Unglossy

Unglossy

Is influence built through hard work—or shaped by the choices no one sees? Hosted by hip-hop legend Bun B, music industry veteran Jeffrey Sledge, and brand strategist Tom Frank, Unglossy cuts through the noise to explore what really drives creativity, influence, and legacy. No rehearsed talking points. No brand-approved answers—just honest conversations with people who’ve built something real. Unglossy brings you inside the minds of artists, athletes, founders, and cultural architects to unpack the grind behind the growth: the risks taken early, the setbacks that sharpened the work, and the discipline it takes to turn ideas into impact. If you care about culture, music, business, branding, or how ideas spread when effort meets opportunity, this is your front-row seat. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow @UnglossyPod and join the unfiltered conversation. Produced by Merrick Studios — where culture takes the mic.

Episodes

Jay Paterno: Happy Valley, Hard Truths, and Blitzed!

January 27, 2026 • 66 mins
Where you’re from doesn’t just shape you — it frames how you understand power, loyalty, and loss.Bun B is Houston to the core. Jeffrey Sledge carries New York City wherever he goes. And for Tom Frank, everything starts in State College, Pennsylvania — a town where fall Saturdays felt sacred, Penn State football felt pure, and Happy Valley felt like a place untouched by the rest of the world.Today's guest, Jay Paterno, grew up at th...
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RE-RELEASE: Mitchell Jackson

January 23, 2026 • 72 mins
Originally released February 25, 2025 Tom, Mickey and Jeffrey are back for a new season of Unglossy. In this compelling episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Mitchell S. Jackson opens up about his remarkable journey from the tough streets of Portland, Oregon, to becoming a celebrated writer and educator. Mitchell shares intimate stories of balancing street life with academics, the transformative power of writing, and the challenge...
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RE-RELEASE: Marcus Samuelsson

January 9, 2026 • 58 mins
Originally released April 18, 2024 "I recently stumbled across the Unglossy podcast – specifically the episode with Marcus Samuelsson. So tasty. I love how he explains cooking through sound."- Leon G. Witness culture and the unexpected converge, revealing the medley of tastes, sounds and experiences that influence the brand that is—Marcus Samuelsson. From a young age, Marcus aspired to be great by recognizing greatness in others. H...
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RE-RELEASE: Keenan Scott II

December 30, 2025 • 58 mins
Originally released March 21, 2025 In this episode of Unglossy, Tom and Jeffrey sit down with Keenan Scott II, a prolific playwright, poet, actor, director, and producer from Queens, New York. Keenan delves into his artistic journey, beginning with his early passion for visual arts and comic books, and transitioning into poetry and performance as he navigated his formative years in Maryland. His experiences at open mic nights in D....
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Owen Hanson (The Cocaine Quarterback): Fame, Fallout & the Fight Back

December 18, 2025 • 59 mins
This might be the wildest story we’ve ever told on Unglossy — and that’s saying something.This week, Bun B, Jeffrey Sledge, and Tom Frank sit down with Owen Hanson, better known as The California Kid or The Cocaine Quarterback. Once a USC walk-on turned national champion, Owen’s life took a sharp left turn from the football field into international drug trafficking, cartel money, federal prison, and headlines that sound fictional u...
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Trill in Real Time: Inside the Making of TrillStatik 5

December 12, 2025 • 70 mins
This week on Unglossy, we get rare, front-row access to hip-hop happening in real time. Tom and Jeffrey go full fly-on-the-wall as Bun B and Statik Selektah build TrillStatik 5 from scratch—live, unannounced, and completely unscripted—during Art Basel weekend in Miami.From surprise guests walking straight off the street into the booth, to verses written, recorded, and sequenced on the spot, this episode pulls back the curtain on wh...
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Soufiane “Souf” Bernoukh: Humor, Hoops, and Holy Buckets

December 1, 2025 • 48 mins
Tom Frank, Bun B, and Jeffrey Sledge sit down with Soufiane “Souf” Bernoukh — the mind behind Halal Wrist and one of the most original voices in sports entertainment today. Souf shares how a childhood full of jokes, a late start in basketball, and the hustle of Division III ball shaped his creative path. He unpacks the creation of his signature trick shot, the midnight hotel-shift videos that ignited his rise, and the Ramadan clip ...
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Noochie: Roots, Reinvention, and The Power of the Porch

November 22, 2025 • 76 mins
This week on Unglossy, Tom, Bun B, and Jeff pull up chairs with DC’s own Noochie—the mind, mic, and movement behind Live From the Front Porch. What starts as a freestyle on his stoop evolves into one of the most important new stages in contemporary culture, drawing everyone from Big G and Raheem DeVaughn to Robin Thicke, George Clinton, and Snoop in a borrowed wheelchair.Noochie walks us through his origin story—growing up in the s...
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Greg Street: Culture, Connection, and the Code of the South

November 7, 2025 • 75 mins
Before algorithms and playlists decided what we liked, DJs like Greg Street were the algorithm — breaking artists, building cities, and defining what hip hop felt like. In this episode, Bun B, Jeffrey Sledge, and Tom Frank sit down with the legendary DJ and radio personality whose career runs through every chapter of Southern music history.From Mississippi to Houston, Dallas to Atlanta, Street unpacks how the South built its own in...
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New Era Energy: VIBE Reloads + Two Mothers, One Aché Debuts

