The Audacity of Dope

(click here to watch in HD)

As I mentioned in my last post, brothers Krispy Kream and Rah Almillio, collectively known as The Knux, came through Sound Session a few days ago.  Not only are these dudes cool as hell, but they’re dope lyricists and great musicians who play all the instruments in their songs.  How many other groups are doing that?

We chopped it up about a variety of topics, including their upcoming Remind Me In 3 Days album (y’all aren’t ready), their transition from New Orleans to Los Angeles after Hurricane Katrina, the unique sound behind their “Bang! Bang!” single, and more.  To grab just the audio (including the two songs we played, “Bang! Bang!” and “Cappuccino (Remix)”), hit either of the links below.  Otherwise, watch the video above, but be sure to click here to watch it in glorious HD.

The Knux on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?dnwttnzizya
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/19660347750f4f96/ )

Special shout to my man Brian (and Greg The Dude visiting from L.A.), who handled all the filming and editing.  Brian will be helping us out on a bunch of projects moving forward, so be on the lookout for more SNSS in HD.  You know how we do.

Oh, and a special note that the new homey Krispy wanted me to pass along: those 3 Knux tracks that leaked recently (“Amazing,” “Hard Days Night,” and “Otherside”) are real old and not on the album.  However, you can peep the official sampler right here.  Cop Remind Me In 3 Days on October 28th!

Another quick clip to promote the upcoming video for Jake One‘s “The Truth,” featuring Free and Brother Ali, dropping before you know it.  Remember, Jake will be sitting in with us on the next Sound Session to play White Van Music and talk about every track on there.  You won’t want to miss it (but if you do, we’ll have it archived as usual haha).

(look at Grynch gettin’ his cameo on…well done sir!)

Brand new video from some of the finest local talent here in Seattle, RA Scion & Sabzi, collectively known as Common Market.  I’ll let them describe the visuals:

”Trouble Is” tells the story of a vagrant farmer’s hardship in a town where the locals call into question his intentions and work ethic. The video captures this tension with unmistakably rustin and southern imagery as the first scene opens with a fiery sermon delivered from the pulpit of a dusty Baptist church.  The farmer, played by the emcee RA Scion, is aggressively pursued by a town mob, first driven out of town over distrust and distaste, then back again for the purpose of assimilation by force.  The video takes a curious turn in the final scene, ultimately leaving the viewer in the position of the town-folk to question the farmer’s motivation.

Shout to Zia Mohajerjasbi, who continues to direct excellent pieces.  If you missed RA on Sound Session a few weeks ago, peep it here.

Seattle people: catch CM along with People Under The Stairs and Shawn Jackson on Sunday at King Cobra.  And cop that Tobacco Road asap’ers.

Video courtesy of OnSmash.  **UPDATE** – Added the full video.  Thanks to reader Shale for the heads up.

Even though Crook has been leaking these tracks individually, the time has come for the official tape to drop.  Dude is a beast on the mic and also real nice in person.  If you haven’t checked him out killing it on Sound Session a few months ago, peep a few freestyles here and here.

The Block Obama + The Audacity of Dope = a sure thing.  Download this tape ASAP.

1. Intro
2. Rappers Ain’t Sh*t
3. A Millie Freestyle prod. by Komplex
4. Trafficin’ Green
5. I’m Cold ft. G Malone and Hard Head
6. Hood Politics
7. Straightin’ it Out ft. Sauce da Boss
8. Hard on da Blvd
9. Stronger Freestyle
10. Circle Gnag ft. Horse Shoe Gang prod. by Jim Gettum
11. Freak [NC-17] Prod. by KG
12. W’s Down prod. by Komplex
13. New West Baby ft. Coniyac
14. Signs ft. One-2 prod. by Komplex
15. Lift em Up ft. Nino Bless
16. Horse Shoe Gang Freestyle
17. Swagga Like Crook prod. by Komplex
18. What’s Hip-Hop?
19. Fast Money
20. Welcome to My City
21. [Bounus track] I’m a Problem ft. S.C.

Download here.

