The Audacity of Dope

A little before Pac Div dropped their Church League Champions project, Like, Mibbs, and BeYoung came through the Sound Session studio to chop it up on a variety of topics.  We discussed that mixtape, the digital EP they put on iTunes a while back, and of course their upcoming full length debut, Grown Kid Syndrome.  They also talked about the importance of their live show, how their creative process likens to their game on the court, their favorite underrated West Coast MC’s, the L.A. scene, a possible collaboration with Andre 3000, and much more.

Pac Div on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?nzmr3eh32oi
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/649045665d98875b/)

This was one of the most enjoyable interviews I’ve done, mainly because chilling with Pac Div reminded me of kicking it with my college homies back in SoCal.  These dudes are real hip-hop heads who love Dilla and basketball…pretty much all it takes to be cool in my book.  Plus, we’re both fans of the Arizona Wildcats and even spent time commiserating over that damn 2001 NCAA Championship game.  For the record: I still hate you, Mike Dunleavy.

Hmm…I was hoping for a live action clip more reminiscent of the Ghost/Rae ending scenes in the “Triumph” video, but since the track is so hard, this will still do.  There’s just so many ill possibilities for the visuals with a title like “House of Flying Daggers” that I can’t help but be a little disappointed.  Dilla on production in case you’re sleeping too.

Courtesy of OnSmash.

(Fun fact: I’m eating a Now N Later right now.  That’s right bitches.)

If you aren’t up on 14KT, you’re missing out on one of the illest producers in the game.  He’s been putting it down for years with the Lab Technicians and Athletic Mic League, and recently as part of THE most underrated collective of artists around, A-Side Worldwide (Buff1, Now On, Mayer Hawthorne, etc.).  Thankfully, he’s giving you another chance to get familiar with his new project, Nowalataz.

Coming off the heels of the magnificent The Golden Hour, KT is releasing a Donuts inspired collection of beats as an homage to Dilla (RIP).  Download and bump this immediately.  If the first track doesn’t get you hooked, there’s something wrong with you.

Download here.

Damn…the L’s keep coming for Charles Hamilton.  I like a lot of Charles’ music and he was real cool when we chopped it up in Austin at SXSW, but all these crazy situations are not helping his career.  I hope he can avoid the drama and put out a dope record, cause he’s certainly capable.

But yeah…don’t mess with Houseshoes, Hex, or the D.  For real.

Swiped from the Dopehouse, courtesy of HHO.

This beat is too smooth.  Vintage Dilla on production and his younger brother linking up with Debi Nova for the vocals.  Off Illa’s Yancey Boys album, which is entirely produced by Dilla if you didn’t know.  Cop that.

Sidenote, I wish they would have got Debi in this video…she’s a dime.

I always liked this little interlude that acted as a nice homage to Dilla and Dwele decided to make some quick visuals for it.  “Workin’ On It!”

My dude Top (aka Blendiana Jones!) just shot this over and it’s fresh as f**k.  For the first half, he took original PPP vocals and mixed them with unreleased beats from Waajeed.  The second part features some ill Dilla remixes.  If you know anything about the Detroit sound and the musical ability of the dudes involved here, you better download this ASAP.

(shout to FWMJ for the artwork)

Download the full tape here.  And here’s a bonus joint with Tiombe Lockhart that he tossed in for y’all as well.

A few months back, J. Moore and the rest of the Red Bull Big Tune fam brought Elzhi (of Slum Village) and Black Milk to the town for the Seattle edition of the beat battle.  Before tearing it down at Neumo’s that night (I’ll toss some of that footage up if I get time), they came through Sound Session to record an interview with us.  Unfortunately, since we’ve had so many guests coming through lately, it’s taken a minute to get the audio up for y’all.  Better late than never though, especially when you’re dealing with two of the dopest artists in the industry right now.  I don’t think anyone is seeing Elzhi bar for bar, and with the release of Tronic, Black has staked his claim for the top MC/producer out there.  Seriously…do you hear how he’s spittin’ on that album?

Anyway, the interview was recorded in between the releases of Elzhi’s The Preface and Black’s Tronic, so there are a few occasions where it sounds dated.  Even still, I highly recommend checking out the full discussion to hear them break down both projects in detail.  They also talked about their inspirations both past and present, their creative processes, all things Detroit, what changes they hope Barack can bring to the people, their upcoming work, and much more.  Enjoy!

Elzhi & Black Milk on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?4nl20wo3wjy
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/52144263069bf0be/ )

Do yourself a favor and go cop The Preface and Tronic if you haven’t already.  Your “Best of 2008″ list isn’t complete without both of ‘em, trust me.

As with other WLotD winners that I actually enjoy listening to, I feel like I should preface this post by saying I dig Illa J.  It’s been sad to see how much hate dude is getting from damn near everyone – casual listeners, Dilla diehards, bloggers, fellow artists, etc..  Is he stepping into Dilla’s shoes right away?  No.  Does he have potential?  Yes.  Am I salty that he’s using his brother’s unreleased beats to help support his family?  Helllllllllll no.  Do your thing Illa.

I peeped the Yancey Boys album over the weekend and I really dug it.  The beats are clearly top notch, and they’re the exact kind of Dilla sound that I’ve always loved.  Illa’s rhymes actually remind me of some early SV stuff: laid back, somewhat rambling, and centered around everyday ish.  That said, we played this joint on Sound Session last night and this line was kinda painful:

“I see you outside, gettin’ in the club free/
Lookin’ lovely, as soon as I seen you, I wanted to f*ck thee”
–Illa J, “DFTF”

Ahhh, I just hate when people force a rhyme and it’s so obvious.  Anyway, this joint is still great.  Who knew Affion Crockett could rap for real?

Illa J ft. Affion Crockett – “DFTF”