The Audacity of Dope

Just when you start to wonder when Phonte and Brainchild are dropping another GGR…”BAM!”…they’re back.  Enjoy:

1. B. Bravo “Midnite”
2. Method Man & Redman “Dangerous Mcees” (cookin soul remix)
3. Che Grand “People Bowling” (feat. Tanya Morgan)
4. Mos Def “Auditorium” (feat. Slick Rick)
5. DJ Mitsu “Get ‘Em Up” (feat. Elzhi)
6. Amerie “Why R U”
7. Kan Kick “I’m Going To Take U Out To Dinner”
8. GB “Dealer Dog”
9. Morgan Zarate “Satin White”
10. Kenlo “Pont”
11. Jay Dee “Come Get It”
12. Freddie Joachim “Silent”
13. Raheem DeVaughn “Wanna Love You” (feat Young Chris)
14. Slum Village “Cloud 9″ (feat. Marsha Ambrosius)
15. DJ Spinna “Guaranteed” (feat. Phonte & Yahzarah)
16. Reggie B “Spirtual Fi”
17. Zo! & Asylum 7 “The Lineup” (feat. Metasyons, Finale & Buff)
18. Karriem Riggins “I Want You”
19. Byron The Aquarius “Repetitive” (feat. Daru & Da Button Pusha)
20. Lunice “This Time”
21. Onra “My Comet”
22. Floyd The Locsmif “Fuzzy Navel”
23. Afta-1 “Flor Y Uva
24. Nicolay “Lose Your Way” (feat. Carlitta Durand)

Download here.

Wow.  An excellent video from Phonte, Nicolay, Muhsinah, and Matt Koza for an excellent song off FE’s Leave It All Behind opus.  I hope you younger cats are feeling Foreign Exchange, cause their music is so necessary for when you’re feeling grown like I do these days.

Seattle people: Phonte, Nicolay, Yahzarah, Carlitta Durand, Darien Brockington, and Zo! will be performing at Nectar on September 15th and it’s sure to be an incredible show.  Even the opener, The Physics, will be great, so everyone 21+ needs to be there.  We’ll be giving away tickets each week on Sound Session leading up to the show and we’ll also be holding a contest here on TAOD to sit in on our interview with them.  Stay tuned and make sure to be there!  More info right here.

(watch on HyphenTV)

While in town for our abridged version of Rock The Bells on the 14th, Slaughterhouse came through the Sound Session studio to kick it with J. Moore and myself.  Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, and Royce Da 5’9″ talked all about their Slaughterhouse project, while Crooked I was in another studio recording a verse for a Seattle artist. They also discussed the differences recording solo vs. as a group, if they felt any competition in the booth, who they’d pick in their own super groups, why real lyricists need to be back on the radio, and more.

To listen to the full interview, check the audio below:

Slaughterhouse on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?loylvmqrwyh
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/645664522cc5c5da/)

Go cop the album and support 4 of the hardest working and dopest MC’s in the game, period.

Asher returns with another perfect college single, just in time for the back to school rush.  They’ve actually been pushing this track for a minute and I’m a bit surprised it hasn’t caught on little more honestly.  The beat is cool, the content is radio friendly (read: Becky from the suburbs likes to sing it in her new Jetta), the hook is catchy, Asher’s verses are cool, and the crowd at our Summer Jam responded well to it (interview still coming soon).  Oh…and Keri Hilson is fiiiiiiiiiine (in real life too).

We’ll see if the visuals help turn the song into a hit…but in the meantime, this song will always remind me of one of Dane Cook’s few funny moments:

Hmm…I was hoping for a live action clip more reminiscent of the Ghost/Rae ending scenes in the “Triumph” video, but since the track is so hard, this will still do.  There’s just so many ill possibilities for the visuals with a title like “House of Flying Daggers” that I can’t help but be a little disappointed.  Dilla on production in case you’re sleeping too.

Courtesy of OnSmash.

The video doesn’t do much for me (not really into girls looking like Destro), but the track is dope.  Well, the track is cool…and the verses from Drizzy and ‘Ye are fire.  Anyone who drops an “alt-tab” reference automatically wins, and Kanye’s verse is pretty much spot on.  “Even [his] superficial raps are super official.”  Not sure what’s up with the beat change during his verse for the video, but it’s cool.

And just to show you how far we’ve come in less than a decade of widespread technological assisted hook ups, I present Next’s classically bad computer-related sex track, “Cybersex”:

That’s right ladies…he wants your PC…to sit on his laptop.  “Oh technology, wow”…not one of RL’s finer moments.

(Fun fact: I’m eating a Now N Later right now.  That’s right bitches.)

If you aren’t up on 14KT, you’re missing out on one of the illest producers in the game.  He’s been putting it down for years with the Lab Technicians and Athletic Mic League, and recently as part of THE most underrated collective of artists around, A-Side Worldwide (Buff1, Now On, Mayer Hawthorne, etc.).  Thankfully, he’s giving you another chance to get familiar with his new project, Nowalataz.

Coming off the heels of the magnificent The Golden Hour, KT is releasing a Donuts inspired collection of beats as an homage to Dilla (RIP).  Download and bump this immediately.  If the first track doesn’t get you hooked, there’s something wrong with you.

Download here.

I’ve been meaning to post this tape up for a minute, but better late than never.  For those of you who have been following me since my Beats, Rhymes, and Life mixtape series from back in the day, you might remember a track called “Watchin’ My Moves” from a crew called Chapter 13.  Though they’ve since moved on to solo projects, I’ve been a fan of Rashid Hadee and Young Valentine ever since I first heard their ish.  Shout to all the Neblina folks from those days…

These days, Hadee is easily one of the illest (and most slept on) MC’s/producers in the game.  Inspired by Kanye’s 808’s & Heartbreaks, he chopped up Kanye’s tracks and spit flames over each joint.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone ‘remix’ a project by chopping up every song and rapping over the whole thing…at least not this well.  Download this immediately, especially if you liked Kanye’s original work.

Honest Management presents the latest mixtape opus by the incomparable Rashid Hadee entitled Chopped Not Screwed Vol.1: 808’s & Hadee. Known as the go to producer of Chicago when you want that good ole soulful boom bap, Rashid Hadee has decided to pay homage to the home team on the first installment of his Chopped Not Screwed mixtape series. With lyricism that has garnered as much love and respect as his production Rashid Hadee shares with you his interpretation of an album he simply feels is honest (no pun intended). If you wonder why he chose 808’s to “chop not screw” instead of one of the more openly loved releases from Kanye’s college themed trilogy, Hadee will simply tell you “because 808’s & Heartbreak is pure genius!” Most would believe he’s on an obvious hometown bias trip but the commonalities of both artists are evident as well as the struggle so as a producer/rapper Hadee feels he relates to as well as understands the mind of Mr. West. Chopped Not Screwed keeps the features to a minimum, sharing mic time with a couple of members from his Chapter 13 crew (Augustine & Melatone), Decay of The Molemen and Chicago veterans Pugs Atomz and The Primeridian. Rashid Hadee has produced entire projects for internationally respected pioneering Chicago acts Abstract Mindstate, Thaione Davis and the aforementioned  Pugs Atomz as well as his own debut Neblina Records release entitled Dedication but Chopped Not Screwed Vol.1: 808’s & Hadee is about the artistic expression of the producer and the rapper. For more on Rashid Hadee, visit: www.myspace.com/rashidhadee.

Download here.

Interview with Joell, Royce, and Budden (Crooked was recording a feature in the town) coming soon…