October 28, 2025 • 47 mins
In this special drop, Tom, Jeff, and Bun B introduce Two Mothers, One Aché: A Grief Dialogue, a powerful new series from Merrick Studios about love, loss, and the courage to heal out loud. You’ll hear why this show matters, why it belongs on our network, and why Bun is stepping up not just as a co-sign—but as a future guest.Then we get into last week’s headline: VIBE Magazine is teaming up with Rolling Stone. Smart evolution or cul...
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Unglossy x Comic Culture: Multiverse

October 17, 2025 • 71 mins
A stretch limo, three kids on bikes, and Pete Rock’s block—by the time the crew steps out, half the neighborhood’s there. That’s the energy of this Unglossy crossover: Tat Wza, Mickey Factz, Pete Rock, Bun B, Jeffrey Sledge, and Tom Frank colliding over comics, hip-hop, and the MCU with zero small talk. They go from childhood comics and bodega mystery packs to hot takes on Feige, Hulk’s nerfing, and whether Endgame was therapy or j...
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The Future Is Conversational: Cardi, Kimmel, and Football

October 11, 2025 • 74 mins
No guest, no fluff—just Bun B, Tom Frank, and Jeffrey Sledge turning up the signal and turning down the noise. We kick off with what’s cooking at Merrick Studios (Unglossy, Mixed & Mastered, Our Love/Hate Relationship with Comic Culture, Pitch Lab) and why podcasts are becoming the new cable. Then it’s Cardi B at Trill Burgers and the rise of celebrity cosigns as cultural currency. We get into comedy vs. consequence (Jimmy Kimmel’s...
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Michael Ford: Blueprints, Beats, and Belonging

October 2, 2025 • 58 mins
This week on Unglossy, Bun B, Tom Frank, and Jeffrey Sledge sit down with Michael Ford, The Hip Hop Architect—a designer using rhythm and rhyme to reshape skylines. From leading tThe Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx to launching the Hip Hop Architecture Camp, Ford proves design can be culture, not just construction.He shares how rap lyrics inspire real-world spaces, why representation matters in architecture, and how collaborations with...
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Chris Shepherd: Houston, Hustle, and Taste

September 25, 2025 • 73 mins
James Beard winner Chris Shepherd pulls up to Unglossy with Bun B, Jeffrey Sledge, and Tom Frank to talk real kitchen life—no foam, all flame. He traces the glide path from Tulsa dishwasher to Houston icon, why cooking clicked when school didn’t, and how using all five senses beats any recipe card. We dig into Underbelly’s whole-animal, write-the-menu-daily chaos; the gloriously unhinged One Fifth experiment (five concepts in five ...
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Hawaii Mike: Culture, Cannabis, and Connection

September 19, 2025 • 85 mins
On this episode of Unglossy, hosts Bun B, Jeffrey Sledge, and Tom Frank welcome Hawaii Mike, a creative force whose journey spans road managing Mobb Deep to editing at The Source. Today, he is the founder of Chef for Higher, where hip hop, cannabis, and culinary arts come together to create community through dining.  Together the crew reflects on the growth of the Unglossy network and dive deep into the evolution of hip hop culture...
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Chef Teach: Hustle, Heat, and House of Mac

September 11, 2025 • 75 mins
Chef Teach (Derrick Turton) pulls up to Unglossy with Bun B, Tom Frank, and Jeffrey Sledge to chart a wild route from Luke Records and Pitbull’s early grind to Miami’s cult-favorite House of Mac. We get into the origin of that legendary mac & cheese, the food-truck-to-brick-and-mortar leap, COVID pivots, DoorDash math, SOPs that save businesses, and why your playlist is part of the plate. Bun shares how a nudge turned into a moveme...
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Andre Reed: Part 2 – Grit, Greatness, and Growth

September 4, 2025 • 54 mins
Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Reed is back on Unglossy with Bun B, Tom Frank, and Jeffrey Sledge for Part 2 of our conversation. This time, the Bills legend opens up about life after football and the season ahead—mixing wisdom, humor, and a few bold predictions. From surviving –43 degree temperatures in Alaska to calling a 13-4 record for Buffalo this year, Andre gives us his unfiltered take on extreme conditions, fantasy footba...
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Andre Reed: Part 1 – Respect, Resilience, and Results

August 29, 2025 • 52 mins
Bun B makes it official as co-host of Unglossy, and we kick things off with a legend: Buffalo Bills icon and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Andre Reed. From a small-town kid in Allentown, Pennsylvania to four straight Super Bowl appearances and a gold jacket in Canton, Reed’s story is one of grit, growth, and giving back. In this first part of our two-part conversation, Andre takes us through the real playbook behind his success—relat...
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Bun B: Culture, Burgers, and the Real Trill

August 21, 2025 • 73 mins
In this powerhouse episode of Unglossy, hip-hop icon and cultural heavyweight Bun B (aka Bernard Freeman) joins Thomas Frank and Jeffrey Sledge for a deep, funny, and wildly inspiring conversation that spans decades — and industries.From his early days forming UGK with the late, great Pimp C to building Trill Burgers into America’s best burger brand (literally), Bun breaks down the milestones, missteps, and mindset that kept him bo...
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Keenan Scott II: Poetry, Passion, and Broadway Dreams

March 21, 2025 • 58 mins
In this week's episode of Unglossy, Tom and Jeffrey sit down with Keenan Scott II, a prolific playwright, poet, actor, director, and producer from Queens, New York. Keenan delves into his artistic journey, beginning with his early passion for visual arts and comic books, and transitioning into poetry and performance as he navigated his formative years in Maryland. His experiences at open mic nights in D.C. were pivotal, shaping his...
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