Y’all remember how these work?  Cop Jake’s White Van Music NOW.  And if you don’t want to pause it at the very end, here are the details of the contest:

This album is in my deck right now (yes, an official copy…you bootleggers) and it’s crazy.  Not only is this one of the best albums of the year, but it’s one of the most important and dopest albums in Seattle history.  Be sure to cop it on October 7th and tune in to Sound Session on the 5th to hear Jake in our studio breaking down the backstories behind every song.

(if you prefer YouTube, go here. Part 2 will be up in a few days)

Here’s the footage of T.I.’s Bumbershoot performance that I grabbed from the stage a few weeks back. The festival’s “Hip-Hop 101” main stage at Memorial Stadium is always one of my favorite events of the year. We’ve been lucky enough to introduce people like Lupe, Wu-Tang, Kanye, Atmosphere, Pharcyde, Common, Talib, and A Tribe Called Quest and watch these artists deliver incredible shows from just a few feet away. It’s really dope to watch ’em rock a huge venue like this and although T.I.’s crowd was a bit smaller than past years, this was another great experience. I’m not a huge Tip fan, but he killed it.

My favorite moment was definitely at 18:40, when he talked to the crowd about voting and then, with phenomenal swag, told Drama to drop “What You Know.” That might be my favorite T.I. record, [Kanye] Toomp killed that ish [/Kanye].

(if you prefer YouTube, here are parts 1 & 2)

One half of Seattle’s own Common Market, RA Scion, came through Sound Session yesterday and we recorded it for y’all.  We chopped it up about their new Tobacco Road album, their unique release party coming up on Thursday at Neumos, their experiences performing at the protests of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and more.  You can watch the video above, or if you prefer just the audio, grab it here:

RA Scion on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?nu43ylmjxn3
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/1839003132f3b8cf/ )

Tobacco Road drops tomorrow…cop that!  Shout to the other half of CM, Sabzi, who we saw over the weekend as the Blue Scholars tore down Rock The Bells.  Some random RTB video will be popping up on TAOD this week.

Yes, yes y’all.  It’s finally time for the Seattle stop of the Red Bull Big Tune (an event that originated here with my people J. Moore, Vitamin D, Jake One, DV-One, and Marcus Lalario) and here’s the itinerary for the week:

Monday, Sept. 8th: Red Bull Big Tune Kick-Off (flyer)
The War Room
722 E. Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122
Featuring DJ Maseo of De La Soul and special guests
9pm, 21+, $5 cover

Tuesday, Sept. 9th:  Educational Outreach – Producer workshop with Jake One & Vitamin D
Vera Project
305 Harris Street, Seattle, WA 98109
4pm – 6pm
Free and All Ages

Red Bull Big Tune Film Premiere (flyer)
Screening and Live performance by Brainstorm of Dyme Def with special guest DJ DV-One
Nectar
412 N. 36th Street, Seattle WA 98103
9pm, 21+, $5 cover

Wednesday, Sept. 10th:  Youth Workshop with “Aim for Peace” program
Buttermilk Studios
1108 13th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
4pm – 5:30pm
Free and All Ages

Thursday, Sept. 11th: Red Bull Big Tune In-Store featuring Black Milk & Elzhi
GOODS
1112 Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98101
4pm – 5:30pm
Free and All Ages

Friday, Sept. 12th: Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle (flyer)
Beat Battle and special performances from Elzhi & Black Milk
Neumos
925 E. Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
8pm, All Ages, $5 cover

See y’all there…

For those outside of Seattle who haven’t heard of my dude J. Pinder yet, y’all need to get ready.  We have a lot of talent up here in the 206 and Pin is definitely the next to blow up on a national level.  While he readies his debut album, he already released a great mixtape with Vitamin D last year entitled Backpack Wax.  I’m not really sure why the behind the scenes documentary of this project is coming out now, but hey, better late than never.  These clips should serve as a nice introduction as they follow Pinder through the creative process for the mixtape and feature testimonials from some of the most respected (and my favorite) people in the scene.  Be sure to keep your eye out for more Pinder related goodness over at his new blog, the Daily Pintern.  He’ll also be appearing on Jake One’s upcoming White Van Music, as Jake mentions below.

206up.