The Audacity of Dope

Ever since I was a kid, one of the first things I’ve done in every city I visit is find the nearest basketball court. Even if I don’t end up getting out on that court, just seeing it instantly gives you a little connection with your new surroundings. For those of us who have played ball our entire lives, I know y’all can relate.

In his new video, Omar Aura shows us a little glimpse of that life in his hometown of Fresno, CA. This track will be available on his upcoming project, Auradon Sessions, dropping March 6th.  Seattle people: Omar told me he just did a record with Grynch for the project, so be on the lookout for that.  Everything he’s released has been dope so far and with tracks like this one, I’m sure that will continue…

Omar Aura – “Balla”

This video gets a post for a few notable reasons:

• One of the better opening shots I’ve seen recently.
• Quoting the iconic “Jean Claude van Damme I’m fine!” FPoBA line.
• Fashawn is dooooope and I like what I’ve heard from Omar so far.
• Summer’s already almost over and I’ll miss videos like this when the rain hits here in Seattle.
• I miss my Cali homies.
• The homey Aren got his cameo on at the BBQ.

Dope stuff!

Half the time people congratulated us on our 300th episode of SNSS, they couldn’t help but toss in a reference to The 300 and, while trite, I chuckled every time.  What can I say?  I’m a fan of the movie…and the Spartans were my people, kinda (Dorians…read up, #realnamenogimmicks).  Perhaps I’m looking for parallels that don’t really exist, but when I thought about it further, Sound Session’s endurance for 6 years and 300 consecutive weeks does vaguely remind me of the Battle of Thermopylae.  Stick with me here.

Not to go overboard on a soapbox worthy rant, but in a sense, hip-hop and the arts have been under attack for years.  While there’s always been an interesting battle between art and commerce, and hip-hop’s been affected since the suburbs caught on in the late 80’s, many feel that we’re in our final hours.  I’d never go that far, especially with the way Web 2.0 has pumped new life into the culture, but in light of the media consolidation we’ve seen in the past 15 years, outlets for alternative/independent/”genuine” art are positioned with their backs firmly against “the Hot Gates.”  Have I lost you with the analogy yet?

Ok, let’s keep it simple.  Stations similar to KUBE exist in every city, often multiple times over.  Very few have the desire, ability, and guts to allow a show like Sound Session to use their platform, let alone thrive through it.  We are continually thankful for the support from all the departments at KUBE, particularly programming, where our PD and MD always look out for us.  Without their commitment to the art, we aren’t here.  Likewise, without the listeners, our attempts to support new music and groundbreaking artists go unheard.  We’re simply the middle men in the equation, pause, and we work hard to seek out joints every week for y’all.  Seeing as how we haven’t had a relaxing, low key Sunday in 6 years, I hope you enjoy the efforts!

And who are we kidding…even if you didn’t, we’d do it any way.

“We did what we were trained to do, what we were bred to do, what we were born to do!”

Peep the info below to check out the 300th show.  We celebrated the occasion by having our first broadcast in the brand new KUBE building, so you’ll have to bare with us as we get the recording levels straightened out.  Volume inconsistency aside, you can hear great records from artists you may not be familiar with…yet: Frank Ocean, Translee, Charlie Smarts, Ro Blvd, 14KT, Spree Wilson, and more.  Plus, the homey Fashawn joined us live in the studio on his stopover while headed up to Vancouver.  He’ll be back in Seattle on Wednesday night, performing at the Nectar Lounge alongside Evidence and CurT@!n$.  See y’all there…

Show #300 (2-27-11)

1. Kanye West – “Dark Fantasy”
2. Frank Ocean – “Novacane”
3. Translee – “Get Off Me”
4. Charlie Smarts – “The Skin”
5. Ro Blvd ft. Micah James & Chasiti – “SPIN”
6. Havi Blaze – “Don’t Worry” (Local Music)
7. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – “My Oh My” (Local Music)
8. Outasight – “It’s Like That”
9. YC The Cynic ft. Soul Khan, Von Pea, & Sene – “More and More”
10. Obie Trice – “Making Dough”
11. Talib Kweli ft. Sean Price – “Palookas”
12. Kaimbr & Kev Brown ft. The Kid Daytona & Asher Roth – “More Gritz (Gritz Remix)”
13. Mac Miller – “She Said”
14. Lupe Fiasco – “All Black Everything”
15. REKS ft. Styles P – “Why Cry”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH FASHAWN #02, PT. 1**
17. Fashawn ft. J. Cole – “Nothin’ For The Radio”
18. Saigon ft. Devin The Dude – “What Lovers Do”
19. **INTERVIEW WITH FASHAWN #02, PT. 2**
20. 14KT ft. Aloe Blacc – “Fourteen”
21. Malice & Mario Sweet – “DateNite” (Local Music)
22. Slum Village – “Climax (Girl Sh*t)” (Throwback of the Week)
23. **INTERVIEW WITH FASHAWN #02, PT. 3**
24. Spree Wilson ft. Esthero – “Don’t Pass Me By”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?r44q5zgt07076g6
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/87226218aaf22949/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/1bphslrs6sp1/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Sunday Night Sound Session, Show 300, 2-27-11.mp3)

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.

