The Audacity of Dope

As I mentioned in the last post, Glasses Malone and Mistah F.A.B., came through Sound Session this past week while in town for a concert.  We didn’t get to knock out one of our traditional “Inside the Actor’s Studio”-style interviews, where we could really go in depth, but it was fun regardless.  We talked a little about Glasses’ upcoming Beach Cruiser album, his background, how he got his name, and why F.A.B. enjoys keeping his fingernails finely manicured hahaha.  Check it out:

Glasses Malone & Mistah F.A.B. on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?rejomlz2njm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/52808768b3ac3185/ )

As always, click the “interviews” link on the sidebar to listen to most of our recent interviews.  Get your podcast game on point too.

Here’s the Sound Session playlist and download links from Sunday night.  As usual, we had a ball playing the best new music around, plus we were joined in the studio by the homey Geologic from the Blue Scholars.  Along with laughing at our crazy callers, Geo was in the building to talk about the upcoming Blue Scholars and Common Market shows at the end of the week here in Seattle.  If you’re in the town, you better be coming through Neumo’s Thursday, Friday, and/or Saturday night to see two of our most talented groups tear it down like they always do.  Shout to the entire Massline family.

We also had a quick appearance from two of our Cali friends, Glasses Malone and Mistah F.A.B., who dropped in before performing at the Star Bar.  First off, you haven’t lived until you’ve heard these two cap on each other.  I wish y’all could have heard the off-air convo…hilarious.  Secondly, be on the lookout for Glasses’ major label debut, Beach Cruiser, coming in March of ’09.  Dude has been putting in work in the Cali underground for years so it’s good to see him on the verge of such big success.

Do what you do and peep the entire show below:

Show #185 (12-14-08)
**Co-Hosted by Geologic (of Blue Scholars)**

1. 88 Keys ft. Bilal – “M.I.L.F.”
2. Alchemist ft. Evidence, Blu, & Kid Cudi – “Therapy”
3. Freeway – “Look Around”
4. Ghostface Killah – “Slept On Tony”
5. Blue Scholars – “Joe Metro” (Local Artist)
6. Q-Tip ft. D’Angelo – “I Believe”
7. Black Milk – “Hold It Down”
8. **INTERVIEW WITH GLASSES MALONE & MISTAH F.A.B., PT. 1**
9. Glasses Malone ft. Lil’ Wayne & Birdman – “Haterz”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH GLASSES MALONE & MISTAH F.A.B., PT. 2**
11. Souls of Mischief – “Tour Stories”
12. Evidence ft. Elzhi & Aloe Blacc – “To Be Determined”
13. 6th Sense ft. Adele – “Bringing 1988 Back” (WORLD PREMIERE)
14. K’Naan ft. Chubb Rock – “ABC’s”
15. Common ft. Martina Topley-Bird – “Everywhere”
16. N.A.S.A. ft. Kanye West, Santogold, & Lykke Li – “Gifted”
17. He Say She Say – “Crash Dummie”
18. U-N-I – “Hollywood Hiatus”
19. Clockwork – “Same As Me” (Local Artist)
20. Joe Budden ft. the Game – “The Future”
21. Fresh Espresso (Rik Rude & P-Smoov) – “Elegant” (Local Artist)
22. Sene – “Whateva, Wheneva”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?ymzmtolw3lz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/52807805c886e2c9/ )

Link to download the parts with Glasses Malone & Mistah F.A.B. – http://www.mediafire.com/?rejomlz2njm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/52808768b3ac3185/ )

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.

A few months back, J. Moore and the rest of the Red Bull Big Tune fam brought Elzhi (of Slum Village) and Black Milk to the town for the Seattle edition of the beat battle.  Before tearing it down at Neumo’s that night (I’ll toss some of that footage up if I get time), they came through Sound Session to record an interview with us.  Unfortunately, since we’ve had so many guests coming through lately, it’s taken a minute to get the audio up for y’all.  Better late than never though, especially when you’re dealing with two of the dopest artists in the industry right now.  I don’t think anyone is seeing Elzhi bar for bar, and with the release of Tronic, Black has staked his claim for the top MC/producer out there.  Seriously…do you hear how he’s spittin’ on that album?

