The Audacity of Dope

You’re not perfect, but you’re not your mistakes.

New visuals from Jhene…which is really all you need to say. Hit play to see the video for “Spotless Mind,” a track inspired by possibly the greatest break up movie of all time and a pretty good take on what makes relationships so difficult, especially for 20-something’s.  Word to Joel and Clementine.

It’s been a while since Terius has had a hit record, but if programmers make the right call, this one should be in heavy rotation.  Kinda the jam right now, don’t front…despite the steampunk Versace look in the video?  Radio killaaaaaaa

Excellent visuals from the homey OnCue for “No Way” off his Angry Young Man project, which was executive produced by Just Blaze.  You can download the full project for free here, or support via iTunes here.  Either way, GET THAT.

Now we just need a video for “Don’t Forget Your Coat”…

Apologies for the delay in this week’s SNSS archive but hey, that’s what happens when you’ve traveled half way around the world.  So far, life in London is not too dissimilar to life at home, thanks mostly to the amazing technology we have at our fingertips.  Being able to log on to social media to see what everyone back home is talking about and to interact with them is the best cure for any homesickness, and honestly, most of the interaction I have with folks back home was digital to begin with.  As long as my pixels can still talk to your pixels, that’s 2015 and I’m good…though it wouldn’t hurt to be back in the 6 for all this Seahawks madness…

That said, I’ve spent the last week adapting to the time schedule (the absolute worst for a west coast sports fan) and working, so I’m about to head out and explore this city a bit today.  Before then, enjoy this week’s SNSS featuring new tracks from artists like Action Bronson, Fabolous, Wale, OnCue, Black Moon, Diamond District, Fice, Von Pea, Lupe Fiasco, Joey Badass, Jean Deaux, Thelonius Martin, Theophilus London, Little Simz, one of my favorite UK discoveries, Jay Prince, and more.  And don’t forget to peep our 500th show from the week prior if you want to celebrate almost 10 years of the program!

Show #501 (1-18-15)

1.    ASAP Rocky – “Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2”
2.    Action Bronson – “Actin Crazy”
3.    Fabolous – “All Good”
4.    Wale – “Chess”
5.    OnCue – “Don’t Forget Your Coat”
6.    Black Moon – “Go To War”
7.    Nipsey Hussle ft. Buddy – “Status Symbol”
8.    Diamond District – “It Ain’t Over (Black Milk Remix)”
9.    Fice – “Coastal” (Local Music)
10.    Lupe Fiasco ft. Crystal Torres – “Adoration Of The Magi”
11.    Von Pea & The Other Guys ft. Kooley High – “Might As Well”
12.    Ghostface Killah ft. AZ & Rell – “Here I Go Again”
13.    Tuxedo (Mayer Hawthorne & Jake One) – “Number One” (Local Music)
14.    Azealia Banks – “Desperado”
15.    Bryn King – “Graduation” (Local Music)
16.    J. Cole – “St. Tropez”
17.    Jay Prince ft. Raheaven – “Polaroids”
18.    Jean Deaux – “Birthday Suit, Pt. 2”
19.    Thelonius Martin ft. Mac Miller – “Malcolm Interlude”
20.    D’Angelo – “Back To The Future (Part I)”
21.    Theophilus London ft. Devonte Hynes & The Force MD’s – “Figure It Out”
22.    Royce Da 5’9” – “Boom” (Throwback of the Week)
23.    Big K.R.I.T. ft. Devin The Dude, Big Sant, & Bun B – “Mo Better Cool”
24.    Little Simz – “Frozen”
25.    Joey Badass ft. Dyemond Lewis & Maverick Sabre – “On & On”
26.    Kanye West ft. Paul McCartney – “Only One”

Stream/Download via Soundcloud below:

(back up – https://www.sendspace.com/file/7y53pc)

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.

**GUILTY PLEASURE ALERT**

Could have done without the rapping (and the insanely awkward outro), but the hook and the sing-song parts kinda go hard.  LOL @ actually having a pie baked in the kitchen scene.  Fantastic.

