The Audacity of Dope

Damn, the homey Ryan Lewis is insanely talented.  Not only does he take incredible photographs and make dope beats, but apparently he remixes and does video production too?  Here’s a little class project he recently created, mashing together some Franz Ferdinand and 2Pac.

If you’re looking for any sort of dope artistry, definitely holler at him.  Peep his new website here.  Oh, and he designed his own page as well…obviously. Leave some talent for the rest of us dude.

A few months back, J. Moore and the rest of the Red Bull Big Tune fam brought Elzhi (of Slum Village) and Black Milk to the town for the Seattle edition of the beat battle.  Before tearing it down at Neumo’s that night (I’ll toss some of that footage up if I get time), they came through Sound Session to record an interview with us.  Unfortunately, since we’ve had so many guests coming through lately, it’s taken a minute to get the audio up for y’all.  Better late than never though, especially when you’re dealing with two of the dopest artists in the industry right now.  I don’t think anyone is seeing Elzhi bar for bar, and with the release of Tronic, Black has staked his claim for the top MC/producer out there.  Seriously…do you hear how he’s spittin’ on that album?

Anyway, the interview was recorded in between the releases of Elzhi’s The Preface and Black’s Tronic, so there are a few occasions where it sounds dated.  Even still, I highly recommend checking out the full discussion to hear them break down both projects in detail.  They also talked about their inspirations both past and present, their creative processes, all things Detroit, what changes they hope Barack can bring to the people, their upcoming work, and much more.  Enjoy!

Elzhi & Black Milk on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?4nl20wo3wjy
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/52144263069bf0be/ )

Do yourself a favor and go cop The Preface and Tronic if you haven’t already.  Your “Best of 2008” list isn’t complete without both of ’em, trust me.

It’s been a while since I archived Sound Session immediately following the show, but I figured I’d toss the latest episode up for y’all before I crash.  That said, I’d prefer not to start off my week with no sleep, so I’ll keep this brief.

While J. Moore is in NYC to host the finals of the Red Bull Big Tune beat battle, I held it down solo (“so low they can’t hear you Carlton” © Will).  As usual, we played dope joints all night and I decided to switch it up for the last block and played some of my favorite ‘alternative’ type songs to close the show.  I’ll forever be a backpacker, but thankfully I’ve grown to understand that good music is good music, boom-bap or not.

Special note: the full interview with Elzhi & Black Milk (aka “40 minutes of dopeness with two of the illest in the industry”) will is posted below. I aired a few snippets last night, but trust me, you’ll want to listen to the entire thing.

Show #183 (11-30-08)

1. Ludacris – “M.V.P.”
2. Evidence ft. Alchemist – “So Fresh”
3. Convinced – “Miss Memory”
4. Dela ft. Talib Kweli – “Long Life”
5. Grynch – “Take A Trip (Local Artist)
6. GLC ft. Kanye West – “Big Screen”
7. B.o.B. – “I’ll Live In The Sky”
8. 88 Keys ft. Kid Cudi – “Ho Is Short For Honey”
9. Common – “Gladiator”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH ELZHI & BLACK MILK, SNIPPET #1**
11. Elzhi ft. Royce The 5’9” – “Motown 25”
12. **INTERVIEW WITH ELZHI & BLACK MILK, SNIPPET #2**
13. Black Milk – “Long Story Short”
14. Fresh Espresso (Rik Rude & P-Smoov) – “Diamond Pistols” (Local Artist)
15. Self Scientific ft. The Game, Talib Kweli, & Cobe – “Everywhere I Go”
16. Keelay & Zaire ft. Tunji (of Inverse) – “Addicts For Real”
17. Json – “M.O.B.” (Local Artist)
18. Kanye West ft. Kid Cudi – “Welcome To Heartbreak”
19. The Knux – “Hush”
20. He Say She Say – “Crash Dummie”
21. Colin Munroe ft. Wale – “Will I Stay (Remix)”
22. Robin Thicke – “Cry No More”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?qym2mje1k2m
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/521000594c2910a1/ )

Link to download the full interview with Elzhi & Black Milk – http://www.mediafire.com/?4nl20wo3wjy
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/52144263069bf0be/ )

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.

Ever have one of those times where everything is going great, and then something completely random goes wrong and tries to pull you down?  That’s pretty much how my weekend went.  Aside from my 6th grade basketball team crashing out of our tournament with the quickness, everything was busy, but still dope…until I drove in to the station for this week’s Sound Session and my car decided to blow up.  It took all day today to get things back up and running, but I swear, those Prius jawns look better by the minute.

