The Audacity of Dope

I’ve been waiting for this mixtape for a minute, and not only did it drop, but TJ, B Rich, Bobby Ray, Tre, and the crew released it in the always clutch “No DJ” format.  It pains me as a DJ to say this, but 99% of time when a DJ is involved with a project with new material these days, it’s a detriment.  If you really want a DJ on your tape, just have him (or her…hi ladies) mix it cohesively and don’t let them get on the mic.  You can download my old tape with Amen if you’re curious to see how a DJ can actually help the project.  Shocking, I know.

Anyway, enough ranting.  Peep B.o.B’s new tape where he continues to bend genres and explore his Bobby Ray side.  This dude might be the most musically gifted of all the ‘new’ MC’s and he’s certainly one of my favorite artists right now.

Download here.

As a bonus, they also re-released B.o.B’s tape from last year without the DJ’s.  Grab that as well if you’ve been sleeping!

Download here (link courtesy of 2DopeBoyz) and peep B.o.B’s Sound Session appearance here.

Dan has been one of my favorite MC’s for a minute but I think faaaaar too many folks are still unaware of the talent this dude has.  If you’re a fan of cats who spit hard like Royce, Elzhi, Reks, Fashawn, etc., you’re gonna love Dan’s music.  Peep his newest project, Hype Machine, ASAP.

Download here.

Yes y’all, the time has finally come for the release of the newest Cornerstone Mixtape, presented by J. Moore, DJ B-Mello, and yours truly.  For those of you who aren’t familiar, Cornerstone is one of the preeminent marketing companies in the music industry and they’ve been releasing a monthly mixtape for years.  The hosts of each edition are hand selected by the Cornerstone staff and to be picked is considered a pretty high honor within hip-hop, one we’re thankful and proud to receive.  Some of the past participants  include  legends like DJ Premier, Pete Rock, DJ Jazzy Jeff, the Fantastic Four (from Friday Night Flavas), DJ Revolution, and countless others.  J and I are excited to be able to join those ranks and represent Seattle alongside our longtime friend and fellow DJ, the original West Coast Tapemaster, DJ B-Mello.

To be honest, it’s a bit surreal to see myself plastered on one of these covers since I’ve been collecting the tapes for years.  To go from a kid bumming copies from my industry friends each month, to being added to the Cornerstone ship list (what up TNT!), to now helping host a tape myself…I can’t front, it’s a really cool feeling.  Big shout to the entire 1200 Squad, particularly Blaze Wong, J, Dru Ha, and Rob Stone, for working with me throughout my college radio years and now at KUBE with Sunday Night Sound Session.  They truly respect and live this culture, and they recognize folks who are helping keep it alive like J, Mello, and myself.  Much appreciated fellas.

Alright, enough sentimentality.  If you’re interested, peep the tracklisting for our mix and download it through one of the links below.  We finished this up back in April, so a few of the songs are a little old right now.  That said, I think we did a pretty damn good job keeping it current and we even managed to hang on to a couple exclusives…no small feat in this day and age.  As always, our goal was to provide you with some great music and perhaps expose you to an artist you might not be familiar with.

Please feel free to repost and share around the net to all your people.  Most importantly, just like on my old Beats, Rhymes, and Life mixtapes, remember to support the artists if you’re feeling their music!

Download Cornerstone Mixtape #115 – http://sharebee.com/9c9bde51
(back up link #1 – http://www.mediafire.com/?ejzak2y2itz)
(back up link #2 – http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7IHDF1P6)

Enjoy!

The new homey M-Dot recently dropped his new mixtape, Money Doesn’t Own Thought, featuring guest appearances from Termanology, Agallah, Singapore Kane, Trademarc, Grime Tha MC, and EMS and production by Domingo, DC The Midi Alien, D-Sharp, and more.  Peep the tracklist and download link below:

Download here.

The homey Donny Goines is one of the hardest working and dopest MC’s on the come up right now.  If you tuned in to SNSS this past week, you heard us run “Sublime” off his brand new project, The Breakfast Club, and now the album is out…for free! (Welcome to the music industry in 2009 – music is officially $free.99).

Peep the tracks and excellent guest/production list below.

