The HOT 97 host knows you hate him or hate to love him.
He prefers it that way.
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Either you likePeter Rosenbergor you dont.
No one is on the fence.
For many, youre either advancing the culture or youre standing in the way of its continuing evolution.
But a few things can be true at once.
I get it from everyone from trolls on Twitter to my mother.
We both got beat packs from producers.
If anyone liked something, Id say, Okay, what could you do to this?
Its sort of a puzzle.
Thats the fun part, really, putting songs together with my friend Kenny, who mixed the album.
When I started working on the music, I was making stuff that was kind of commercial.
I had a period of being kind of …
I originally got the show in the first place, years ago, for that exact reason.
But things have changed even more since I came here in 2007.
When I started doing Real Late, [music discovery] was all about blogs.
Now, thats dead, and youre competing against streaming services.
It doesnt mean the same thing to them.
I dont know that this would be the case anymore with a commercially successful artist.
So its just, like, its really weird.
I think I still feel that way, to be honest with you.
Artists would also send me new music and exclusives sometimes; labels would send stuff out.
Jump ahead to now, and the audiences already exist, and the artists already seem popular.
I didnt know where to go, bro.
I certainly dont live on TikTok in the spaces the music is coming from.
I wasnt super-passionate about it.
And then I started paying attention to what Mark Rosado was doing.
Mark has a clothing shop, and these artists were coming by,doing freestyles in his shop.
Id be like, Whosthisguy?
Mark started putting me onto this underground sound, a lot of which lives on my album.
I was familiar with the biggest pieces of that underground.
I was familiar withGriselda.
I was familiar with Roc Marciano.
Mark started actively telling the artists, Rosenberg wants your music and is going to play your music.
Around a year and a half ago, I started getting music directly from artists again.
Smaller promoters and artists would send Mark music, and Id get stuff cleaned for radio right away.
I started playing everyones stuff on Sunday nights.
I dont operate in the spaces where kids are finding music.
Because it feels impossible, growing up the way we grew up.
Its not a way that I would typically consume music.
But theres two things I would say: No.
Radio is the difference.
Doja Cat would be a great example.
The internet knew Doja Cat.
They were all intothe cow song.
They knew all of her silly internet stuff.
And then Doja Cat gave a radio star.
To me, radios not the difference between make it and break it anymore.
You cant make someones career by giving them a couple of spins on radio.
And I dont think you’re free to break it by not supporting one song.
Take it from someone who makes their living talking on the radio.
you might feel the impact that you have doing radio.
Its just more about conversation and personality now than it is about music.
Theyre tuning in to get your spin.
Youre on the air most days of the week, and thats enough time to get yourself in trouble.
But yeah, I have two shows.
Ones four hours, and ones four and a half.
I dont say that with any bitterness or regret.
I enjoy my job.
But when Im working for the WWE, people dont appreciate how hard the job of being on-air is.
Theyre looking at you to just give opinions.
They forget about the fact that youre part of the show, right?
Even if youre previewing a pay-per-view, youre still operating in the world of the show.
That skill set required to do WWE really helped me everywhere.
you could no longer be as freewheeling as you were.
I have a tendency in my life to argue against whoever Im in a space with.
I tend to be somewhat disagreeable with the people that I am in a room with.
Well, what if this isnt racism?
What if were jumping the gun here?
And Ebro is great.
The group is great for that conversation.
Theres a lot of progress thats been made that has led to people being more self-aware.
That can be enough for me to get dragged to hell.
Im going to lay low and think this one through.
Theres no longer a presumption of good intentions.
Whenever you slip up, all your worst old takes are trotted out in perpetuity.
Certain people dont like you.
At times, you make a good case for yourself, and at times, you dont.
But listen, this is what the job is.
You wanted this job.
But theres a real difference between the Twitter streets and the actual street.
Oh, 100 percent!Twitter streets remember every negative and throw it at me.
Im on theDrink Champspodcast this week, and I knew I would get hate for that.
It wasnt gonna be Lets give Rosenberg his flowers.
Hes been putting on for underground hip-hop for so long.
Its Rosenberg, I dont know, man … Culture vulture.
I have given more than Ive gotten back financially from hip-hop.
I do live off of hip-hop to a certain extent, and Im super-grateful for my morning show.
But Im there to be a funny, polished radio jock.
Thats not what I think of as my legacy in hip-hop.Thatis my Sunday-night show.
Thats my Peterpalooza concert.
You would think that people have to know who I am.
If the worst things you could find about me are these missteps
And there are some missteps.
Ive been critical of projects in a way that wasnt tactful.
I have a go at do that the way thats not cheap.
I dont do it with inauthentic takes.
I dont do it with takedowns of people who are undeserving.
But listen, not everyones out there focusing on my whole life.
Thebar to entry in hip-hop media is not where it was.
I have a problem sometimes with how they use their platform.
And I know people would say that about me.
I make a run at be understanding of that.
You sit there and yuck it up.
I dont want to be overly judgmental.
Its not that it upsets me; it worries me.
Look, I know people find Ebro and me annoying.
They find us curmudgeonly to a certain degree.
And theres a little bit of Who do you think you are?
And I love that.
At that time, you couldnt just bang out hip-hop on Spotify, and have a playlist come up.
To be interested in and to truly care to know about hip-hop literally required work and learning.
You had to buy magazines.
You had to buy music.
You had to find time to watch things when they were on.
In my case, it required coming to New York and recording the radio.
There was a certain effort level you had to put in.
Hes made this his life for a really long time.
But the irony of it is that thats what some people think of me.
But the average person doesnt.
That is a more respectful assessment than I expected.
Who are the broadcast heroes that made you want to get into radio?Bob Costas.
He used to have a syndicated show calledCoast to Coaston Sunday nights.
It was an interview show that aired late at night across the country on Sunday.
[Funkmaster] Flexwas a gigantic influence.
Im talking about early Flex, the mid-to-late 90s.
Flex was a huge influence on me.
I really wanted that job.
That was my dream, to get nights.
He aint leaving.Ive moved on.
Ive come to appreciate that Flex held on to this spot.
Hes still passionate about it.
So I would say Flex.
When I was in high school, it was definitely Howard Stern.
I was waiting to hear Howards name.Yeah, Howard definitely is one.
But I found certain things that he did to be undeniable.
Oh God, you have to hear this.
When he was having a moment on his show, you felt that everyone was listening.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