Thankfully, this week’s show provided a little therapy through an hour and a half of good music and good people.  We ran a ton of great tracks and played two short snippets of our recent interview with Talib Kweli.  Be sure to check out the full version of that interview (and watch the video in HD) below.  Also, shout to the homegirl Jessica from Spectre for coming through to kick it!

Show #182 (11-23-08)

1. Alchemist ft. Evidence, Blu, & Kid Cudi – “Therapy”
2. Keelay & Zaire ft. Blu, Fortilive, & Nino Moschella – “The Times”
3. B.o.B. – “Left Field Lovely”
4. Grynch ft. Geologic (of Blue Scholars) & Thig Natural (of the Physics) – “I’m A Dreamer” (Local Artist)
5. Q-Tip – “Fever”
6. Black Milk – “Hold It Down”
7. Colin Munroe ft. Wale – “Will I Stay (Remix)”
8. Reef The Lost Cauze – “Home”
9. Ludacris ft. Nas & Jay-Z – “I Do It For Hip-Hop”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH TALIB KWELI #04 (SNIPPETS)**
11. Self Scientific ft. Talib Kweli & the Game – “Everywhere I Go”
12. Evidence – “Rain Or Shine”
13. GLC ft. Kanye West – “Big Screen”
14. Kanye West ft. Mr. Hudson & Kid Cudi – “Paranoid”
15. Foreign Exchange – “I Wanna Know”
16. 88 Keys ft. Phonte (of Little Brother) – “Close Call”
17. Fresh Espresso (Rik Rude & P-Smoov) – “Diamond Pistols” (Local Artist)
18. **INTERVIEW WITH JESSICA WEBER (of SPECTRE)**
19. Json – “M.O.B.” (Local Artist)
20. Statik Selektah ft. Jon Hope, Torae, & Sha Stimuli – “Destined To Shine (Obama Mix)”
21. Now On – “Unwind”
22. B-Real ft. Young De – “Don’t Ya Dare Laugh”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?koggndwnmqw
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/5182069911de45aa/ )

Link to download the full interview with Talib Kweli – http://www.mediafire.com/?2dmzymzi3jt
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/515797634df69ac9/ )

(watch in HD on HyphenTV)

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.

(watch it in HD on HyphenTV right here)

A few weeks ago, the big homies Talib Kweli and Corey Smyth stopped by KUBE to make their 4th appearance on Sound Session.  It’s always great to meet and interview people for the first time, but it’s even better once you get to know them and your ‘interviews’ just turn in to catching up with old friends.  It probably could have been under better circumstances though, cause right before we got up, this happened.  It shows you how cool Talib is that despite just finding out about the theft, he still took time for us before trying to find the laptop.  Booooooooo @ that “fan” who took Kwa’s MacBook.  Shame on you.

Anyway, if you missed any of the previous discussions, you can check ’em out on our podcast page right here.

This time around, we talked all about his current projects, including updates on the next Reflection Eternal album with Hi-Tek, his Idle Warship group with Res & Graph Nobel, and all things Blacksmith. We also discussed what it’s like to operate his own label, how new media has affected his career, a little politics, and more.  Be sure to watch it in high-def on the HyphenTV Vimeo page, or if you only want the audio, grab it below:

Talib Kweli on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?2dmzymzi3jt
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/515797634df69ac9/ )

Blacksmith is the movement.

…but he makes dope music off it, so I ain’t mad!

The homey Brainstorm of Dyme Def won our 2008 Redbull Big Tune beat battle a while back and now he’s preparing for the finals out in NYC.  Peep the preview video and get familiar with young Brainy Stacks.  Shout to our runner up, Rising Son, who will also be representing Seattle in the finals.  Good luck fellas!

Even though life has been really hectic lately, there are certain episodes of Sound Session that just feel like the good ol’ days.  Every now and then, I’ll forget all the other stuff I have to do and just enjoy hanging out with good people, playing some dope music.  This past Sunday was definitely one of those nights.  We had the homies Grynch and The Parker Brothaz roll through to talk about recent projects they’re involved in and the jokes were flying all night.  I wish y’all could hear all the off air moments each week…they might even be more entertaining than the music we play.

Speaking of which, here are the playlist and download links for this week’s edition of SNSS.  Be sure to check out the full interview with Evidence (of Dilated Peoples) and Alchemist to hear about all the dope projects they’re working on.

