets” 04:25 Pusha T, “Ace Trumpets” 07:14 Malice, “M.T.B.T.T.F.” 09:29 Pusha T, “P.O.V.” 11:42 Pharrell, “So Be It” Sample Breakdown 14:01 Pusha T, “Chains & Whips” 15:42 Stove God Cooks, “F.I.C.O.” 16:51 Push & Malice, "FICO" 19:40 Malice, “So Far Ahead” 21:44 Malice, “Birds Don’t Sing” 💬 Subscribe for more breakdowns of hip-hop’s greatest writers - from Kendrick Lamar to Tyler, The Creator, and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 18
From Rakim to Kendrick Lamar, this is the story of hip-hop’s obsession with numbers. Dissect's Cole Cuchna breaks down the evolution of “number bars” - a lyrical tradition where rappers use math, numeric sequences, and wordplay to showcase technical skill and encode hidden meaning. Beginning with Rakim’s groundbreaking verse on “My Melody” (1986) - a quatrain built around groups of seven that secretly mirrors his own 21-letter name - we trace how MCs have used numbers as both a mathematical signature and a symbolic device for decades. From Melle Mel’s divine 7-count in “Superrappin” to Jay-Z’s “22 Twos”, Biggie’s “Ten Crack Commandments,” and Mos Def’s “Mathematics,” numbers became an essential part of hip hop tradition and lyricism. By the 2000s, artists like Lupe Fiasco, J. Cole, JID, Vince Staples, and Kendrick Lamar transformed number schemes into complex storytelling tools. We unpack everything from Lupe’s hidden 3–2–1 countdown on Kanye West’s “Touch the Sky” to Kendrick’s quantum-level equations on “Nosetalgia.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 11
In this emergency episode, Cole shares his initial thoughts on Rosalia's new album LUX, plus provides a brief breakdown of the album's four movements, and shares how its beginning and end connect thematically and narratively. How are you feeling about LUX? Comment below. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 4
Chance the Rapper and Dissect’s Cole Cuchna sit for an in-depth, track-by-track breakdown of Chance’s new album Star Line . We dig into the meaning behind the album’s title, the symbolism of its artwork, and the historical references woven throughout - from Marcus Garvey and the Black Star Line to the Wattstax documentary and beyond. Chance dissects specific lyrics, discusses the spiritual and political threads running through the project, and shares how themes of resistance, memory, and Black liberation shaped the sound and vision of Star Line . This is the definitive deep dive into Chance’s most ambitious work to date. Chapters: 00:00 Intro / Tour Experience 03:50 ‘STAR LINE’ Title Breakdown 14:45 Album Art Breakdown 21:25 “Star Line Intro” Breakdown 44:23 Why Wattstax Doc is Sampled 48:51 “Ride” Lyric Breakdown 01:06:00 “No More Old Men” Breakdown 01:17:36 “The Negro Problem” Breakdown 01:23:49 “Drapetomania” Breakdown 01:31:06 “Back to The Go” Breakdown 01:38:08 “Space and Time” Breakdown 01:50:27 “Letters” Breakdown 02:00:42 “Speed of Love” Breakdown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 16
It all comes down to this! Season 4 of Last Song Standing concludes with Cole and Charles finally crowning the Best Album of the 21st Century (so far). Each album that advanced to the finale now duke it out in a cut-throat bracket that includes Frank Ocean's 'Blonde', Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly', Daft Punk's 'Discovery', Beyonce's 'Lemonade', MF DOOM's 'Madvillainy', and more. What artist should be selected for next season of Last Song Standing? Hosts: Cole Cuchna & Charles Holmes Producer: Justin Sayles Video/Audio Engineer: CT Video/Audio Editing: Kevin Pooler Theme Music: Birocratic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices