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.

Dope visuals by Punit Dhesi for Fashawn & Blu’s “Samsonite Man” off the instant classic album, Boy Meets World.  Speaking of being a traveling man, Fash will be in Seattle today for 2 shows with Wiz Khalifa.  He’ll also be stopping by the Sound Session studio, so if you have any questions you want me to ask, email me.

Let’s see…you have a) Asher spitting over the classic Pace Won “I Declare War” beat, b) BBGUN on the directorial tip, and c) a random topless girl halfway through the video.  Yep, I approve.

Wow.  Do they make ’em any better than Alicia?

Drake gets much respect for writing this song as well.  I’ve always thought the “is Drake dope?” argument is silly, in part because there are very few MC’s that could write a song like this.  Ultimately, much of what Drake touches turns into good music, much like this song.

This jawn reminds me of my Cali days…ah, I reminisce I reminisce…

Download SLikd‘s full LP, Midnight Vibes, right here.

Interview coming soon…

Oh vey!  The homey Kosha is back with his 2nd video off Beverly Dillz.  If you haven’t peeped it yet, the album is completely produced by Belief and Kosha’s spitting these kind of playful bars throughout.  Good stuff.

Everything about this record is [Charles Barkley] fantastic [/Chuck].  My personal highlights:

1. You can’t tell me Robin Thicke isn’t the hip-hop/R&B James Bond.  This dude staaaaaays with ridiculously hot girls (and pushes the interracial relationship boundary).  I approve.
2. “You got the hottest body/I got the hottest hottie/Lemme put some cream in your coffee” – hilarious.  I’m adding that to the vocabulary.  Ok maybe not.
3. Snoop’s verse is so epically bad, it’s incredible.  It’s not as bad/good as Kurupt’s classic “Xxxplosive” verse, but this is one of those all time “so wack, it’s dope” verses.  I love that when you think it’s over….nope!  He’s bizzack.

This is actually the kind of bright, positive vibe that I expected from the “Find Your Love” video.  Whoops.

Web 2.0 is all about social media and appropriation, right?  So as long as I credit Chris Ryan at MTV, I can steal use his write up, right?  Works for me:

We’re not only devotees to Mayer Hawthorne’s impeccable neo-retro soul stylings but also his panache when it comes to making music videos, especially the melancholy beauty of his recent clip “I Wish It Would Rain.” So we’re pretty excited (in a melancholy way) to bring you his new video for “One Track Mind,” taken from his delightful A Strange Arrangement album.

“One Track Mind” mixes the innocence and wit of early ’60s rom-coms with the concept of the ’80s classic (using the term “classic” loosely) “Mannequin.” Over a note-perfect Motown arrangement, Hawthorne and his almost-perfect woman (save the whole being-plastic-thing) have a tea party in a garden, go on a boat ride, share an ice cream … pretty much the perfect day. Like most love stories, this one has a bump in the road. But you’ll have to watch to see how it plays out.

Watch Mayer Hawthorne’s “One Track Mind” video below. A Strange Arrangement is out now.

When I heard Drake shot the “Find Your Love” video in Jamaica, my first thought was that it was going to be a colorful, island inspired clip, perhaps similar to Aaliyah’s “Rock The Boat.”  Then I heard Mavado was going to be in it too and I realized that an 808’s and HeartDrake song probably would be a bit darker.  Well…looks like my initial thought was pretty much as far off base as possible hahaha