Sound Session #229 (10-18-09)

Posted in Artists, Episodes, Sound Session on October 19th, 2009 by Hyphen

Weekends like these don’t come along too often.

This past Saturday, Jay-Z performed in Seattle for the first time in 10 years (apparently Bill Gates needs to remind Hov about our lovely city) and pretty much shut down the city.  Aside from a few Blueprint 3 songs that really have no business being performed at a Jay-Z show, the concert was epic from start to finish.  Call me old fashioned, but I’d like to see at least one song from Reasonable Doubt (“Dead Presidents”!?!?!) or In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (“A Million and One Questions”!?!?!?) rather than “On To The Next One.”  Maybe that’s just me.  *Kanye shrug*

That said, in front of a sold out Key Arena, Jay killed it from beginning to end and the opening lineup of J. Cole, Wale, and N.E.R.D. was excellent.  Big shout to all those artists for coming through the studio before the show.  We’ll have interviews with them coming soon…

Meanwhile, on this week’s SNSS, we played new joints from (who else) Hov, N.E.R.D., J. Cole, Big Boi, Slick Rick, the CunninLynguists, Ghostface Killah, Fashawn, and more.  Local artist Sol joined us in studio and we played a snippet of our interview with Royce Da 5’9″.  Cop Street Hop in stores now!  Last but not least, we world premiered a new track from the one and only YZ featuring Slug and Brother Ali.  If you don’t know, now you know.

Show #229 (10-18-09)

  1. Jay-Z ft. Pharrell – “So Ambitious”
  2. N.E.R.D. ft. Santigold – “Soldier”
  3. Janelle Monae – “Come Alive (The War Of The Roses)”
  4. Lupe Fiasco – “Fire”
  5. Dynas ft. Slick Rick – “Family Jewels”
  6. Keelay & Zaire ft. Tunji, Thurzday, Kam Moye, Ragen Fykes, & the Park – “Addicts For Real (Remix)”
  7. **INTERVIEW WITH SOL, PT. 1**
  8. Sol ft. Grynch – “No Sleep” (Local Music)
  9. **INTERVIEW WITH SOL, PT. 2**
  10. Big Boi ft. Gucci Mane – “Shine Blockas”
  11. J. Cole – “World Is Empty”
  12. **INTERVIEW WITH ROYCE DA 5’9” (SNIPPET)**
  13. Royce Da 5’9” ft. Phonte – “Something 2 Ride 2”
  14. Yoshi ft. Buff1 & Darien Brockington – “Magnetic”
  15. Jay Rush ft. D-Black – “I Ain’t Even Mad (Khrysis Real Sh*t Remix)”
  16. BK-One ft. Murs – “Eighteen To Twenty-One”
  17. YZ ft. Slug & Brother Ali – “Did I Ever Tell You” (WORLD PREMIERE)
  18. CunninLynguists ft. E-40 & Evidence – “Running Wild”
  19. Macklemore ft. Geologic – “Church” (Local Music)
  20. Debaser ft. Phat Kat & Rasco – “Out Front” (Local Music)
  21. Ghostface Killah – “Stay”
  22. Sene – “WonLover”
  23. Fashawn ft. Exile – “Bo Jackson”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?jjmocwngna4
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/6721777347ecef6a/ )

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.

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K’Naan on Sound Session

Posted in Artists, Interviews, Sound Session on June 29th, 2009 by Hyphen

While I get the opportunity to interview lots of dope artists, it’s standard practice that their conversational abilities pale in comparison to the music they make.  However, when someone as talented, eclectic, and interesting as K’Naan drops by the Sound Session studio, it’s virtually guaranteed to be a good time.  Sure enough, chopping it up with the man who fled Somalia’s civil war on the last commercial flight to leave Mogadishu proved to be an enlightening, and humbling, experience.

We discussed the current political upheaval in Iran, the pirates off the shores of Somalia, the gifts and curses that come with being a cultural ambassador, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, his recent Troubadour album, and more.  He even leaked some information on upcoming projects that hasn’t been reported yet…enjoy!

K’Naan on Sound Sessionhttp://www.mediafire.com/?nttezgrtzz3
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/620305724e5447e5/)

If you’re still sleeping, wake up and cop Troubadour in stores now.

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Wale ft. Lady GaGa – Chillin (video) + Family Affair (video)

Posted in Artists, Music Videos on June 4th, 2009 by Hyphen

The long awaited visuals for Wale’s lead single have finally leaked and I think the clip came out pretty nice.  Definitely crisp and I dig the track, though the blatant M.I.A. swagger jacking from GaGa’s hook still seems a little weird to me.  I’m sure Cool & Dre or someone ran it by M.I.A., but I’d be curious to hear what she feels about the hook.

Anyway, hopefully this single will catch on and Wale can join the ranks of Asher, Cudi, and Drake as the only new cats to actually get a crossover hit.  One of my old workplaces, KIIS in LA, has already added it so that’s a great sign.

