The Audacity of Dope

This week can really be summed up with two things:

1. This was our 250th episode of Sound Session, which is actually pretty crazy/impressive when you think about the state of commercial radio these days.  We’re quickly approaching our 5 year anniversary, but 250 overall shows is a great milestone as well.  While we do put a lot of effort into broadcasting SNSS each week, as always, the key to everything is [Jay-Z] you, the customer listener [/Hov].  Thanks to everyone who has ever supported the show and we’re celebrating this with all of y’all.
2. Speaking of celebrating, 4 letters my friends: SXSW.  That’s right, the annual music/movies/interactive media festival down in Austin, Texas is upon us once again and J. Moore and I will be there in full force.  Actually, it feels like most of Seattle is headed down there, plus at least half of the music industry in general.  Are you going? If so, hit me (DJHyphen@gmail.com) and let’s link up while we’re there.  I would offer some can’t miss events, but really, it’s absolutely absurd how much dopeness will be packed within a 15 block radius.  I hope you’re ready.

Show #250 (3-14-10)

Drake – “Over”

Reflection Eternal – “In This World

Freeway & Jake One ft. Raekwon – “One Thing” (Local Music)

Kendrick Lamar ft. Punch & BJ The Chicago Kid – “Faith”

Little Brother – “Curtain Call”

Co$$ – “Dub Plate”

Toki Wright – “Barber Shop”

U-N-I ft. Bun B – “Land Of The Kings (Remix)”

Dave Coresh – “Keep It Movin’”

M.anifest – “Sankofa (My History)”

Aloe Blacc – “Take Me Back”

SOTA ft. Helladope & Jarv Dee – “Extrahelladope” (Local Music)

J*Davey – “Get Together”

Ayah – “He Don’t Want It”

J. Pinder ft. Big Pooh & Zach Bruce – “Later On”

Lauryn Hill – “Lost Ones” (Throwback of the Week)

Laws – “Hold You Down”

Janelle Monae – “Cold War”

Broken Bells – “The Ghost Inside”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?iw441nmznzm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/73766097143c66d1/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/9t6b7wjls8kf)

If there are any problems with the links or if you’d like to be added to our weekly email list to receive the playlist and download links after every show, just shoot me an email, DJHyphen@gmail.com.

Seattle’s music scene is brimming with creative, hard-working artists who care about helping those in need—and who know how to party. In that tradition, on Monday, January 18, a handful of the city’s favorite DJ’s will descend upon Nectar Lounge’s well-equipped sound system to provide the jams for a benefit party with proceeds going towards relief efforts in Haiti.

The impoverished Caribbean island, shaken to its core by a magnitude 7 earthquake earlier this week, needs every cent it can get to fund the efforts of those already elbows-deep in the challenging tasks of picking through the rubble and rebuilding their nation. Here at home, Nectar and its partners offer you the opportunity to gather in celebration & reflection to contribute what you can financially to the cause. We’ll see you on Monday!

Be there and support a good cause.

By now, most of you have heard Nas’ collaboration with the 2009 Red Bull Big Tune champion, C-Sick, but I thought I’d post up the ill behind the scenes footage of the making of “Film.”  Above, you can peep a little background on C-Sick’s journey, while the two studio segments are below.

Also, neither of the 2 versions of the song that have leaked online so far are the final edit, so I’m posting that up too.  In case you’re living in the woods, my co-host on Sunday Night Sound Session, J. Moore, created the Red Bull Big Tune with Vitamin D, Jake One, DV-One, and Marcus Lalario.  The homies helped put this song together and even recruited Seattle’s own Choklate to sing the hook.  Due to sample clearance issues, C-Sick’s original beat had to be replayed, and you’ve yet to hear the final, official version of the track…until now.  Enjoy!

Nas ft. Choklate – “Film” (final version)

People around the 206 know that I’m notorious for not going to many shows, but I may have to make an appearance this Wednesday at the Vera Project (in Seattle Center, right next to Key Arena).  As J. Moore, Jake One, Vitamin D, DV-One, and Markus do in every city that Big Tune hits, the entire week is filled with great events for the public and for the participants.  Since Seattle is the home of the event, you already know that we’ve got some dope stuff going on before this Friday’s battle at the War Room.