Anyway, the interview was recorded in between the releases of Elzhi’s The Preface and Black’s Tronic, so there are a few occasions where it sounds dated.  Even still, I highly recommend checking out the full discussion to hear them break down both projects in detail.  They also talked about their inspirations both past and present, their creative processes, all things Detroit, what changes they hope Barack can bring to the people, their upcoming work, and much more.  Enjoy!

Elzhi & Black Milk on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?4nl20wo3wjy
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/52144263069bf0be/ )

Do yourself a favor and go cop The Preface and Tronic if you haven’t already.  Your “Best of 2008” list isn’t complete without both of ’em, trust me.

Like I mentioned a while back, I got a chance to catch up with the homies Evidence (of Dilated Peoples) and Alchemist when they came to Seattle at the start of the month for the “Still High” tour with Red & Meth.  We’ve had both dudes on Sound Session a few times before, but this was the first occasion where they came through together.  Every time I chop it up with Ev and Al, they’re cool as hell.

This time around, we talked all about their current projects, including Evidence’s Layover EP, Alchemist’s Alchemist Cookbook (which drops online today!), Al’s Gang Green album with Oh No, and their Stepbrothers group effort.  They also touched on how new media has affected their careers, the recent West Coast resurgence, who they list as dream collaborations, and much more.  Peep that:

Evidence & Alchemist on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?yzjtjgejieu
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/51481522ef6ce739/ )

Go grab Al’s Alchemist Cookbook at your favorite digital retailer and be sure to cop The Layover EP a week from today.  If you’ve been staying up to date on the videos so far, you know it’s crazy…

(watch part one in High-Def on HyphenTV)

Loyal listeners of Sound Session know that the big homey Jake One often drops by the studio to kick it, but we’ve never really done an official interview with him.  With the release of his debut album, White Van Music, a few weeks back, we had to bring in Jake and talk all about it.  Not only did he give us all sorts of behind the scenes stories about the project, but we ran through the entire album on air, joint by joint.

If you haven’t checked out White Van Music, you’re missing out on some of the best beats of the year and guest appearances from Black Milk, MF Doom, Alchemist, Busta Rhymes, Bishop Lamont, M.O.P., Freeway, Posdnuos, Slug, Little Brother, Prodigy, Elzhi, Royce The 5’9″, Young Buck, and many more.  Another guest from the album, Brother Ali, also came through SNSS that night to pay his respects to the latest chapter in Seattle’s rich musical history.

You can watch all the interview segments through part one (above) and part two (below), but make sure you watch them in HD on the HyphenTV Vimeo channel.  If you want the audio of the entire show for the mp3 player or the ride, here you go:

Jake One on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?ijm0j7uyj90
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/20192616e1aa393c/ )

(watch part two in High-Def on HyphenTV)

Cop White Van Music right now!

I’m glad this video is dope, because otherwise I’d almost feel contractually obligated to post it.  Let’s see…

• It features a ton of my good friends.
• It bigs up the 206.
• The Red Bull Big Tune was created by the other half of Sound Session, J. Moore, along with the homies Jake One, Vitamin D, and Marcus.
• I was in the building.
• It’s a great event.
• Budo is hilarious.

I could go on, but the video is pretty self explanatory.  Congrats to Brainstorm and Rising Son for advancing to the finals in NYC.  Let’s hope we get back to back Seattle champions…

If y’all ain’t up on the Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle, you really should be. Not only is it an incredible event, but it’s the brainchild of my Sound Session co-host, J. Moore, and the homies Jake One, Vitamin D, DV-One, and Marcus Lalario. In essence, the idea is to emulate and update a traditional ‘sound-clash’ by pitting 2 producers against each other in a head to head beat battle. You play your beat, he plays his. Repeat. Then the crowd picks the winner. Pretty simple right?

The program runs in multiple cities over the summer, taking the top 2 finishers in every region to the final round at the end of the year. Last year, Sabzi (of Blue Scholars & Common Market) won the title here in Seattle. This year, Philadelphia, Oakland, and Houston have already represented, and Detroit, Chicago, Seattle, DC, and Los Angeles are on deck. The finals will be held in NYC in December. Producers looking to get involved can apply on the Big Tune website.

Yesterday, The Smoking Section wrote a dope piece on the event with a few videos wrapping up Philly and Oakland. Check out the feature right here.  Big tings a gwan!