The Audacity of Dope

They homey Sol has quickly become not only of my favorite artists in Seattle, but one of my favorite people in the local scene.  He’s humble, driven, focused, and above all, talented.  He knows where he wants to go with music and he has all the tools to get there.  Aside from the obvious (rhymes, catchy hooks, good ear for beats, song structure, etc.), almost every track seems to be a very genuine look into his state of mind.  Isn’t that what artistic expression should be?

“Dear Friends” is a prime example and much like J. Pinder’s recent video, it’s brought to life nicely by Jon Augustavo’s direction.  This hook is ridiculous and when it combines with the melodic, semi-ambient beat, it should instantly recall your favorite moments of Drake’s So Far Gone.  Just like Drizzy, the strength of Sol’s music lies in his ability to evoke particular moods in the listener.  While based on his specific life experiences, they’re topics and emotions that are universal to us all.

Off Dear Friends, Vol. 2 – download here.

It’s been a long time coming, but the homey Lace Cadence of Clockwork has officially released his first solo project, coming in the form of the Launchpad mixtape.  If you’re familiar with Clockwork, then you know a bit of what to expect, but this builds off the group’s sound and takes it to a new place altogether.  I had a nice discussion with Lace about where he’s at musically these days and I couldn’t be prouder of dude.  In essence, he’s a grown ass man and he’s going to make the music he wants to make, without compromise.  He’s shown elements of this style throughout his career, but he really owned it on these records.  As an artist, that’s where you want to be.

I’m also happy to add that J. Moore and I hosted the tape, while DJ B-Mello mixed the project from front to back (sound familiar?).  It was a great process all around, so big shouts to Lace, Frank, Blastoff Productions, Producer L, and everyone involved with Launchpad.  Hope y’all enjoy the tape as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Download here.

Apologies for the delay on this week’s show, but you know how it goes.  Peep this week’s show to hear great music (as always) and the homey Lace Cadence joining us to debut “Moonlight” off his brand new mixtape.  J. Moore and I hosted the tape, while it was mixed by DJ B-Mello.  Sound familiar?  Cop Lace’s tape for the free right here – http://lacecadence.com

Super duper big time shout to Aloe Blacc coming through the studio this past week to bless us with an exclusive performance of his “Politician” record.  If you aren’t aware, Aloe has been a dope MC for years but in the last few, he’s started to branch out and really illustrate his musical genius.  His new project, Good Things, is, simply put, incredible.  It’s one of the best albums of the year and a throwback to when soul music not only sounded great, but also pushed buttons in society.  Nowhere is this more evident with “Politician,” a track that only appears as an instrumental reprise on the album.

In studio, Aloe murdered this in one take.  I highly recommend you peep it right here – https://www.theaudacityofdope.com/2010/08/15/aloe-blacc-politician-live-on-sound-session/

Show #272 (8-15-10)

1. Outasight – “Ahh Yea”
2. Rick Ross ft. Cee-Lo – “Tears Of Joy”
3. Trek Life – “Wow”
4. Kanye West ft. Beyonce & Charlie Wilson – “See Me Now”
5. Slum Village ft. Posdnuos & Phife Dawg – “Scheming”
6. Exile ft. Blu – “Love Line”
7. **INTERVIEW WITH LACE CADENCE, PT. 1**
8. Lace Cadence – “Moonlight” (Local Music)
9. **INTERVIEW WITH LACE CADENCE, PT. 2**
10. Drake ft. T.I. & Swizz Beatz – “Fancy”
11. Mayer Hawthorne – “I Need You”
12. Ab-Soul ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Turn Me Up”
13. LaRue – “Not Like Me” (Local Music)
14. Moe Green – “Going For The Kill”
15. D-Sisive – “Ken Park”
16. Mickey Factz – “Paradise”
17. Paul Wall ft. Raekwon, Jay Electronica, & Yelawolf – “Live It”
18. Pharcyde – “She Said” (Throwback of the Week)
19. J. Cole – “Blow Up”
20. Mister D.O.G. ft. Mistah F.A.B., Outrageous, & Cool Nutz – “She’s 100 (Remix)” (Local Music)
21. Aloe Blacc – “Politician (Live on Sound Session)”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?z5bjcs98mzxq6cn
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/794664281379042a/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/7kdkjt422cyv)

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.

Aloe Blacc visited us last week and while here, he blessed us with a live performance of “Politician,” singing soulfully and eloquently about our government officials. The full interview is coming soon, but I wanted y’all to see this video ASAP.  Nailed it in one take…

Be sure to cop Aloe’s Good Things album on Stones Throw, coming out September 28th.  Support good music!

