The Audacity of Dope

I could write an essay on Kanye’s Runaway film, and the ensuing debates it sparked, but what’s the point?  There will be a million analytical pieces by Monday, and none of them will be any more “right” than the others.  It’s art…and I’m really not looking forward to hearing other people tell me how to consume it.

Personally, I’m satisfied with an interesting concept, some beautiful shots & colors, and some really dope music.  The intro scene with “Dark Fantasy” and the “Devil In A New Dress” segment were flawless, though part of me wishes this was the first time I ever heard any of these songs.  That’s always been one of my least favorite aspects of the internet age and I may have to revert back to avoiding music from my favorite artists until it’s officially presented.  Even with all the live performances, interviews, and song/artwork leaks spoiling much of Runaway, I thoroughly enjoyed the film.

Regardless of how you felt about it, you have to agree: no mainstream MC puts more effort and care into his music than Kanye.  Sure, it can come off pretentious at times (ok, much of the time), but he’s really trying to express something in his art and take it to new places.  He doesn’t always hit the mark, but musically, he’s never disappointed me.

A toast to Yeezy.

I’m pretty much a sucker for anything shot in Tokyo or Hong Kong that showcases cityscapes or flashing lights.  I’m a simple man.

I’m a little mad that they dropped this video in October, but I suppose when you’re filming in SoCal, it’s always a long hot summer.  I love the way Hi-Tek worked in one of his classic “vocal sample that isn’t really a vocal sample” effect.  If you want to hear more about how this record, and every song on Revolutions Per Minute, was created, check out our in-depth interview with Talib & Tek right here.

This record will appear on both Nottz’ You Need This Music album and his collaborative project with Asher, Rawth, that drops in a few months.  I just finished listening to Nottz’ LP and it’s crazy.  Dude kills it on the mic and boards for the entire thing.  Cop that.

DEAD.  Didn’t even realize this was James from my college with all the make up on.  Good to see another 5-C alum killin it…lot of talent passed through Claremont at some point hahaha.

Aloe and company perform two records live in Parisian cafes.  While “Hey Brother” was dope, this rendition of “I Need A Dollar” was insane.  I’m still happy I was able to witness this in person too.  I think I need to leak the mp3 of that performance soon…

Speaking of Paris, after watching Robin Hood last night, I officially have a crush on Lea Seydoux:

Yessir!

Dope record off TiRon’s MSTRD project.  I kinda feel like TiRon and J. Pinder need to collab…

Just realized I never posted up this video, my bad.  One of my favorite records off Kush & Orange Juice…crazy beat and overall, just a smooth joint from front to back.

This past weekend, I had a chance to check out the Seattle stop of the Waken Baken tour when it hit the Showbox Sodo.  I’ll be posting up my interview with the opening act, Yelawolf, soon, but I was also able to chop it up with Wiz Khalifa backstage and we recorded this quick interview for y’all.  We discussed the tour, Wiz’ incredible buzz, his experiences in the Pacific Northwest, getting his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers to support “Black and Yellow,” and more.

Shout to Wiz, Will, Artie, and Motti for hooking everything up.  Cop that Kush & Orange Juice if you haven’t already…definitely one of the best projects of the year.  Just wait until the official album drops…

[La Bamba] In the year 2000 [/Conan humor], I started working in radio at KSPC outside Los Angeles and as a college freshman, I was amazed by the freedom the indie broadcasting platform afforded me.  After looking through my personal collection, the music director was impressed and allowed me to play whatever I wanted, rather than being limited to the records in the station’s library.  As a result, my early playlists were filled with music from the Soulquarians, easily my favorite collective of artists back then…and still today.

Of all the classic albums they were involved with, perhaps the record I played the most was Bilal’s 1st Born Second.  Simply put, it’s flawless, front to back, and one of the most underrated pieces of music from the last 25 years.  If you would have told 18 year old Hyphen (who actually had a different, and horribly embarrassing nom de plume at the time) that I’d one day have Bilal co-host my radio show, I would have flipped.  Ok, I would have flipped twice: who knew I’d still be in radio 10 years later?  Shrug.

We’ve interviewed him before (peep it here), but it was a special honor to dedicate the entire episode of Sound Session this week to the genius that is Bilal Oliver.  We played nothing but Bilal records all night, mixing in a sampling of our favorite songs from all 3 of his classic albums, some b-sides, and guest appearances with his colorful and insightful commentary.  He even closed out the show with a live performance of “Levels” off his newest project, Airtight’s Revenge.

I’ll have the accompanying video up as soon as I can, but in the meantime, enjoy the audio.  Shout to Dru, JK, Hawk, Marc, and Chok for helping bring Bilal through the show.  Be sure to cop his albums if you haven’t already!

Show #281 (10-17-10)
**Co-hosted by Bilal**

1. Bilal – “For You”
2. Bilal – “Bring 2”
3. Bilal – “Cake & Eat It Too”
4. 88-Keys ft. Bilal – “M.I.L.F.”
5. Bilal – “Think It Over”
6. Bilal – “Sometimes”
7. Bilal ft. Mos Def & Common – “Reminisce”
8. Guru ft. Jay Dee & Bilal – “Certified”
9. Bilal – “All Matter”
10. Shafiq Husayn ft. Bilal – “Cheeba (Nottz Remix)”
11. Bilal – “Hollywood”
12. Bilal – “It’s Cold”
13. Bilal – “Soul Sista”
14. Bilal – “Funky For You (Interlude)”
15. Talib Kweli ft. Bilal – “Can I Talk To You (Lil’ Darlin’)”
16. Bilal – “Levels (Live On Sound Session)”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?k67xajkkqnupn8b
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/817543606bc77c35/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/e7zxor62i5h0)

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.