The Audacity of Dope

The homey Grynch came through Sound Session this week to talk about his new Chemistry EP, which just dropped today.  Head on over to GetGrynch.com to download yet another dope release from one of the best artists we have in the Northwest right now.  If you slept on the last EP, you can also grab it on his site.  Combine the two and Grynch just gave you an excellent album for free!

1. Right Now
2. Chemistry (Feat. One Be Lo)
3. Doin’ Too Much
4. You Know Me (Feat. RA Scion)
5. My Volvo
6. Time
7. A Dream Undeferred
8. Smoke And Mirrors (Feat. Tunji & Geologic)

Download here.

Seattle folks: you need to come out to the release party on Sunday at Nectar too.  Peep the ill lineup:

As much as I like interviewing my favorite MC’s (most of which are dudes), it’s always a much appreciated change of pace when we bring a talented female into the Sound Session studio.  A while back, the lovely Melanie Fiona came through to chop it up with us and play some records from her upcoming album, The Bridge.

While the album’s release has been delayed until August here in the States, peep the interview to hear her discuss the motivation behind the music, why it’s universal to everyone, and how she’s hoping it helps kill off ringtone singles.  She also talked about her Canadian/West Indian background, the process of crossing over to America’s music industry by signing with Steve Rifkind’s SRC label, touring with Kanye West, and more.

You can watch the interview above or download the audio below.

Melanie Fiona on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?2m4glq2znej
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/62326399c6288270/)

Be on the lookout for The Bridge dropping soon…y’all haven’t heard anything yet, trust me.

GGR is back after a long hiatus, but it’s with a heavy heart as Phonte and Brainchild dedicate this edition to the King of Pop.  Rest in peace Mike…

The Long Live The Kaing Edition

Michael Jackson
August 1958 – June 2009

Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (DJ Brainchild’s Power Trio Mix)
The Jackson 5 “Can’t Get Ready For Losing You”
The Jackson 5 “It’s Great To Be Here”
The Jackson 5 “Lookin’ Through The Windows”
The Jackson 5 “I’ll Bet You”
The Jacksons “Give It Up”
The Jacksons “That’s What You Get For Being Polite”
Michael Jackson “Pretty Young Thing” (demo)
Michael Jackson “Someone Put Your Hand Out”
Michael Jackson “Good Thing Goin’ (DJ Bobo James Remix)”
Q-Tip “Move”
De La Soul “Breakadawn”
Kanye West “Good Life”
Jay-Z “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
Michael Jackson “Stranger In Moscow”
Michael Jackson “Whatever Happens”
Michael Jackson “In The Closet”
Michael Jackson “Scream”
The Jackson 5 “Superstition”
Michael Jackson “Call On Me”
Michael Jackson “Got To Be There”

Download here. (right click, save as)

He’s baaaaaaaack!

One of my favorite MC’s and the longtime homey, Amen, took the last few years off from the game to handle his grown man biz but he just dropped his new Head On project for y’all.  We did a really dope mixtape together in 2006 called Legend Killer (download here) that’s still smashing most of these rappers so it’s great to see A back on his grizzly.  He hasn’t missed a beat either, peep this album ASAP.

Here’s the press release with a little more info about his upcoming projects:

With several years of life experience under his belt following the release of 2006’s critically acclaimed mixtape Legend Killer with Seattle resident and Kube 93 personality DJ Hyphen, Amen has returned with his latest full length endeavor – Head On.

Head On is meant as a primer for forthcoming releases from Amen – as it encapsulates a mix of 11 new and/or unreleased material into a single, cohesive project. Featuring production from longtime collaborators DJ Forge, Khrysis, and Johnny Drama; as well as relative newcomers MG the Future and Midi Marc – this album serves as the first offering in a five album series.

All five albums will be released digitally for free and will follow a theme inspired by the HBO television series – Entourage. Each album will be titled and share a loose thematic influence from each of the fictional films featured on the show. All five releases will contain a minimum of 10 tracks, resulting in the distribution of over fifty songs worth of free material. Video and audio will be posted consistently at www.goldstandardlp.blogspot.com, including behind the scenes footage and exclusive songs in addition to the album material.

