The Audacity of Dope

I’ve been doing a radio show a week for damn near 10 years, but yet, somehow I’ve never been bored during any one of those shows.  With J out of town on vacation and no guests coming through SNSS live, this was one of the first shows in a minute where I was alone in the studio.  My worries that boredom would ensue were soon alleviated when I remembered why I love this gig.  I’m all by myself…in a soundproof room…playing music that I love as loud as possible.  You can just vibe and rock out to it.  Doesn’t get much better than that.

Along with playing some of my favorite tracks out right now from artists like Blu, Inverse, Little Dragon, K’Naan, Kenna, Anthony Hamilton, Royce The 5’9″, and more, I also ran a snippet of the interview I did with B.o.B. and Playboy Tre from a while back.  Be sure to check out the full interview here.

Show #189 (1-11-09)

1. Blue Scholars – “Coffee & Snow” (Local Artist)
2. Statik Selektah ft. Little Brother, Joe Scudda, & Chaundon – “On The Marquee”
3. Kid Cudi – “Sky High”
4. Strong Arm Steady ft. Mistah F.A.B., Bishop Lamont, & Planet Asia – “Sunny CA”
5. El Prez – “Hammerman”
6. Inverse ft. Substantial – “Spark My Soul”
7. Blu – “Vanity (DeathOfAStar) pt.One”
8. Little Dragon – “Constant Surprises”
9. Common ft. Martina Topley-Bird – “Everywhere”
10. Asher Roth – “I Love College”
11. **INTERVIEW WITH B.o.B. & PLAYBOY TRE (SNIPPET)**
12. B.o.B. – “I’ll Be In The Sky”
13. Colin Munroe ft. Joell Ortiz – “Piano Lessons”
14. Grieves & Budo – “Guenevieve” (Local Artist)
15. Shawn Jackson & Co$$ – “Here We Go Again”
16. Adele ft. Naledge (of Kidz In The Hall) – “First Love (Remot Remix)”
17. Musiq – “SoBeautiful”
18. Snowgoons ft. Boom Bap Project – “The Storm” (Local Artist)
19. Royce The 5’9” – “Shake This”
20. K’Naan ft. Chubb Rock – “ABC’s”
21. Kenna ft. the Cool Kids – “Loose Wires (Remix)”
22. Anthony Hamilton – “The Day We Met”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?m2wwzkmzzjh
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/540617114130cae6/ )

Link to download the full interview with B.o.B. & Playboy Tre – http://www.mediafire.com/?xnlx1wmo0gz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/54012448089f57ba/ )

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.

(“sleepyhead” might not translate as intended for hip-hop audiences…)

I’m constantly checking out new music videos for my day job and today I stumbled upon a great one.  This is Passion Pit‘s “Sleepyhead,” which is the first release from Neon Gold Records.  Talk about getting off to a great start with your label, this is ILL.  Directed by The Wilderness.

The first of the homey Court Dunn’s 4 part video series highlighting the elements of hip-hop creates some ill breaking visuals for Camp Lo’s “Double Doors.”  I believe that’s a Thirstin Howl III spotting on the last verse too.  Just like the Blue Scholars proved with “Coffee and Snow,” you don’t need a huge budget to make a dope video these days.  Major labels should take note.

Camp Lo – “Double Doors”

Swiped from the Dopehouse.

As much as I love all my favorite classic artists, there’s really nothing better than seeing the next generation come up and begin to establish themselves.  I remember when I first heard of B.o.B., I was impressed, but not blown away.  Fast forward to almost 2 years later and now I’m definitely a huge fan of Mr. Bobby Ray.  He killed every verse and hook in 2008 and ’09 will officially be his break out year.

Not only is he insanely talented, but he’s also a real cool dude.  You all saw a glimpse of that in the “Autotune” video, but I got to see it firsthand when B.o.B., Playboy Tre, and their manager B. Rich came through Sound Session to chop it up a while back.  We talked all about their backgrounds, B.o.B.’s upcoming debut album, the lead single (“I’ll Be In The Sky”), their ability to write infectious hooks, why their music has to be genuine, why the industry needs a reality check, and much more.  You can check out the full interview below:

B.o.B. & Playboy Tre on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?xnlx1wmo0gz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/54012448089f57ba/ )

Big shout to the whole crew for dropping by and a special shout to TJ Chapman too.  Get ready for the B.o.B./Tre takeover in ’09, for real.

I’m not mad against all these dope MC’s that have hit the scene relatively recently hopping on some great Dilla beats and ripping ’em.  Great stuff from the homey Theo off his mixtape from last August, which you can grab here if you’re still sleeping.

Shout to OnSmash.

With the latest video off Buff1’s excellent There’s Only One album, Buff took it to the streets, literally, and put his money where his mouth is by putting food where theirs are.  Great stuff from one of my favorite MC’s and one of the nicer dudes I’ve worked with in the industry.  Shout to Buff and the whole AML & A-Side families.

