The Audacity of Dope

Yeah, yeah, I know WLotD has been MIA for a minute, but hey…I’m a busy man and I think y’all can live without it.  That said, I just heard this atrocity on the new remix for The Dream’s “Rockin’ That Thang” and it has to be called out.

“Demolition Man, tell ya friends I demolish ya/
Plus I’m that n***a, baby I can make ya popular/
So get another shot of that Ciroc in ya/
Cause I’m gonna be rockin’ ya/
Treat ya like the first lady, I’ll put my Barack in ya”
–Juelz Santana, “Rockin’ That Thang (Remix)”

This is pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll try to sum it up for you.  One of the dopest MC’s around, the big homey Braille, has linked up with one of the dopest producers, S1 (of Strange Fruit Project fame), to create a project called CloudNineteen.  Along with making an incredible record, there’s a larger purpose with the album.  I’ll let Braille explain:

In my last Newsletter, I shared details about my vision for this record.  It was really hard for me to share the vision at first because I feared that people wouldn’t understand.  At this point, I feel very comfortable with the vision and I am confident that this is what I’m supposed to do.  Starting February 25th, me and S1 will begin traveling around the U.S. with the intent of giving out as many CD’s as we can press.  My hope is to press 30,000 copies and in order to meet that goal I am accepting donations and financial contributions to help with the manufacturing cost.  None of the donated money is going in my pockets, and with a total goal of raising $20,000 – every 70 cents we raise represents a CD being given away to someone.  Rather then continuing to type out the vision, I filmed myself on DJ Idull’s computer so that I could verbalize the vision in a video.

If your interested in contributing to the cause then my PayPal is braillehiphop@hotmail.com.  If you’d rather send a check in the mail then just email me and I will hit you with my address.

It’s crucial to mention that these 30K CD’s that will be given away will almost all go to at-risk and incarcerated youths across America.  The same kids who see all the negative images that are most visable in hip-hop will be directly touched by positive, genuine, and dope music from their culture.

If you’ve read my blog over the past year, you already know that with all the problems in the world, America, and hip-hop, I think the solutions lie in education.  We have to teach the next generation how to act and right now, hip-hop just isn’t pulling its weight.  Huge shout to everyone who is doing something positive with their music and careers right now, Braille and S1 especially.

I just wrote Braille a check for $100 to help support the project and I hope you’ll join me in getting CloudNineteen out to as many kids as possible.  Like he mentioned, every 70 cents he raises represents giving one CD to a kid locked in juvenile detention or in a tough neighborhood.  Instead of going out to dinner and a movie one night, shoot Braille some $$ and help out.

Thank you.

To be perfectly honest, I love my new job.  If I haven’t told you about it personally, basically, I work with music videos and getting them placed in all sorts of retail, hospitality, and online locations.  In other words, I spend all day watching videos and talking to labels and artists across all genres.  I got this note last week and being a fan of Jackass, I definitely got a big kick out of this.

Sidenote, if you have a music video, holler at me to make sure we have it for potential programming…

Spot. On.

A lot of people have been asking me about El Prez’ “Hammerman” joint that I’ve played on the last few Sound Session episodes.  Well, ask no more because the project is finally here for y’all to enjoy.  Prezzo linked up with his partner in crime, Dale Danja, to drop the Perfect Strangers EP and they’ve put it up for free download. Make sure you grab this one and then get Prez’ Daily Show project that came out last year if you’ve been sleeping…

Download here.

My dude Top (aka Blendiana Jones!) just shot this over and it’s fresh as f**k.  For the first half, he took original PPP vocals and mixed them with unreleased beats from Waajeed.  The second part features some ill Dilla remixes.  If you know anything about the Detroit sound and the musical ability of the dudes involved here, you better download this ASAP.

(shout to FWMJ for the artwork)

Download the full tape here.  And here’s a bonus joint with Tiombe Lockhart that he tossed in for y’all as well.

Yo…I don’t know how I missed this when it first came out, but this is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.  SO many quotables.  I’m not mad at Andy Samberg at all.  He makes some horrible sketches every now and then, but when he hits, it’s [Banya] gold Jerry, GOLD [/Banya].

Excuse I!!!!!!

One of the nicest up-and-coming MC’s in the game, M.anifest, dropped by Peter Parker’s show on B96 in Minneapolis to drop a little verse and debut a new track from his upcoming Coming To America EP.  Big shout to both these dudes…M.anifest for making dope tracks (and being in a crew with the homey Budo) and Peter Parker for having a dope show in the vein of what we do here at KUBE with Sound Session.  There aren’t many big stations that have outlets like this in 2009 so I hope y’all are enjoying us while we’re still around!

Peep the joint too:

M.anifest – “Time Is”

Damn, this came out of nowhere.  Brainchild and Phonte haven’t recorded an episode of GGR in a minute, but it’s back just in time for Tay to drop his thoughts on the upcoming year.  Plus, Brainchild kills the mix…as always.

1. DJ Day “Four Hills”
2. Daru & Rena “Things You Do”
3. Ed O.G. & The Bulldogs “Bug-A-Boo”
4. Shawn Jackson “Fix Ya Face”
5. Sa-Ra “High Life”
6. Portishead “Lot More”
7. Bjork “I Miss You” (Dobie’s Sunshine Mix)
8. Apple Juice Kid “A Different Blues”
9. Fat Jon “Tell Me”
10. The Foreign Exchange “Take Off The Blues”
11. Ron Browz “Pop Champagne”
12. Q-Tip “Dance On Glass”
13. Hueston Independent Spit District “Jus Sayin”
14. Hi-Gloss “You’ll Never Know”
15. The Whispers “Keep Your Love Around”
16. Carl Anderson “Buttercup”
17. Jermaine Jackson “Where Are You Now”
18. Prince “My Love Is Forever”
19. Joey Negro presents The Sunburst Band “Every Day”
20. Made In Japan “The City At Night”
21. Musiq Soulchild “Until”
22. The Pharcyde “She Said” (Jay Dee Remix)
23. Cunninlynguists “Yellow Lines”
24. Theophilus London “Cold Pillow” (feat. Jesse Boykins III)

Download here. (right click, save as)

Rainy day anthem.  There are like 20 different mixes to this track, and even though I’m not used to this one yet, Lykke kills it as usual.  Seattle folks, I’ll see you at Lykke’s show next month.

Swiped from Stereogum, via Herfection.