Exclusive: Genius Partners With MTV to Release Never-Before Seen Interviews With Ol' Dirty Bastard, Cam'ron and More

Future interviews will include LL Cool J, DMX, Method Man, Redman, and Cam'ron, as well.

Genius, the online annotation platform, is partnering up with MTV to unearth a number of never-before-seen interviews from 1997 to 1998 with classic hip-hop artists. For the first time ever, video footage of the interviews, complete with full transcriptions, will be published on Genius.com with annotations from fans, contributors, and a number of well-known journalists.

Today, they kick things off with a 1997 interview between Josh Tyrangiel (Bloomberg Media) and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, during which he reveals his struggles with staying clean, the importance of birth control, and his family issues. ODB biographer Mickey Hess as well as Tyrangiel, who conducted the original interview, will add annotation, as well.

“Genius lets all of us contribute to the conversation about the cultural moments we’re passionate about, and there aren’t a lot of people more passionate than fans of '90s hip-hop,” Ilan Zechory, co-founder and president of Genius, said in a press statement. “As a Wu-Tang fan who grew up on MTV, I’m extremely excited to share these rare interviews with the world, and look forward to reading what the fans have to say.”

Earlier this month, Genius made headlines after former The New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones moved over to the ever-expanding company. Genius has raised $55 million in venture capital funding since its founding in 2009. Originally created to annotate rap lyrics, the site has gone further with a goal of "annotating the world." 

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Future interviews will include LL Cool J, DMX, Method Man, Redman, and Cam'ron, as well. For now, take a glimpse at what the MTV and Genius collab will be over at Genius.com and check the ODB interview above. 

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