The Audacity of Dope

You’d think that if I took an extra day to archive this week’s SNSS, I would have an enthralling, lengthy write up detailing what went down on the show.  Well, if you thought that, you’d be wrong.

I will say this much though: last week, we discussed microfinancing higher education for students in 3rd world countries through a local non-profit organization called Vittana.  Read the details here.  I’m happy, and humbled, to report that since helping spread the word on our last show, over 60 new lenders have contributed loans to Vittana.  Say it with me: #swag.

Together, we’re making a difference with this music, this culture, this community, and this world.  Let’s keep going y’all.  Thank you!

Show #308 (4-24-11)

1. Dom Kennedy – “On The Way Home”
2. DJ Quik ft. Jon B – “Real Women”
3. Theophilus London ft. Devonte Hynes – “Century Girl”
4. Kenna – “Chains”
5. Childish Gambino – “Be Alone”
6. Aleon Craft ft. G-Wiz & Heavy Slim – “On The Air”
7. Rapper Big Pooh – “Zone Out”
8. The Physics – “These Moments” (Local Music)
9. J. Pinder ft. Royce The Choice, Eighty4 Fly, & Clemm Rishad – “The Opus” (Local Music)
10. Kendrick Lamar – “Hiii Power”
11. Big K.R.I.T. – “The Vent”
12. Kanye West – “Jesus Walks” (Throwback of the Week)
13. Curren$y ft. Freddie Gibbs – “Scottie Pippen”
14. Random Axe – “The Hex”
15. Elzhi – “Detroit State Of Mind”
16. Shane Eli ft. Playboy Tre & Rittz – “Let’s Ride”
17. Dice – “Things I Couldn’t Say” (Local Music)
18. Estelle ft. Rick Ross – “Break My Heart”
19. Frank Ocean – “Nature Feels”
20. Little Dragon – “NightLight”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?bdp7hgrp762sosy
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/894799390f57d113/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/xrgvzud7fbre/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Sunday Night Sound Session, Show 308, 4-24-11.mp3)

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.

Maybach Music!

This past week, J. Moore and I were joined in studio by the legendary Raphael Saadiq. While we thoroughly enjoy breaking new artists and conducting interviews with up and coming musicians, there’s always something special about chopping it up with someone of Saadiq’s stature. The man has been one of the brightest starts in R&B for over 20 years and yet couldn’t be a nicer, more down to earth dude.

In the first part of the interview above, we spoke about his new Stone Rollin’ album, the “neo” & “retro” soul tags heaped on his recent work, his creative process, his collaboration with Little Dragon, and more.

In the second half of the interview, Saadiq spoke about his fondest memories of the Tony! Toni! Toné! and Lucy Pearl days, his proudest moment in music, his advice for young artists, and even playing basketball with Prince.

If you prefer to listen to the audio instead, you can grab it below:

Raphael Saadiq on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?97cxf19frx4o7r7
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/891679810db2ee03/)

During our discussion, I mistakenly stated that Stone Rollin’ was in stores now (mp3’s have sadly rendered release dates somewhat moot…for listeners at least), when in actuality, the album will be released May 10th.  My bad.  Go support it when it drops!

Generally speaking, we prefer to keep Sound Session focused upon what we’re here for: the music.  However, J. Moore and I have considerable interests in the non-hip-hop aspects of our community and we enjoy shining light on certain issues from time to time, particularly when we have the opportunity to bring in an expert in that field.  Along with all the great music on this week’s episode, we had the opportunity to chop it up with one such person, Nick Cain from a Seattle non-profit company called Vittana.

Without embarking on a long rant and getting too philosophical, I feel the two biggest issues negatively affecting the world are overpopulation and lack of education.  When you swim upstream from most other problems, they all seem to lead back to those two.

Seattle’s Vittana organization is a non-profit company that helps students around the world receive higher education for the first time, directly attacking the education issue and helping break the cycle.  For a more detailed explanation, please see their website here, but in short, the system depends on loans (not donations) from folks like you and me that go towards funding scholarships.  For a fraction of the cost of a college education in America, Vittana can help students attend school, graduate, secure a job, repay the loan, and begin providing a better future for themselves, their family, their country, and the world as a whole.

For more information, check out our interview with Nick Cain on this week’s show.  I’d also recommend you to look at their site for more information and even if their cause isn’t one that you choose to support, hopefully you remember the moral obligation you have to make the world a better place.  Give your time/attention/money to some sort of cause and you’ll be more fulfilled.

