The Audacity of Dope

The homey Kuddie Fresh stopped by Sound Session last night and it happened to be great timing because he just dropped a real dope instrumental project called Music N Flight.  If you aren’t up on the slaps from the first ever Red Bull Big Tune Champion, stop sleeping.  After getting the official stamp of approval from Henny and Dow by signing on with Tha Bizness, it’s only a matter of time before Kuddie gets the nationwide exposure he’s due.

Download here (or here), and be sure to peep Kuddie’s blog too.

Hands down, my favorite part of hosting a radio show for the last decade (wow…i’m old) is helping shine light on folks who aren’t getting the respect they deserve.  Now, those within the industry obviously know how talented Focus is, but the general public is still a bit behind.  Recently, they’ve started to learn as he’s unleashed his “homage” series of songs dedicated towards some of his biggest inspirations (DJ Premier, J Dilla, and Pete Rock so far).

We had the chance to catch up with Focus on Sound Session and talk all about how that series came together and who will be next up to receive a homage production.  We also talked about his background (his dad was the bass player in Chic…what!?!), what it’s like working with Dre on Detox, his creative process, the development of his artist, Kida, why there are more good beats than good rappers, and much more.  You can even hear Kida’s new track with Focus, “Must Be Nice,” included in the interview.  Peep it:

Focus on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?u1ekwyj4zmn
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/5867236469e95e65/)

Be on the lookout for the next homage to drop real soon and please stop sleeping on this dude.  He flips every style better than most producers flip their specialties and he’s also taking music in his own direction at the same time.  Get familiar now or play catch up later.

What up world?

You ever have those moments where some things in your life are going [Andre] fantastically well [/3000], but because of them, you’re also incredibly busy?  Well…yeah, I’m there right now, so this recap will be short.

This week we ran some great joints from folks like Wale, Crooked I, Kid Cudi, Asher Roth, Chester French, the new homies Pac Div (what up fellas!), and gave Diz Gibran and Trackademicks their SNSS debuts.  We also world premiered the new single from Seattle’s own Dyme Def, “Pick Up Ya Flow” featuring Saigon, played a snippet of our interview with producer Focus (full version will be posted on the blog this week), and gave out a bunch of Nipsey Hussle mixtapes.

In short, another average night of excellence.

Show #202 (4-12-09)

1. Diz Gibran – “New Religion”
2. Fashawn – “The Outer City”
3. Trackademicks ft. MoxMore – “Topsidin’”
4. Wale ft. Lady Gaga – “Chillin’”
5. Dyme Def ft. Saigon – “Pick Up Ya Flow” (WORLD PREMIERE) (Local Artist)
6. Crooked I & DJ Wicked – “Jackin’ For Beats 2009”
7. Pac Div – “Pac Div (What It Is)”
8. Tanya Morgan ft. Blu – “Morgan Blu”
9. Drake ft. Trey Songz – “Successful”
10. Shad – “I Heard You Had A Voice Like An Angel”
11. **INTERVIEW WITH FOCUS (SNIPPET)**
12. Focus ft. Big Pooh, Sha Stimuli, & Kurupt – “Homage To Pete Rock”
13. Kid Cudi ft. Kanye West, Common, & A-Trak – “I Poke Her Face”
14. Roddy Rod ft. Phonte (of Little Brother) & Carlitta Durand – “This Time Around”
15. Big Pooh – “Rear View Mirror”
16. J. Pinder ft. Fatal Lucciauno – “Crossfire” (Local Artist)
17. Common Market – “Slow Down Moses” (Local Artist)
18. Asher Roth ft. Cee-Lo – “Be By Myself”
19. Chester French ft. Wale – “I’m Sorry”
20. Nipsey Hussle ft. Slauson Boys & K. Young – “Roll The Windows Up”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?2w20tyvink3
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/58625472993645b2/)

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 case you aren’t aware, the Red Bull Big Tune event is the brainchild of our very own J. Moore, along with the big homies Vitamin D, Jake One, Marcus Lalario, and DV-One.  Saturday night, the 11th, you can watch an excellent special on this past year’s competitions on BET at 7:30 EST/PST.  Don’t miss it, for real.  206 stand up.

Seattle people: Come on out to GOODS tomorrow from 4-6 PM to meet the new homies Like, Mibbs, & BeYoung of Pac Div before they take the stage with the Roots at the Paramount.  Big shout to all the folks at GOODS, Zune, Universal Motown, and Chrewd for making everything happen.  Be on the lookout for our interview with Pac Div shortly…

Fresh off last week’s 200th edition of SNSS, we’re hitting you over the head with another dope show, this time, packed full of exclusive joints that I believe we world premiered Sunday on KUBE.  In today’s internet age, the traditional idea of ‘exclusives’ has pretty much gone out the window, and regardless, I’ve never even been that big a fan of the whole notion anyway.  Simply because a DJ plays something first, doesn’t make it worthwhile (“NEW SOULJA BOY!!!!”).