So west coast.  How come every video these days makes me remember college?  I guess college is just the rap life…plus essays (no pun).

I remember making the yearly drive from Seattle to L.A. and back for college and every time I went through Fresno, I had the same thought: one side of I-5 looked like any strip mall friendly college neighborhood while the other…looked like the F that Fash describes in “The Ecology.”  Great records, and you get the 2 for 1 visual treatment courtesy of Punit Dhesi too.

Dope visuals by Punit Dhesi for Fashawn & Blu’s “Samsonite Man” off the instant classic album, Boy Meets World.  Speaking of being a traveling man, Fash will be in Seattle today for 2 shows with Wiz Khalifa.  He’ll also be stopping by the Sound Session studio, so if you have any questions you want me to ask, email me.

When Thurz & Y-O were in town last month for Bumbershoot, they brought this video up for the 206 fam (peep Y-O’s fresh Hawks hat) to check out.  As I’ve mentioned before, I’m continually impressed by the visuals U-N-I release, and even though this video wasn’t done by their longtime collaborator Tomas Whitmore (Fredo Tovar handled this one), it still came out super dope.

Great track made even better with an ill video.  If for some reason you don’t have it, grab the audio off the Before There Was Love mixtape.

New visuals from Fresno’s Fashawn, produced by Exile.  This is the lead joint from Fash’s upcoming Boy Meets World album, which is setting up to be an incredible release.  Could it be another Below The Heavens?

There are some artists in this industry who are talented, and then there are a few that seem to be on another level, closer to genius status.  I won’t put the pressure on the homey Exile by calling him a genius, but he’s clearly working on another plane than your average ‘dope’ producer.  Between his beats, his live MPC performances, his beatboxing, and even his rapping, he hears things that we don’t, and puts sounds together in ways that we would never think to do.

A little while back, Ex came through Sound Session to talk all about his latest opus, Radio, an album crafted entirely out of sounds culled from his home radio.  He detailed the creative process behind the project and how it gave him a deeper respect for radio in general.  He also talked about his crazy live MPC sets with DJ Day, how his family influenced his music, his upcoming Boy Meets World album with Fashawn, a follow up to Blu’s Below The Heavens, and the 2892412931 other projects he’s got on his plate.  Check it all out right here:

Exile on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?gjnb13y1muj
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/610749136fb90d7d/)

If you haven’t already, cop Radio in stores now!

Fresh off last week’s 200th edition of SNSS, we’re hitting you over the head with another dope show, this time, packed full of exclusive joints that I believe we world premiered Sunday on KUBE.  In today’s internet age, the traditional idea of ‘exclusives’ has pretty much gone out the window, and regardless, I’ve never even been that big a fan of the whole notion anyway.  Simply because a DJ plays something first, doesn’t make it worthwhile (“NEW SOULJA BOY!!!!”).

Instead, this past week, we ran some great songs that the general public just hasn’t heard yet, but everyone will probably have soon.  Some of them will be included on our upcoming Cornerstone Mixtape (with some other exclusives), but who knows if they’ll leak before that drops in May.  Speaking of which, DJ B-Mello, J. Moore, and I finished up the mixtape last night (shout to Taybot and L for the engineering assistance!) and it sounds fresh.  Looking forward to y’all hearing it, but for now, peep the show and some world premieres from Fashawn (prod. Exile), Roddy Rod ft. Phonte & Carlitta Durand, Asher Roth, and Tanya Morgan ft. Blu.  [Kanye] Good music definitely in the building! [/Yeezy]

Show #201 (4-5-09)

1. Donnis – “Party Works”
2. CunninLynguists ft. Khujo Goodie & Killer Mike – “Georgia (Remix)”
3. Drake – “November 18th”
4. Kid Cudi – “Rollin’ Freestyle”
5. Kid Cudi ft. Kanye West, Common, & A-Trak – “I Poke Her Face”
6. Melanie Fiona ft. Talib Kweli – “Give It To Me Right (Remix)”
7. J. Pinder ft. Shawn Starr – “Havin’ Problems” (Local Artist)
8. Crooked I & DJ Wicked – “Jackin’ For Beats 2009”
9. Bishop Lamont – “Friends”
10. Method Man & Redman – “Mrs. International”
11. Fashawn – “The Outer City” (WORLD PREMIERE)
12. Outasight ft. The Kid Daytona & Donny Goines – “Fame & Fortune (Remix)”
13. Shad – “Exile”
14. Illa J ft. Grynch – “Showtime (Remix)” (Local Artist)
15. Roddy Rod ft. Phonte (of Little Brother) & Carlitta Durand – “This Time Around” (WORLD PREMIERE)
16. U-N-I & Ro Blvd – “Lauren London”
17. Pac Div – “Shut Up”
18. Common Market – “Escaping Arkham” (Local Artist)
19. Scratch ft. Musiq – “Tonite”
20. Asher Roth – “La Di Da” (WORLD PREMIERE)
21. Keelay & Zaire ft. Supastition & Slo Mo (of Fortilive) – “Trapped”
22. Tanya Morgan ft. Blu – “Morgan Blu” (WORLD PREMIERE)
23. Mayer Hawthorne – “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?mxjmgntmwmy
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/58302299c213a043/)

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.