The Audacity of Dope

It’s been a busy past few days  for me, so I’ll run through my thoughts for this week’s SNSS quickly with bulletpoints:

• Courtney Lee.  Courtney, Courtney, Courtney.  That was a gimme and most likely cost the Magic any chance of winning the championship.  Not that they had a good chance to begin with, but that game might have been their only lifeline against a focused Laker squad.  For those of us hoping for a long series, our hopes were dashed with one blown layup (well, two I suppose…but the scoop was a bit tougher).  I hope I’m proven wrong and we get a classic 7-gamer, but I highly doubt it.

• Aw snap, our Cornerstone Mixtape is finally out.  Read more and download it right here!

• This week’s show featured music from some of the dopest artists around, including Ghostface, Dead Prez, A.R.M., Outasight, Mos Def, Drake, Tanya Morgan, and more.  And yes, of course we played Jay-Z’s “D.O.A.”…was there ever a doubt?

• We might have given a world premiere to DJ Spinna’s excellent record with Phonte and Yahzarah, “Guaranteed.”  Not sure if that one has hit the net at all, but if you haven’t heard it, peep it…asap.  Cop Sonic Smash on June 30th!

• We were also joined in the studio by Kyle Lucas (of Vonnegutt), who talked about signing with Big Boi’s Purple Ribbon label and his new project with Seattle’s own Captain Midnite, along with one of our most talented soul artists in the city, Mycle Wastman.  Speaking of signing, be on the lookout for Mycle to sign to a very major label soon…the ink is almost dry!

• Peep our final break to hear my mini-rant on T-Pain and his “Big Ass Chain.”  I like T-Pain (kinda), but I gotta call ’em like I see ’em.  $410K on a chain, recession or not, is asking for ridicule.

Show #210 (6-7-09)

1. Ghostface Killah, AZ, & Inspectah Deck – “Harbormasters”
2. Marco Polo & Torae – “Danger”
3. A.R.M. – “Blame My Ego”
4. U-N-I – “Land Of The Kings”
5. Dead Prez – “Summer Time”
6. **INTERVIEW WITH KYLE LUCAS (of VONNEGUTT), PT. 1**
7. Vonnegutt – “Here We Go Again (Repeat Offender)”
8. Outasight – “Destination Somewhere”
9. Mos Def ft. Slick Rick – “Auditorium”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH KYLE LUCAS & CAPTAIN MIDNITE, PT. 2**
11. Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)”
12. Drake – “The Calm”
13. B.o.B – “Put Me On ’09 (Reebok Classic Mix)”
14. **INTERVIEW WITH MYCLE WASTMAN, PT. 1**
15. Mycle Wastman – “Still Holdin’ On” (Local Artist)
16. Busta Rhymes ft. Common, Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, & John Legend – “Decisions”
17. DJ Spinna ft. Phonte & Yahzarah – “Guaranteed”
18. M64 (Ragen Fykes & Ohmega Watts) – “In The Pocket” (Local Artist)
19. **INTERVIEW WITH MYCLE WASTMAN, PT. 2**
20. Shawn Starr ft. GMK – “Past The Games” (Local Artist)
21. Tanya Morgan ft. Phonte & Brittany Bosco – “She’s Gone AKA Without You”
22. B-Real ft. Young De & Tekneek – “6 Minutes”
23. Fresh Daily ft. Oddisee & Mela Machinko – “Universal Medicine”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?1mz51ydmtoj
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/611304394b1ae0e3/)

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.

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!

GMK is one of the dopest cats from the Northwest doing it right now.  If you need proof, cop his new project, Songs For Bloggers, right now on iTunes.  It’s worth it, trust.

While at Rhymesayers’ epic Soundset Festival in Minnesota, the homey Peter Parker linked up with the other homies Jake One & Freeway for a quick chat about their upcoming album, The Stimulus Package.  If you thought White Van Music was a big record for Jake and for Seattle, wait till this one drops.  It’s gonna be a big moment for the merging of the commercial & underground scenes nationwide.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go destroy some folks on the soccer pitch in this lovely 80 degree Seattle weather.  [Jada] ah-HAAAAA [/Kiss]

After another long winter and spring, it finally feels like summer here in the 206.  If you’re anything like me, the perfect complement to 70-80 degree weather is a good soundtrack and that’s exactly what we’re giving you each week with SNSS.  Peep the latest episode featuring dope new music from folks like Drake, Kid Cudi, B.o.B, Asher Roth, U-N-I, P.Casso, Tanya Morgan, Homeboy Sandman, Donny Goines, Outasight, Brother Ali, Marco Polo & Torae, Chester French, Fresh Daily, Oddisee, Santigold, and more.  We were also joined in studio by two of our illest up-and-coming Seattle MC’s, J. Pinder and Shawn Starr, and we aired a snippet of our interview with Exile.  We’ll be posting up the full interview on the site soon, but in the meantime…

