The Audacity of Dope

More true words from Jay Smooth.  Like I said in my last post, we have to “be the change” we want to see.  That means we have to get to work and take pride in what everything do.

I’m making 2009 a huge year for myself and I hope y’all do the same.  Live better in every aspect of your life and get things moving in the right direction.  Do your best to really experience life.  Remember what Jimmy V said?

To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.

In spite of this picture, the most important thing to remember today is that Obama is not alone. We cannot expect him to solve all our problems and make the world a better place without buying into his vision ourselves. As he’s mentioned numerous times, “be the change you want to see in the world.”

If you want things to be better in your life, in your family, in your neighborhood, in your country, or in the world, you have to take responsibility. Be smart. Be positive. Be caring and be there for other people. We can do this, but we have to pull together and demand the best from ourselves and each other.

Let’s go.

Y-O, Thurz, and Cook Classics appear to be cooking up a little something sampling one of the greatest songs of all time, Gregory Isaacs’ “Night Nurse,” for the upcoming VIMBY mixtape.  I remember Thurz singing this randomly last time U-N-I was up here and I commented on how much I love that track.  I had no idea they were working on a remake of sorts.  I can’t wait to hear the final version.

And in case you’re sleeping, vibe out to the original.  Flawless…

This past Sound Session was about 8 years in the making.  Finally, after all these years, we were able to have the longtime Inverse homies, Tunji and Toby, come through and kick it in the studio.  Sure, when I DJ’d for Inverse in college, they appeared on my KSPC show plenty of times, but it was great to finally get them on the big 100K-watt show.  Between the interview and their concert at Chop Suey the night before, I think we’re on our way to establishing Seattle as a second home for the fellas.  I’m already looking forward to the next time we’ll have them on.

Along with chopping it up with Inverse and having Tunji kill a (legit) freestyle, I ran new songs from artists like Jadakiss, Strong Arm Steady, Blu, the Blue Scholars, and more.  Plus, Johnny Polygon, Kenichiro Nishihara, Anjulie, and Passion Pit all made their Sound Session debuts and the homey Convinced dropped an exclusive freestyle for y’all.  Enjoy the audio now, and be on the lookout for video from the Inverse interview coming soon.

Show #190 (1-18-09)

1. B.o.B. – “I’ll Be In The Sky”
2. Asher Roth – “I Love College”
3. Shawn Jackson & Co$$ – “Here We Go Again”
4. Termanology – “Circulate Freestyle (100 Bars)”
5. **Convinced – “Sound Session Freestyle” (EXCLUSIVE)**
6. **INTERVIEW WITH NEEMA (of UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL)**
7. Blue Scholars – “Coffee & Snow” (Local Artist)
8. Blu – “Vanity (DeathOfAStar) pt.One”
9. Strong Arm Steady ft. Mistah F.A.B., Bishop Lamont, & Planet Asia – “Sunny CA”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH INVERSE, PT. 1**
11. Jadakiss – “Can’t Stop Me”
12. Statik Selektah ft. Bun B & Cory Mo – “Get Out The Way”
13. Johnny Polygon – “I Been Runnin’”
14. El Prez – “Hammerman”
15. Avriel Epps ft. Knox – “Don’t Tell Me To Go”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH INVERSE, PT. 2**
17. Inverse – “Rise & Shine”
18. Kenichiro Nishihara ft. Substantial – “Heart”
19. **INTERVIEW WITH INVERSE, PT. 3**
20. Snowgoons ft. Boom Bap Project – “The Storm” (Local Artist)
21. Grieves & Budo – “Guenevieve” (Local Artist)
22. Anjulie – “Boom”
23. Passion Pit – “Sleepyhead”
24. Adele ft. Big Pooh (of Little Brother) – “Melt My Heart To Stone (Kickdrums Remix)”
25. **INTERVIEW WITH INVERSE, PT. 4**
26. **Tunji (of Inverse) – “Live Freestyle”**

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?iwnnzmrczkt
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/54351869cfe4acb1/ )

If there are any problems with the links or if you’d like to be added to our weekly email list to receive the playlist and download links after every show, just shoot me an email, DJHyphen@gmail.com.

While chilling at the Inverse show last night, a few of the homies reminded me that I haven’t been posting much on TAOD.  My bad y’all, but my time is stretched so tight that it’s tough to handle all the biz and also [Unk] blog it out [/Unk] consistently.  Also, to be blunt, there wasn’t a whole lot of stuff that I saw this past week that seemed dope enough to post.

