The terrific six-episode podcast “Mogul: The Life and Death of Chris
Lighty,” which made its début on Spotify this spring, came out
everywhere else yesterday. It’s essential listening. Narrated by Reggie
Ossé, the host of the long-running hip-hop podcast “The Combat Jack
Show,” “Mogul” tells the story of hip-hop—and stories about friendship,
ambition, depression, creativity, and the American Dream—through the
life of the late Chris Lighty, who started out carrying record crates
for Kool DJ Red Alert as a teen-ager and ended up managing artists like
Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, Nas, and 50 Cent. Lighty made deals
that changed fates of artists, labels, and the industry itself. He was
admired, even revered; he had a loving family and close friends. In
2012, he died of an apparent suicide, shocking those who knew him and
knew of him.
In telling his story, “Mogul” advances podcasting in a few important
ways. It’s a big step in the evolution of the emerging…
