The Audacity of Dope

I’m in awe.

What started out as somewhat of a novelty record has attained cult-like status, and it’s sure to grow to unprecedented heights with the release of the visuals for “And We Danced.”  I remember when we played this on Sound Session after Ryan first sent it over and we confused the hell out of our listeners.  I don’t know why though…the proposition is simple:

We’re having a hoedown…are you hoes down?

You should be.

With the NBA lockout looming larger every day, I’ve already convinced myself that there won’t be a season.  This way, if any good news breaks, it will be a pleasant surprise since I’ve already accepted disappointment.  In its absence, I have a feeling I’ll be following more NHL this season, especially if our closest Pacific Northwest squad, the Canucks, can replicate their (regular) season success again.  I’ll also have more interest if Nike keeps creating dope marketing collaborations like this one, highlighting Montreal’s P.K. Subban over a dope track by Canadian legend Saukrates.

Another video I’ve been meaning to post for a few weeks, but better late than never.  Most of you should have already seen this but if you aren’t a big K. Dot fan, perhaps you missed it.  Kendrick absolutely spazzes on this record, though my favorite crazy ending to one of his songs is still this one.

I’ve been meaning to post up this video for a while and while it’s definitely doing a bit much on the colors, you gotta like any pop/R&B record that calls back to the 80’s & 90’s glory days.  The Charlotte Hornet jackets about a quarter of the way in did it for me.  I’d much rather hear records like this on the airwaves than Rihanna’s latest Euro-beat “controversial” song…even with the trite hip-hop sample schtick.

Gotta be one of the top songs of the year, right?  I’m happy to see the official visuals after the lyric video held us down for the last few weeks.  Common’s The Dreamer/The Believer was scheduled to be released in November, but it’s just been pushed back to December.  No matter.  I’m still predicting a classic.

Khat is apparently part of The Weeknd’s mysterious XO crew, so as you’d expect, details on him are pretty sparse. Not surprisingly, he makes a similar “pseudo-R&B meets trip-hop while on X” kind of sound that The Weeknd is killing with as we approach prime cuffing season. More loft music for the nights that you can’t remember, with the people that you won’t forget.

Soundtrack music for the rainy and cold northwest winter…

Download the whole Traphouse project here.

A lot of folks complained that Jhene’s previous videos didn’t highlight her looks as much as people hoped, but that may have been a strategic move by her and her camp to emphasize the music. We get more Jhene in the visuals for “My Mine,” which, in my humble opinion, is a fantastic thing. Not only is the song good (Fisticuffs are beasts, by the way), but she seriously might be the hottest woman on the face of the earth.  #shruglife

This is my favorite song out right now, shout to Rob Stone and the Cornerstone homies for putting me up on this. I may or may not have a crush on Yuna too.  Here’s the original, beyond classic unplugged version from Nirvana, just for good old times sake:

Like any sane individual, I didn’t watch the BET Awards and I knew that anything worth seeing would pop up online later.  Sure enough, the video that had Twitter going crazy and everyone professing their love for Eminem is here in all its explicit glory.

Em’s verse is bananas and it’s funny to hear him rhyme over East Flatbush Project’s “Tried By 12” beat almost 15 years after he was killing the Rap Olympics over similar records, but like any moment that gets SO much hype…I just instinctively have a little bit of a “meh” reaction.  Don’t get me wrong, every rapper here is dope and spits crazy, but there’s just so many bars upon bars upon bars upon bars for me.  I would have spazzed about this in 2000, but now, it’s cool…plus, it’s a great look for lyrics to actually be highlighted on a network like BET.

Well done 2.0 Boys.

While I’m never really a fan of videos this gruesome, this song is dope enough that I felt compelled to post it up.  One view is enough for me, but this is definitely getting a ton of listens and I’ll create my own, less creepy, more grown & sexy visuals in my head instead.

Steven has been described as Pharrell meets The Weeknd. That should be enough to warrant a free download the whole project, Stripes, right here.