As with the film in Entourage, Head On is designed to be the first “starring” role for this 27 year old MC, and ideally will deliver the optimistic promise to listeners of greater and more entertaining projects for the future.

Download here.

The newest in a series of excellent videos from Shad’s The Old Prince, which was just released here in the U.S. at the end of June.  Do…not…sleep!

Swiped from Shad’s bloggy-blog.

Now that it’s my day job to watch music videos all day, I see damn near every clip that gets released.  As such, when a dope one comes around, I’m always extra impressed because I know how much effort gets put into the good ones…and I know how easy it is for folks to cut corners and release wack visuals, even for dope tracks.

We’ve been pretty blessed in the Seattle hip-hop scene to have produced some great videos recently (The Saturday Knights, They Live, The Physics, Choklate, and Zia Mohajerjasbi’s work with the Blue Scholars and Common Market, among others), and now we’ve got another from Clockwork.  The three man crew comprised of Lace Cadence, Take One, and Miguel Rockwell just released “Hold On” from their last album, Future Pastime, and it’s easily one of the cleanest videos I’ve seen in a minute.  There are some great effects to match up with the crystal clear images, plus the track is dope.

Cop Future Pastime on iTunes right here and follow the crew on Twitter as well.

Man…I’ve been trying to tell you about Shad.  This little freestyle he recorded off the dome in the back of his Warped Tour bus with DJ TLO and Dallas Green is just another example of the incredible talent dude has.  Remember this too?

Be sure to follow along with Shad’s Warped Tour experience over on his site and you better catch his set when he comes through your town:

6/26/09    Pomona, CA
6/27/09    San Francisco, CA
6/28/09    Ventura, CA
6/30/09    Phoenix, AZ
7/1/09    Las Cruces, NM
7/2/09    San Antonio, TX
7/3/09    Houston, TX
7/5/09    Dallas, TX
7/7/09    Indianapolis, IN
7/8/09    Pittsburgh, PA
7/9/09    Cleveland, OH
7/10/09    Toronto, ON
7/11/09    Montreal, QC
7/12/09    Hartford, CT
7/14/09    Columbia, MD
7/15/09    Scranton, PA
7/16/09    Buffalo, NY
7/17/09    Camden, NJ
7/18/09    Uniondale, NY
7/19/09    Oceanport, NJ
7/21/09    Boston, MA
7/22/09    Virginia Beach, VA
7/23/09    Charlotte, NC
7/24/09    Orlando, FL
7/25/09    Miami, FL
7/26/09    St.Petersburg, FL
7/28/09    Atlanta, GA
7/29/09    Cincinnati, OH
7/30/09    Milwaukee, WI
7/31/09    Detroit, MI
8/1/09    Chicago, IL
8/2/09    Minneapolis, MN
8/3/09    St.Louis, MO
8/4/09    Kansas City, KS
8/7/09    Boise, ID
8/8/09    Salt Lake City, UT
8/9/09    Denver, CO
8/12/09    Calgary, AB
8/14/09    Vancouver, BC
8/15/09    Seattle, WA
8/16/09    Portland, OR
8/19/09    Fresno, CA
8/20/09    Mountain View, CA
8/21/09    Sacramento, CA
8/22/09    San Diego, CA
8/23/09    Los Angeles, CA

Oh…and The Old Prince is officially in stores now in the U.S.!  [Diddy] COP THAT Cop That cop that [/Diddy]

What up G!

(^^reminds me of why we used to go to our high school volleyball games)

The long awaited video for Drake’s “single” (in quotes cause they didn’t really choose it in the traditional sense) dropped tonight, courtesy of OnSmash with the world premiere.  As I mentioned on the Twitter, the combination of hot girls and basketball is pretty much a slam dunk for me, and the Kanye directed clip did not disappoint.  Well, unless you’re a sports bra manufacturer…cause you were not represented well here at all.