On a less serious note, we also welcomed the legendary Raphael Saadiq to Sound Session this past week.  We played a short snippet of our interview on the show, but you can download the entire discussion (or watch the video) through the links below and in this blog post.  Saadiq talked about everything from his new Stone Rollin’ album…to his days with Tony! Toni! Toné! and Lucy Pearl…to playing basketball with Prince.  Enjoy the interview and the show!

Show #307 (4-17-11)

1. Childish Gambino – “Freaks and Geeks”
2. Dom Kennedy – “Playa’s Punch”
3. Dyme Def – “Bring It In” (Local Music)
4. Kendrick Lamar – “Hiii Power”
5. Big K.R.I.T. – “King’s Blues”
6. Curren$y ft. Freddie Gibbs – “Scottie Pippen”
7. Sean Price ft. Mayhem Lauren & Roc Marciano – “How The Gods Chill (Remix)”
8. **INTERVIEW WITH NICK CAIN (of VITTANA), PT. 1**
9. Dice – “Things I Couldn’t Say” (Local Music)
10. Atmosphere – “Your Name Here”
11. MED ft. Blu – “This Is Your Life”
12. Soul Khan – “Soul Like Khan”
13. Busta Rhymes – “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See” (Throwback of the Week)
14. Luck-One – “Listening To The Rain” (Local Music)
15. Apollo Brown ft. Oddisee – “The Times”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH NICK CAIN (of VITTANA), PT. 1**
17. Sade ft. Jay-Z – “The Moon & The Sky (Remix)”
18. Frank Ocean – “Lovecrimes”
19. Little Dragon – “NightLight”
20. **INTERVIEW WITH RAPHAEL SAADIQ (SNIPPET)**
21. Raphael Saadiq ft. Little Dragon – “Just Don’t”
22. King – “Hey”
23. Wiz Khalifa ft. Curren$y – “Rooftops”
24. The Weeknd – “The Party & The After Party”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?3sase6eu4esb2m1
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/89167291a9e97cf6/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/u3wgilk183iv/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Sunday Night Sound Session, Show 307, 4-17-11.mp3)

Link to download the full interview with Raphael Saadiq – http://www.mediafire.com/?97cxf19frx4o7r7
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/891679810db2ee03/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/ryo63hezh7xk/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Interview With Raphael Saadiq, 4-13-11.mp3)

Link to watch the full interview with Raphael Saadiq – http://www.vimeo.com/22587703

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.

So yeah, it’s tax time.  Almost forgot about that, word to Wesley Snipes.  No write up this week, gotta crunch some numbers.  Enjoy the show!

Show #306 (4-10-11)

1. Beastie Boys – “Make Some Noise”
2. Snoop Dogg ft. Too Short, Daz, & Kokane – “Take U Home”
3. Donnis – “Ford Mustang”
4. Big K.R.I.T. ft. Ludacris & Bun B – “Country Sh*t (Remix)”
5. Curren$y – “Ventilation”
6. Dom Kennedy – “Goodbye”
7. Fly.Union – “Hard Sell”
8. Raphael Saadiq – “Good Man”
9. Charlie Smarts – “The Skin”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH J. BRE”
11. J. Bre ft. Grynch – “All Around The World” (Local Music)
12. David Dallas ft. Freddie Gibbs – “Caught In A Daze”
13. Tyler, The Creator – “Yonkers”
14. Shyne ft. Barrington Levy – “Bad Boyz” (Throwback of the Week)
15. Recess – “The Gentleman”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH TYPE (OF WUF TIX)**
17. Wuf Tix ft. Jonny October – “Nobody Wants To Hear Your Stupid Theories” (Local Music)
18. Pharoahe Monch – “Evolve”
19. Elzhi – “Verbal Intercourse, Pt. 2”
20. The Weeknd – “House Of Balloons / Glass Table Girls”
21. Steelo ft. Izreal – “My Queen” (Local Music)
22. Apollo Brown ft. Oddisee – “The Times”
23. Jhene Aiko – “Stranger”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?bhxa0byot515td6
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/88902815f61479e1/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/u397bxq2psc0/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Sunday Night Sound Session, Show 306, 4-10-11.mp3)

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.

Special shout to everyone who came through the studio for this week’s Sound Session.  First up, the legendary Kokane stopped by to catch up and pay some respects to Nate Dogg (RIP) and then Donnis hung out with us as we world premiered his new record, “Ford Mustang.”  We were also joined by our homies from the town, Steelo, as we talked about their upcoming project.

On top of it all, we played the dopest new records out right now, including tracks from Pac Div, Pusha T, Big K.R.I.T., Dom Kennedy, Jhene Aiko, Phil Ade, Fly.Union, Frank Ocean, Raphael Saadiq, and more.  Enjoy!