Show #209 (5-31-09)

1. Drake ft. Lil’ Wayne – “Ignant Sh*t Freestyle”
2. Kid Cudi – “Super Boo”
3. U-N-I – “Land Of The Kings”
4. B.o.B – “Put It On Me ’09 (Reebok Classic Mix)”
5. Brother Ali – “Real As Can Be”
6. Tanya Morgan ft. Jermiside – “Don’t U Holla”
7. P.Casso ft. Von Pea & Homeboy Sandman – “Best In Show”
8. **INTERVIEW WITH SHAWN STARR & J. PINDER, PT. 1**
9. Shawn Starr ft. GMK – “Past The Games” (Local Artist)
10. Mos Def – “Casa Bey”
11. Skyzoo ft. Talib Kweli & Reks – “When I Rhyme”
12. Donny Goines ft. Outasight & Peter Hadar – “Sublime”
13. Scribes – “Can You Hear Me” (Local Artist)
14. **INTERVIEW WITH EXILE (SNIPPET)**
15. Blu & Exile – “Love Line”
16. Santigold – “Your Voice”
17. Fresh Daily ft. Oddisee & Mela Machinko – “Universal Medicine”
18. Asher Roth – “Sour Patch Kids”
19. Guilty Simpson – “Stress”
20. Bruce Leroy – “Million Dollar Dream” (Local Artist)
21. Marco Polo & Torae ft. Masta Ace & Sean Price – “Hold Up”
22. Chester French ft. Wale – “I’m Sorry”
23. Windimoto ft. Phonte – “Don’t Let Me Leave Alone”
24. **INTERVIEW WITH SHAWN STARR & J. PINDER, PT. 2**

Download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?ldzjtyjy2cj
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/608328707136b4e0/ )

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.

Having been on the airwaves for almost a decade now, sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in the routine and lose some of the excitement that got me into this industry in the first place.  While it’s fun to interview hip-hop’s next generation and meet all the up and comers, there’s nothing better than chopping it up with someone who I listened to back in “the good ol’ days.”

When I got to college in 2000 and discovered the magnificence that was Napster + a T1 connection, I downloaded just about every ‘underground’ track I could find.  Among those gems was Louis Logic’s Music To Drink By compilation, which I definitely consider a personal classic (even though I was never a drinker…shrug).  Since then, Lou’s gone on to release more great projects, many of which have fallen a bit under the radar.  With the upcoming release of his Spork Kills surf-pop meets hip-hop hybrid album, Beaches Love Us, he’s about to burst back on the scene with more noise than ever.  Don’t believe me?  Peep the video for the first single, “Night Of The Hip ‘N Dead”:

A little while back, Lou came through Sound Session to talk all about the early 2000’s underground scene, his work with the Demigodz, his musical and personal evolution, his time as roommates with Travis from Gym Class Heroes, why Spork Kills is his best and most important work to date, and much more.  Do yourself a favor and check out this in-depth interview with one of hip-hop’s best lyricists:

Louis Logic on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?gxzkmkv2ig2
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/607441023e2f958e/ )

Shout to my dude Type for helping bring Louis through the show…now he’s a homey from the real “good ol’ days,” all the way back in middle school.  What up Jeff!

Yessir!  It doesn’t get any more 206 than this one.  Big shout to everyone involved in this video, many of which are my favorite folks in this industry/community.  Great to see everyone get some shine and I’m still a little disappointed I wasn’t able to hit up the shoot too.  If I remember right though, I was coaching my 6th grade select squad to some Eastside ass-whooping, so it’s all good.  Would have been nice to get a little U-District/Ravenna repping though hahaha.  The end of this song (“peace out homey!!!”) will always be a great memory, as that soundbite was taken from one of our crazy SNSS callers when Jake was in the studio one night.  Classic.

Special props to Jake, Zia, & Pinder for doing a great job with this clip.  Townbidnassmane.

As I mentioned in the post for the most recent Sound Session, Krispy and Al from the Knux came through the studio to kick it and co-host last night’s show.  We talked about their next album, upcoming tour plans, an all-star remix to their “F!re” track that’s in the works, the Twitter phenomenon, and more. Plus, they even kicked a quick freestyle live over the air.

You can watch part of the interview above (including the freestyle) and/or download the audio below:

The Knux on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?aowymygdmhm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/60507495869da4aa/)

In case you missed their first appearance on SNSS, click here.

Shout to the whole crew for coming through.  Be sure to cop Remind Me In 3 Days if you haven’t already and catch the Knux on tour in your town soon!

