The Audacity of Dope

In case anyone glossed over the weekly wrap up for SNSS below, I thought I’d make a separate post with the audio for my interview with 88 Keys and Izza Kizza from Sunday Night.  Big shout to 88, Izza, Daniel, Drastic, and the whole crew for coming through…definitely some real cool folks and dope artists.  Special thanks to DJ Pheloneous for helping make it all happen too.  More details about the show in the last post.

88 Keys & Izza Kizza on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?mimgontduuq
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/599085806f274121/)

If you missed our past interviews with 88 Keys, check ’em out here and here.

One of the rising stars in hip-hop, Los Angeles’ Nipsey Hussle, came through Sound Session recently to chop it up with J. Moore and myself while out here on tour with The Game.  Just like you’d expect with a dude that many see as a young Snoop, Nipsey was cool as hell.

We talked all about his background (including how he got the name), his upcoming South Central State of Mind debut album, whether he had any reservations on using the familiar Kris Kross sample on “Hussle In The House,” and more.  Plus, we delved a little deeper than most interviews I’ve seen with Nip as we talked about his East African roots, fatherhood, how he wants to change the stereotypes of gang culture, and the difficulties in walking the fine line between reporting on violence and glorifying it.  Don’t miss this one y’all…

Nipsey Hussle on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?ijmi0ynzaez
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/5924493404d4c2b2/ )

*throws up the dub with pride*

Hands down, my favorite part of hosting a radio show for the last decade (wow…i’m old) is helping shine light on folks who aren’t getting the respect they deserve.  Now, those within the industry obviously know how talented Focus is, but the general public is still a bit behind.  Recently, they’ve started to learn as he’s unleashed his “homage” series of songs dedicated towards some of his biggest inspirations (DJ Premier, J Dilla, and Pete Rock so far).

We had the chance to catch up with Focus on Sound Session and talk all about how that series came together and who will be next up to receive a homage production.  We also talked about his background (his dad was the bass player in Chic…what!?!), what it’s like working with Dre on Detox, his creative process, the development of his artist, Kida, why there are more good beats than good rappers, and much more.  You can even hear Kida’s new track with Focus, “Must Be Nice,” included in the interview.  Peep it:

Focus on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?u1ekwyj4zmn
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/5867236469e95e65/)

Be on the lookout for the next homage to drop real soon and please stop sleeping on this dude.  He flips every style better than most producers flip their specialties and he’s also taking music in his own direction at the same time.  Get familiar now or play catch up later.

Across all genres, there might not be an artist with more buzz right now than Asher Roth.  Sadly, it seems like most people, industry or not, are stuck on the smash single, “I Love College,” and the image that track represents.  In reality, Asher is much more than a one hit wonder responsible for the new frat boy anthem.  Instead, he’s a really dope MC, a thoughtful businessman, and an all around cool ass dude.

He took a minute from his busy schedule last week to call into Sound Session right before we all headed down to SXSW.  In the interview, we talked all about his upcoming Asleep In The Bread Aisle debut, the misrepresentation that “I Love College” brings, his producer and secret weapon, Oren Yorel, why being a white rapper is like being the Highlander, and much more.  Plus, we ran his new “Lark On My Go Kart” track and reminisced about everyone’s favorite Saved By The Bell moment.  You can check it out right here:

Asher Roth on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?yiw2fzdilyo
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/578401220336b51f/)

If you’re still hating on Asher, I hope you can peep Asleep In The Bread Aisle with a clear mind, because the music and talent are there in bunches.  Don’t get it twisted.

I’ve been meaning to post up the full interview with TiRon that we recorded a few weeks ago right before his new Ketchup project dropped, and I finally got some free time this weekend to get it out there for y’all.  If you’re still sleeping on TiRon, you’re missing out on one of the most talented dudes doing it right now.

Be sure to download Ketchup and peep this interview to hear him talk all about his background coming up in the L.A. scene, linking with Pacific Division, the new mixtape and the Handshakes & Pounds, Pt. 2 follow up, how the web helps (and hurts) new artists, and much more.