Case in point, hit up the Vera on Wednesday for a free show from The Physics, J. Pinder, and Spaceman, along with an exclusive video documenting the collaboration between last year’s Big Tune winner, C-Sick, and the legendary Nas.  See y’all there.

If you’ve been following along, we’ve hit some nice milestones recently, namely Show #200 a few weeks ago.  It doesn’t take a math major to realize that 200 shows = 200 weeks and give or take a few Sundays off, that’s adding up to about 4 years.  Well this past week, we officially celebrated 4 full years of Sunday Night Sound Session on KUBE 93.

While we have a lot of fun on SNSS and don’t take ourselves very seriously at all, broadcasting a show like ours on a 100K-watt Clear Channel station in a top market for 4 years is actually a pretty special accomplishment.  As a media studies major from back in my college days, I’ve always been cognizant of the effects of media consolidation and the danger it brings.  To combat that, it’s been a pleasure using the airwaves and the website to provide a powerful, consistent voice for alternative and independent artists from around the world.  It’s a responsibility we take seriously and we work hard every week to create a quality program for listeners to enjoy.  All the while, our number one goal is to be true to our beliefs and represent the hip-hop culture with the respect it deserves.

To four…and hopefully many more…years of SNSS – “raise your glasses to the sky”

Show #207 (5-17-09)

1. Raekwon ft. Method Man & Ghostface Killah – “New Wu”
2. Elzhi – “Deep”
3. Cory Gunz ft. Willie The Kid & MarVo – “A New Day”
4. Drake ft. Bun B – “Uptown”
5. Mos Def – “Casa Bey”
6. Donny Goines ft. Outasight & Peter Hadar – “Sublime”
7. Scribes – “Roll My Way” (Local Artist)
8. Chester French – “Time To Unwind”
9. Eminem – “My Mom”
10. Asher Roth – “La Di Da”
11. Bruce Leroy – “Million Dollar Dream” (Local Artist)
12. Busta Rhymes – “Shoot For The Moon”
13. Izza Kizza ft. Colin Munroe – “Connect The Dots”
14. Colin Munroe ft. Joell Ortiz – “Piano Lessons”
15. The Kid Daytona – “The Engine”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH BLUE SCHOLARS, GRYNCH, & DV-ONE**
17. Toni Hill – “This Thing Called Love” (Local Artist)
18. Slakah The BeatChild ft. Drake – “Enjoy Ya Self (Remix)”
19. Julian Marley ft. Damian Marley – “Violence In The Streets”
20. J Dilla ft. Black Thought – “Reality TV”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?zuuymgqmjjz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/60217878c91f946b/ )

If there are any problems with the links or if you’d like to be added to our weekly email list to receive the playlist and download links after every show, just shoot me an email, DJHyphen@gmail.com.

Another fun night in the SNSS studio as we were joined not only by Seattle legends Jake One and DV One, but by one half of the super production crew Tha Bizness, the big homey Dow Jones.  We chopped it up about all the success him and Henny have had over the past few years, what it’s like working with Lil’ Wayne and Drake on their new albums, what they respect in other producers, and much more.

Oh…and we also played some great music from artists like Royce The 5′9″, Brother Ali, U-N-I, Devin The Dude, Elzhi, the Clipse, Blu, Kanye West, and more, but you already know.  Peep another world premiere from Tanya Morgan too, as we rocked their joint, “On Our Way.”  I think the Pep Love track may also be a premiere…shout to Omid and Otayo for sending that through.  Lastly, we aired a snippet of our interview with Chester French, which I’ll be posting up in full on the blog soon.  Stay tuned.

Show #204 (4-26-09)

