The Audacity of Dope

5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 squats.  As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.

Doesn’t get much simpler than that.  I finished with 18 full rounds + 5 pull ups + 10 push ups + 10 squats.  In other words, 5 squats short of 19.  Damn.  Shoulda pushed myself harder in the last minute.  I think that’s a decent performance though, since I’ve only done 10 minute versions of “Cindy” before.

If you want to start doing crossfit slowly, find a bar and do this workout for 10 minutes.  That’s what I did my first day.  Or come check out one of the free “Rainstorm” workouts over at Foundation Crossfit every Saturday at noon.  Y’all are talking a big game, but I’ve yet to see you come through…

(woah, sneak diss there at the end…yikes.)

Murs, 9th Wonder, and Murs’ hair talk about why you should download Sweet Lord if you haven’t already.  And if you haven’t, why not?  It’s free.  Go grab it here.  Sidenote, has anyone seen an interview where Murs explains his hair?  Seriously, he must have talked about it.  I know people who won’t even check for dude because of it, and I need some funny explanation to placate them.  I might have to ask him about it at Rock The Bells, but really…I don’t want to be that guy.

Courtesy of Always Hustle, who apparently will drop part two tomorrow.

No, this isn’t about Fest’s missing iPod, it’s a little deeper than that.  Here’s the video for “Stolen” off Rhymefest’s upcoming El Che project.  I think we’ve finally reached the point where the pendulum swung so far to one side, it’s only natural that artists like Nas, Killer Mike, Wyclef, Kanye, Lupe, ‘Fest, etc. are releasing great music with substance.  El Che should follow up nicely where Untitled left off.  Shout to Konee Rock for directing this piece, good ish fellas.

Swiped from Eskay‘s again.

Hahahaha, are you kidding me?  This is why Kanye’s the man.  Just in time for the Olympic track and field events, ‘Ye drops a web video for “Champion” off Graduation.  Another workout classic.  This is probably the only time we’ll see Lil’ Yeezy, but I’d love for this to spawn some sort of Lil’ Penny-esque series (“I know my spot fool!“).  We’ll see.

Spotted at Yeezy’s.

We had Serius on Sound Session a while back and dude was cool as hell.  Plus he can really rhyme, so I’m a fan.  That said, why would you start off a freestyle with the very first line:

…speechless.

(if you prefer YouTube, go here)

The same day that Kardinal Offishall came through the Sound Session studios, Wyclef Jean stopped by for his second appearance on the show.  If you missed the first interview, you can find it on our podcast page right here.  Since we discussed his recent album, Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, last time, we got to have a much more in depth convo with Clef during this interview.

Some people have criticized his recent hip-hop work and his forays into pop, but Clef will always be one of my favorite artists.  Without exaggeration, I’d rank both the original Carnival and the Fugees’ The Score in my top 5 albums of all time, and maybe even higher.  Perhaps I’m in the minority there, but any way you slice it, they’re classics.  Plus, he was my very first interview back in 2000 when he headlined the MTV Campus Invasion tour during my college radio days (KSPC what up!).  Dude was cool as hell then, and it’s the same today.

In this interview, Clef told us some stories behind his favorite songs from the past, why the Fugees reunion failed, what it’ll take to make it happen, how he’s seen the industry change over the years, how his music reaches around the world, his charity work, politics, and much more.  Plus, just like last time, he wouldn’t leave without dropping a little freestyle for us.  Though I must say, he was the one who wanted to use “A Milli.”  Lord knows it’s been rapped over enough, especially since it’s not even a great beat…at all…but I digress.

You can either watch the interview above (not recommended, since the audio is sketchy), or listen to the broadcast feed below (mixed in with beats & songs).  I’d check the mp3 if I were you:

Wyclef Jean on Sound Session #02 – http://www.mediafire.com/?akv85dmyfbp
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/16860037c2b69ad0/ )

I also tossed in some footage of Clef recording the freestyle at the end of the interview video.  If you just want to watch that part or download the song, here you go:

Wyclef Jean – “A Milli Freestyle (Sound Session Exclusive)”

Caribbean swagger…big up to Clef.

I’m not sure how I manage to have more work on weekends than during the week, but in any case, here’s last night’s Sound Session, apologies that it’s a little late.  It’s worth the wait though, as we played brand new music by The Game (produced by Just Blaze), Heltah Skeltah (with Illmind on the boards), The Knux, our homey Kardinal, the legendary Q-Tip, and more.  We also gave SNSS debuts to Random, OPeriod, and Skyrise (a new group with my man Don Cerino), and had local artist Neema come through to blast off his new single with Mistah F.A.B..  Those listening live got a chance to win tickets to Rock The Bells at the Gorge on September 6th.  If you missed out, we may have more tix next week, so be sure to tune in.

Oh, and did I mention we had Wyclef Jean back on the show for another edition of “Clef’s Corner” and another exclusive freestyle?  Big tings!

