The Audacity of Dope

During last week’s KUBE Summer Jam, J. Moore and I linked up with The Game before his performance for a quick interview.  We talked all about his upcoming L.A.X. project, why he wants to retire after this album, his ear for beats, the rumor about him joining Westside Connection, his ‘game’ on the court, and more.  He also revealed why his first few rap names were destined for failure and how the Clippers are shaping up this year with Baron Davis returning home to Los Angeles.

You can watch the full interview above (with footage of his performance later that day), or you can download the actual recorded audio (higher quality) through either of these links:

The Game on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?xfjwynznyn2
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/160425975c2bd052/ )

Regardless of any controversy he’s been in over the years, every time I talk with dude, he’s cool as hell.  Plus, he makes good music.  Definitely be on the lookout for L.A.X. dropping soon.

The man, the myth, the John Legend, called into Sound Session this week to talk all about his upcoming Evolver album.  With D’Angelo on his seemingly endless sabbatical, I think John is officially my favorite R&B singer, so it was an honor to have him on the show for a second time.  He dropped back to back classic LP’s (garnering 5 Grammy Awards in the process) and I don’t think there’s another singer making such consistently exceptional music.  If Evolver‘s lead single, “Green Light” with Andre 3000, is any indication, it looks like he’s got another classic on his hands.

We discussed the direction of the project, what it’s like working with Kanye West, his involvement in Barack Obama’s campaign, his own charity work, future projects, and more.  I’ll be airing portions of the interview on tonight’s show, but you can check out the full conversation here:

John Legend on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?dzzz1jn4mzb
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/15217999dd8b92cf/ )

Be on the lookout for the “Green Light” video dropping in the next few weeks, and I don’t even need to tell y’all to cop Evolver later this year…

(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.!

(not the full interview, just a clip!)

The ringleader of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, the RZA, came through Seattle last week and stopped by Sound Session for the second time (peep his first appearance here).  This time, we talked all about his brand new Bobby Digital album, Digi Snacks, and also reflected on the last Wu project (as seen in the video clip), 8 Diagrams.  We also discussed his work in Hollywood, his upcoming projects, discovering new talent, the Wu-Tang music vault, politics, and much more.  You can download the entire interview here:

RZA on Sound Session #02 – http://www.mediafire.com/?0vydexjjjdo
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/144489091aa62b41/

Part of the interview was aired on the show last night, which you can download here.

A few weeks back, Foul Mouth Jerk and TopR came through Seattle on their “Marathon of Shame Tour” and I had a chance to chop it up with ’em in the studio. We talked all about their recent albums, life on the road, collaborating with legendary figures in hip-hop, a little politics, and more. You can also hear Jerk’s song with Masta Ace, “Smalltown USA,” and TopR’s new track featuring Jerk, “The Name Game,” during the interview as well. Dope, boom bap inspired ish. Check it out and get familiar with the homies through the links below:

Foul Mouth Jerk & TopR on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?jy4c0i1gy3p
(Back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/13571318ee1dfcfb/ )

Be sure to check out their latest projects, Jerk’s Streetlight Music and TopR’s The Marathon of Shame!

The Roots and Erykah Badu came to Seattle last Thursday to perform at Marymoor Park. While there, J. Moore and I had a chance to hop aboard the Roots’ (dope as hell) tour bus and talk to their drummer/ringleader, the legendary ?uestlove. We recorded the whole interview (shout to Caitlin on the Flip Cam) for y’all to check out. It’s 5 parts on YouTube, but the conversation was so dope and extensive, I didn’t want to just put up clips.

?uest spoke about all sorts of topics, including their new Rising Down project, the lost Roots album, volunteering for Barack Obama’s campaign, working on albums from Al Green and Marvin Gaye, why Black Thought is continually underrated, the rumor of a sequel to Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, and more!

Check out the first video here, and the rest after the jump.

Part 1 of 5

Also, if you can’t watch the videos and just want to peep the audio, you can do that right here (ZShare link available here). Warning: the audio only quality is a bit janky…the Flip Cam’s microphone + a running tour bus = an audiophile’s nightmare.  I suggest watching the videos if you can.

Read more »

(“said i was a nerd, but i ain’t a punk” – Skateboard)

Chyea. I’ve been looking forward to the new N.E.R.D. album, Seeing Sounds, for a while and it’s finally here. In Search Of… is a personal classic to me, and while Fly or Die didn’t hit me as hard, it’s still real dope. The day before the Glow In The Dark Tour kicked off here in Seattle, Pharrell, Chad, and Shae came through Sound Session for a little listening party for material off this album (what up Blaze!). Ish sounded dope then, and it’s even better now. It drops this coming Tuesday, June 10th, and if you have any sense in you, you’ll cop this over Wayne’s Carter III disaster. Support good music from artists who put their hearts and souls into their art, painstakingly analyzing every frequency and note they create…not someone who wastes his talent by getting trashed off every drug imaginable, mumbling his way through disjointed rhymes, and slapping the auto-tune effect on it. Hmm, perhaps that was a bit much. Maybe I am a hater. [Mavado] Anywaaaaaaaaay [/Mavado]

Since I interviewed N.E.R.D. right before I launched this blog, here’s a clip of Pharrell explaining the meaning behind the album’s title in case you missed it. Be sure to download the full version of the interview as well, right here.