1 ) Don’t You Prod. by Cook Classics
2 ) Bring It Forward (New York, New York) Prod. by Versatile
3 ) Whatever It Is (Ft. Mela Machinko) Prod. by Frequency
4 ) Money (Ft. Mistah F.A.B) Prod. by DJ Static
5 ) Don’t Mess with a Woman (Ft. Amanda Diva & Naledge) Prod. by Dub Z
6 ) Sublime (Ft. Peter Hadar & Outasight) Prod. by Buckwild
7 ) She Like (Ft. Che Grand & Izza Kizza) Prod. by Apple Juice Kid
8 ) Make Me Feel (Ft. Emilio Rojas) Prod. by Kwame
9 ) Oh No (Ft. Patent Pending) Prod. by The Goverment
10 ) What U Expected Remix (Ft. Rain, Termanology, Reks & Big Lou) Prod. by Statik Selektah
11 ) A Love Song (Ft. Lydia Caesar & Skyzoo) Prod. by Digga
12 ) Closer Prod. by Dame Grease
13 ) Digital Genocide (Ft. Planet Asia & Poison Pen) Prod. by DJ Snips
14 ) Grateful (Ft. Tanya Morgan & Jeremy Carr) Prod. by Cookin Soul
15 ) Party Apple Prod. by Apple Juice Kid
16 ) Can’t Get it Right (Ft. A.Pinks, Esso & 6th Sense) Prod. by 6th Sense
17 ) These Times Prod. by Dub Z

Download here.

As I alluded to here, The Kid Daytona is one of the nicest MC’s doing it right now and I’m anxiously awaiting his debut album, Come Fly With Me.  To help set up the project and make sure that people are aware of the talent, he’s teamed up with Mick Boogie to drop The Daytona 500.  Each track flips the same legendary sample that Ghostface used (Bob James’ “Nautilus”), but Daytona and his stable of producers make each joint different and their own.  You need to download this immediately.

1.  The First Lap
2.  The Wings {prod. 6th Sense}
3.  The Body {prod. Ill Bomb}
4.  The Engine {prod. Double 0}
5.  The Navigation {prod. Jet Audio}
6.  The Take Off (Flight) {prod. The Government}
7.  The Pit Crew *BONUS TRACK* feat. Outasight, Harlem’s Cash, 6th Sense {prod. 6th Sense}

Download here.

Also, be on the lookout for another Daytona/Jet Audio collaboration on our upcoming Cornerstone Mixtape.  #115 drops any day now…peep the tracklisting here.

Regular listeners of Sunday Night Sound Session probably remember that a few weeks ago, J and I gave out a bunch of these Northwest Fresh mixtapes on the air.  Since we’ve already handed out more than a thousand of ’em in the Seattle streets at various KUBE events,  it’s time to post up and blast it out officially to the net.

Truth be told, it’s past time, as this collection has been finished for months.  So that said, the music on here isn’t necessarily that new, but it’s still dope and it’s a good collection of artists that are making some great hip-hop and R&B here in the Seattle area.  If you’re up on the town bidness, you’ve probably heard all these tracks.  If not, you can take this as a good introduction to one of the most slept on scenes in the country.  Shout to Mountain Dew’s Green Label Sound for sponsoring the project.

Download here.

(back up link – http://sharebee.com/0dcb06ea )

That’s riiiiiiight!  More info coming soon.

The homey Playboy Tre just dropped his new mixtape, Liquor Store Mascot, as a free download for y’all.  If you’ve been sleeping, Tre rolls with B.o.B and the two work together on pretty much all those crazy hooks Bobby Ray has been singing.  Plus, Seattle folks should know him as one half of the Bona Brothers with Sonny Bonoho.   Download the tape and peep his appearance on Sound Session with B.o.B from a while back…

Download here.

The homey Kuddie Fresh stopped by Sound Session last night and it happened to be great timing because he just dropped a real dope instrumental project called Music N Flight.  If you aren’t up on the slaps from the first ever Red Bull Big Tune Champion, stop sleeping.  After getting the official stamp of approval from Henny and Dow by signing on with Tha Bizness, it’s only a matter of time before Kuddie gets the nationwide exposure he’s due.

Download here (or here), and be sure to peep Kuddie’s blog too.