The Audacity of Dope

(watch in better quality on HyphenTV)

Anyone who follows TAOD knows that last week marked Seattle’s annual music & arts festival, Bumbershoot.  J. Moore and I have hosted the main stage hip-hop show for the past few years, but this time around, I had the special pleasure of not only being on the “Bumberboard” that helped plan the entire event, but I even got to perform by DJ’ing for the homies U-N-I.

Thurzday and Y-O took to the Fisher Green Stage (alongside artists like Mayer Hawthorne, Janelle Monae, De La Soul, and more) to rock in front of an enthusiastic crowd. We ran through a high energy set including tracks like “Cali Soul,” “Beautiful Day,” “Land Of The Kings,” “Supreme,” “K.R.E.A.M.,” “Hollywood Hiatus,” and more.  Aside from the classicness that occurs at 1:29, the highlight has to be “Supreme.”  The kids were wylin’ out to that one and both Y-O and Thurz got some crowd surfing in.

I had a really good time all weekend, so big shouts to everyone involved: One Reel, the artists, KUBE, the homies, the new folks I met, and [Jay-Z] most importantly, you, the customer [/Hov!].  If I have time, I’ll be posting up some more footage of various Bumbershoot performances here on TAOD.  Stay tuned.

I’m not quite sure how I had a 3-day weekend and yet I’m still scrambling to catch up coming into the work week…hmm.  Oh wait, sure I do.  BUMBERSHOOT.

Long story short, Seattle hosted our annual Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival this weekend and despite the rain sneaking in here and there, it was a smashing success.  Along with countless dope indie rock cats, we saw some great performances from folks like De La Soul, The Knux, Mayer Hawthorne, Janelle Monae, many of our favorite local artists, and more.  Even the Black Eyed Peas rocked it, no lie.

I had the special pleasure of DJ’ing for the homies U-N-I during their set and we’ll be posting up some footage of that soon on the blog.  Shout to Y-O and Thurz for putting on a great performance and also getting some hoops in on their trip.  The last game may or may not have ended with your truly draining a 3 pointer in Thurz’ eye.  I’m not sure.  My memory is a bit fuzzy.  Ask about me.

Peep this week’s show for all sorts of great music, plus a snippet of our interview with Kid Cudi.  The full interview will be posted up soon, but if you’re dying for Cudi Content, chew on this.  We also had A. Uno of Steelo come through to give away tickets for the Sneaker Pimps show on Thursday (performances by the Clipse, Slick Rick, Steelo, They Live, GMK, Fresh Espresso, future ABDC champs the Massive Monkees, and more!) plus Nightclubber Lang (aka Karim of Myx Music) dropped in as well for some updates on the burgeoning hip-hop empire that is Myx.  What a weekend…

Show #223 (9-6-09)

1. Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys – “Empire State Of Mind”
2. Dynas ft. DJ Jazzy Jeff – “The Future”
3. A.R.M. ft. Brother Ali – “Heaven Only Knows”
4. D. Black ft. Marissa – “Yesterday” (Local Music)
5. **INTERVIEW WITH NIGHTCLUBBER LANG (KARIM OF MYX MUSIC), PT. 1**
6. Jern Eye ft. Mistah F.A.B. & Zion I – “Get Right”
7. Rashid Hadee – “Set In Stone”
8. Fresh Daily – “Video Gaming”
9. **INTERVIEW WITH NIGHTCLUBBER LANG (KARIM OF MYX MUSIC), PT. 2**
10. Mayer Hawthorne – “The Ills”
11. **INTERVIEW WITH KID CUDI (SNIPPET)**
12. Kid Cudi – “Soundtrack 2 My Life”
13. Drake – “Fear”
14. Sean Price ft. Skyzoo & Torae – “Duck Down”
15. KRS-One & Buckshot ft. Mary J. Blige – “The Way I Live”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH A. UNO (OF STEELO)**
17. Pac Div – “Whiplash”
18. Blue Scholars ft. Shad – “Dawn’s Song” (Local Music)
19. Macklemore – “The Town” (Local Music)
20. Raekwon ft. Lyfe Jennings – “Catalina”
21. BK-One ft. Phonte, Brother Ali, & The Grouch – “Here I Am”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?hcyt25ngjmz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/65294337ab35170c/ )

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.

(Thurzday, me, & Y-O at last year’s DunkXChange)

Yes y’all, Bumbershoot Festival is finally here and it’s all set up to be a big weekend at the Seattle Center.  Come through the Fisher Green Stage (the big one right in the middle near the fountain) at 5:45pm on Saturday to see U-N-I, featuring yours truly on the 1’s and 2’s, though I’d recommend getting there early at 4pm to see Mayer Hawthorne too.  De La Soul will be on that same stage at 9:30pm as well.

I’ll also be helping introduce the homies the Knux and the Black Eyed Peas on the main stage Monday, but to check out the full line up, click here.

Another fun week here on SNSS in the 206, peep the highlights:

• Great music from the likes of Brother Ali, Balance, One Be Lo, Fresh Daily, Raekwon, Little Dragon, U-N-I, Mayer Hawthorne, Phonte, and more.
• A world premiere for the new Blue Scholars track, “Dawn’s Song,” off the upcoming re-release of Bayani.  The track features Shad, possibly my favorite MC in the entire industry right now.  Yeah, I said it.  Not familiar?  Watch this and thank me later.
• We aired part of our interview with the Pac Div homies.  Be sure to catch the full interview for all sorts of hip-hop and basketball talk.  I mean…is there anything else in life?
• We gave out tickets for this weekend’s Bumbershoot Festival (where I’ll be DJ’ing for U-N-I) and my most anticipated concert of the year – The Foreign Exchange (Phonte & Nicolay), Darien Brockington, Carlitta Durand, Yahzarah, Zo!, the Physics, and more at Nectar Lounge on September 15th.  We’ll have more Foreign Exchange tickets next week too, so be sure to tune in…
• More EPL goodness: Chelsea is looking dominant…Arsenal squandered a great chance to put Manchester United further down the table (wtfffffff @ Diaby)…Aaron Lennon finished off Birmingham to keep Spurs’ 100% record intact.  Overall, very exciting.  Can’t wait until we get football and basketball on top of this in a few weeks…
• On a sad note, we have to give yet another RIP shout to DJ AM, easily one of the illest DJ’s and sneakerheads in the game.  This summer has been rough.