Instead, this past week, we ran some great songs that the general public just hasn’t heard yet, but everyone will probably have soon.  Some of them will be included on our upcoming Cornerstone Mixtape (with some other exclusives), but who knows if they’ll leak before that drops in May.  Speaking of which, DJ B-Mello, J. Moore, and I finished up the mixtape last night (shout to Taybot and L for the engineering assistance!) and it sounds fresh.  Looking forward to y’all hearing it, but for now, peep the show and some world premieres from Fashawn (prod. Exile), Roddy Rod ft. Phonte & Carlitta Durand, Asher Roth, and Tanya Morgan ft. Blu.  [Kanye] Good music definitely in the building! [/Yeezy]

Show #201 (4-5-09)

1. Donnis – “Party Works”
2. CunninLynguists ft. Khujo Goodie & Killer Mike – “Georgia (Remix)”
3. Drake – “November 18th”
4. Kid Cudi – “Rollin’ Freestyle”
5. Kid Cudi ft. Kanye West, Common, & A-Trak – “I Poke Her Face”
6. Melanie Fiona ft. Talib Kweli – “Give It To Me Right (Remix)”
7. J. Pinder ft. Shawn Starr – “Havin’ Problems” (Local Artist)
8. Crooked I & DJ Wicked – “Jackin’ For Beats 2009”
9. Bishop Lamont – “Friends”
10. Method Man & Redman – “Mrs. International”
11. Fashawn – “The Outer City” (WORLD PREMIERE)
12. Outasight ft. The Kid Daytona & Donny Goines – “Fame & Fortune (Remix)”
13. Shad – “Exile”
14. Illa J ft. Grynch – “Showtime (Remix)” (Local Artist)
15. Roddy Rod ft. Phonte (of Little Brother) & Carlitta Durand – “This Time Around” (WORLD PREMIERE)
16. U-N-I & Ro Blvd – “Lauren London”
17. Pac Div – “Shut Up”
18. Common Market – “Escaping Arkham” (Local Artist)
19. Scratch ft. Musiq – “Tonite”
20. Asher Roth – “La Di Da” (WORLD PREMIERE)
21. Keelay & Zaire ft. Supastition & Slo Mo (of Fortilive) – “Trapped”
22. Tanya Morgan ft. Blu – “Morgan Blu” (WORLD PREMIERE)
23. Mayer Hawthorne – “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?mxjmgntmwmy
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/58302299c213a043/)

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.

Here’s some footage shot by the legendary JKim at the Seattle release party for Exile’s Radio at Nectar Lounge.  This was a dope night all around – DJ Day and Ex killed their set, and I judged the Qualified Beat Battle.  Congrats again to the winner, Ohmega Watts, and shout to all those involved with putting on a great night.

Be on the lookout for Exile’s appearance on SNSS soon…more homies who were down at SXSW!

Off the brand new Common Market digital release, Winter’s End EP, here’s the MTVu debut of RA Scion & Sabzi’s “Escaping Arkham.”  With Zia at the directorial helm, you already know the visuals are going to be flawless.  He’s really one of the most underrated directors in the game nationally…it won’t be long until people are flying him all around the country to do their videos.

Sidenote:  mobbing down to SXSW with a lot of Seattle folks, RA and Sabzi included, was one of my highlights of last week.  We have a ton of talent in the town and if you aren’t aware, you’re sleeping.  Plus, everyone is cool as hell…

Whoooo…I know I’ve already mentioned it a ton on the Twitter and on the blog, but SXSW was incredible last week.  Basically, it was a high school field trip with all your closest hip-hop buddies.  Damn near everyone in the industry (well, at least indie hip-hop) mobbed down to Austin to enjoy 80 degree weather, free food & drinks, and more live music than you can possibly imagine.  While the performances were insane, the best part was just meeting with so many like minded folks.  Hip-hop ain’t dead in the least.  You just might think so if you aren’t looking in the right direction.