Seeing a video like this reminds me of all this f**kery we’ve been dealing with here in the Seattle hip-hop community in the wake of the tragedy at Chop Suey last week.  If you’re unaware, you can read the basic details here.

I don’t really feel like writing an entire essay on the issue, but one of my biggest problems with the aftermath has been how people within our community have handled it.  I know every hip-hop head is used to defending the culture from the moronic comments and accusations that pour in after any violent incident (in this case, from the Slog comments), so we’re automatically programmed to respond in the usual fashion: it’s not hip-hop, it’s society.

Yes, completely true.  Absolutely.  Problems like this are indeed a reflection of the worst aspects of our society, and the blame can be spread out to every participating member…from gang member up to President.  I agree with this.

My problem is that many of us in the hip-hop community, myself included…at times, don’t react strongly enough against the negative parts of our own culture.  We know damn well that when artists are presenting themselves as ‘uber-gangsters’, it directly affects us, especially the next generation.  There’s a difference between rapping about the violence you see in your hood and glorifying it.  There are far too many artists, in every scene around the country, glorifying ignorance, stupidity, violence, misogyny, homophobia, and countless other negative traits.  Aside from the fact that 80% of the music is straight trash from a quality standpoint, we do ourselves a disservice when we condone this.

As a listener, participant, and DJ in this culture, my tastes have changed over the years, and quite frankly, at 26, I’m too old for this.  I’ve been doing my best to showcase the positive side of hip-hop since I started college radio in 2000 and every year, I’ve taken that more and more seriously.  As we enter 2009, I’ve been a DJ for almost a decade now and we’re in our 4th year of Sound Session on KUBE, a 100K-watt Clear Channel station.  Think about the reach we have each week.  I’ve always strived to provide quality music on my shows, mixtapes, and now blog posts, but that’s just not enough anymore.

I need quality music and quality messages.  I need quality artists and quality people.

I’m going to hold myself to a higher standard in 2009 and beyond, and I hope other members of our community do the same.  Remember what Barack said?  “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  Every day that I get older, I think more and more about life as a whole and what I want for this world, specifically the next generation.  I can’t imagine having a kid and trying to explain to him why we allow these morons to pollute our culture.

Outsiders know they’re wack.  Outsiders know they’re stupid.  We know they’re wack.  We know they’re stupid.  Why do we condone it?

Improve yourself this year and demand better from everyone around you.  I’m not religious in the least (I’m spiritual, big difference), but it’s true: “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”  Help people.  Get involved.  Make a difference.  It doesn’t have to be something huge, just make an effort and you’ll be amazed how quickly things will change.

Buff bought some sandwiches.  Maybe you can do the same the next time you see someone homeless asking for some change.  Better yet, go mentor a kid from a troubled neighborhood.  Teach him how to fish.  Feed him for a lifetime.  You’ll see your perspective change.

I promise to step it up this year too, but not in that played out “grind” sense.  Who cares if you “get on your grind” in 2009 and become a better artist/DJ/writer/athlete/etc.?  Be a better person.

“Harder, better, faster, stronger.”

Conversely, bet on me, I’m a sureshot.  Black Milk on production, Joell Ortiz on the guest verse…Off Colin’s Unsung Hero mixtape.

Swiped from NahRight.

Chyea.  The long awaited follow up to Inverse‘s first project, So Far, is finally here with the So True EP.  Featuring dope production from Kno (of the CunninLynguists), Cook Classics, Adam Berg, and Decap, alongside Tunji and Toby’s excellent rhymes, this is a must have.  Best release of ’09!

1. Rise and Shine [produced by Cook Classics]
2. So True feat. Deacon (of CunninLynguists) [produced by Decapbeats]
3. SunnyCalifornia Part 2 [produced by Adam Berg & Cook Classics]
4. Spark My Soul feat. Substantial [produced by Kno]
5. Beautiful City [produced by Cook Classics]
6. Goodnight Goodnight [produced by Kno]

Download here.

Seattle People: come see Inverse on January 17th at Chop Suey.  It’ll be a great night, trust me.

Now this is hilarious.  Fellow Massline member Ra Scion saw Geologic & Sabzi’s “Coffee and Snow” video and had to respond.  He linked up with tthe original director, Zia, to record this dope sequel to the Scholars’ video.  Comedy…and still doper than what most artists try to create with their official videos.

(I recommend watching in high quality here)

While some of us were making completely pointless videos during the Seattle snow, the homies Geo and Sabzi were killing time making a better song and video than most artists do with huge budgets.  Seriously, are you kidding me?  About 95% of the artists out there wish they could make something this ill.  The clip was directed by Saba’s brother, Zia, who continues to churn out some of the coolest visuals I’ve seen recently.  Very dope.

Blue Scholars – “Coffee and Snow”