The Audacity of Dope

Watch this immediately.  There’s really nothing else that needs to be said.  RIP Dilla.

My strategy is to keep the circle to a minimum.  That way, I never even have to worry about cutting you off.  But in case you get too close and I need theme music, Kendrick provides it nicely.

Awesome.

Yeah, the vocal tone, vocabulary, and delivery are perhaps a little too close to Ghostface, but I don’t care one bit.  This dude is dope!

Long time friend of SNSS, Lupe Fiasco returned to Seattle to speak with J. Moore and I on 1-14-11. We broadcast live on KUBE93.com and talked all about his long awaited Lasers project, his rabid fan base, his life away from the stage/studio, and much more.  In the first half of the interview, Lu discussed how his lyrics impact listeners, how he’s often misinterpreted in the media, his hobbies when relaxing at home, and more.

In the second half of the interview, Lu discussed his car collection, his favorite albums of 2010, his plans to become an author, Lasers, and he even spit an acapella verse from the project.

Lastly, we opened up the floor to questions from viewers who were logged in, watching it live.

Hopefully you enjoy this candid conversation with one of our favorite MC’s in the industry and just an all around good guy.  I wish we recorded footage of the meet & greet we held right before this (remember when we gave out tickets?) so you could all see how Lu’s lyrics have really impacted the lives of his fans.

Support Lasers when it drops March 8th!

Wow.  Great video and great record.  Shout to the homey Sol for passing this on.

We may be interviewing Saadiq next week…any questions?

A few days ago, we all watched in agony as the Black Eyed Peas performed during half time of the Super Bowl and following that debacle, I had numerous debates with friends centered upon the notion of authenticity and “selling out.”  Without rehashing those conversations and instead to take it another direction, it’s safe to say that Shad represents everything that I look for in a MC in 2011.  Obviously, the skills are there, but lots of people can rhyme.  It’s another thing to not just speak on “real” issues, but to do so in an intelligent, thought provoking, and positive manner.

“Be the change you want to see in the world,” and take pride in the music you create, consume, and generally identify with.  Would you be comfortable playing the music you listen to for kids in your neighborhood?  Your parents?  Your coworkers?  If not, you should reevaluate your consumption.  This isn’t to say that you have to listen to nothing but positive music, but you must be able to explain why you appreciate the art you associate yourself with, at least on some level.  Assuming, of course, you consider yourself a music lover.  If you’re just a listener and not a lover, carry on.

These two kids from the town are dope.  Learn more about and download their new EP over at their site.  SNSS listeners will recognize the records with Vitamin D, Sol, and JusMoni that we played on the air.  Cop that!

This week’s episode of SNSS celebrated birthdays from two of our favorite musical geniuses, Bob Marley and James Yancey.  While we certainly would have loved to dedicate more time to these two, we also maintained the tried and tested SNSS formula, rocking new joints from artists like Raekwon, Declaime, Lupe, Rittz, REKS, Shad, Pac Div, and Translee.  Plus, we were joined in studio by some talented artists from the town, The Good Sin, 10.4 Rog, and T.N.T., and had the opportunity to chop it up with the author of an incredible new book, The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop, Dan Charnas.  And since we talked Dilla all night, we had to have HouseShoes call in and say a few words on behalf of Detroit.

Before you download the show, some words of wisdom from Mr. Charnas:

“People, especially within hip-hop, need to control the institutions that distribute the music and their work into the world.  Without control, we can always slide back into a situation where expression of the youth is blocked by major corporations.”

And that’s why we’re here.  Bang.

Show #297 (2-6-11)

1. Killer Mike ft. T.I. – “Ready Set Go”
2. 50 Cent – “Old 2003 Ferrari”
3. Raekwon ft. Ghostface Killah, Jim Jones, & Kobe – “Rock N Roll”
4. Tyga ft. Snoop Dogg, Game, & Pharrell – “Really Raw”
5. Declaime – “Black Pick”
6. Kendrick Lamar ft. Gucci Mane – “Vanity Slave, Pt. 2”
7. **INTERVIEW WITH THE GOOD SIN & 10.4 ROG**
8. The Good Sin & 10.4 Rog – “Bad About You” (Local Music)
9. Lupe Fiasco ft. Skular Grey – “Words I Never Said”
10. Rittz – “High Five”
11. DJ Quik ft. Gift Reynolds – “Luv Of My Life”
12. Translee – “Get Off Me”
13. Pac Div – “Take Me High”
14. Scribes – “Pass You By” (Local Music)
15. **INTERVIEW WITH T.N.T.**
16. T.N.T. – “Rookie Of The Year” (Local Music)
17. REKS – “25th Hour”
18. **INTERVIEW WITH DAN CHARNAS**
19. Shad ft. Dallas Green – “Live Forever”
20. **INTERVIEW WITH HOUSESHOES**
21. J Dilla – “Won’t Do” (Throwback of the Week)
22. Bob Marley – “Could You Be Loved” (Bonus Throwback of the Week)

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?u6bdedekcx8jf7o
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/8627867656c1b776/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/jhyodvy72c4c)

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.

A few of you reported that there was some difficulty downloading last week’s show and I apologize for the issues.  Inadvertently, SNSS stumbled into the larger music industry vs. the blogosphere debate, raging far and wide over content and piracy.  Luckily, TAOD, SNSS, J. Moore, and myself are far from new entities in the biz and after some discussions with our friends at a few labels, I think we may have found a few decent solutions.  We’ll test them out as we go, but if you have any problem checking out the show, just hit me up.

Ultimately, the labels, artists, and SNSS all have roughly the same goal, at least in terms of the music we support on the show.  We’re helping spread the word on good music that’s flying under the radar and we’ve yet to come across anyone in the industry that wants us to stop what we’re doing.  Well…other than…The Man…but that guy is always trippin.

Show #296 (1-30-11)

1. Wiz Khalifa – “Roll Up”
2. Snoop Dogg ft. Pilot – “Gangbang Rookie”
3. Rittz – “High Five”
4. Slaughterhouse ft. The Lox – “Put Some Money On It (Remix)”
5. Cool Breeze ft. Outkast, Goodie Mob, & Witchdoctor – “Watch For The Hook” (Throwback of the Week)
6. Ghostface Killah ft. Busta Rhymes – “Superstar”
7. Theo Martins – “Lo-Fi Love”
8. **INTERVIEW WITH SCRIBES, PT. 1**
9. Scribes ft. Havi Blaze – “Lift Your Light (Let Me Ride)” (Local Music)
10. U-N-I ft. BJ The Chicago Kid – “Muddy Jane”
11. Pac Div – “Anti Freeze”
12. Bambu ft. Krondon – “Menacing Looks”
13. REKS – “25th Hour”
14. Saigon – “The Greatest Story Never Told”
15. Talib Kweli ft. Jean Grae – “Uh Oh”
16. Torae – “Point Of View”
17. Onry Ozzborn – “The O.O.” (Local Music)
18. **INTERVIEW WITH SCRIBES & HAVI BLAZE, PT. 2**
19. Stephen Marley ft. Damian Marley & Buju Banton – “Jah Army (Revelation, Pt. 1)”
20. Malice & Mario Sweet – “Speed Of Light” (Local Music)
21. Theophilus London ft. Sara Quin – “Why Even Try”
22. **INTERVIEW WITH LARRY MIZELL, JR. & MELISSA DARBY**
23. John Regan ft. Skyzoo & Jaiden – “One Day In Heaven”
24. Adele – “Someone Like You”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?b0t34a3n574ax9b
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/85981726d536d41d/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/qff6pjj8lmbh)

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.