1. Royce The 5’9” – “Brooklyn We Go Hard Freestyle (Slaughter)”
2. Reef The Lost Cauze ft. Brother Ali – “Big Deal (Remix)”
3. KRS-One & Buckshot – “Robot”
4. Torae & Marco Polo – “But Wait”
5. Stepbrothers (Evidence & Alchemist) – “It’s Coming Down”
6. Wale ft. Lady Gaga – “Chillin’”
7. U-N-I – “The Grudge”
8. Mike Jones ft. Devin The Dude – “Give Me A Call”
9. Elzhi – “Deep”
10. Dyme Def ft. Saigon – “Pick Up Ya Flow” (Local Artist)
11. **INTERVIEW WITH DOW JONES (of THA BIZNESS), PT. 1**
12. Asher Roth ft. Busta Rhymes & New Kingdom – “Lion’s Roar”
13. **INTERVIEW WITH CHESTER FRENCH (SNIPPET)**
14. Chester French – “She Loves Everybody”
15. Trackademicks ft. MoxMore – “Topsidin’”
16. Pep Love ft. Otayo Dubb & LB – “No Doubt”
17. Grynch – “A Dream Undeferred” (Local Artist)
18. Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
19. **INTERVIEW WITH DOW JONES (of THA BIZNESS), PT. 2**
20. Lil’ Wayne ft. Young Money – “Every Girl”
21. Toni Hill – “Rose” (Local Artist)
22. Tanya Morgan – “On Our Way” (WORLD PREMIERE)
23. Clipse ft. Kanye West – “Kinda Like A Big Deal”
24. Blu & Exile – “Love Line”
25. **INTERVIEW WITH DOW JONES (of THA BIZNESS), PT. 3**

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?zuomwmiywdm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/5929776171534798/)

Link to download just the interview parts with Dow Jones – http://www.mediafire.com/?ygwygzzdjzz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/59298051d94e8b3f/)

If there are any problems with the links or if you’d like to be added to our weekly email list to receive the playlist and download links after every show, just shoot me an email, DJHyphen@gmail.com.

Shout to Dow for coming through Sound Session tonight.  Peace to Jake & DV in the building too of course.  I’ll post up the show later tonight for y’all…

What up world?

You ever have those moments where some things in your life are going [Andre] fantastically well [/3000], but because of them, you’re also incredibly busy?  Well…yeah, I’m there right now, so this recap will be short.

This week we ran some great joints from folks like Wale, Crooked I, Kid Cudi, Asher Roth, Chester French, the new homies Pac Div (what up fellas!), and gave Diz Gibran and Trackademicks their SNSS debuts.  We also world premiered the new single from Seattle’s own Dyme Def, “Pick Up Ya Flow” featuring Saigon, played a snippet of our interview with producer Focus (full version will be posted on the blog this week), and gave out a bunch of Nipsey Hussle mixtapes.

In short, another average night of excellence.

Show #202 (4-12-09)

1. Diz Gibran – “New Religion”
2. Fashawn – “The Outer City”
3. Trackademicks ft. MoxMore – “Topsidin’”
4. Wale ft. Lady Gaga – “Chillin’”
5. Dyme Def ft. Saigon – “Pick Up Ya Flow” (WORLD PREMIERE) (Local Artist)
6. Crooked I & DJ Wicked – “Jackin’ For Beats 2009”
7. Pac Div – “Pac Div (What It Is)”
8. Tanya Morgan ft. Blu – “Morgan Blu”
9. Drake ft. Trey Songz – “Successful”
10. Shad – “I Heard You Had A Voice Like An Angel”
11. **INTERVIEW WITH FOCUS (SNIPPET)**
12. Focus ft. Big Pooh, Sha Stimuli, & Kurupt – “Homage To Pete Rock”
13. Kid Cudi ft. Kanye West, Common, & A-Trak – “I Poke Her Face”
14. Roddy Rod ft. Phonte (of Little Brother) & Carlitta Durand – “This Time Around”
15. Big Pooh – “Rear View Mirror”
16. J. Pinder ft. Fatal Lucciauno – “Crossfire” (Local Artist)
17. Common Market – “Slow Down Moses” (Local Artist)
18. Asher Roth ft. Cee-Lo – “Be By Myself”
19. Chester French ft. Wale – “I’m Sorry”
20. Nipsey Hussle ft. Slauson Boys & K. Young – “Roll The Windows Up”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?2w20tyvink3
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/58625472993645b2/)

If there are any problems with the links or if you’d like to be added to our weekly email list to receive the playlist and download links after every show, just shoot me an email, DJHyphen@gmail.com.

In case you aren’t aware, the Red Bull Big Tune event is the brainchild of our very own J. Moore, along with the big homies Vitamin D, Jake One, Marcus Lalario, and DV-One.  Saturday night, the 11th, you can watch an excellent special on this past year’s competitions on BET at 7:30 EST/PST.  Don’t miss it, for real.  206 stand up.