The Audacity of Dope

*Ok, ok…to be fair, I haven’t even heard it.  I sure hope the early reviews I’ve seen on Twitter aren’t accurate though.  The leaks I’ve heard thus far haven’t been that impressive, but I’m about to give it a real listen…here goes nothing!

For getting a mention on the cover on the new Billboard!  Not a bad look for the homey Grynch or the town…I love it.  Peep the Q&A right here.

A little before Pac Div dropped their Church League Champions project, Like, Mibbs, and BeYoung came through the Sound Session studio to chop it up on a variety of topics.  We discussed that mixtape, the digital EP they put on iTunes a while back, and of course their upcoming full length debut, Grown Kid Syndrome.  They also talked about the importance of their live show, how their creative process likens to their game on the court, their favorite underrated West Coast MC’s, the L.A. scene, a possible collaboration with Andre 3000, and much more.

Pac Div on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?nzmr3eh32oi
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/649045665d98875b/)

This was one of the most enjoyable interviews I’ve done, mainly because chilling with Pac Div reminded me of kicking it with my college homies back in SoCal.  These dudes are real hip-hop heads who love Dilla and basketball…pretty much all it takes to be cool in my book.  Plus, we’re both fans of the Arizona Wildcats and even spent time commiserating over that damn 2001 NCAA Championship game.  For the record: I still hate you, Mike Dunleavy.

The homey RTC and the Ruby Hornet fam put together this recap of the Sneaker Pimps even in Chicago last week.  I highly recommend all the Seattle folks to come out to our stop on the tour on September 10th:

The Clipse + Slick Rick + some of our best local artists?  Whooooooo.  We’ll be interviewing the Clipse too, so if you have any questions for them, let me know.

Big shout to the new homies over at one of the illest clothing lines around, Acrylick, for sending over some of their gear this week.  They really have a great knack for creating designs that are simple and refined, but still colorful and fresh.  Plus, they’re some true hip-hop heads so you already know the messages are on point (i.e., peep the “Too Many Mics, Not Enough Emcees” shirt above…cosign).  I’ll be rocking these heavy this fall, especially those windbreakers.

Make sure you check out their catalog and cop something.  Just like we all need to support good musicians, we should be supporting dope independent artisans in other areas of society too.  Shout to all the streetwear stores in the town as well, but again, huge thanks to Acrylick.

(watch on HyphenTV)

While in town for our abridged version of Rock The Bells on the 14th, Slaughterhouse came through the Sound Session studio to kick it with J. Moore and myself.  Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, and Royce Da 5’9″ talked all about their Slaughterhouse project, while Crooked I was in another studio recording a verse for a Seattle artist. They also discussed the differences recording solo vs. as a group, if they felt any competition in the booth, who they’d pick in their own super groups, why real lyricists need to be back on the radio, and more.

To listen to the full interview, check the audio below:

Slaughterhouse on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?loylvmqrwyh
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/645664522cc5c5da/)

Go cop the album and support 4 of the hardest working and dopest MC’s in the game, period.

Another fun show this weekend (and another goal and assist for the big homey Didier Drogba, but y’all don’t know about that) with new joints from artists like Wale, Saigon, Drake, Pac Div, Brother Ali, 14KT, Rashid Hadee, Donnis, Kev Brown, K’Naan, Apathy, Phonte, and more.  We were also joined live in studio by “the voice of Sunday Night Sound Session” and one of the nicest MC’s in the town, D. Black.  Since lacing us with the vocals in our sweepers 4 years ago, D and his Sportn’ Life family have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with and when D’s new Ali’Yah project drops, the entire country is sure to take notice.

