The Audacity of Dope

Wow. I can’t believe we’re here: less than 24 hours from Election Day.  After all the hard work everyone has put in over the past year (and more for some of y’all), it’s finally time to go to the polls and vote for change.  By voting for Barack Obama tomorrow, we’re telling the world that America is ready to turn the corner on the last 8 years and move into the future with the right policies, strategies, beliefs, and behavior.  It’s time to regain our position at the head of the table and make the world a better place.  We’ll lead by example from here on out.

Throughout the election cycle, hip-hop has played an important and influential role, one that future generations will look back upon and recognize much more than we do right now.  Yes, at times, our culture does more harm than good, but overall, hip-hop continues to be the voice of young people around the world.  It drives popular culture and was synergistically tied into Barack’s entire campaign, providing an ever changing soundtrack throughout the primary and general elections.

On last night’s Sound Session, we ran an entire prObama show and played nothing but songs written for and inspired by Barack.  Big shout to all the artists who used their platform to speak on such important issues and apologies to those who we didn’t get to play on the show due to time constraints.  It may seem corny, but everyone who has made Obama songs over the past 2 years has really played a part in this campaign.  Somewhere, somebody was moved by the art you created…and that’s what it’s all about.

Another huuuuuge shout to Michelle Gregoire, daughter of Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, for coming through and co-hosting the show.  She broke down exactly why Barack and Michelle Obama have endorsed Gov. Gregoire’s bid for reelection, and why we all need to vote for Gregoire when casting our ballots for Obama.  This may be a “change” election nationally, but here in Washington, Gov. Gregoire has done a great job and deserves another 4 years…especially with like-minded people coming into power in Congress, the Senate, and the White House.  With everyone pushing progressive policies, we’ll see a lot of great things happen in the next 8 years, both nationally and at home here in Washington.

Lastly, many thanks to the founder of Hidden Beach Recordings, Steve McKeever, for calling in to talk about the Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement album they released in conjunction with the Obama campaign.  Be sure to check out the full interview through one of the links below.

Download this episode of SNSS and spread it around to anyone who’s fired up about this historic time.  If you’re waiting in line tomorrow at the polls, bump this in your mp3 player and remember what you’re doing this all for.  Change is coming and it starts with us.  GO VOTE TOMORROW!

Show #179 (11-2-08)
**Co-Hosted by Michelle Gregoire**

1. Big Boi ft. Mary J. Blige – “Sumthin’ Gotta Give”
2. DJ Green Lantern – “Stand Up (Interlude)”
3. Dres (of Black Sheep) – “The Choice Is Yours (Taster’s Choice Remix)”
4. 6th Sense – “Ignite The People (Like Obama)”
5. Daytona – “Can I Kick It”
6. Jay Smooth – “A Poem For The Young Voter”
7. John Mayer ft. Twista & Joe Budden – “Waiting On The World To Change (DJ Green Lantern Remix)”
8. M.anifest – “Age Of Obama”
9. Kidz In The Hall ft. Talib Kweli & Bun B – “Work To Do (Change Remix)”
10. Cocoa Tea – “Barack Obama”
11. DJ Green Lantern ft. Gabe Real & Jay-Z – “What We Need”
12. Wyclef Jean – “Obama For President”
13. Nas ft. Johnny Polygon – “Black President”
14. Joell Ortiz ft. Dante Hawkins – “Letter To Obama”
15. H-Town All-Stars (Bun B, Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Cory Mo, & Trae) – “Obama ‘08”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH STEVE MCKEEVER (CEO OF HIDDEN BEACH)**
17. Malik Yusef ft. Kanye West & Adam Levine (of Maroon 5) – “Promised Land”
18. DJ Green Lantern ft. Jay-Z – “Lick A Shot”
19. Ludacris – “Get Buck Freestyle (Politics (Obama Is Here))”
20. DJ Noodles – “Division & Fear (Interlude)”
21. RAtheMC – “Ready Or Not”
22. DJ Green Lantern – “Find Ur Dreams (Interlude)”
23. Alpha – “Obama ’08 (Do The Knowledge)”
24. DJ Green Lantern ft. Wale, Rhymefest, Christina K, & Royce The 5’9” – “Black President (Remix, Pt. 2)”
25. DJ Green Lantern – “1 Mic, 1 People (Interlude)”
26. Rock City – “Paper Planes Freestyle (Ride For Obama)”
27. Nappy Roots – “Good Day (The Barack Obama Yes We Can Remix)”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?di3x3z2oynz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/513827915293195f/ )

Link to download the full interview with Steve McKeever – http://www.mediafire.com/?zryzqgfj2nu
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/50825349e7680eb2/ )

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.