“My purpose for music is positive social change…” – Aloe Blacc

Back to back dope videos from the town, this one courtesy of J. Pinder.  Jon Augustavo did a great job directing this video (as always), but what I really want to know is…what condo did they shoot in?  I’ve been looking at some similar spots and I’m kinda obsessed with the house hunting.  So far, nothing’s touching this spot though.

Super busy reviewing a TON of resumes for that job posting I mentioned last week, so I’ll keep this week’s SNSS update to a minimum.  Having the ability to hire someone and potentially change his/her life is somewhat daunting.  No one Hyphen should have all this power.

Show #271 (8-8-10)

1. Freddie Gibbs – “National Anthem (FTW)”
2. Bun B – “Let ‘Em Know”
3. Skyzoo & Illmind – “Frisbees”
4. Mikey Rocks – “Bat Phone”
5. Ab-Soul ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Turn Me Up”
6. Slum Village ft. Posdnuos & Phife Dawg – “Scheming”
7. **INTERVIEW WITH LARUE, PT. 1**
8. LaRue – “Not Like Me” (Local Music)
9. **INTERVIEW WITH LARUE, PT. 2**
10. John Legend & The Roots – “Our Generation”
11. Mayer Hawthorne – “I Need You”
12. Nottz – “Cars”
13. Mario Dones – “Pastries”
14. Sweatshop Union ft. Geologic & Shad – “In To The Sun” (Local Music)
15. Drake ft. Jay-Z – “Light Up”
16. Mickey Factz – “Paradise”
17. Mos Def – “Hip-Hop” (Throwback of the Week)
18. Outageous & Dice – “I Love My Life” (Local Music)
19. Rick Ross ft. Cee-Lo – “Tears Of Joy”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?vr6k3i5vvdtyxnr
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/79191811939ee901/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/52213y0ltjy1)

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.

Just like C-Sick last year, the winner of the last Red Bull Big Tune beat battle got to choose a legendary MC to get in the studio with and Frank Dukes chose Ghostface.  I heard some hilarious stories about this trip to L.A. from behind the scenes, but peep the beginning of part 2 for a brief example.  Ghost is crazy.

I’ve been meaning to post up this footage for…well…almost a whole year.  Damn.  Eh well, better late than never!

I shot some visuals for De La’s performance at Bumbershoot last year and the homey mind of i edited it together nicely.  Enjoy and be sure to come to the festival this year.  Drake, J. Cole, and Jay Electronica alone should demand your presence.

The big homey Cool Nutz stopped by SNSS this past week and just dropped some new visuals for “Baseball Numbers” off Incredible.  Seattle folks can catch him at 88 Keys with Mistah F.A.B. and others Thursday night!

At the end of this week’s Sound Session, we started tossing around the topic of “your favorite rapper.”  Of all the pointless music debates I seem to have every day, this one has to be my favorite.  I just love that there’s no wrong answer.  How are you going to correct me on my favorite MC?  That said, I reserve the right to clown you when you say something off the wall.  “Pras?!?!?!  PRAS?!?!?!?!  I guess that’s how you was raised…”

Show #269 (7-25-10)

1. Nas & Damian Marley – “Nah Mean”
2. Big K.R.I.T. – “Country Sh*t”
3. Kaimbr ft. Roddy Rod & Hassaan Mackey – “Army Fatigue Rap”
4. Asher Roth – “I’m Eddy”
5. Dom Kennedy – “Locals Only”
6. Fice – “Two Five Three” (Local Music)
7. Dam-Funk ft. MC Eiht & Steve Arrington – “Hood Pass Intact (Remix)”
8. Onra ft. T3 – “The One”
9. Lauryn Hill – “Repercussions”
10. Shad – “Telephone”
11. Pigeon Hole ft. D-Sisive – “Light Show” (Local Music)
12. J. Cole – “Premeditated Murder”
13. Curren$y ft. Mos Def – “Breakfast”
14. Laws ft. Funkghost – “Vintage Futuristic 2”
15. The Roots ft. STS & Joanna Newsom – “Right On”
16. Rakaa ft. Aloe Blacc – “Crown Of Thorns”
17. Trek Life – “So Supreme”
18. Moe Green – “Non Title Match”
19. Big L ft. Kid Capri – “Put It On” (Throwback of the Week)
20. Outrageous & Dice – “I Love My Life” (Local Music)
21. Shawn Jackson ft. John West – “Lil Big Man”
22. John Legend & The Roots – “Our Generation”
23. Drake – “Karaoke”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?kvoqc7tp16k5i6u
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/787223765744d5e7/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/bf27kkujeinf)

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.