The Audacity of Dope

I’ve been in New York this week for some ESPN day job stuff and didn’t really get a chance to do anything music related, as I’ve been so busy working and hanging with some great co-workers.  That changed on Friday when I took the day off to explore the city a bit and visited my people at UMG and WMG.  After a long day, I headed back to my hotel and noticed Twitter was a buzz with Kanye’s amazing rollout of his “New Slaves” video projected on to 66 walls across the world, including one in Brooklyn.  At first, I thought it was the only NYC showing, but after checking their schedule, I noticed the last showing of the night was a few blocks from my hotel but was supposed to start 5 minutes ago.

Having worked in the industry for 13 years, I’m fully aware of hip-hop time, so 5 minutes ago really meant it was going to start in about 15.  Tossed on some clothes and jogged down to the 5th Ave Prada store (right across from Trump Tower) and sure enough, there was a crowd of about 50-75 people waiting for the showing.  Within minutes, a large black truck pulled up and crew dressed all in black hustled to pull off the tarp covering the cargo bay and unveiled the projector and speakers (seriously looked like something a Batman villain would do in Gotham City).  After a quick set up, they showed the piece, which is, of course, just as dope in its style and content as it is in its guerrilla marketing rollout.  Yeezy is back and spitting that real.

After playing it, the crew said they would run it back in about 15 minutes. They left and came back like clockwork, but after setting it up, waited a good 10 minutes before showing it a 2nd time.

Turns out, Kanye himself was on the way to watch this showing as he is in NYC for Saturday Night Live later tonight. He stood behind us with a phone up, as if he was filming like everyone else. Right after it ended, he hopped in his Maybach and drove off. And then he made us pancakes (…Chappelle Show reference).

Shout to everyone in the crowd that night. Real cool atmosphere as all us Yeezy fans were excited to see his new work and be a part of the rollout. Shout to Global Grind and XXL for picking up my video and tweets, and any other sites that have posted it.

And shout to Kanye for the realness. #YeezySeason

Seattle people: If you’re interested in checking out a free show from Nacho Picasso, Capital Cities, and CRKNKN this Saturday, Hyundai is putting on this Re:Mix Lab event at Showbox Sodo and you can RSVP right here.  Along with the performances, there will be “state-of-the-art gaming systems, revolutionary technology, and cutting-edge sound systems,” plus, “Hyundai will reveal three custom built vehicles representing the ultimate in style, design, performance and innovation.”

If you’re looking for something to do Saturday night, check it out!

Some great footage recapping Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ two shows in Seattle, courtesy of Ryan and Jon Jon. Watching Mack’s ascent has been amazing and something that the entire region should be proud of. He’s doing it.

While in Seattle for the 2012 Capitol Hill Block Party, Malaysian-born singer Yuna visited SNSS for an interview and live performance.  We discussed her transition from Asia, the role MySpace, Indie Pop, and FADER played in her success, meeting and working with Pharrell, her creative process, her growing collection of cover records, life on tour, her self-titled US debut album, her next project, and more. Additionally, she performed two acoustic songs live in studio: “Live Your Life” (5:40) and “Decorate” (16:08).

Yuna is a true talent.  Catch up if you’ve been sleeping and keep an eye out for her to make some big waves in the near future.

Shout out to the Cornerstone, Detooz Films, and Le Fresh Perspective homies for helping make this happen.

This guy has made my favorite music of the past two years and can pretty much do no wrong right now. Wow.

Honestly, the verse was ill, but Mack rocking that jacket on BET is all you need in life.  And for all my label homies that hit me up about Mack pretty much every week, check the rhyme starting at 1:42.  That should answer your questions…

While I don’t think anyone is capable of improving on Frank Ocean’s flawless original, I was happy to see Yuna cover “Thinkin’ Bout You.”  She came with a unique twist on it and it turned out dope.  There’s a rumor that a certain Seattle based radio show might be linking up with Yuna in a few days for an interview and exclusive acoustic performance…

New School Noise is the brainchild of my guy DJ Same and Le Fresh Perspective, who hope that the event can shine light on some of the younger MC’s in the Seattle area.  The idea is pretty straightforward: fans will vote from a list of MC’s to decide who will perform at the showcase, which goes down August 19th at Neumos.  In the build up, they’ll be releasing a few of these teaser videos showing cyphers with some of the artists looking for votes.

Up above, you can see Dave B, Sean Brooks, Rebel, and J’Von, while down below, you’ve got Warm Gun, TayWill, Key Nyata, A-Rawlo, and Antbeezy.

Since Same has been helping out with Sound Session, we’re helping out with this program and co-signing it.  I think I may be hosting the event at Neumos too, but we’ll have more official news released on Le Fresh’s site, Neumos’ site, and TAOD as we get closer.

Yukimi, Fred, Erik, and Hakan answer a few questions in this interview and then perform two unreleased, never heard before songs: “Sunshine” and a cover of the Eurythmics’ “Here Comes The Rain Again.”  Easily one of my favorite bands in music these days…

I was already planning on posting this video of Dee-1′s SXSW adventures and then I saw footage of myself guarding him in the HoopxHang Tournament hahaha.  Let the records show that Team Hardknock dispatched Team Nola in that first round game, but on the real, chopping it up with one of my favorite new MC’s was a blast.  Much respect to Dee for his music and movement.  You’re gonna hear a lot from this dude in the near future…