On a week where J. Moore was holding it down for us with Jake One in Minnesota at the Rhymesayers’ Soundset concert, I was expecting to run through a normal episode of SNSS solo.  Turns out, I forgot that the long holiday weekend also meant that the yearly Sasquatch Festival was taking place down at the Gorge and the homies The Knux were in town early for their Monday performance.  Krispy Kream and Rah Almillio dropped through the studio to kick it and co-host with me, and we talked about their next album, upcoming tour plans, an all-star remix for their “F!re” track that’s in the works, the Twitter phenomenon, and more.  Plus, they even ripped a quick freestyle live over the air.

You can peep the interview and full show below…video of the freestyle coming soon.  In case you missed their first appearance on SNSS, click here.

Show #208 (5-24-09)

1. **INTERVIEW WITH THE KNUX, PT. 1**
2. Marco Polo & Torae ft. Masta Ace & Sean Price – “Hold Up”
3. DJ Spinna ft. Fresh Daily, P.Casso, & Homeboy Sandman – “Get On Down”
4. Quest Tha Young’n ft. Reks & Termanology – “To Be Nice”
5. CL Smooth – “The Piano”
6. Kanye West & Malik Yusef ft. Common & John Legend – “Magic Man”
7. Kid Cudi – “Super Boo”
8. Santigold – “Your Voice”
9. **INTERVIEW WITH THE KNUX, PT. 2**
10. The Knux – Live Freestyle
11. Scribes – “Roll My Way” (Local Artist)
12. Buff1 – “For U (M-Phazes Remix)”
13. Shaya – “Be Proud”
14. Lykke Li ft. Drake – “Little Bit (Remix)”
15. Julian Marley ft. Damian Marley – “Violence In The Streets”
16. Busta Rhymes ft. Pharrell & Tosh – “Kill Dem”
17. M64 (Ragen Fykes & Ohmega Watts) – “In The Pocket” (Local Artist)
18. **INTERVIEW WITH THE KNUX, PT. 3**
19. Bruce Leroy – “100 Bars Of Death” (Local Artist)
20. Saigon – “Change Gon’ Come”
21. Windimoto ft. Phonte – “Don’t Let Me Leave Alone”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?kcn22gljlwd
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/60507353af892ef7/)

Link to download just the parts with the Knux – http://www.mediafire.com/?aowymygdmhm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/60507495869da4aa/)

Link to watch the interview/freestyle with the Knux – http://vimeo.com/4835244

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.

If you’ve been following along, we’ve hit some nice milestones recently, namely Show #200 a few weeks ago.  It doesn’t take a math major to realize that 200 shows = 200 weeks and give or take a few Sundays off, that’s adding up to about 4 years.  Well this past week, we officially celebrated 4 full years of Sunday Night Sound Session on KUBE 93.

While we have a lot of fun on SNSS and don’t take ourselves very seriously at all, broadcasting a show like ours on a 100K-watt Clear Channel station in a top market for 4 years is actually a pretty special accomplishment.  As a media studies major from back in my college days, I’ve always been cognizant of the effects of media consolidation and the danger it brings.  To combat that, it’s been a pleasure using the airwaves and the website to provide a powerful, consistent voice for alternative and independent artists from around the world.  It’s a responsibility we take seriously and we work hard every week to create a quality program for listeners to enjoy.  All the while, our number one goal is to be true to our beliefs and represent the hip-hop culture with the respect it deserves.

To four…and hopefully many more…years of SNSS – “raise your glasses to the sky”

Show #207 (5-17-09)

1. Raekwon ft. Method Man & Ghostface Killah – “New Wu”
2. Elzhi – “Deep”
3. Cory Gunz ft. Willie The Kid & MarVo – “A New Day”
4. Drake ft. Bun B – “Uptown”
5. Mos Def – “Casa Bey”
6. Donny Goines ft. Outasight & Peter Hadar – “Sublime”
7. Scribes – “Roll My Way” (Local Artist)
8. Chester French – “Time To Unwind”
9. Eminem – “My Mom”
10. Asher Roth – “La Di Da”
11. Bruce Leroy – “Million Dollar Dream” (Local Artist)
12. Busta Rhymes – “Shoot For The Moon”
13. Izza Kizza ft. Colin Munroe – “Connect The Dots”
14. Colin Munroe ft. Joell Ortiz – “Piano Lessons”
15. The Kid Daytona – “The Engine”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH BLUE SCHOLARS, GRYNCH, & DV-ONE**
17. Toni Hill – “This Thing Called Love” (Local Artist)
18. Slakah The BeatChild ft. Drake – “Enjoy Ya Self (Remix)”
19. Julian Marley ft. Damian Marley – “Violence In The Streets”
20. J Dilla ft. Black Thought – “Reality TV”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?zuuymgqmjjz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/60217878c91f946b/ )

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.