Over the weekend, I got the chance to talk with Steve McKeever, the founder of Hidden Beach Recordings, for the latest edition of Sound Session.  You’re probably familiar with the label through their releases from some of the dopest soul & jazz artists (Jill Scott, Kindred, Bebe Winans, Mike Phillips, Tony Rich, Lina, etc.), but they also recently teamed up with the Barack Obama campaign to release Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement.  The compilation features great songs from artists like Kanye West, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, John Mayer, Ozomatli, and more, and all the money goes directly to the Obama campaign.

With November 4th only 2 days away, I talked with Steve about how this project came about, what issues are most important to him this election, what words of wisdom he wanted to impart to the youth, and more.  You can check out the entire interview below:

Steve McKeever on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?zryzqgfj2nu
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/50825349e7680eb2/ )

After you check out the interview, head on over to BarackObama.com/music to cop the album and donate to the campaign.  Every little bit helps as we push through the finish line.  After the 4th, the album will be available in normal retail locations.  In any case, GET OUT AND VOTE!

It’s a beautiful thing to see some of my favorite people all working together.  The homies GregTheDude and Tunji linked up with the other homies Com and Okayplayer to cook up a couple videos for y’all.  In these clips, Common talks about his upcoming Universal Mind Control album, politics, his past work, and more.  Hit the jump to watch the other two pieces and click here to check the last time we had Com on Sound Session.

Read more »

(watch part one in High-Def on HyphenTV)

Loyal listeners of Sound Session know that the big homey Jake One often drops by the studio to kick it, but we’ve never really done an official interview with him.  With the release of his debut album, White Van Music, a few weeks back, we had to bring in Jake and talk all about it.  Not only did he give us all sorts of behind the scenes stories about the project, but we ran through the entire album on air, joint by joint.

If you haven’t checked out White Van Music, you’re missing out on some of the best beats of the year and guest appearances from Black Milk, MF Doom, Alchemist, Busta Rhymes, Bishop Lamont, M.O.P., Freeway, Posdnuos, Slug, Little Brother, Prodigy, Elzhi, Royce The 5’9″, Young Buck, and many more.  Another guest from the album, Brother Ali, also came through SNSS that night to pay his respects to the latest chapter in Seattle’s rich musical history.

You can watch all the interview segments through part one (above) and part two (below), but make sure you watch them in HD on the HyphenTV Vimeo channel.  If you want the audio of the entire show for the mp3 player or the ride, here you go:

Jake One on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?ijm0j7uyj90
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/20192616e1aa393c/ )

(watch part two in High-Def on HyphenTV)

Cop White Van Music right now!

(watch it in High-Def on HyphenTV)

A few weeks back, David Banner came through Sound Session and I jumped at the chance to talk a little politics with one of the more socially aware rappers out there.  Granted, Banner drops his fair share of standard commercial/club type joints (“Play” comes to mind…), but it’s all about balance, and he provides that with his social commentary.

In this clip, Banner talked with me about the importance of the election coming up a week from today.  He explained why he supports Barack Obama, what the presidential candidate represents to him, and why it’s critical that the youth get involved in the political process.  With the election so close, we really need everyone on board down the home stretch.  Are you in or are you out?

WARNING. WARNING. We are now one week away from the most important day for the United States that any of us have lived through.  Are you ready to vote on Nov. 4th and turn this country around?

If you’ve listened to any episode of Sound Session or read a few blog posts here on TAOD, you know that I’m taking this election very seriously.  I hope the rest of you are too, because we simply can’t afford another 4 years of the same failed policies both home and abroad that we’ve witnessed during Bush’s disgraceful presidency.  We didn’t talk too much about the election on the latest episode of SNSS, mainly because I’m saving that for next week’s show on the 2nd.  Oooh boy, you hip-hop republicans will hate that one…

This past show featured our normal mix of dope music from people like Black Milk, Evidence, Kardinal Offishall, Q-Tip, Shad, Foreign Exchange, and more.  Plus we ran Kanye’s emotional ode to his mom, Joe Budden’s reworking of that Coldplay track I’ve been telling everyone to rhyme over, one of the standout tracks from the exceptional new album from The Knux, and more.

