The Audacity of Dope

Wow.

Yet another immaculately conceived and executed video from Mack and Ryan, this time co-directed with their “My Oh My” collaborator, Jason Koenig.  We’re still witnessing Mack’s rise to stardom, but when it’s all said and done, I think “Otherside” will be his defining track.  I don’t know if it will be his best (though it’s hard to beat such a heartfelt, no holds barred view into his battles with addiction), but the combination of the song’s impact/resonance with his fans and what it must have meant to him to record it make it the most notable track in his catalog…so far.

Don’t miss his performance opening for Wiz Khalifa at Bumbershoot this weekend, aka the next stepping stone in his path to stardom.

Here are the newest visuals from the homey David Dallas, all the way from New Zealand to NYC. I really like the vibe of this record and the video too, plus…he rapped with a kitten in his hoody. I mean…come on. Epic.

The video was conceived by Special Problems (production company behind Alicia Key’s HP commercial) and sees 7 different directors/animators interpreting 7 parts of the song. Each person was given a segment of the song and access to David Dallas. A few rules were put in place. Each scene was to be shot on a different format: 16mm film, VHS, Stop Motion, 3d Animation, and during the creation of the video, the directors were not allowed to know what each other were doing. The result is a series of beautiful, very different images pieced together to make the video.

Download The Rose Tint if you haven’t already!

I feel like I should post more non-hip-hop related content on TAOD.  And has Nabil EVER put a foot wrong with his videos?  Unlikely.

The Van City homey JayKin dropped a quick video from his upcoming Sneakers & Video Games 2 project and you really can’t go wrong with a piece featuring Juice and Street Fighter.  Speaking of which, I recently found out that Ryu’s name is pronounced “Rhyooo” rather than “Ry-uuu.”  Needless to say, I feel like I’ve been living a lie my entire life.  I’ll still destroy you with my girl Chun Li though.

Vancouver: go check out JayKin performing live with Dom Kennedy tonight (the 24th) at Fortune Sound Club in Chinatown!

Another video from the homies Lace Cadence and director Jon Augustavo off The Launchpad mixtape that J. Moore and I hosted a while back.  If you haven’t downloaded it, grab it now while we still have some summer days left!

Extra props to Jon Jon for getting his old Nick The Quick jersey in another video.  I expect this to be a running trend continued for years to come.

The official visuals for one of my favorite songs of the 2011 summer season finally dropped. Summer, girls, basketball…bet.  Be on the look out for Jermaine’s follow up single, “Can’t Get Enough” with Trey Songz, to take over radio and television soon as well. Cole World!

When you’re one of a million new artists vying for everyone’s attention, it’s tough to get even 30 seconds of time from tastemakers, DJ’s, bloggers, A&R’s, etc.. Truth be told, you shouldn’t even be worried about that, but most artists don’t realize connecting with fans generally trumps any industry connections one can make.

I don’t know much about OnCue, but I know that he caught my attention with this song and video for “Feel Tall.” Dope visuals and a nice record. I’ll keep my eye out for him in the future, starting with his Can’t Wait mixtape dropping next month.

(best stillframe image ever)

While on tour in Asia, Bobby Ray decided to team up with Motion Family, some local Singapore ladies, and the most baller pool/view combo you’ve ever seen for some quick visuals to his mixtape track, “High Life.”

This is how you stunt.

“If you don’t see me, I’m gone/
Might be in the wind on my own/
And if I’m movin’ too fast/
It’s cause these moments won’t last”

I’m pretty ashamed that the video for The Physics’ “These Moments” has been out for weeks and I haven’t tossed it on TAOD yet.  Better late than never though!

If you aren’t up on the Physics, clearly you don’t come here often or listen to SNSS.  These guys make my favorite music from the Northwest and their new album, Love Is A Business, is yet another testament to their abilities.  Get familiar with all their music here and STOP SLEEPING.

Here’s another taste of one of my favorite tracks on LIAB:

“There’s so many things to do / So many people I need to talk to”

Coming off a few days worth of vacation in Canada, that quote kinda sums up how I feel about life right now.  One of my favorite aspects to visiting a city like Vancouver is that the people up there are just far more friendly and outgoing (and interesting) than my fellow Americans.  Sorry folks, it’s true.  Every time I stepped out in Van City, I had fun conversations with people left and right.  Plus, they all instantly treated me like family.  Much appreciated y’all.

There are so many experiences I’m looking forward to having in life and if I can get green lights all along the trip like Aloe, life will be good.