This week, Alex and Wesley are joined by Grantland’s Dave Schilling to talk about an alleged nonwhite casting boom in the wake of TV’s Empire and Black-ish. Is this for real? They move on to a conversation about Empire itself. Then it’s on to a discussion of Kendrick Lamar’s second album, To Pimp a Butterfly, thematic coherence in rap records, and what on earth it means not to be able to subject Lamar’s record to pop criticism.

Listen to the podcast here.

Here are links to topics discussed in this week’s show:

Empire and Ethnic Casting

“Kingdom Came: Notes on ‘Empire’ and the State of Black Television Drama,” Grantland, March 25, 2015

“Pilots 2015: The Year of Ethnic Castings – About Time or Too Much of Good Thing?,” Deadline, March 24, 2015

“Identity Politics: Is Lucious Lyon of ‘Empire’ the Black Don Draper?,” Grantland, March 19, 2015

To Pimp a Butterfly

“Notes on the Hip-Hop Messiah,” The New York Times Magazine, March 24, 2015

“The Kendrick Lamar ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ Shootaround,” Grantland, March 17, 2015

“The Overwhelming Blackness of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘To Pimp a Butterfly,’” Jezebel, March 17, 2015

“Kendrick Lamar, Emboldened, but Burdened, by Success,” New York Times, March 17, 2015

Jam of the Week

“Saturday Love,” Cherrelle, featuring Alexander O’Neal, 1985