Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The Heist World Tour (Northwest, Pt. 1)

Posted in Artists, Live Performances, Videos on November 11th, 2012 by Hyphen

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.

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Jabari presents Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (documentary)

Posted in Artists, Other Peoples' Interviews, Videos on October 27th, 2012 by Hyphen

Thoroughly enjoyed this documentary from Jabari on the homies Mack & Ryan, shot during the lead up to their stellar album, The Heist, and including behind the scenes footage of the “Thrift Shop” music video.  Shout to everyone involved with this.

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Shit Girls Say, Episode 4

Posted in Comedy, Videos on September 23rd, 2012 by Hyphen

“I thought you left!”

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The Physics – Tomorrow People (Kickstarter Campaign)

Posted in Artists, Videos on July 15th, 2012 by Hyphen

As I’ve mentioned numerous times on TAOD, Twitter, SNSS, Facebook, various hip-hop panels, and just about any other place someone’s made the mistake of giving me a voice, the Physics are my favorite musicians in the Northwest.  They make the exact kind of hip-hop I love: soulful, genuine, complex, smooth, laid back, dope music.  They’ve put out a few projects over the years (which I highly recommend you cop right here) and now they’re back with their third full length LP, Tomorrow People.

They’re asking for assistance via a Kickstarter Campaign and any support you can provide will be well worth it.  Cop the album, a shirt, a hat, or even just donate a dollar to support the cause.  Anything you can provide is appreciated.  More information in the video above and the copy below:

After making music together for over a decade and a half, we are close to finishing our third full-length album, Tomorrow People. We are excited to release it on August 25. All we need is help from you.

Tomorrow People is pretty much about dope raps, dope beats, and dope hooks. After putting out our last LP, Love is a Business, and touring with the Blue Scholars last fall, we went straight back to the lab to produce a rap record that is more lyrical than our last, featuring some of Seattle’s best like Jake One, Sol, Grynch, Vitamin D, J. Pinder, and more. With this release, we are on the cusp of attaining our goals as musicians, knowing that tomorrow is unknown, but hoping that tomorrow will be amazing.

Those who pledge will have access to a wide range of incentives, including digital and physical copies of the album before the release date, Kickstarter-exclusive shirts and snapback hats, a verse from Thig, a beat from Justo, invites to a private Seattle hip hop BBQ, and more.

All funds raised through this campaign will help fund the mixing, mastering, duplication, and promotion of Tomorrow People. Anything we raise above our goal will go straight into a still-unannounced fall tour. The more backers we get, the more cities we can play in.

Please help us spread the word, and help us bring our music straight to you! Your support is GREATLY appreciated.

-The Physics

Support here.

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Yuna – Thinkin’ Bout You (video)

Posted in Artists, Live Performances, Music Videos, Videos on July 13th, 2012 by Hyphen

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…

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Henri 3: Le Vet

Posted in Art, Comedy, Videos on July 7th, 2012 by Hyphen

I can’t get enough of Henri and his growing disillusionment with the world. Here’s video three, another masterpiece. If you missed the first two, click here.  From the looks of the credits, Henri calls Seattle his home.  Makes sense.

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New School Noise Cyphers

Posted in Artists, Live Performances, Sound Session, Videos on July 5th, 2012 by Hyphen

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.

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The Freshest In The Northwest Debate

Posted in Comedy, News, Politics, Radio, Random Ish, Videos on July 4th, 2012 by Hyphen

Ah yes, the list that generated enough tweets in the Seattle hip-hop community to trend the other day has reached its conclusion with the release of the #1 video above.  For those unaware, D-Money of Juice Radio put together this project inspired by the MTV “Hottest MC” debate where he asked several media figures in the Seattle/Tacoma area to submit lists of their top 15 “freshest MC’s.”  The panel was comprised of myself, Casey Carter, Sara from Fresh N Def, Sermon from Sermon’s Domain, DJ SupaSam, DJ Swervewon, Josh Rizeberg, and DJ Iceman.  A final slot was reserved for fan votes collected on Juice Radio’s website and you can view the entire list and the accompanying videos here.

We were told to construct the list using specific criteria focusing on solo MC’s (not groups or singers) and their accomplishments within the past year.  The various categories we were instructed to key on ranged from sales/downloads to radio play, from concert draws to media recognition, and every variable you can think of in between.  In the end, even with the criteria, the idea was to make picks based on who we felt were the overall “freshest” in the NW, which is obviously subjective to each individual.  Not surprisingly, we had fairly different lists, and also not surprisingly, it was revealed during the course of our discussion that some of the panel did not follow the criteria or fully understand it.  What’s a hip-hop list without some controversy from the very start (and the inability to do the most basic tasks correctly)?

The format allowed for the panel to bump up artists if we were convinced during our discussion that they had been voted to an incorrect slot.  Personally, I would have preferred the panel to simply fill out their lists accurately from the jump and then we could stick with where someone was voted.  If you’re deemed knowledgeable enough to be on the panel, you should be able to construct a good list and defend your picks without getting swayed during the discussion to vote someone up or down.  That said, when Macklemore was revealed as #3 on the list, I was happy we’d have a chance to vote him to his correct position at #1 because it’s clear that with the criteria we were told to use, nobody has excelled more than him in the past year.  It’s not even debatable in my opinion.

I was disappointed that the list didn’t unanimously have him at #1 to begin with, but I can’t speak for the selections of any other panel member.  All I know is that only 6 of the 15 artists I selected made the final list (though they only revealed the top 10, so I suppose 5 were never going to make it).  Of those, I think the most startling omissions were Geologic (aka Prometheus Brown) and Ish (aka Palaceer Lazaro of Shabazz Palaces).  To conclude a “Freshest In The NW” list without two of our most successful and influential artists, who continue to release great music to widespread critical and consumer acclaim, seems like a travesty.

Regardless, it seems the list accomplished what it set out to do, which was to generate conversation about all the talent we have in the Northwest.  Were there things I would do differently if this were my project?  Absolutely, starting with the fact that I would never do it to begin with.  However, this is Juice Radio’s creation and I enjoyed giving my two cents in the discussion.

That said, I’m troubled by the reactions of many people, mainly because they seem to be attacking the idea that this is some sort of definitive list.  Of course it’s NOT a definitive list!  I thought that would have been common sense, but yet again, for the 24823948239423424th time in my life, I’ve overestimated the intelligence and comprehension levels of the general public (though if I continue to do that, it’s really more my fault than theirs).  Individual lists are fine, but it’s the idea that combining a group of lists, from anyone, somehow transforms these individual opinions to fact that is completely absurd.  I assumed everyone would understand that, but I was wrong.

I hope you enjoyed the debate and the videos, but I’d advise you do yourself a favor and don’t take it too seriously.  Then again, that’s also just my opinion…

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Nardwuar vs. Curren$y, Pt. 3: The Nard Strikes Back!

Posted in Artists, Other Peoples' Interviews, Videos on June 3rd, 2012 by Hyphen

As I mentioned before, there are few things better than a Curren$y and Nardwuar conversation. I mean, just look at the frame above. Simply awesome.

“…and now she grants wishes!?!?!?”

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Little Dragon performance and interview on Encore Sessions (video)

Posted in Artists, Live Performances, Other Peoples' Interviews, Videos on May 23rd, 2012 by Hyphen

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…

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