The Audacity of Dope

The Van City homey JayKin dropped a quick video from his upcoming Sneakers & Video Games 2 project and you really can’t go wrong with a piece featuring Juice and Street Fighter.  Speaking of which, I recently found out that Ryu’s name is pronounced “Rhyooo” rather than “Ry-uuu.”  Needless to say, I feel like I’ve been living a lie my entire life.  I’ll still destroy you with my girl Chun Li though.

Vancouver: go check out JayKin performing live with Dom Kennedy tonight (the 24th) at Fortune Sound Club in Chinatown!

Another video from the homies Lace Cadence and director Jon Augustavo off The Launchpad mixtape that J. Moore and I hosted a while back.  If you haven’t downloaded it, grab it now while we still have some summer days left!

Extra props to Jon Jon for getting his old Nick The Quick jersey in another video.  I expect this to be a running trend continued for years to come.

A few weeks ago, Shad performed at the Capitol Hill Block Party here in Seattle and his super talented DJ, T-Lo, sadly wasn’t able to make the trip. I was honored to step behind the tables and help keep the show moving in his absence, though I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being on stage. Just not for me.

Shad, on the other hand, is a natural. Above is a quick clip of him performing “Compromise,” a great record off his classic The Old Prince album.  If you missed the official video for the track, peep it here.

Ah yes!  After a few months of anxious waiting, we’ve received the follow up to The Weeknd’s House of Balloons in the form of Thursday, a 9 song EP that picks up where his debut left off.  On my first few listens, no, it’s not quite as impressive as Balloons, but that isn’t much of a slight.

House of Balloons is an automatic classic in my book and Thursday has a few moments that live up to that level.  Even the parts that don’t are still dope, but bottom line, either you like The Weeknd‘s sound or you don’t.  There is no middle ground and this tape won’t change your mind one way or the other.

Personally, I love it.

Sexy/Emo/Baller/Depressed music all in one, perfect for the loft and for the upcoming cold season.  I don’t think you’ll find a better 2am soundtrack this winter, but ladies, if you do, please let me know…

Download here.

The official visuals for one of my favorite songs of the 2011 summer season finally dropped. Summer, girls, basketball…bet.  Be on the look out for Jermaine’s follow up single, “Can’t Get Enough” with Trey Songz, to take over radio and television soon as well. Cole World!

When you’re one of a million new artists vying for everyone’s attention, it’s tough to get even 30 seconds of time from tastemakers, DJ’s, bloggers, A&R’s, etc.. Truth be told, you shouldn’t even be worried about that, but most artists don’t realize connecting with fans generally trumps any industry connections one can make.

I don’t know much about OnCue, but I know that he caught my attention with this song and video for “Feel Tall.” Dope visuals and a nice record. I’ll keep my eye out for him in the future, starting with his Can’t Wait mixtape dropping next month.

(best stillframe image ever)

While on tour in Asia, Bobby Ray decided to team up with Motion Family, some local Singapore ladies, and the most baller pool/view combo you’ve ever seen for some quick visuals to his mixtape track, “High Life.”

This is how you stunt.

“If you don’t see me, I’m gone/
Might be in the wind on my own/
And if I’m movin’ too fast/
It’s cause these moments won’t last”

I’m pretty ashamed that the video for The Physics’ “These Moments” has been out for weeks and I haven’t tossed it on TAOD yet.  Better late than never though!

If you aren’t up on the Physics, clearly you don’t come here often or listen to SNSS.  These guys make my favorite music from the Northwest and their new album, Love Is A Business, is yet another testament to their abilities.  Get familiar with all their music here and STOP SLEEPING.

Here’s another taste of one of my favorite tracks on LIAB:

“There’s so many things to do / So many people I need to talk to”

Coming off a few days worth of vacation in Canada, that quote kinda sums up how I feel about life right now.  One of my favorite aspects to visiting a city like Vancouver is that the people up there are just far more friendly and outgoing (and interesting) than my fellow Americans.  Sorry folks, it’s true.  Every time I stepped out in Van City, I had fun conversations with people left and right.  Plus, they all instantly treated me like family.  Much appreciated y’all.

There are so many experiences I’m looking forward to having in life and if I can get green lights all along the trip like Aloe, life will be good.

That’s what happens when you fall in love with a girl like Jhene.  Line ’em up, shoot ’em down.