The highlight is definitely the 2nd skit break and Drake’s double entendre, but there is a weird Law & Order SVU kind of vibe jumping off here.  Anyone who has played or coached sports (I do both) knows the player/coach bond is definitely familial.  I understand the girls are on “his team” in a different sense, but it’s still stepping into an awkward area.

Shrug.  I’m sure he could recruit the same cast for an appropriate “HoustAtlantaVegas” video though…

I’ve been waiting for Daytona’s official album to drop for a minute and the day is finally here.  Don’t get it twisted either…despite my blog tag calling Come Fly With Me a mixtape, this is indeed a full length project full of original material…and it’s dope as hell.  Peep the press release if you need to get up to speed on Daytooooooooona and then download the project below.

New York, NY – The Kid Daytona, born in Atlanta, GA to a set of Caribbean parents, grew up with a unique blend of cultural identities, which was only further expanded by his teenage years in The Bronx, NY. It was these formative years in New York’s northern borough that led The Kid Daytona to his current path as a musician — and the June 30th release of his full length studio album, Come Fly With Me.

The flight path leading  to the release of Come Fly With Me has been a long one. The Kid Daytona attained early success when his group The Aces was signed to Atlantic Records in 2002. Though the group dismantled shortly thereafter, Daytona managed to establish himself in the eyes of legendary MC Busta Rhymes, who quickly enlisted the young artist for a role in Flipmode Squad. In addition to Busta Rhymes, Daytona has also been blessed with the guidance of Cipha Sounds (Hot 97 WQHT), who has helped create the dynamic artist that appears on Come Fly With Me.  Daytona and Cipha started out by releasing A Tribe Called Fresh in 2008,  which garnered the attention of major media outlets like The Fader. Daytona explains that, “the success of the Tribe tape helped me realize it was time to put an official album together. I want people to be able to hear my music, and this is best way for me to make that happen – by making it available, and doing it well.”

On Come Fly With Me, The Kid Daytona shares airspace with musical superstars such as Bun B (UGK), Kardinal Offishall, and seasoned newcomers such as Mickey Factz, Amanda Diva, Harlem’s Cash, Outasight, and more. Production credits for the album include 6th Sense, Double 0 (Kidz In The Hall), Cook Classics, Jet Audio, Ill Bomb, The Government, and Deputy.

Both Come Fly With Me and its single, “Contact” featuring Kardinal Offishall, will be distributed digitally by Community JUICE beginning Tuesday, June 30, 2009.

1.  Just Fly {prod. 6th Sense}
2.  Air Jordan feat. Harlem’s Cash {prod. The Government}
3.  The Groove feat. Mickey Factz  {prod. Deputy}
4.  Honestly feat. Avriel Epps {prod. Cook Classics}
5.  Twilight  {prod. Jet Audio}
6.  Contact! feat. Kardinal Offishall {prod. 6th Sense}
7.  Flava Season {prod. Double 0}
8.  The Minimum feat. Tiara Wiles {prod. 6th Sense}
9.  In The Wind {prod. 6th Sense}
10.  Lately feat. Amanda Diva  {prod. Ill Bomb}
11.  Eye Know feat. Mike Maven {prod. 6th Sense}
12.  Perfect feat. Outasight {prod. 6th Sense}
13.  Right Now Till Then {prod. 6th Sense & Frequency}
14.  Air Born feat. Bun B {prod. 6th Sense}

Download here. (right click, save as)

I look forward to the day when Toby and Tunji are rich and famous so I can brag to people that I used to DJ for ’em when we were in college.  These guys played such an important part in the development of “DJ Hyphen” (yes!  first 3rd person reference on the blog ftw!) that it means a lot to finally see their first music video released to the public.  This is a great day…

Shout to everyone involved in this track (Oren Yorel and Paul Dateh killed it) and video (directed by rising star Donlee Brussel).  Go vote right now to help Inverse win MTVu’s Freshmen video contest this week and get it added to MTV – http://www.mtvu.com/music/the-freshmen/nominees-062909/

You can vote as many times as you’d like, so get on your grind people!  Sidenote, Inverse’s excellent So Far (The Collection) project will be re-released through QN5 Music on July 6th…you’ll need to cop that too.