The Audacity of Dope

Chyea.  The boys from LA flew out to the Chi and while out there, linked up with the homies from Ruby Hornet for an excellent edition of their “Freestyle In The Park” series.  As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a huge fan of acapella verses, but wow.  Like, BeYoung, and Mibbs murdered this and actually spit some ish off the dome, which is pretty refreshing these days.  “they say they looooove it.”

J Dilla’s younger brother Illa J is prepping the release of his debut, Yancey Boys, and he just dropped the first 12″.  “We Here” has been going around the net for a minute, but since we premiered the b-side, “R U Listenin'” with Guilty Simpson, on Sound Session last night, I thought I’d post it up as well.  This joint is crazy.

Illa J ft. Guilty Simpson – “R U Listenin'”

Illa J – “We Here”

That beat right there?  Woooooooooow.  Reminds me of his brother’s remix for Crustation’s “Purple“…what y’all know about that jawn?

My man El Prez from Los Angeles has been leaking new joints recently, but he just dropped the official mixtape for y’all to check out entitled The Daily Show.  If you’re a Sound Session listener, you may remember Prez from his “UAINTUPONTHIS!” joint with the U-N-I homies.  And if you remember that, you know dude is dope.  I would write more, but I need to get some ish ready for Rock The Bells later today at the Gorge.  Matter of fact, I think I’ll bump this on the way down to the show…

Tracklisting and download link after the jump! Shout to What Eye Thought for the drop.

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As mentioned previously, Little Brother rocked the Key Club in Los Angeles last week and the homegirl Mariko recorded some dope clips of their performance.  Above is the insta-classic, “Step My Game Up” (complete with a hilarious intro from Phonte), and videos of “Lovin’ It,” “Nobody Like Me,” “Extrahard,” and “Sirens” can be found here.  I can’t wait to see LB at Rock The Bells this weekend…

Another one of the talented artists carrying the torch for the new west is L.A.’s TiRon.  You’ve probably heard of him through his collaborations with Pacific Division or Tunji (of Inverse), but if not, time for you to wake up.  This VIMBY clip can serve as a decent introduction, though it’s more comedy than highlighting his music.  To cover that, make sure you download his Handshakes & Pounds mixtape right here.

Shout to Greg The Dude on the production!

U-N-I performing “Beautiful Day” with Me-N-Them for MTV…where did that 3rd verse come from?

So if you haven’t heard, MTV is holding a contest for the best breakout artist from Los Angeles, and the homies Thurz & Y-O from U-N-I are in the final three!  The winner gets to perform at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 7th (which will be hosted by the hilarious Russell Brand, chyea).

Here’s where you come in: we need everyone to head over to http://la.mtv2.com/ and vote as many times as you can for U-N-I.  The underground hip-hop community managed to help Substantial win the last MTV contest like this, so we need to do it again.  If you’re really bored, pretend typing in the captchas is keyboard practice.  Eh?  Ehhhh?  Ok, fine.  Do it for good music instead.

What are you waiting for?  Go.  GO!

When describing my taste in hip-hop, I’ve always explained that my favorite kind of artists are those that make that “everyman” kind of music. Not only is it generally truthful and authentic, but I can relate to it much more than the trite, generic, exaggerated styles that usually receive so much exposure. That’s not to say that music can’t be good and I won’t bump it, but I’ve always preferred to listen to good ish that I connect to and can make me think.

Most of the time, this split launches the useless “commercial vs. underground” debate, but I think the best artists are those that can exist in both sub-genres. People like Outkast, Nas, and Kanye have become legends in this lane, and there are a ton of upcoming artists staking their claim as well. A lot of them seem to be coming out of Los Angeles right now, with Blu, Inverse, U-N-I, and Pacific Division leading the way. Another MC that fits into that category is one I’ve been listening to for years, Bishop Lamont.

Since signing with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label in 2005, Bishop’s seen his popularity skyrocket, and deservingly so. He’s released a series of excellent mixtapes (Pope Mobile, Caltroit w/Black Milk, The Confessional, etc.), and now he’s prepping his debut album, The Reformation, due out in November. At the same time, he’s been working with Dre on his mythical Detox project, serving in the same capacity as Snoop did for The Chronic.

He recently took time out of that busy schedule to call in to Sound Session and discuss all things Aftermath. He talked about all the details surrounding The Reformation, what it’s like working with Dre, what’s hiding in the legendary Aftermath vaults, and much more. Bishop even told some behind the scenes Detox stories. You can check out the entire interview here:

Bishop Lamont on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?jwofmqs2c4k
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/17246074f1977a07/ )

With Bishop leading things off and new projects from Eminem, 50 Cent, and Dre on the way, look for Aftermath to make a huge impact over the next year. It all starts with The Reformation in November. Get ready.

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.

More good looks for the homies Y-O and Thurzday, who are destined for big things. Here’s an interview they did as Hip-Hop Official’s “Artist of the Week” segment.

LOL @ the superhero pound. ya diiiiig?

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/