It’s 3am here in London and I’ve been listening to Joey Badass and Lupe’s new albums all night, which are completely reinvigorating my feelings towards contemporary hip-hop. Honestly, outside of some of the best, I feel like hip-hop’s been a bit stale the past few years. Well both of these projects and both of these artists are absolutely KILLING it right now and restoring my faith. This legit, off the top freestyle from Lupe is a great example of what I’m talking about. Cop Tetsuo & Youth in stores now and enjoy!

This is how I walk through London when I’m bumping Majid Jordan…

This was a Sound Session to remember.  In 2015, the show will achieve two significant milestones and this week marked the first of those: our 500th show.  We started SNSS in May of 2005, not knowing how long we’d do it, what it would become, or the impact we would have on the Seattle hip-hop scene (and perhaps the national scene, here and there).  Turns out, J. Moore and I put on a pretty decent radio show that music heads generally enjoy…and 500 Sundays later, here we are, on the verge of our 2nd milestone: the 10 year SNSS anniversary in May.

For episode #500, we thought we’d take a trip down memory lane and play a variety of songs from artists we championed heavily on the show.  Some were already well established (Hov, Dilla, Common, Kanye), but the majority were artists that we were able to support early on in their careers.  As a result, we’ve been honored to be the place where lots of our listeners were exposed to developing artists that later grew into some of the best in the game (if I had a nickel for every, “maaaan, the first time I heard ____ was on SNSS!”…).  Lots of artists got their first ever radio spins or interviews with our show and it’s truly a pleasure to help give these cats the shine they deserve.  So enjoy this blast from the past, with classics from the aforementioned heavyweights, plus good friends of the show J. Cole, Black Milk, Royce Da 5’9″, Jake One, Shad, U-N-I, The Physics, Little Brother, Macklemore, Kendrick Lamar, Mayer Hawthorne, Little Dragon, and more.  These were all important records/artists during the last 500 shows and we enjoyed spinning some of their best material all night.

For the last track, we went back…way back…back into time…and pulled out a classic DJ Honda/Mos Def track that I’m sure you all know.  This was the last record I played on my college radio show (KSPC what up!  Kev Sakoda what up!!!) when I graduated (Pomona-Pitzer what up!!!) and it has special significance to me.  As mentioned on the show and hinted about previously on my socials, I’ve decided to pursue a work opportunity at my day job, ESPN, which will require me to take an extended business trip to our London office for about a year.  When a company like ESPN says they want to fly you to London to get international and managerial experience, it’s pretty much a no brainer…

That said, I’m really sad that I won’t be joining J on air during my time abroad.  However, much like the rest of the iceberg you don’t see under the water (SNSS as glacial metaphor: +2 points), there’s a lot of back end work that we put in every week for the show and I’ll still be involved with all of that.  So don’t worry, it’s still SNSS all day, but you’ll just have to do without hearing my silly voice and even sillier jokes on air (connect with me on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram if you need those).  I’ll continue to check in with y’all via these archives and like Mos said, “gotta lotta things I got to do // but God willing, I’m comin’ back to you…”

500 shows down, here’s to 500 more!

Show #500 (1-11-15)
**500th Show Celebration**

1.    Jay-Z – “Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)”
2.    J. Cole – “Lights Please”
3.    Black Milk ft. Royce Da 5’9” – “Losing Out”
4.    Jake One ft. Vitamin D, C Note, Maine, & Ish (of Shabazz Palaces) – “Home” (Local Music)
5.    Blu & Exile – “Dancing In The Rain”
6.    Shad – “I Don’t Like To”
7.    U-N-I – “Beautiful Day”
8.    Dom Kennedy – “1997”
9.    The Physics – “I Just Wanna Beat” (Local Music)
10.    Little Brother ft. Dion – “Step It Up”
11.    Jay Electronica – “Exhibit C”
12.    Kanye West ft. Dwele – “Flashing Lights”
13.    Drake – “Say What’s Real”
14.    Kid Cudi – “Day N Nite”
15.    Theophilus London – “Flying Overseas”
16.    Macklemore – “White Privilege” (Local Music)
17.    Kendrick Lamar – “The Heart, Pt. 1”
18.    Common ft. Kanye West & John Legend – “They Say”
19.    J Dilla – “Won’t Do”
20.    Amy Winehouse ft. Ghostface Killah – “You Know I’m No Good”
21.    Mayer Hawthorne – “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”
22.    Little Dragon – “Constant Surprises”
23.    Frank Ocean – “Novacane”
24.    BJ The Chicago Kid – “Good Luv’n”
25.    The Weeknd – “What You Need”
26.    DJ Honda ft. Mos Def – “Travellin’ Man” (Throwback of the Week)

Stream/Download via Soundcloud below:

(back up – https://www.sendspace.com/file/lvya1b)

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.