However, this new video from B.o.B. was one notable exception.  “I’ll Be In The Sky” is one of my favorite joints of the past year or so and I really hope programmers realize how catchy the hook is.  I would love to see a joint like this catch on, because if you pay attention to the verses, Bobby Ray is actually speaking on some real ish.  Look out for cameos from Playboy Tre and B. Rich, and then be sure to peep the interview I did with all three from a little while back.

Be sure to tune in to Sound Session tonight.  I’ll have a whole bunch of new music plus the Inverse homies will be live in studio…

I’ve been doing a radio show a week for damn near 10 years, but yet, somehow I’ve never been bored during any one of those shows.  With J out of town on vacation and no guests coming through SNSS live, this was one of the first shows in a minute where I was alone in the studio.  My worries that boredom would ensue were soon alleviated when I remembered why I love this gig.  I’m all by myself…in a soundproof room…playing music that I love as loud as possible.  You can just vibe and rock out to it.  Doesn’t get much better than that.

Along with playing some of my favorite tracks out right now from artists like Blu, Inverse, Little Dragon, K’Naan, Kenna, Anthony Hamilton, Royce The 5’9″, and more, I also ran a snippet of the interview I did with B.o.B. and Playboy Tre from a while back.  Be sure to check out the full interview here.

Show #189 (1-11-09)

1. Blue Scholars – “Coffee & Snow” (Local Artist)
2. Statik Selektah ft. Little Brother, Joe Scudda, & Chaundon – “On The Marquee”
3. Kid Cudi – “Sky High”
4. Strong Arm Steady ft. Mistah F.A.B., Bishop Lamont, & Planet Asia – “Sunny CA”
5. El Prez – “Hammerman”
6. Inverse ft. Substantial – “Spark My Soul”
7. Blu – “Vanity (DeathOfAStar) pt.One”
8. Little Dragon – “Constant Surprises”
9. Common ft. Martina Topley-Bird – “Everywhere”
10. Asher Roth – “I Love College”
11. **INTERVIEW WITH B.o.B. & PLAYBOY TRE (SNIPPET)**
12. B.o.B. – “I’ll Be In The Sky”
13. Colin Munroe ft. Joell Ortiz – “Piano Lessons”
14. Grieves & Budo – “Guenevieve” (Local Artist)
15. Shawn Jackson & Co$$ – “Here We Go Again”
16. Adele ft. Naledge (of Kidz In The Hall) – “First Love (Remot Remix)”
17. Musiq – “SoBeautiful”
18. Snowgoons ft. Boom Bap Project – “The Storm” (Local Artist)
19. Royce The 5’9” – “Shake This”
20. K’Naan ft. Chubb Rock – “ABC’s”
21. Kenna ft. the Cool Kids – “Loose Wires (Remix)”
22. Anthony Hamilton – “The Day We Met”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?m2wwzkmzzjh
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/540617114130cae6/ )

Link to download the full interview with B.o.B. & Playboy Tre – http://www.mediafire.com/?xnlx1wmo0gz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/54012448089f57ba/ )

If there are any problems with the links or if you’d like to be added to our weekly email list to receive the playlist and download links after every show, just shoot me an email, DJHyphen@gmail.com.

(“sleepyhead” might not translate as intended for hip-hop audiences…)

I’m constantly checking out new music videos for my day job and today I stumbled upon a great one.  This is Passion Pit‘s “Sleepyhead,” which is the first release from Neon Gold Records.  Talk about getting off to a great start with your label, this is ILL.  Directed by The Wilderness.

The first of the homey Court Dunn’s 4 part video series highlighting the elements of hip-hop creates some ill breaking visuals for Camp Lo’s “Double Doors.”  I believe that’s a Thirstin Howl III spotting on the last verse too.  Just like the Blue Scholars proved with “Coffee and Snow,” you don’t need a huge budget to make a dope video these days.  Major labels should take note.

Camp Lo – “Double Doors”

Swiped from the Dopehouse.

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.

I’m not mad against all these dope MC’s that have hit the scene relatively recently hopping on some great Dilla beats and ripping ’em.  Great stuff from the homey Theo off his mixtape from last August, which you can grab here if you’re still sleeping.

Shout to OnSmash.