TiRon on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?mddijmkn5zj
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/57110291095b68ba/ )

Get some of that New West in your life…

The homies Y-O and Thurzday came through Sound Session at the end of last year and it’s taken me a minute to post up the video of the full interview.  We aired part of the audio a few weeks ago, but here’s the full thing.  You can peep the clip above to hear them talk all about their upcoming Love Supreme project (dropping soon!), their possible beef with the Knux, the dreaded ‘hipster’ label, and much more.

If you want to check out the broadcast audio and hear it all more clearly, here’s the audio only:

U-N-I on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?vuh4mjmr5o3
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/56497985ef8e1e3a/)

And if you missed the last time we had U-N-I in the studio, click here.  I hope you remember this:

(watch in HD on HyphenTV here)

A few weeks ago, I posted up the video of Tunji (of Inverse) freestyling – and killing it – on Sound Session, but now I’ve got a longer clip of the interview for y’all.  Peep the video above (or in HD on the HyphenTV Vimeo page) to hear Tunji and Toby break down their backgrounds, their So Far and So True projects, how the internet and blog explosion has affected their careers as independent artists, and more.  You can also see some footage of their performance at Chop Suey from the night before.

Since there was one break that we didn’t include in the video, I’ve got the audio of the full interview here for all y’all Inverse fanatics:

Inverse on SNSS – http://www.mediafire.com/?mmmzy1oy5kd
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/549871929f867551/)

Be sure to hit up the homies on their MySpace and blog, and download their 2 free projects ASAP if you haven’t already.

(watch in HD on HyphenTV here)

As I mentioned in the show recap, we had the longtime Inverse homies, Tunji and Toby, come through Sound Session this past week.  You can peep that post for the audio of the entire interview, but I’ll be posting the video for it soon.  In the meantime, here’s a clip of the end of the interview, where Tunj spit a (real) freestyle to help close out the show.

Download Inverse’s So True EP right here if you haven’t already.  Oh, and you should probably remember the name too.  2009 is gonna be a big year y’all.

As much as I love all my favorite classic artists, there’s really nothing better than seeing the next generation come up and begin to establish themselves.  I remember when I first heard of B.o.B., I was impressed, but not blown away.  Fast forward to almost 2 years later and now I’m definitely a huge fan of Mr. Bobby Ray.  He killed every verse and hook in 2008 and ’09 will officially be his break out year.

Not only is he insanely talented, but he’s also a real cool dude.  You all saw a glimpse of that in the “Autotune” video, but I got to see it firsthand when B.o.B., Playboy Tre, and their manager B. Rich came through Sound Session to chop it up a while back.  We talked all about their backgrounds, B.o.B.’s upcoming debut album, the lead single (“I’ll Be In The Sky”), their ability to write infectious hooks, why their music has to be genuine, why the industry needs a reality check, and much more.  You can check out the full interview below:

B.o.B. & Playboy Tre on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?xnlx1wmo0gz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/54012448089f57ba/ )

Big shout to the whole crew for dropping by and a special shout to TJ Chapman too.  Get ready for the B.o.B./Tre takeover in ’09, for real.

(watch part one in HD on HyphenTV)

On December 13th, the legendary Common Sense made his 4th appearance on Sound Session here in Seattle. Since we just talked to Com in September (check it out here), we wanted to do something a little different instead of our traditional interviews.  With help from our good friends at Interscope/Geffen/A&M we threw a listening party for his new Universal Mind Control album with 50 lucky winners, some customized Microsoft Zunes, and other assorted goodies.

In the video recap, you can watch Com talk about the creative process for every track on the album and what it was like to work with the Neptunes, Mr. DJ, Kanye West, Cee-Lo, and more.  Be sure to watch both parts of the video and enjoy them in HD on the HyphenTV Vimeo Channel courtesy of Organic Digital Videomedia.

(watch part two in HD on HyphenTV)

Since the entire interview lasted about an hour, I’ll be posting up the full audio for all you die hard Common fans sometime in the next week.  As dope as the video clips are, there’s even more interesting tidbits about UMC‘s creation in the extended interview (the reason why the “Announcement” video was pulled, the story behind the original mix of “Punch Drunk Love,” etc.).

Stay tuned for that and hit up Com in the blogosphere over at his new site, ThinkCommon.com.  Be sure to go cop Universal Mind Control in stores now and still available at Zune.net for 99 cents!  It makes a great last minute Christmas present…