As is tradition with the first Sound Session of the year, we started this episode looking back on 2014 (shout to Skillz for rekindling his rap up series) before turning our focus to the days ahead.  J and I both feel like there’s lots of good energy around right now, so we’re excited to see what 2015 brings, personally, professionally, cultural, etc..  Hopefully you guys are equally excited for the new year, but as we mentioned on the show, we’re not really a fan of resolutions.  Continued evolution through love and learning and new experiences should be the goal, and that should happen daily, not just at the top of the year.  Make it happen…

On this week’s show, we ran new music from ASAP Rocky, J. Cole, Mark Ronson, Mystikal, Funkghost, CRL CRRLL, Lion Babe, Little Simz, Tope, Kenn Starr, Joey Badass, Drake, D’Angelo, and more.  Lots of good music out there right now, hope you enjoy!

And before I go, a quick word on one of my favorite media figures, and a coworker at ESPN, Stuart Scott.  If you grew up in the 90’s and liked sports & music, Stu defined the intersection of the two.  In that regard, he was similarly as impactful as folks like Allen Iverson, the Fab 5, or Shaq.  He literally changed the media landscape by himself and by being himself.  He never compromised.  He was 100% genuine and the man you saw on TV was the same man in real life.

Growing up, I spent countless hours watching him cover sports and those were really formative years for me.  While everyone I watched on ESPN helped forge my desire to join the company later in life, he was probably the on-air personality I connected with the most.  He was like a good friend you saw all the time.  He was one of the homies.  That was our guy.  Today, he’s still reflected in the way all of us 80’s babies bring hip-hop into the workplace.

Most importantly, he was a dude that just lived life the way it’s meant to be done: to the fullest…being you…full of love and light.  Rest in peace to an icon and an inspiration.  We love you Stu, forever.

See you guys next week for SNSS #500!

Show #499 (1-4-15)

1.    Skillz – “2014”
2.    Bop Alloy (Substantial & Marcus D) – “Resolutions Per Minute” (Local Music)
3.    Joey Bada$$ ft. Dyemond Lewis & Maverick Sabre – “On & On”
4.    OB Obrien ft. Drake & P Reign – “Schemin’ Up”
5.    Nipsey Hussle ft. Buddy – “Status Symbol”
6.    J. Cole – “Fire Squad”
7.    PRhyme (Royce Da 5’9” & DJ Premier) ft. Jay Electronica – “To Me, To You”
8.    ASAP Rocky – “Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2”
9.    Kenn Starr ft. Melanie Rutherford – “The Definition”
10.    Tope ft. Dizz – “Rocky” (Local Music)
11.    Mark Ronson ft. Mystikal – “Feel Right”
12.    Funkghost – “Inside and Out”
13.    Big K.R.I.T. ft. Bun B, Big Sant, & Devin The Dude – “Mo Better Cool”
14.    Kanye West ft. Paul McCartney – “Only One”
15.    D’Angelo & The Vanguard – “Prayer”
16.    CRL CRRLL – “Cheers”
17.    Lion Babe – “Don’t Break My Heart”
18.    Little Simz – “Frozen”
19.    Emay – “Landscaping”
20.    Da Bush Babees ft. Mos Def – “The Love Song” (Throwback of the Week)
21.    Ryan Caraveo – “Paradise”
22.    Rittz ft. B.o.B & Mike Posner – “In My Zone”

Stream/Download via Soundcloud below:

(back up – http://www.solidfiles.com/d/183e0ec305/DJ_Hyphen_and_J._Moore_-_Sunday_Night_Sound_Session%2C_Show_499%2C_1-4-15.mp3)

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.