Billboard’s Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century Podcast: Lil Wayne (No. 21) & Bruno Mars (No. 20)

On this week’s (Sept. 6) episode of the Best Pop Stars of the twenty first Century podcast, we check out a pair of “Mirror” males: all-time rap legend Lil Wayne (No. 21) and basic pop entertainer Bruno Mars (No. 20).

First, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by workers author Kyle Denis and deputy director of R&B/hip-hop (and host of Billboard Unfiltered) Carl Lamarre to speak in regards to the self-proclaimed Finest Rapper Alive, Lil Wayne. We share reminiscences from Wayne’s golden age — specifically of 2008, the official 12 months of Weezy — and break down each how he was capable of flip all of common music into Wayne’s World, after which how he was capable of retreat from the highlight with out sacrificing his relevance or his legacy. We additionally go deep on the query that many have had upon seeing the rapper born Dwayne Carter’s identify on our checklist: Is Lil Wayne undoubtedly even a pop star within the first place?

Then, at across the 45:40 mark, Carl is changed by Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart supervisor Trevor Anderson to pivot to all issues Bruno Mars. We analyze how Bruno Mars was capable of show an instantaneous exception to so many high 40 guidelines of the 2010s: an old-school pop purveyor in an period of rap and EDM, a confirmed triple-threat performer in an period of bed room pop stars, and a distant star persona in an period of chronically on-line oversharers. We additionally share our takes on how Bruno has one way or the other gone almost a decade and a half as a preeminent pop hitmaker with out ever as soon as even hinting at a flop period — and the way lengthy he can preserve his profitable streak up from right here.

Hearken to our newest beneath, make amends for our previous episodes right here, and make sure to subscribe to Billboard‘s Best Pop Stars of the twenty first Century collection wherever you get your podcasts! (New episodes will likely be revealed each Friday, following the publishing of our two new Best Pop Star rankings for that week.)