We also had Brainstorm of Dyme Def and Twixx of the world famous Massive Monkees crew come through to talk about the International B-Boy Championships going down at the Paramount on Saturday.  Dope breaking, DJ’ing, and performances by Dyme Def, B.o.B., and Pacific Division?  Wow.  I’m there.  Cop your tickets here.  Of course, if you were listening live, you could have won free tix to that show and Q-Tip, The Cool Kids, and The Knux too.  But you already knew that…

Show #178 (10-26-08)

1. Planet Asia & DJ Muggs ft. B-Real – “Lions In The Forest”
2. Ruste Juxx ft. Lil’ Vic – “Get Up”
3. The Knux – “Life In A Cage (Electric)”
4. **INTERVIEW WITH BRAINSTORM (of DYME DEF) & TWIXX (of MASSIVE MONKEES), PT. 1**
5. Jake One ft. M.O.P. – “Gangsta Boy” (Local Artist)
6. Saigon ft. Lil’ Fame (of M.O.P.) – “WW4”
7. Black Milk ft. Royce The 5’9” – “Losing Out”
8. Evidence ft. Phonte, Blu, & Will.I.Am – “For Whom The Bell Tolls”
9. **INTERVIEW WITH BRAINSTORM (of DYME DEF) & TWIXX (of MASSIVE MONKEES), PT. 2**
10. Kanye West – “Coldest Winter”
11. Kardinal Offishall – “Nina”
12. John Legend ft. Andre 3000 – “Green Light (Cook Classics Remix)”
13. Now On – “The Willows”
14. Joe Budden – “Sidetracked”
15. Mos Def – “Life In Marvelous Times”
16. Sweatshop Union – “Timelines” (Local Artist)
17. Shad – “Brother (Watching)”
18. Q-Tip – “Move”
19. Illa J ft. Affion Crockett – “DFTF”
20. Diverse – “Escape Earth”
21. Incise ft. Tunji (of Inverse) – “True Greatness”
22. Akrish – “No God” (Local Artist)
23. Foreign Exchange ft. Yahzarah – “If This Is Love”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?mbymlzle0lm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/50562182aa8e6ee7/ )

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.

The homey Cook Classics is clearly one of the dopest up and coming producers in the game and here’s his latest production: a remix to John & Andre’s insta-classic, “Green Light.”  I had a chance to help make this remix happen and I couldn’t be prouder of the result.  Shout to Joel van Dijk on the guitar and Joe Gonzales on the bass as well…everyone killed it.

John Legend ft. Andre 3000 – “Green Light (Cook Classics Remix)”

If you’re sleeping, Cook came through Sound Session a few weeks back and you can peep the show here.  We played some of the stuff he did with TiRon and Avriel Epps, which is all incredible.  Be on the lookout for more of his beats on projects by Pacific Division, U-N-I, Diamond D, Noah King, Inverse, and more.

5-C’s like what.

The homies Naledge & Double O have been out on the road with Murs recently and it looks like they’ve begun to upload some stuff to their Kyte Channel.  Tour life definitely isn’t for me, but if I had to embark on one, I think those 3 dudes would be hilarious to kick it with.  We had some great conversations when they came through Seattle — i.e., Murs is super psyched for High School Musical 3 and prefers old No Limit to vintage Blackstar…wtf — and I’ll be posting up the interviews soon.

Along with the Kyte video, you can follow along with the fellas over at Naledge’s blog on Ruby Hornet.  Peep entry #15 for his recap of kicking it with your boy Hyph:

We went on DJ Hyphen’s show on KUBE.  We always go to Hyphen.  Hyphen was the first person to play a KITH record on Clear Channel, so we always remember that.  He was our first interview on a Clear Channel station.  We’ve always maintained a relationship.  We never even sent him the record, he pulled it off of iTunes and just rocked it that way.  That’s amazing to us.  He’s always rocked with us, so anytime we’re in Seattle we always hang with him.  We got a lot of love in Seattle, it’s one of our better markets and it’s always a great time when we go out here.  We know the lay of the land.  We went out there with Blue Scholars and did three shows in a row at the Showbox that were sold out, then we went back out there with Redman, and we went back there on our own and did a show.  We’ve been to Seattle enough times now that we kind of know the lay of the land out there.  But Hyphen is really good peoples.  He mentioned the website and the blog and he said he reads the blog and all of that stuff.  We had a nice long discussion.  He’s a music person too.  He really keeps up with what’s going on.  He knew about RubyHornet and Fakeshore.  He actually mentioned it during the interview.  He’s a big supporter.  He plays pretty much anything we do.  We send him a new record, he’s always playing it.  It could be a freestyle. That’s one thing about his show and the way he does things.  He plays what he wants, and just so happens to be a supporter of ours and has always been there as an outlet for us to get our music heard.  He’s always reached out to us, and we always do an interview when we’re in town.  We’ve done call-ins, about four interviews.  It’s almost like checking in, he’s a homie so we always get down with him.