Show #181 (11-16-8)

1. Chester French – “She Loves Everybody”
2. The Knux – “Life In A Cage (Electric)”
3. Q-Tip – “Move”
4. Black Milk – “Try”
5. **INTERVIEW WITH GRYNCH**
6. Grynch ft. Tunji (of Inverse) – “All Right” (Local Artist)
7. 88 Keys ft. Bilal – “M.I.L.F.”
8. Foreign Exchange – “Valediction”
9. Illa J – “All Good”
10. Ghostface Killah – “Computer Love”
11. **INTERVIEW WITH EVIDENCE & ALCHEMIST, PT. 1**
12. Evidence ft. Phonte (of Little Brother), Blu, & Will.I.Am – “For Whom The Bell Tolls”
13. **INTERVIEW WITH EVIDENCE & ALCHEMIST, PT. 2**
14. Jay Electronica – “Exhibit A (Transformations)”
15. B.o.B. – “Left Field Lovely”
16. Reef The Lost Cauze – “Home”
17. **INTERVIEW WITH THE PARKER BROTHAZ**
18. AD – “All That I Had” (Local Artist)
19. Fashawn ft. Evidence – “Our Way”
20. The Reallionaires – “Give It 2 U” (Local Artist)
21. Keelay & Zaire ft. Blu, Fortilive, & Nino Moschella – “The Times”
22. Kanye West ft. Kid Cudi – “Paranoid”
23. John Legend – “Cross The Line”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?tgntzjt3zlw
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/51862674c65d7d54/ )

Link to download the full interview with Evidence & Alchemist – http://www.mediafire.com/?yzjtjgejieu
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/51481522ef6ce739/ )

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.

I don’t know if you heard, but some dude named Barack Obama is our 44th President.  Pretty crazy, huh?

With this being our first Sound Session since the historic election, you know we had to celebrate.  We kicked off the show with a nice set of tracks dedicated to Barack’s victory, including new joints from Jay-Z, Common, Brother Ali, Q-Tip, and 3 of XXL’s Incoming Freshmen Class, B.o.B., Charles Hamilton, and Asher Roth.  After getting our celebration out the way, we got back into some of the best music out right now from people like Kanye, Devin The Dude, Black Milk, Evidence, and more.  Good music + good times recapping the past week.  Listen to the very beginning to hear how J. Moore watched the election results with WHO?!?!?!?! How crazy is that?

We also had 88 Keys call in (again…peep the interview from June here) to talk about his Death of Adam project that drops today, so make sure you cop that and support G.O.O.D. music…yes pun.  Also, shout to J. Pinder for swinging by the studio to fill us in, pause, on his new mixtape, No New Taxes.  Pinder may have lost his campaign for President, but at least he’s still one of Seattle’s best.  Cop that for a buck at OnlyGP.com.

Show #180 (11-9-08)

1. Jay-Z ft. Tony Williams – “History”
2. Novel ft. Joell Ortiz – “I Can Be President”
3. B.o.B. ft. Charles Hamilton & Asher Roth – “Change Gonna Come”
4. Brother Ali – “Mr. President (You’re The Man)”
5. Common – “Changes”
6. J. Period ft. Q-Tip – “Q-Tip For President”
7. Jake One ft. Kardinal Offishall & Pharoahe Monch – “Hurt U” (Local Artist)
8. **INTERVIEW WITH 88 KEYS #02**
9. 88 Keys ft. Kanye West & Malik Yusef – “Stay Up (Viagra)”
10. Kanye West – “Heartless”
11. Devin The Dude ft. 14K – “I Need A Song”
12. Illa J ft. Debi Nova – “Sounds Like Love”
13. Foreign Exchange ft. Darien Brockington – “Take Off The Blues”
14. The Reallionaires – “Call Me” (Local Artist)
15. Black Milk ft. Royce The 5’9” – “Losing Out”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH J. PINDER**
17. AD – “All That I Had” (Local Artist)
18. Keelay & Zaire ft. Tunji – “Addicts For Real”
19. Fashawn ft. Evidence – “Our Way”
20. Evidence – “The Layover”
21. John Legend – “If You’re Out There (Obama Mix)”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?mmdz21ovyja
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/5117608845439706/ )

Link to download the full interview with 88 Keys – http://www.mediafire.com/?gvyhtqz5zdn
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/51176379078607c9/ )

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.

Chyea.  Not only is Grynch the homey, but he’s one of the best artists we have here in the Pacific Northwest.  He recently linked up with the production crew of Two Good Men for this EP to tide y’all over until his next release.  If this is your first time hearing dude, download the EP featuring Tunji, Geologic (of Blue Scholars), and Thig Natural (of the Physics) at GetGrynch.com, and then go cop his last album, My Second Wind, either on his MySpace or at iTunes.  You won’t be disappointed.

I guess we should probably get back to some hip-hop related content, huh?  Well, Obama is definitely hip-hop, but yeah…here’s a new interview with the homies Geo and Sabzi, collectively known as Blue Scholars.  Peep some words from two of Seattle’s dopest.  TBM.

Swiped from BlogsIsWatching.