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This week, Sequoia and special guest and comedian Ify Nwadiwe celebrate the 20th anniversary of My Chemical Romance’s iconic rock opera concept album, The Black Parade. They unpack the album’s legacy, Gerard Way’s powerful voice, and why its messages about life and death—especially through “The Patient”—still resonate today. Plus, is “Welcome To The Black Parade” the band’s best song? Does “Teenagers” hit differently as you get older? And did The Black Parade help make emo culture mainstream? They also discuss whether Disney rock acts like the Jonas Brothers were a stepping stone to more traditional rock music, what it was like growing up as Black emo kids, and how My Chemical Romance compares to Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, and Green Day. Tune in for a jam-packed episode fit for the album’s 20th anniversary! Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes Follow Ify Instagram @ifynwadiwe TikTok @therealify Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

This week, Sequoia, Jewel and Ryann celebrate Insecure 10 years after the hit HBO series premiered. They get into the messiness of your late twenties and adult friendships and, of course, Issa and Lawrence’s complicated relationship history. Plus, was Insecure written for Black Twitter? Who was the best match for Issa—Daniel, Nathan, or Lawrence? Was Molly secretly jealous of Issa? And what did the show get right (and wrong) about sex, mental health, and friendship? They also debate whether Los Angeles is a character, where Insecure ranks among other ensemble female comedies, and break out the mirror raps one more time. Tune in for a mega-sized episode fit for the show’s 10th anniversary! Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes Follow Jewel Instagram @jewelwickershow Follow Ryann Instagram @gudguyryry Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

This week, Sequoia and Jewel celebrate Aaliyah, 25 years after her tragic plane crash. They get into her One in a Million reinvention with Missy Elliott and Timbaland, her iconic effortless streetwear style, and her budding acting career. Plus, they debate who the real sons of Aaliyah are, which songs they simply can’t live without, from “Are You That Somebody?” to “Try Again,” and whether Aaliyah was the blueprint for the R&B cool girl. They get into all this, and more! Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes Follow Jewel Instagram @jewelwickershow Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

This week, Sequoia and Ryann revisit Step Up (2006), the dance movie with a banging soundtrack (Ciara's "Get Up”) and that made Channing Tatum a star. They attempt to understand why dance movies were EVERYWHERE in the 2000s, and why Eminem’s popularity fueled the rise of wiggers. Plus, Ryann and Sequoia look at why Black audiences embraced dance movies like Step Up, despite one of their most unfortunate tropes: there’s always a Black kid that has to die. They get into all this, and more! Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes Follow Ryann Instagram @gudguyryry Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

This week, Sequoia and Jewel take another look at the 2001 hit The Princess Diaries, adapted from Meg Cabot’s book of the same name. In the process, they reminisce about their own high school experiences, and compare those to “movie trope” ones. Plus, how come girls with glasses are always catchin’ strays? And why is it that Mia’s frizzy hair gets straightened when she gets a makeover?  Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes   Follow Jewel Instagram @jewelwickershow Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

This week, Sequoia and Ryann talk Beyoncé’s 2022 album Renaissance. And even though Sequoia will go to the mat to defend Beyoncé’s supremacy as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, living artists today, she puts her beef with the artist on front street. Listen to the episode to see how Ryann and Sequoia rank their favorite songs on the album. Spoiler alert: Their rankings differ. Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes   Follow Ryann Instagram @gudguyryry Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

Sequoia interviews rising alt-pop singer Alemeda, who wrapped up a six-city tour earlier this year. The Ethiopian-born singer and Sequoia bond over Paramore songs and cats. Alemeda also weighs in on the cat backlash directed at Doechii, with whom she recorded Beat a B!tch Up. Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes   Follow Alemeda Instagram @Alemeda https://www.alemedamusic.com/ Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

This week, Sequoia, Ryann and Jewel dissect the original Sex & the City and things get heated. Sequoia and Jewel are shocked to learn Ryann’s SATC crush. According to Jewel, he “looks like a thumb!” And they ALL have thoughts about Jennifer Hudson playing SJP’s assistant Louise from St. Louis in the first Sex and the City Movie.  Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes   Follow Jewel Instagram @jewelwickershow Follow Ryann Instagram @gudguyryry Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