Show #222 (8-30-09)

1. Brother Ali – “Fresh Air”
2. D. Black ft. Tiffany Wilson – “Touch The Stars” (Local Music)
3. Balance ft. Freeway & Jay Rock – “We All In”
4. One Be Lo ft. Mike Posner – “Pigs”
5. Havoc ft. Lloyd Banks – “Bang, Bang”
6. Rashid Hadee – “(See You In My) Nightmares”
7. Fresh Daily – “Video Gaming”
8. Peter, Bjorn, & John ft. Big Pooh, Phil Nash, & Chaundon – “Stay This Way (DJ Jazzy Jeff Remix)”
9. Drake ft. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, & Eminem – “Forever”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH PAC DIV (SNIPPET)**
11. Pac Div – “Taste”
12. Little Dragon – “Never Never”
13. Mayer Hawthorne – “The Ills”
14. U-N-I – “Calendar Girls”
15. Kev Brown ft. Kenn Starr, Wayna, Raheem DeVaughn, & Eric Roberson – “The Hennessy Joint”
16. Blue Scholars ft. Shad – “Dawn’s Song” (Local Music) (WORLD PREMIERE)
17. Raheem DeVaughn ft. Ludacris – “Bulletproof”
18. The Nope (Moka Only & Psy) – “Rain All Day” (Local Music)
19. Raekwon ft. Cappadonna & Ghostface Killah – “10 Bricks”
20. 14KT – “Black N Gold”
21. Charlie Smarts – “Put You On”
22. Marc Mac ft. Phonte – “Take A Trip”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?ozmybywhidm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/649603854484e662/)

Link to download the full interview with Pac Div – http://www.mediafire.com/?nzmr3eh32oi
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/649045665d98875b/)

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.

(Fun fact: I’m eating a Now N Later right now.  That’s right bitches.)

If you aren’t up on 14KT, you’re missing out on one of the illest producers in the game.  He’s been putting it down for years with the Lab Technicians and Athletic Mic League, and recently as part of THE most underrated collective of artists around, A-Side Worldwide (Buff1, Now On, Mayer Hawthorne, etc.).  Thankfully, he’s giving you another chance to get familiar with his new project, Nowalataz.

Coming off the heels of the magnificent The Golden Hour, KT is releasing a Donuts inspired collection of beats as an homage to Dilla (RIP).  Download and bump this immediately.  If the first track doesn’t get you hooked, there’s something wrong with you.

Download here.

Cats need to stop shooting videos that make me miss SoCal.  Dopeness.

ahahahahahaah aw man, look at the homies Krispy and Al!  The Knux made one of the least diverse crowds I’ve ever seen go absolutely crazy at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee this weekend.  LOL @ the irony of ending with Dead Prez’ “Hip-Hop”…I love it.

Seattle people: Be sure to come check out the Knux at Bumbershoot this year, where they’ll be opening up for the Black Eyed Peas on the mainstage.  Shout to Krispy, Al, Josh, and the whole crew.  See y’all soon fellas.

As I mentioned in the post for the most recent Sound Session, Krispy and Al from the Knux came through the studio to kick it and co-host last night’s show.  We talked about their next album, upcoming tour plans, an all-star remix to their “F!re” track that’s in the works, the Twitter phenomenon, and more. Plus, they even kicked a quick freestyle live over the air.

You can watch part of the interview above (including the freestyle) and/or download the audio below:

The Knux on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?aowymygdmhm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/60507495869da4aa/)

In case you missed their first appearance on SNSS, click here.

Shout to the whole crew for coming through.  Be sure to cop Remind Me In 3 Days if you haven’t already and catch the Knux on tour in your town soon!

(if you prefer YouTube, go here. Part 2 will be up in a few days)

Here’s the footage of T.I.’s Bumbershoot performance that I grabbed from the stage a few weeks back. The festival’s “Hip-Hop 101” main stage at Memorial Stadium is always one of my favorite events of the year. We’ve been lucky enough to introduce people like Lupe, Wu-Tang, Kanye, Atmosphere, Pharcyde, Common, Talib, and A Tribe Called Quest and watch these artists deliver incredible shows from just a few feet away. It’s really dope to watch ’em rock a huge venue like this and although T.I.’s crowd was a bit smaller than past years, this was another great experience. I’m not a huge Tip fan, but he killed it.

My favorite moment was definitely at 18:40, when he talked to the crowd about voting and then, with phenomenal swag, told Drama to drop “What You Know.” That might be my favorite T.I. record, [Kanye] Toomp killed that ish [/Kanye].

(if you prefer Vimeo, click here)

I’ve been meaning to post up the footage I grabbed from our Bumbershoot Festival here in Seattle a few weeks ago, but I’ve been slacking. Once I saw Eskay toss up my T.I. video, I figured I should get on it haha. Here’s the first clip, where Keyshia Cole runs through some hits from her catalog on the main stage at Memorial Stadium. I can’t say I’m a huge Keyshia fan, but she has some joints I really dig (namely “(I Just Want It) To Be Over” and her hook on Diddy’s “Last Night”).

I’ll make a separate post with the T.I. footage, which is better quality and far more interesting, imo.