Show #167 (8-10-08)

1. Game – “Superman”
2. Heltah Skeltah – “Everything Is Heltah Skeltah”
3. The Knux – “Bang, Bang”
4. Kardinal Offishall ft. Lindo P – “Burnt”
5. DJ Semaj & Charles Herron – “The System” (Local Artist)
6. Murs – “Can It Be”
7. Bishop Lamont – “Everyday”
8. Evidence (of Dilated Peoples) – “Let The Beat Build Freestyle”
9. Nas ft. Busta Rhymes – “Fried Chicken”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH WYCLEF JEAN #02, PT. 1**
11. Wyclef Jean ft. Lupe Fiasco – “Fast Car (Remix)”
12. **INTERVIEW WITH WYCLEF JEAN #02, PT. 2**
13. Wyclef Jean – “A Milli Freestyle (Live on KUBE 93)” (EXCLUSIVE)
14. Buff1 ft. Tres Styles – “Love The Love”
15. Incise ft. Skyrise (Don Cerino & Shuanise) – “Your Soul”
16. Animal Farm – “The Show Must Go On” (Local Artist)
17. Q-Tip – “Gettin’ Up”
18. OPeriod ft. Daily Plannet & Purple St. James – “Soundbad”
19. Elzhi – “Brag Swag”
20. **INTERVIEW WITH NEEMA**
21. Neema ft. Mistah F.A.B. – “Light That Fire” (Local Artist)
22. Random ft. Naledge (of Kidz In The Hall) – “Exhale”
23. Isaac Hayes – “The Look of Love”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?g7qtqyjdqcn
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/168551411b8ea5f7/ )

Link to download the FULL interview with Wyclef Jean – http://www.mediafire.com/?akv85dmyfbp
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/16860037c2b69ad0/ )

Link to watch the interview with Wyclef Jean – http://www.vimeo.com/1510506
Link to watch Wyclef record his freestyle – http://www.vimeo.com/1510385

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.

If you missed the historic men’s 4×100 freestyle relay in the Olympics yesterday, you missed one of the best races ever.  It was so dope, I actually had to post about swimming on TAOD.  That’s unheard of.

Our oldest swimmer on the team, Jason Lezak, anchored the race and somehow erased almost a full body length deficit in the final 50 meters.  On his very last stroke, he edged out France’s Alain Bernard at the wall and kept Michael Phelps’ dream of 8 gold medals alive.  At the same time, he ethered the trash talking Bernard, who earlier said the heavily favored French team would “smash” the Americans.  Ouch.

Since NBC’s being a bit egomaniacal about its Olympics coverage, I can’t embed the video.  You can, however, watch the race in all its glory right here.

Other observations from the first 3 days of the Olympics:

• The opening ceremony was awesome.  Kanye was definitely taking notes.
• Phelps won the 2 hardest events he’s in, so his quest for 8 looks possible.
• The Chinese male gymnasts are machines, it’s not even fair.
• There’s no way their female gymnasts are over the required age of 16.  Even R. Kelly thinks they look young.
• Fencing is impossible to watch if you don’t know anything about the sport.  They do wear cool Daft Punk style helmets though.
• Watching badminton just makes me want to play badminton.  Same with handball.  I miss PE.
• The ‘Redeem Team’ woke up after a slow first quarter to drill the Chinese, but I’m still not entirely comfortable.  Tougher tests await in Greece and Spain, but not until after we demolish Angola.
• Our women b-baller’s are legit.  Anything less than their 4th consecutive gold would shock me.
• Olympic boxing is boring.  Sorry.
• Beach volleyball is surprisingly exciting, and way cooler than indoor.  However, the indoor women > outdoor, despite the skimpy bikinis.  Those uniforms are a little too small.
• Why can’t I find any judo or men’s soccer on any of the 5 channels airing the games, and why do table tennis and taekwondo start way after the other sports?  Lame.
• It’s going to be great to watch the US and China fight it out over the medal count.  China’s up 2 at the moment…let’s get it.
• Why am I up till 6 AM after an episode of Sound Session and posting on the blog?

Last night’s show and interview with Wyclef coming soon, but for now…*Outro*

AZ is ill, but umm:

“Mind of Muhammad, signs of the Masonic/
Both combine, I’m a verbal rhyme colonic”
–AZ, “Knowledge Is Freedom”

I think a good general rule would be to never refer to yourself as any kind of colonic.  Maybe that’s just me though.

Mr. Lee over at The Exactly has been putting in work on this mixtape for a minute, and it’s finally here for y’all.  I’ll let him describe the goal:

To every listener, fan, participant, artist, producer:

When I started this blog I did so believing that I could fill a gap where I thought something was missing. There were many artists I felt should be exposed, art, events, movies and funny things I wanted to share with as many people as possible. The idea of a mixtape came to mind during one of those wonderful moments where you’re thinking about all the things you COULD do with an outlet. Being that my moniker is “Your New Favorite…,” it was only right to name the mixtape “Your New Favorite Mixtape.” From its inception, the mixtape had to be something that represented what I felt the blog stood for, sharing DOPE SH*T with everybody! I didn’t want it to be a West Coast mixtape, underground Hip Hop mixtape or mainstream, I merely wanted to put songs that I thought were dope together in a package for people to bang. The process of putting together this mixtape has had its setbacks and delays, but I persisted and I can finally give it to ya’ll.

Good ish.  And if that’s not enough to convince you to download the mixtape, it features TAOD approved artists like U-N-I, Pacific Division, Shawn Jackson, Theo, Cool Kids, Now On, Blu, TiRon, Tunji, and many more.

Download it immediately right here.  Tracklisting after the jump. Read more »