This week, Sequoia interviews rising alt-pop singer Alemeda, who wrapped up a six-city tour earlier this year. The Ethiopian-born singer and Sequoia bond over Paramore songs and cats. Alemeda also weighs in on the cat backlash directed at Doechii, with whom she recorded Beat a B!tch Up. Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes   Follow Alemeda Instagram @Alemeda https://www.alemedamusic.com/ Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

This week, Sequoia and Ryann travel back in time to the year they both got pictures of themselves in front of the pink wall and choker necklaces were cool. And the music? Well, 2016 was a very good year. With artists like Drake, Rihanna, Frank Ocean and Beyoncé and so many others at the top of their game, Ryann and Sequoia each had a difficult time choosing only five songs to play at their respective dance parties.  Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes   Follow Ryann Instagram @gudguyryry Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

This week, Sequoia and Ryann revisit the original Shrek movie, which has since spawned three other sequels with a fifth movie scheduled for 2027. They get into why the movie was such a success and ask the question: Are Shrek and Fiona really…Black? Plus, can they guess what fairy tale character is speaking from just the audio clip? Find out! Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes   Follow Ryann Instagram @gudguyryry Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

Join us for a conversation with host Sequoia Holmes and hemlocke springs! The indie-pop artist behind the viral hit “girlfriend,” known for standout vocals, offbeat lyrics, and a fresh alt-pop sound. We get to know Hemlocke and talk about music, touring, navigating the industry as a Black woman, and favorite Paramore music!! Check out Hemlocke’s new album the apple tree under the sea, and the upcoming tour! Check out  Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes   Follow hemlock springs Instagram @hemlockesprings Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

If you’re seeing this before May 1, 2026, the MaxFunDrive is taking place RIGHT NOW, and it’s never been easier to support Black People Love Paramore. If you are not a MaxFun member, and enjoy this show, please take a moment to keep it going for just $5 a month at MaximumFun.org/joinparamore. In this week’s episode, Sequoia and Jewel revisit Devil Wears Prada twenty years after its release in 2006. What is it about this film that makes it so beloved? Sequoia wonders if Hilary Duff would have made a good Andy (Anne Hathaway’s role). Plus, they’ll put their casting director hats on to cast the main characters “Blackly”, and Sequoia makes some predictions about what will happen in Devil Wears Prada 2. Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes Follow Jewel Instagram @jewelwickershow Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

It's MaxFunDrive. And here, for the first time, we give you an exclusive look (well, listen) at the craft of podcasting: presenting Casters on Casters. Three different coasts are represented in this episode. Recording from Los Angeles is Sequoia Holmes (Black People Love Paramore) on the West Coast of the U.S. Dimitry Pompée (Eurovangelists) joins the conversation from the D.C. area on the East Coast. And nearly 4000 miles east of him, is Ella McLeod (Comfort Creatures) from London. The trio share what it's like behind the scenes, how they got into podcasting, and what they all have in common. Plus, the various challenges they've encountered making their shows. If this glamorous, in-depth journey into what makes your favorite hosts tick inspires you, support them by joining as a member at maximumfun.org/join. Edited and Produced by Laura Swisher for Maximum Fun. Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore

This week, Sequoia and Ryann are joined by Nadirah, a digital content creator and author of First Things First: Hip-Hop Ladies Who Changed the Game. The trio reflect on the cultural impact of Beyoncé’s seminal album Lemonade, and also attempt to rank her albums and songs from best to…not best.  This album is so important to Sequoia, that she ditched Wikipedia and wrote the topic description from her heart. As Sequoia describes it:  Lemonade is an album by cultural phenom and generational talent Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, where she takes us through a deeply tumultuous and traumatic time in her marriage to Jay-Z, including accusations of infidelity and lying. Throughout the visual story, poems, and lyrics, she weaves in references to Black American history, generational curses, and triumph, telling a rich, complete, compelling story. Period. Buy Mocha Grande Merch Follow Sequoia Instagram @SequoiaBHolmes TikTok @SequoiaBHolmes   Follow Ryann Instagram @gudguyryry Follow Nadirah Instagram @hinadirah Follow BPLP Pod Instagram @bplppod TikTok  @bplppod Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinparamore