The Audacity of Dope

I’ve always been a big fan of when two dope MC’s can share a verse and trade lines back and forth, and that’s exactly what you get with “Eternally” off Phonte’s Charity Starts At Home.  Since it starts there, Tay and Median go door to door bringing that good music to the fine folks of North Carolina, complete with their bicycle helmets.  Hey, safety first!

Evidence couldn’t make the video shoot, but no matter…MomTigallo held it down like a star. Another win for Tay and the FE Music homies.

The newest visuals from Tay’s Charity Starts At Home album are for “The Good Fight,” a track that should resonate with many around the country right now.  On a personal level, it’s been interesting getting my career going the past few years while most of the US struggle with the recession and the aftermath of Bush’s disastrous reign.  Every time I watch the news (well, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report), it’s jarring to see and hear about all the problems facing our society and economy.

Meanwhile, I’ve managed to come up a bit, bought a condo, and have a job that I enjoy working for the best possible company I could imagine.  I’m not sure I could be any more blessed and I’m thankful that the issues Tay discusses on this record haven’t quite affected me like most folks.  Hopefully I can stay lucky and anyone reading this post can do the same.  Keep working hard and stay positive!  Good things happen to good people.

On that Inception type steez.  #authenticity.

I’ve been meeting cats in the industry for a decade now and I don’t think there’s anyone funnier than the homey Phonte.  His 90’s reggae impression is on poooooooint.

Strictly for the grown and sexy…

I still love that Zo! officially spells his name with an exclamation point at the end.  The Audacity! of dope.

*Dead* @ some of the faces Phonte and Nicolay were making in this video.  Awwww man.

Go support YahZarah and cop The Ballad of Purple St. James, one of the best albums of the year.

If you aren’t familiar with her work on the recent Foreign Exchange projects, YahZarah is one of the illest singers out right now.  When the big homey Phonte hit me up to be a part of this promo video for her upcoming album, The Ballad of Purple St. James, it was an honor to help out.  Granted, I didn’t realize I committed to lip syncing her rendition of “Dedicated To You” (a classic jazz standard), but I’m just thankful you only get to see my ugly mug for a few seconds.  Let’s hope the outtakes never make it out the vault…

Here’s a dope new EP from Zo!, covering some classic songs by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Prince, Bobby Caldwell, Quincy Jones, the Isley Brothers, and more.  Zo! (I always like including the exclamation point in his name) is insanely talented by himself, and when you bring in Phonte, Darien Brockington, Carlitta Durand, Sy Smith, and Yahzarah, you already know how it’s going to turn out.  Enjoy some more grown folks music, perfect for this rainy Saturday night…

Zo! – …just visiting too

Another fun week here on SNSS in the 206, peep the highlights:

• Great music from the likes of Brother Ali, Balance, One Be Lo, Fresh Daily, Raekwon, Little Dragon, U-N-I, Mayer Hawthorne, Phonte, and more.
• A world premiere for the new Blue Scholars track, “Dawn’s Song,” off the upcoming re-release of Bayani.  The track features Shad, possibly my favorite MC in the entire industry right now.  Yeah, I said it.  Not familiar?  Watch this and thank me later.
• We aired part of our interview with the Pac Div homies.  Be sure to catch the full interview for all sorts of hip-hop and basketball talk.  I mean…is there anything else in life?
• We gave out tickets for this weekend’s Bumbershoot Festival (where I’ll be DJ’ing for U-N-I) and my most anticipated concert of the year – The Foreign Exchange (Phonte & Nicolay), Darien Brockington, Carlitta Durand, Yahzarah, Zo!, the Physics, and more at Nectar Lounge on September 15th.  We’ll have more Foreign Exchange tickets next week too, so be sure to tune in…
• More EPL goodness: Chelsea is looking dominant…Arsenal squandered a great chance to put Manchester United further down the table (wtfffffff @ Diaby)…Aaron Lennon finished off Birmingham to keep Spurs’ 100% record intact.  Overall, very exciting.  Can’t wait until we get football and basketball on top of this in a few weeks…
• On a sad note, we have to give yet another RIP shout to DJ AM, easily one of the illest DJ’s and sneakerheads in the game.  This summer has been rough.

Show #222 (8-30-09)

1. Brother Ali – “Fresh Air”
2. D. Black ft. Tiffany Wilson – “Touch The Stars” (Local Music)
3. Balance ft. Freeway & Jay Rock – “We All In”
4. One Be Lo ft. Mike Posner – “Pigs”
5. Havoc ft. Lloyd Banks – “Bang, Bang”
6. Rashid Hadee – “(See You In My) Nightmares”
7. Fresh Daily – “Video Gaming”
8. Peter, Bjorn, & John ft. Big Pooh, Phil Nash, & Chaundon – “Stay This Way (DJ Jazzy Jeff Remix)”
9. Drake ft. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, & Eminem – “Forever”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH PAC DIV (SNIPPET)**
11. Pac Div – “Taste”
12. Little Dragon – “Never Never”
13. Mayer Hawthorne – “The Ills”
14. U-N-I – “Calendar Girls”
15. Kev Brown ft. Kenn Starr, Wayna, Raheem DeVaughn, & Eric Roberson – “The Hennessy Joint”
16. Blue Scholars ft. Shad – “Dawn’s Song” (Local Music) (WORLD PREMIERE)
17. Raheem DeVaughn ft. Ludacris – “Bulletproof”
18. The Nope (Moka Only & Psy) – “Rain All Day” (Local Music)
19. Raekwon ft. Cappadonna & Ghostface Killah – “10 Bricks”
20. 14KT – “Black N Gold”
21. Charlie Smarts – “Put You On”
22. Marc Mac ft. Phonte – “Take A Trip”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?ozmybywhidm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/649603854484e662/)

Link to download the full interview with Pac Div – http://www.mediafire.com/?nzmr3eh32oi
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/649045665d98875b/)

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.