On Episode 108 of the Guest Speaker Series, we welcome an artist we’ve been a fan of since before the inception of the podcast: Burlington, Vermont’s very own maari of 99 Neighbors! maari, formerly known as Sam Paulino, is one of the founders of the viral sensation that was 99 Neighbors, a collective of 10 creatives all from the Burlington area who became household names after their breakout album ‘Television’ in 2019. maari talks in detail how ‘Television’ changed the band’s lives, including the song “Champion” being featured on ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’, to then moving to Chicago and being signed to Warner Records and Chance the Rapper’s management team. They were drawing numerous comparisons to other hip-hop collectives of the era, such as Odd Future and BROCKHAMPTON.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, as maari details the group’s recent decision to not release music together anymore at the conclusion of their 2021 album ‘Wherever You’re Going I Hope It’s Great’. He explains the desire for all of 99’s members to branch out and release solo music, which ultimately led to maari teaming up with fellow Vermont-based producer Es-K for his debut solo album ‘All Is Fair In Love & War’, a 10 track masterpiece which also features frequent Drake collaborator, Quentin Miller.

Mike and maari also discuss a variety of other topics, including the cultural importance of SoundCloud, their mutual admiration for Brockton, MA’s Van Buren Records, which artists he thinks are blending genres in the most creative ways, the state of Vermont’s music scene, the hilarious name of his first ever hip-hop group as a kid, the amazing moment he got to meet Tyler, the Creator, and so much more.

Follow maari on Instagram: Stream 'All Is Fair In Love & War' on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/50Wp07fheUGFPrdixwNCHf?si=tt0Xn_hOSxesSCqa6rc1JQStream 'All Is Fair In Love & War' on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/all-is-fair-in-love-war/1738196517Stream 99 Neighbors on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5uhqkMm8dyQvX83kl4Znq0?si=1u9ff9A3TQ684Qsrh_Zo4AStream 99 Neighbors on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/99-neighbors/1437066478

Check out our studio, AOA Studios, and book a session or service with us: https://www.aoastudios.org/inquiriesbooking

Follow our social media and blogsInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/turntableteachers/?hl=enTik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@turntableteachersBlog - https://www.turntableteachers.com/blogShop - https://www.turntableteachers.com/shop

Subscribe to our streaming services Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-turntable-teachers/id1448694925Google Play - https://playmusic.app.goo.gl/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&apn=com.google.android.music&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Icujt6fhi2je7zzfxjkr7glcowe?t%3DThe_Turntable_Teachers%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/user-538618877Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4UJh499meoTP5wV2b2jrb0?si=EMaTjq9CR2-_zA6orKQNEQ