Show #305 (4-3-11)

1. Pac Div – “Anti-Freeze”
2. Pusha T – “Blow”
3. Big K.R.I.T. – “R4 Theme Song”
4. Snoop Dogg ft. Kanye West & John Legend – “Eyez Closed”
5. **INTERVIEW WITH KOKANE**
6. Dom Kennedy – “On The Way Home”
7. Elzhi – “Verbal Intercourse, Pt. 2”
8. Jhene Aiko ft. Miguel & Gucci Mane – “Hoe”
9. Logics ft. Geologic & Adrian Sims – “Focused” (Local Music)
10. Action Bronson – “Brunch”
11. Tyler, The Creator – “Yonkers”
12. Childish Gambino – “Freaks and Geeks”
13. Phil Ade – “The Letter”
14. **INTERVIEW WITH DONNIS, PT. 1**
15. **Donnis – “Ford Mustang” (WORLD PREMIERE)**
16. **INTERVIEW WITH DONNIS, PT. 2**
17. IAME – “Lame” (Local Music)
18. Pharoahe Monch ft. Styles P & Phonte – “Black Hand Side”
19. Pharrell – “The Game Has Changed”
20. Fly.Union – “Hard Sell”
21. Frank Ocean – “Songs For Women”
22. **INTERVIEW WITH STEELO**
23. Steelo ft. Izreal – “My Queen” (Local Music)
24. Mos Def – “Umi Says” (Throwback of the Week)
25. Raphael Saadiq – “Good Man”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?6zdutyt8s3ziwld
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/88640128131902a9/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/b49eagx04crf/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Sunday Night Sound Session, Show 305, 4-3-11.mp3)

Link to download just the interview with Donnis – http://www.mediafire.com/?dm5xvs61cbi5g5p
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/886403956bcef7c8/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/au9ntuapbr8f/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Interview With Donnis (Show 305, 4-3-11).mp3)

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.

Every now and then, GMail likes to bounce back our weekly newsletter and we’re unable to blast out the playlist and download links.  If you missed our show last week when Google hated like Silky Johnson, you can always check it out in the archives.  Here’s this week’s info as well:

Show #304 (3-27-11)

1. Pusha T ft. Kevin Cossom – “Feeling Myself”
2. Dom Kennedy – “Playa’s Punch”
3. MED ft. Kurupt & Aloe Blacc – “Where I’m From (Remix)”
4. Pac Div – “Let Loose”
5. Wiz Khalifa – “The Race”
6. Jhene Aiko ft. Miguel & Gucci Mane – “Hoe”
7. Frank Ocean – “Songs For Women”
8. Tyler, The Creator – “Yonkers”
9. Self Scientific – “God’s Language”
10. CunninLynguists ft. Tunji & BJ The Chicago Kid – “Dreams”
11. J. Bre ft. Grynch – “All Around The World” (Local Music)
12. Phil Ade – “The Letter”
13. Dela ft. Blu – “What U Wanna”
14. The Weeknd – “Wicked Games”
15. **INTERVIEW WITH GEORGIO BROWN, PT. 1**
16. State of The Artist – “I Think I Love You” (Local Music)
17. Recess – “Emperor Strikes Back”
18. Action Bronson ft. Maffew Ragazino – “Jerk Chicken”
19. Childish Gambino – “Freaks and Geeks”
20. The Knux – “She’s So Up”
21. A Tribe Called Quest – “Find A Way” (Throwback of the Week)
22. **INTERVIEW WITH GEORGIO BROWN, PT. 2**
23. Steelo ft. Izreal – “My Queen” (Local Music)
24. Big K.R.I.T. – “American Rapstar”
25. Lupe Fiasco – “All Black Everything”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?rpy36npdrek283i
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/883766283b5e920c/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/7odxwc6emo91/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Sunday Night Sound Session, Show 304, 3-27-11.mp3)

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.

(hint: floating left is when I like to pull the most)

As I’ve mentioned on the blog and Twitter, I traveled down to Austin last week for SXSW.  In addition to all the incredible shows I saw and artists I chopped it up with, I had the privilege to play in the first annual HoopxHang 3 on 3 tournament.  John Gotty of the Smoking Section (my personal favorite blog because of the care they put in their write ups and their excellent musical taste), Nick Huff of Hard Knock TV, and Nike Basketball organized the event and invited about 50 artists, DJ’s, managers, bloggers, record label reps, and other industry folks to take their talents to Doris Miller Auditorium.

