The Audacity of Dope

Murs stops by G4 TV‘s Freestyle 101 and drops an ill video game inspired verse from off the dome.  Too many people these days think a “freestyle” is just a random verse.  I suppose the definition has changed enough that it can be, but I still maintain the true essence of it is to actually go off the top.  More MC’s need to remember how to do that.  My man Eddie would love the nerdiness of this video, but unfortunately he’s scared to death of the 8th Wonder of the World, aka Murs’ hair.

Swiped from 2 Dope Boyz.

The 3rd of 4 ‘webisodes’ documenting the Roots Picnic from June 7th just dropped, this one featuring Esperanza Spalding.  She’s dope.  Thankfully, the performance audio is way better than that for the Cool Kids clip, so you can actually hear her.

Swiped from OKP.

Man, it’s so ill to see the homies Tunji and Toby making moves. Here’s a new video of Inverse‘s VIMBY showcase, where you can see a little interview and live performance. Random tidbit: I DJ’d that 2002 performance at the UC-Irvine Chili Cook-Off hahaha. Those were the days…

If you haven’t downloaded Inverse’s So Far…The Collection project, do it now. It’s one of the best releases of the year and you can grab it here. Also be sure to check their blog, Inverse Hip-Hop.

The 2nd of 4 Okayplayer TV ‘webisodes’ documenting the Roots Picnic from June 7th in Philly.  This one features The Cool Kids, though the recorded audio for their performance is pretty janky.  Also, how is Mike gonna wear a shirt THAT baggy, with pants THAT tight.  That makes no kind of sense at all.

Swacked from OKP.

Lupe’s MTV interview gets interrupted by his new artist, who reminds me of half the callers we get on Sound Session.  I was hoping a little cypher might pop off there.

Swiped from The Lupe Fiasco Show.

As we continue to prove, Seattle’s making huge moves in the music game.  Helping lead the pack are J-Hen and Dow Jones, collectively known as Tha Bizness.  When they’re not producing tracks for artists like 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, T.I., R. Kelly, and more, they’re coming up with crazy stuff like the above video.  J-Hen shows you how to cook up a beat on your new iPhone, assuming you’ve copped one.  Looks dope, but I’m kind of addicted to my Blackberry.  Until my man Budo tells me to switch, I’m waiting for the Bold.

Speaking of Hen, check out last week‘s Sound Session to hear his childhood friends, The Parker Brothaz, talk about his production success.  He produced the Killer Mike joint, “Pressure,” that’s killing the blogs these days.  206/253/360/425 up!

Spotted on illRoots.

Tunji sent over this dope video of Talib (with Hi-Tek!), Buck, and Pete performing at the American Museum of Natural History a few weeks back.  Pete Rosenberg makes a good point – back in the day, who would have thought you’d see hip-hop take over a place like that?  Very ill.

In the first of four ‘webisodes’ documenting the recent Roots Picnic that went down in Philly a few weeks back (a day after we interviewed ?uest for Sound Session), Black Thought, Amanda Diva, and others give you a little introduction on what the event was all about.  I like the idea of this ‘blockapalooza’ happening every year, hopefully ?uest can make that happen.  And, of course, no concert video is complete without the obligatory drunk white girls.

Swiped from Femi @ OKP.

Or in this case, on the tour bus.  For the latest edition of Ruby Hornet‘s “Freestyle In The Park” series, the homies Rakaa and Evidence kick a few (actual) freestyles on their tour bus.  You don’t see people going off the dome much anymore, so it’s always fun when MC’s do that.  My only question is…where’s the Babu verse?!  Didn’t we hear some of his mic skills on the outro to Soundbombing II?

(Part 1 of 3)

One of the dopest MC’s in the game, Crooked I, came through Sound Session last night while he was up here in Seattle over the holiday weekend.  We talked about his groundbreaking “Hip-Hop Weekly” series that dominated the blogosphere over the past year, his upcoming B.O.S.S. album and Block Obama mixtape, his “Dream Big” single with Akon, and more.  Plus, he even blessed the mic by ripping a few beats: Jaylib’s “The Red” (in part 2) and the end of A-Trak & Lupe Fiasco’s “Running Man” (part 3).  Be sure to check HyphenTV to watch these clips in high quality (Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3).  You can also download the audio by itself below, and of course the whole show right here.

(Part 2 of 3)

(Part 3 of 3)

Download the audio of the Crooked I interview – http://www.mediafire.com/?u3zz10rybmv
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/148487462fa062a7/ )

Remember to call or email your local stations and request “Dream Big.”  It definitely has a chance to break through and get Crooked the mainstream success he deserves, but since he’s doing it independently, he needs our support. C.O.B.!