Be sure to check out the full version of the Slaughterhouse interview below, and you can even watch some highlights on HyphenTV as well.  We chopped it up with Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, and Royce Da 5’9″ (Crooked I was recording a verse for another artist from Seattle) about everything from the new album, competition within the group, their writing styles, who would be in their own super groups, and much more.  Peep it:

(watch on HyphenTV)

Show #221 (8-23-09)

1. Wale – “Pretty Girls”
2. Saigon – “Aye, Aye, Aye”
3. Drake ft. Nipsey Hussle – “Killer”
4. Pac Div – “Young Black Male”
5. Chali 2na ft. Ming Xia – “4 Be Be”
6. **INTERVIEW WITH D. BLACK, PT. 1**
7. D. Black ft. Marissa – “Yesterday” (Local Music)
8. Lushlife – “Until The Sun Dies”
9. **INTERVIEW WITH D. BLACK, PT. 2**
10. Brother Ali – “Fresh Air”
11. **INTERVIEW WITH SLAUGHTERHOUSE (SNIPPET)**
12. Slaughterhouse – “Cut You Loose”
13. 14KT – “Black N Gold”
14. Rashid Hadee – “The Wrong Thangs”
15. Apathy ft. Phonte – “True Love”
16. Marc Mac ft. Phonte – “Take A Trip”
17. Fresh Espresso – “Big Or Small” (Local Music)
18. Donnis – “Sexytime”
19. Khingz – “Blaq Han Solo” (Local Music)
20. K’Naan & J. Period ft. Kardinal Offishall, Steele, & Bajah – “Belly Full”
21. Kev Brown ft. Kenn Starr, Wayna, Raheem DeVaughn, and Eric Roberson – “The Hennessy Joint”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?kjxzz5z5jzj
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/64621704b3bfcbde/)

Link to download the full interview with Slaughterhouse – http://www.mediafire.com/?loylvmqrwyh
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/645664522cc5c5da/)

Link to watch part of the Slaughterhouse interview – http://vimeo.com/6256723

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.

In the time it just took you to read this, Usain Bolt just ran 100m faster than anyone in history.  Wow.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who looks forward to every Saturday and Sunday for all the sporting events and this past weekend was another great one.  We had some important baseball games down the stretch, preseason NFL action, Usain dominating in Berlin, and…*drumroll*…the return of the English Premier League.  Perhaps it’s due in part to my British pops, but I definitely look forward to this time of year where the temperature begins to drop and the European clubs take the pitch.  Props to Arsenal for dropping 6 on Everton (wow) and the homey Didier Drogba for scoring a double in Chelsea’s win.  Season’s just getting started!

On the music tip, we had Slaughterhouse, Slum Village, Supernatural, Pete Rock, and Reflection Eternal in town for an abridged version of Rock The Bells on Friday, and we were joined by local artists Yirim Seck and Larue in the studio on Sunday night.  Lookout for our Slaughterhouse interview coming soon, but in the meantime, we ran a snippet of an interview we taped with Asher Roth a few weeks ago.  Even in the brief clip we aired, Asher dropped some serious knowledge.  Full interview & video will be up soon (sooner if we get a SNSS intern in the works…).

Show #220 (8-16-09)

1. Slaughterhouse ft. Fatman Scoop – “Onslaught 2”
2. Lushlife ft. Camp Lo – “Another Word For Paradise”
3. Rashid Hadee – “The Wrong Thangs”
4. Saukrates ft. Rich Kidd – “Salt N Pepper”
5. A.R.M. ft. Supastition – “I Shine”
6. Blue Scholars – “HI-808” (Local Music)
7. Wale – “Pretty Girls”
8. **INTERVIEW WITH YIRIM SECK & LARUE**
9. Mr. Hudson ft. Kanye West – “Supernova”
10. Matt & Kim ft. De La Soul – “Daylight (Remix)”
11. Fresh Espresso – “Vader Rap” (Local Music)
12. Raekwon ft. Inspectah Deck, Method Man, & Ghostface Killah – “House Of Flying Daggers”
13. **INTERVIEW WITH ASHER ROTH #02 (SNIPPET)**
14. Asher Roth – “Fallin’”
15. Pac Div – “Young Black Male”
16. Co$$ & Fonetik Simbol ft. Shawn Jackson – “L.A.’s Best”
17. Kev Brown – “The Random Joint”
18. Khingz – “Ponyboy” (Local Music)
19. Mayer Hawthorne – “A Strange Arrangement”
20. Little Dragon – “Never Never”
21. Drake – “Sooner Or Later”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?1wbadnvminm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/64281029a06fce99/)

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.

And Cocktail was in the studio last night.  Fine in person too?  Check!