Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 3

One of Ones: Lessons From 50 Cent

The first time I interviewed 50 Cent, the year was 2008, and we’d both started new chapters in our careers. I’d gotten my first big break, landing a staff reporter job at Forbes just out of college. And 50 had just gotten his first really big break: a $100 million payout for his stake in Vitaminwater’s parent, Glaceau, when Coca-Cola bought the company for a little over $4 billion.

But what really struck me at the time was not his massive windfall, which represented the biggest single-deal haul—o...

Why Jay-Z Couldn't Beat The Market

Jay-Z will likely go down as one of the greatest performers of all time. But his portfolio’s performance leaves something to be desired—at least compared to the S&P 500 Index over the past year, by my estimation.

Last summer, I assembled a hypothetical “Jay-Z Index,” a portfolio meant to mirror the billionaire’s mix of mostly private assets. As someone who used to do Jay-Z net worth estimates for Forbes—and wrote an entire book on him—I figured my instincts on what this index would contain were a...

One Of Ones: Lessons From Quincy Jones

Though I once wrote an entire book about Michael Jackson, I only ever managed to interview his most significant collaborator—superproducer Quincy Jones—once. My discussion with Jones, who made his name as a jazz musician before producing pop classics including Thriller and Bad, centered around the unlikely topic of electronic dance music.

In his succinct wisdom, Jones managed to sum up EDM’s challenge, at least as it stood back in 2015, rather perfectly.

“It is a fad right now,” he told me in the ...

Introducing “One Of Ones”

If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you’re probably familiar with Trapital founder Dan Runcie, a good friend of the Zogblog. I’ve been a frequent guest on his podcast over the years, talking about everything from the history of Motown Records to the iPod’s impact on music.

Going forward, we’ll be making things a little more official. We’r…

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Introducing “One of Ones”

If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you’re probably familiar with Trapital founder Dan Runcie, a good friend of the Zogblog. I’ve been a frequent guest on his podcast over the years, talking about everything from the history of Motown Records to the iPod’s impact on music.

Going forward, we’ll be making things a little more official. We’re launching a monthly series called “One of Ones,” where we’ll delve into the dealings of the world’s most successful moguls and what makes them ...

My Two-Year-Old's Favorite Songs

The incandescently delightful Riley Greenburg turned two earlier this week, and my list of favorite things about her is nearly infinite. Here are a few from a routine daycare pickup: The way she zooms into my arms like an adorable human cannonball; the manner in which she grabs my hand and says “walkywalky!” before leading me to the door; and how, once outside, she waves to strangers, then points to me and proudly proclaims, “Riley dada.”

Readers of this newsletter might be particularly intereste...

The Winner Of The Drake Vs. Kendrick Feud: J. Cole

Over the past several weeks, hip-hop has been consumed by a long-simmering dispute between the biggest names of the current generation. Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been releasing diss tracks so fast you might think A.I. is involved (and it is, at least to some extent).

As clever zingers have given way to ugly allegations, observers have been quick to p…

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The Winner of the Drake vs. Kendrick Feud: J. Cole

Over the past several weeks, hip-hop has been consumed by a long-simmering dispute between the biggest names of the current generation. Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been releasing diss tracks so fast you might think A.I. is involved (and it is, at least to some extent).

As clever zingers have given way to ugly allegations, observers have been quick to pronounce winners, with some declaring Drake the victor and others calling the contest for Lamar.

Yet, as someone who has spent the past decade-pl...

Obituary Pirates: A.I.'s Ghastly Biographers

When my beloved father passed away on December 18th, the editors at the New York Times and Washington Post deemed his life worth chronicling in a pair of thoughtfully reported obituaries. I spent a fortnight crafting one, too.

So imagine my surprise when, less than a week later, three whole “books” popped up for sale on Amazon: the ever-so-creatively titled Biography of Dan Greenburg; the slightly better Dan Greenburg: Ink and Humor; and my personal favorite, Oy Vey! The Life and Times of Dan Gre...

How To Make Records Greener

We’ve all heard the good news about vinyl, a steady drumbeat of recovery over the past two decades. After bottoming out at 857,000 units in 2005, LP sales have have increased every year since, surging another 14% to 49.6 million units last year.

The bad news hasn’t made quite as many headlines, but it’s very clear: vinyl records are pretty terrible for …

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