Shouts to everyone we ran into down in Texas, let’s run it down real quick…*deep breath*…Heavy Hitter, Blue Scholars, Common Market, Grynch, DJ Nphared, Budo, Grieves, David Meinert, Jessica @ Spectre, Exile, the whole Rhymesayers camp, Brother Ali, Jake One, Abstract Rude, Deep Rooted, U-N-I, the Agency Group, Jon Kim, Jonathan @ Om, Fresh Daily, Blu, Theresa @ the Musebox, 6th Sense, Outasight, Daytona, Freeway, Peter Rosenberg, Mazzi, Homeboy Sandman, Lanna @ Dada.net, Chelsea @ CO Clubs, Syntax Records, New West Records, JJ @ Foundation, Now On, Haircut/Mayer Hawthorne, 14KT, Buff1, Stephanie @ A-Side, DJ Graffitti, ID @ Interdependent, D.O., Garrett @ North Starr, Alex @ Ruby Hornet, Raekwon, Karim/Nightclubber Lang, Keelay & Zaire, Fortilive, the Myx Music fam, Theo, Asher Roth, Tanya Morgan, I Self Divine, Doomtree, Chris London, CurT@!n$, Odyssey, El Prez, Donny Goines, Dae One, Noni Spitz, Clint @ MVD, Bryan @ Paper Garden, Yvette @ Mint, Bambu, DJ Phatrick, Eskay @ Nah Right, TC @ Smoking Section, DJ Low Key, TJ @ TJ’s DJ’s, B-Rich, Playboy Tre, B.o.B., Hi-Tek, Daniel Glogower, Dow Jones of Tha Bizness, Shad, G, Classified, Cook Classics, GregTheDude, Charles Hamilton, Kid Cudi, Plain Pat, Emile, Big Sean, GLC, Mr. Hudson, Consequence, Janelle Monae, Ian and Jason @ Black Box, Hey Ocean, Adam @ Feldman & Associates, 88 Keys, Crew54, Yak Ballz, Connie @ Filter, Kidz In The Hall, D-Solo, Mickey Factz, P. Casso, Kosha Dillz, Matt @ Coalmine, Staci @ Interscope, Hanif of Animal Fam, Henri, Donnis, The Knux, Hip-Hop Official, the Cool Kids, Pac Div, Grace & Glenn @ Columbia, Tom Windish, Green Lantern, Balance, Curren$y, Steve Aoki, A-Trak, Mistah F.A.B., Talib Kweli, Corey Smyth, Strong Arm Steady, Amanda Diva, Eli Paperboy Reed and the True Loves, Davey D, Zion I, BK One, Camp Lo, Hollywood Holt, Proton, K’Naan, Lady Sov, Rye Rye, N.A.S.A., Truth Universal, Hollyweerd, Izza Kizza, Grip Plyaz, Tami @ Epitaph, and many, many more that I can’t remember right now…my apologies! That almost felt like making liner note thank you’s…wow, I don’t envy that.

Anyway, a lot of the talent out at SXSW was represented on this week’s SNSS playlist.  Shout to Asher and the SRC/Universal Motown fam for calling in to help debut his “Lark On My Go Kart” track.  I’ll post up that full interview shortly, but in the meantime, enjoy the music!

Show #199 (3-22-09)

1. 88 Keys ft. Kid Cudi – “Ho Is Short For Honey”
2. B.o.B. – “Mr. Bobby”
3. Wale ft. Lady GaGa – “Chillin’”
4. Rhymefest ft. Queen Latifah – “Goin’ In”
5. Pacific Division – “O.P.P. Freestyle”
6. **INTERVIEW WITH RIPYNT**
7. Ripynt ft. Jazz Digga – “Can’t Take It” (Local Artist)
8. Blu & Miss Jack Davey – “iFeel”
9. GLC ft. Kanye West & T-Pain – “Flight School”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH ASHER ROTH (SNIPPET)**
11. Asher Roth – “Lark In My Go Kart”
12. Kidz In The Hall – “I Got It Made (Reebok Classic ’09)”
13. Zion I ft. K. Flay – “Coastin’”
14. J. Pinder ft. Shawn Starr – “Havin’ Problems” (Local Artist)
15. U-N-I & Ro Blvd ft. Kes Kaos – “My Life”
16. Mayer Hawthorne – “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”
17. Braille & S1 ft. Strange Fruit Project, Thesis, & Ragen Fykes – “Broken Heart” (Local Artist)
18. Shad – “I Heard You Had The Voice Of An Angel”
19. Tanya Morgan – “So Damn Down”
20. Keelay & Zaire ft. Prophit – “Nurf To The Turf”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?kowtrojwezz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/57521853875b9324/)

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.

(shout to Geo for the cam time…)

Sure, a full blown SXSW ’09 recap would be nice, but I’m sure there will be footage of every single performance all over the net soon, if not already.  Truthfully, there are no words that can describe what a crazy and fun networking experience the conference provided, but I hope you were following along with the Twitter feed the last few days.  I’m sure I’ll share a few stories on tonight’s Sound Session and throughout the week, but if you’ll excuse me…I need to board this plane and get ready for an insanely busy week of catching up on work.  Shout to everyone I met in Austin.  As Diddy would say, “LET’S WORK!!!!!!!!!”