Anyone who knows me personally knows that as much as I live and breathe music, sports has always been 329318239128x the passion in my life.  I’ll go play any game, anytime, anywhere, so I was just excited to get a little run in during the trip.  Also, every time these rappers come through Sound Session, you should hear them go on and on about their skills on the court.  After all that talk, I finally got to play with a few of the homies!  Topping it all off, Nike came through with free gear from head to toe.  #winning!

Special shout to my two teammates:  Kenny, a friend of The Smoking Section’s John Gotty, and Chris (pictured below) from Hollyweerd.  We didn’t know what squad we would be on before we began, but we meshed pretty nicely.

After winning our first two games (yours truly with the game winners in each…#humblebrag), we were ousted in the semi-finals against the eventual champions…these guys:

That would be Push Montana (who turned into Khalid El-Amin against us), Brock (Diamond Supply), and Dutch (Smokers Club).  They had a solid mix of skill, size, and intensity that proved too much for the competition as they knocked off the Pac Div homies (below) in the Championship.

Despite what had to be a logistical nightmare, the event went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time.  Hats off to everyone who organized and participated and thanks again to Gotty and Nick for the invitation.  Looking forward to it being bigger and better next year…perhaps we could we see a little 5 on 5 action?  We need to get these rappers in shape!

Be sure to check out the official recap with more pictures and stories over at The Smoking Section.

If you follow me on Twitter (and if you don’t, you should…#humblebrag), you know that I was down at SXSW last week in lovely Austin, Texas. The first night that I arrived, the staff at MTV hooked up a pass for the MTVu Woodie Awards and I got my first experience on a red carpet. Aside from just enjoying the overall environment, I was able to chop it up with everyone who walked by. I grabbed a couple quick videos for y’all with Wiz, Yelawolf, Skylar Grey, and Lil B. Enjoy.

Honestly, I never really know how to wrap up SXSW.  For those of you who went, you already know how ridiculous it is.  For those who haven’t been to one, it’s everything you read about…but louder.

I’ve been to the last three, but I admit that 2010 was a bit of a bust for me.  I over-planned and tried to hit every event I was interested in, plus I met up with a TON of industry folks and had way too many meetings.  It resulted in an exhausting experience (even more than an average SXSW trip) and I wasn’t really looking forward to going back.  With that on my mind, I treated this year more like a vacation and took things 100x slower.  I still met with lots of people and enjoyed countless performances, but without a doubt, the highlight was just hanging out with friends old and new…and enjoying the 80 degree weather.  I’ll post up some footage on the blog soon.

Shout to everyone we ran into and especially all the other Seattle people that made the trek.  Special thanks to John Gotty from The Smoking Section for organizing the incredibly dope “HoopxHang” basketball tournament (your boy Hyph knocked down a few game winners but we were ousted in the semis to the eventual champions) and also my lodging pals, Shad, T-Lo, and G…the coolest homies you could ask for.  Also, thanks to JJ at Foundation, Jessica at Co-Sign, Jasmin at Cashmere, Ter’rece at MTV, and everyone at Decon, all of whom showed extra hospitality to a Hyphey.  Oh…and Zoe Kravitz…for the hug.  Second year in a row son, WHAT!

Show #303 (3-20-11)

1. Eminem ft. Slaughterhouse & Yelawolf – “2.0 Boys”
2. Thurzday – “Rodney King”
3. Fashawn ft. J. Cole – “Nothin’ For The Radio”
4. Pusha T ft. 50 Cent & Pharrell – “Raid”
5. XV ft. Pusha T – “Awesome (Remix)”
6. Grynch – “So Long” (Local Music)
7. Jean Grae – “You Don’t Like It (So What)”
8. Travis Barker ft. Lupe Fiasco & Pharrell – “If You Want To”
9. Nate Dogg ft. Warren G – “Nobody Does It Better” (Throwback of the Week)
10. Dom Kennedy – “Can’t Let Go”
11. The Weeknd – “What You Need”
12. Frank Ocean – “Novacane”
13. Childish Gambino – “Be Alone”
14. State Of The Artist – “I Think I Love You” (Local Music)
15. The Physics – “Fix You” (Local Music)
16. Big K.R.I.T. – “American Rapstar”
17. 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s (Camp Lo & Pete Rock) – “Mic Check”
18. Add-2 – “Chicago Blues”
19. Nitty Scott, MC – “Work (Grustlin’) (J. Period Remix)”
20. David Dallas – “Big Time”
21. Shad – “Rock 2.0 It”
22. CunninLynguists ft. Freddie Gibbs – “Hard As They Come (Act I)”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?kod4ow0z9zp0d0w
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/88099630dd4b8e93/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/58x63g316frr/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Sunday Night Sound Session, Show 303, 3-20-11.mp3)

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.