Word up, Naledge is that dude.  It’s so dope to watch great artists and awesome people achieve success doing what they love.  The Kidz are only beginning…shout to the whole fam, Naledge, O, Matty, and DSolo…what up!

A little while back, I mentioned chopping it up with Shawn Jackson and my old homey Newman from Giant Panda during the Seattle stop of their tour with People Under The Stairs and Common Market.  What better time to post that Sound Session interview up than today, when their New Jack Hustle group album, Soundcheck, officially goes on sale?

Check out this interview to hear Shawn and Newman talk all about how New Jack Hustle came together and what they wanted to do with Soundcheck.  Among other topics, they discussed the unique recording process behind the album, how it differs from their past work, their backgrounds, the recent explosion of the Los Angeles hip-hop scene, and more.  Plus, you can peep one of the songs off the album, “Ronald,” featuring the criminally slept on Versatyl from the Lifesavas.  Enjoy:

New Jack Hustle on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?mdz1nxmjw5m
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/50124594cf82f2eb/ )

For more information on NJH, hit their MySpace and then cop the album today!

Yes, yes y’all.  Here’s the newest edition of the greatest radio show on corporate radio, Sunday Night Sound Session for you to enjoy at the office, in the gym, on the commute, etc..  We played some of the dopest songs out there by people like John Legend, Butta Verses, Black Milk, Planet Asia, Murs, Foreign Exchange, and more.  We also ran two incredibly ill singles that you’ll hear all over the place in the coming months, John Legend’s “No Other Love” and Kanye’s “Heartless.”  For fellow diehard ‘Ye fans…does his beat on “Heartless” remind anyone else of the track he made for his Jagged Edge “Let’s Get Married” remix (same beat he used for Rhymefest’s “Fight With The Best”)?  Super dope regardless.

Along with all the good music (no pun), we gave out tickets for upcoming concerts with Q-Tip, the Cool Kids, Pacific Division, B.o.B., Dyme Def, and the Massive Monkees.  Plus, Microsoft hooked us up with some custom Murs and Kidz In The Hall Zunes (what up Paul!) for a few lucky winners.  If you’re in the Northwest, you really should be listening live…we reward our faithful listeners.

Lastly, we aired an interview with Newman (of Giant Panda) and Shawn Jackson, known collectively as New Jack Hustle.  Their album, Soundcheck, is in stores today so go cop that!

Shout to my dude David from the Barack Obama campaign as well for coming through to tell y’all how to get involved in the final 2 weeks of this historic election.  We’re almost there.  Yes We Can.

What can I say…it was a big show.  Peep it:

Show #177 (10-19-08)

1. John Legend ft. Estelle – “No Other Love”
2. Butta Verses – “Cassanova Brown”
3. Shad – “Brother (Watching)”
4. DJ Green Lantern – “Stand Up”
5. Incise ft. Tunji (of Inverse) – “True Greatness”
6. Statik Selektah ft. Little Brother, Chaundon, & Joe Scudda – “On The Marquee”
7. Akrish – “No God” (Local Artist)
8. Diverse – “Escape Earth”
9. Termanology – “The Chosen”
10. Kanye West – “Heartless”
11. **INTERVIEW WITH NEW JACK HUSTLE, PT. 1**
12. New Jack Hustle (Newman & Shawn Jackson) ft. Vursatyl (of the Lifesavas) – “Ronald”
13. **INTERVIEW WITH NEW JACK HUSTLE, PT. 2**
14. Black Milk ft. Pharoahe Monch, Sean Price, & DJ Premier – “The Matrix”
15. Planet Asia & DJ Muggs ft. B-Real – “Lions In The Forest”
16. Kidz In The Hall – “Children’s Story”
17. DJ Green Lantern – “1 Mic, 1 People”
18. Murs – “Can It Be”
19. Sweatshop Union – “Oh My” (Local Artist)
20. Jake One ft. J. Pinder, GMK, & Spaceman – “Big Homie Style” (Local Artist)
21. DJ Green Lantern – “Find Ur Dreams”
22. Malik Yusef ft. Kanye West & Adam Levine (of Maroon 5) – “Promised Land”
23. Foreign Exchange ft. Muhsinah & Darien Brockington – “Something To Behold”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?m2hmddyo3m2
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/50312005dcea41ca/ )

Link to download the full interview with New Jack Hustle – http://www.mediafire.com/?mdz1nxmjw5m
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/50124594cf82f2eb/ )

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.