Here’s another new video from Wale and Rik Cordero for “Family Affair” while we’re at it:

Seattle folks: Wale will be performing at Bumbershoot this year…don’t miss it…

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Wale – Breakdown (live in Seattle)

Posted in Artists, Live Performances, Videos on May 11th, 2009 by Hyphen

If you missed the Wale/Colin Munroe show at Neumos here in Seattle from the end of last month, never fear, Hugh from BlogsIsWatching has your back.  He linked up with Jason Hakala, Same Bae, James Chong, and Cahn Solo to produce this excellent clip of Wale’s introduction and the first track, “Breakdown.”  More clips will be coming soon…

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Daniel Merriweather Remix Contest

Posted in Artists, Music Videos, Random Ish, Remixes, Videos on May 8th, 2009 by Hyphen

For all you up and coming musicians out there, if you’re a fan of Daniel Merriweather like I am, you may want to look into this.  Daniel and his team are giving you the chance to remix his “Change” single with Wale and get some great exposure for it.  For more information, click here.

And if you missed it when it first dropped, the video for “Change”:

Shout to my folks down under in AU.

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DJ Heat – The Mumbo Sauce Mixtape, Vol. 3

Posted in Artists, Mixtapes on November 12th, 2008 by Hyphen

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The homegirl DJ Heat has been putting in work in DC for a minute, and she just released the third volume of her Mumbo Sauce mixtape series.  For those unaware, mumbo sauce is what they put on fried chicken out there in the other Washington.  While I can’t say I’ve tried it, I have sampled Heat’s mixes before and I recommend y’all check this one out for some of the dopest talent in the DMV area.  It features appearances by people like Wale, RAtheMC, Raheem DeVaughn, Thad Reid, XO, and more. Peep the tracklisting and download link after the jump!

Read more »

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The DMV Mixtape: August ’08

Posted in Artists, Mixtapes on August 21st, 2008 by Hyphen

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The homey Modi over at DCtoBC sent this over for y’all to check out.  He recently paired up with two other blogs specializing in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area, StartOfTheLine and KNOWxONE to highlight some of the best talent from the area in a monthly mixtape series.  If you missed July, you can find it over at the Dopehouse.

As for this month’s edition, Modi explains:

we’re not here to whine about how our region is overlooked when it comes to hip hop; we’ve already made progress. wale had arguably the best mixtape of the year, and sold out that show at S.O.B.’s in NYC last month. tabi bonney’s videos were all over cable, and one even earned an MTV awards nomination. we have definitely made an impression on the music industry, and are on the way to a movement.

people are hungry to see what else the region has to offer, so we went extra hard in creating the best possible august edition of the DMV mixtape. in addition to the names you already know, we wanted to introduce a few that you may not. we got exclusives, we got unreleased tracks, we have some major label talent, and we have people who grinded out their tracks in their basements on makeshift studio equipment. and we can honestly say it all cranks. so take a second and check it out.

There it is.  Tracklisting and download link after the jump.  Speaking of the DMV, Soulstice will be on this week’s Sound Session.  Be sure to tune in!

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Wale, Green Lantern, Just Blaze, Skyzoo, & Supernatural freestyling @ RTB

Posted in Artists, Live Performances, Videos on August 5th, 2008 by Hyphen

This is the kind of ish that I love about hip-hop: just people relaxing, having fun, and showing their skills.  Wale, Green, Just, Sky, and Supernat have a little freestyle session backstage at Rock The Bells (NYC, I think).  Supernat killed it, obviously, but Just kinda ripped it there too.  Is there anything that dude can’t do?  LOL @ Wale at the end, greatness.

Spotted at Info’s.

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Wale on DubCNN

Posted in Artists, Other Peoples' Interviews on July 16th, 2008 by Hyphen

Wale

Nima over at DubCNN just posted up a nice interview with one of the biggest rising stars in the game, Wale. Say it with me people, “Wah-Lay.” Since he’s gonna be huge, people might want to learn how to pronounce it. Here’s the description:

We talk about him coming up in D.C., his influences, working with his idol Black Thought of The Roots and how he ended up signing with Jimmy Iovine‘s Interscope Records. He tells us why he’s not worried about Interscope forcing him to switch up his sound, his experiences touring the world with Mark Ronson, and of course his “Mixtape About Nothing“.

We end off the interview with a few words on his upcoming solo album, which by the way is set to feature production from Mark Ronson, Kanye West, Pharrell, Just Blaze, 9th Wonder and the French electronic music duo Justice.

Read the full interview here.

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Wale – The Artistic Integrity (video)

Posted in Artists, Mixtapes, Videos on June 26th, 2008 by Hyphen

Here’s the new video from DC’s finest (aka the second best Nigerian rapper I know), Wale, and super producer Rik Cordero.  This song stands for pretty much everything I believe in as a DJ.  Unfortunately, about 1% of the other DJ’s, artists, producers, and industry folk in the entertainment world feel the same way.  Big shout to you if you’re repping that 1% though.  Keep fighting the good fight with us.

“The Artistic Integrity” is off Wale’s excellent Seinfeld inspired project, The Mixtape About Nothing.  If you missed it when it dropped, you can catch up via the download right here.

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