And a hilarious bonus clip of Pharrell pushing this kid off the stage that’s been all over the net this week. The dap + shove move is clutch.

Remember: Cop the N.E.R.D. album on Tuesday!

Every now and then, I think I’m gonna post up some older songs that y’all may have forgotten, or missed altogether. First up for The Throwback is “The Invitation” from Crossrhodes, a really dope soul/funk/R&B/hip-hop hybrid crew spearheaded by Raheem DeVaughn, Wes Felton, and Bilal Salaam back in the early 2000’s. This joint was the title track for their second project, and to this day, it’s still the JAM. Exactly the kind of cut I wish more DJ’s would spin at clubs and lounges. A smooth beat, hilariously blunt sexually charged lyrics, and an ill guest verse from Asheru…what else could you want?

As a little bonus for all the Raheem fans, here’s an exclusive clip of him singing an a capella preview of “Bulletproof” off his album due out later this year. This happened during my interview with him back in February, but the video never really made its way around the net. Now that The Audacity of Dope is up and running, figured I’d drop it:

Download the full interview with Raheem DeVaughn right here.

Thanks to the Seattle stop of the DunkXChange, I got to kick it with the homies Y-O and Thurzday of U-N-I all weekend. I DJ’d for their performance on Saturday afternoon at Chop Suey (working on getting some video of that), then hit the international soccer match between Brazil and Canada later that night. We ended the weekend by having them come through Sound Session, where they talked about their upcoming Love Supreme EP, exploring their sound, the talent in the Los Angeles scene, and more. Plus, they even gave us a live performance of “Beautiful Day,” one of the tracks off last year’s ridiculously dope street album, Fried Chicken & Watermelon. Cop that if you haven’t already!

Here’s a clip of part of the interview, including the performance of “Beautiful Day,” and then links to download the audio of the radio show:

Show #158 (6-1-08)

1. Crooked I ft. Akon – “Dream Big”
2. Reks – “Say Goodnight”
3. Self Scientific – “Of Our Own”
4. Wale ft. Skyzoo – “The Hacksaw Jim Duggan”
5. Elzhi ft. Phat Kat – “The Reason”
6. Common Market – “Black Patch War” (Local Artist)
7. **INTERVIEW WITH U-N-I, PT. 1**
8. U-N-I – “Love Supreme”
9. Kidz In The Hall ft. Camp Lo – “Snob Hop”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH U-N-I, PT. 2**
11. Common ft. Pharrell – “U.M.C. – Universal Mind Control”
12. Kenna ft. Lupe Fiasco – “Say Goodbye To Love (Remix)”
13. Busta Rhymes ft. Reek Da Villain, Spliff Star, The Game, Lil’ Wayne, Nas, & Big Daddy Kane – “Don’t Touch Me (Throw Da Water On ‘Em) (Remix)”
14. King Reign ft. Pharoahe Monch – “One More Time”
15. Nappy Roots – “Good Day”
16. Raekwon ft. Ghostface Killah – “The Jihad”
17. **INTERVIEW WITH U-N-I, PT. 3**
18. **U-N-I – “Beautiful Day (LIVE PERFORMANCE)”**
19. Saigon ft. Red 5ive – “Believe It”
20. Joker The Bailbondsman – “She Was Like” (Local Artist)
21. Grieves & Type – “My Girlfriend Beats Me” (Local Artist)
22. **INTERVIEW WITH 88 KEYS, PT. 1**
23. 88 Keys ft. Tanya Morgan – “Cuddle Bums”
24. **INTERVIEW WITH 88 KEYS, PT. 2**
25. **INTERVIEW WITH U-N-I, PT. 4**

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.zshare.net/audio/129792161e0fcd50/

Link to download just the parts with U-N-I – http://www.zshare.net/audio/1298032143091515/

Link to download the FULL, EXTENDED version of the 88 Keys interview – http://www.zshare.net/audio/129584146c5a9c55/

88 Keys is one of the most criminally underrated producers of the last decade or so. He’s been responsible for classic joints from people like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, J-Live, Consequence, Truth Enola, Musiq, Scratch, Schoolz of Thought, and more. He also did a joint for Rawkus’ Hip-Hop For Respect EP, “A Tree Never Grown.” Basically, if you don’t know about him, you’re sleeping.

Keys is now back with his first solo project, The Death of Adam, dropping later this year. Before that, he’s releasing Adam’s Case Files: The Mixtape, which will be available starting tomorrow on the “Fresh Rhymes & Videotape” tour put on by the homies at Decon Media. All the leaked material sounds great, so be sure to look out for those two projects.

He called in to Sound Session this week to talk all about the concepts behind his new music, his collaborations, Kanye’s role as executive producer, the tour, his production techniques, and more. You can check the full interview right here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?zyze4cxnqmo
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/129584146c5a9c55/ )

Be sure to check out the “Fresh Rhymes & Videotape” tour when it stops by your town. Seattle people, we’re up first! And as a little bonus, here’s some footage of Keys and Just Blaze working on “Mistreat Her” off The Death of Adam.