The Audacity of Dope

Here’s the video Joe, Royce, Crook, and Joell shot for “Hammer Dance” while down in Austin for SXSW.  The Shady showcase where 50 did all of Get Rich Or Die Trying was probably the best show I caught while down there (shout to K.R.I.T., who killed that one by the way), so I’m happy to see some footage from Slaughter’s performance included here.

We’ll be airing my interview with these fellas on tonight’s Sound Session, tune in!

Nardwuar hit a home run with all his hip-hop interviews at SXSW last year and this year was no different.  Dude was everywhere.  Here’s his clip with Kendrick Lamar, where K. Dot gives you a little insight into his history.  Love the story about his dad driving him and his mom home from the hospital for the first time and blasting Big Daddy Kane because “he has to hear this.”  Awesome.

(hint: floating left is when I like to pull the most)

As I’ve mentioned on the blog and Twitter, I traveled down to Austin last week for SXSW.  In addition to all the incredible shows I saw and artists I chopped it up with, I had the privilege to play in the first annual HoopxHang 3 on 3 tournament.  John Gotty of the Smoking Section (my personal favorite blog because of the care they put in their write ups and their excellent musical taste), Nick Huff of Hard Knock TV, and Nike Basketball organized the event and invited about 50 artists, DJ’s, managers, bloggers, record label reps, and other industry folks to take their talents to Doris Miller Auditorium.

Anyone who knows me personally knows that as much as I live and breathe music, sports has always been 329318239128x the passion in my life.  I’ll go play any game, anytime, anywhere, so I was just excited to get a little run in during the trip.  Also, every time these rappers come through Sound Session, you should hear them go on and on about their skills on the court.  After all that talk, I finally got to play with a few of the homies!  Topping it all off, Nike came through with free gear from head to toe.  #winning!

Special shout to my two teammates:  Kenny, a friend of The Smoking Section’s John Gotty, and Chris (pictured below) from Hollyweerd.  We didn’t know what squad we would be on before we began, but we meshed pretty nicely.

After winning our first two games (yours truly with the game winners in each…#humblebrag), we were ousted in the semi-finals against the eventual champions…these guys:

That would be Push Montana (who turned into Khalid El-Amin against us), Brock (Diamond Supply), and Dutch (Smokers Club).  They had a solid mix of skill, size, and intensity that proved too much for the competition as they knocked off the Pac Div homies (below) in the Championship.

Despite what had to be a logistical nightmare, the event went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time.  Hats off to everyone who organized and participated and thanks again to Gotty and Nick for the invitation.  Looking forward to it being bigger and better next year…perhaps we could we see a little 5 on 5 action?  We need to get these rappers in shape!

Be sure to check out the official recap with more pictures and stories over at The Smoking Section.

If you follow me on Twitter (and if you don’t, you should…#humblebrag), you know that I was down at SXSW last week in lovely Austin, Texas. The first night that I arrived, the staff at MTV hooked up a pass for the MTVu Woodie Awards and I got my first experience on a red carpet. Aside from just enjoying the overall environment, I was able to chop it up with everyone who walked by. I grabbed a couple quick videos for y’all with Wiz, Yelawolf, Skylar Grey, and Lil B. Enjoy.

Honestly, I never really know how to wrap up SXSW.  For those of you who went, you already know how ridiculous it is.  For those who haven’t been to one, it’s everything you read about…but louder.

I’ve been to the last three, but I admit that 2010 was a bit of a bust for me.  I over-planned and tried to hit every event I was interested in, plus I met up with a TON of industry folks and had way too many meetings.  It resulted in an exhausting experience (even more than an average SXSW trip) and I wasn’t really looking forward to going back.  With that on my mind, I treated this year more like a vacation and took things 100x slower.  I still met with lots of people and enjoyed countless performances, but without a doubt, the highlight was just hanging out with friends old and new…and enjoying the 80 degree weather.  I’ll post up some footage on the blog soon.

Shout to everyone we ran into and especially all the other Seattle people that made the trek.  Special thanks to John Gotty from The Smoking Section for organizing the incredibly dope “HoopxHang” basketball tournament (your boy Hyph knocked down a few game winners but we were ousted in the semis to the eventual champions) and also my lodging pals, Shad, T-Lo, and G…the coolest homies you could ask for.  Also, thanks to JJ at Foundation, Jessica at Co-Sign, Jasmin at Cashmere, Ter’rece at MTV, and everyone at Decon, all of whom showed extra hospitality to a Hyphey.  Oh…and Zoe Kravitz…for the hug.  Second year in a row son, WHAT!

Show #303 (3-20-11)

1. Eminem ft. Slaughterhouse & Yelawolf – “2.0 Boys”
2. Thurzday – “Rodney King”
3. Fashawn ft. J. Cole – “Nothin’ For The Radio”
4. Pusha T ft. 50 Cent & Pharrell – “Raid”
5. XV ft. Pusha T – “Awesome (Remix)”
6. Grynch – “So Long” (Local Music)
7. Jean Grae – “You Don’t Like It (So What)”
8. Travis Barker ft. Lupe Fiasco & Pharrell – “If You Want To”
9. Nate Dogg ft. Warren G – “Nobody Does It Better” (Throwback of the Week)
10. Dom Kennedy – “Can’t Let Go”
11. The Weeknd – “What You Need”
12. Frank Ocean – “Novacane”
13. Childish Gambino – “Be Alone”
14. State Of The Artist – “I Think I Love You” (Local Music)
15. The Physics – “Fix You” (Local Music)
16. Big K.R.I.T. – “American Rapstar”
17. 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s (Camp Lo & Pete Rock) – “Mic Check”
18. Add-2 – “Chicago Blues”
19. Nitty Scott, MC – “Work (Grustlin’) (J. Period Remix)”
20. David Dallas – “Big Time”
21. Shad – “Rock 2.0 It”
22. CunninLynguists ft. Freddie Gibbs – “Hard As They Come (Act I)”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?kod4ow0z9zp0d0w
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/88099630dd4b8e93/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/58x63g316frr/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Sunday Night Sound Session, Show 303, 3-20-11.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.

Short on time this week as I’m frantically trying to wrap up any loose ends before making the annual trek down to SXSW in Texas.  If you’re going to be down in Austin, hit me with an email, text, call, comment, tweet, etc. so we can link up!

There are a million great events but be sure to come through the 1st annual Hoop & Hang basketball tournament on Saturday from 12pm – 4pm.  I’ll be out there breaking your favorite rapper’s ankles and dropping a few from Jimmer range.  More details will be revealed this week on The Smoking Section, who are hosting the event along with Hard Knock TV.  Should be a fun time…

Show #302 (3-13-11)

1. Killer Mike ft. Big Boi & T.I. – “Ready, Set, Go (Remix)”
2. Big K.R.I.T. – “Dreamin’”
3. Rittz ft. 8Ball – “Pie”
4. Frank Ocean – “Novacane”
5. The Physics – “Fix You” (Local Music)
6. Travis Barker ft. Lupe Fiasco & Pharrell – “If You Want To”
7. Shad – “The One In Front Of The Garage”
8. Dom Kennedy – “Goodbye”
9. Pusha T – “Cook It Down”
10. Pharoahe Monch ft. Styles P & Phonte – “Black Hand Side”
11. Raekwon ft. Nas – “Rich and Black”
12. Notorious B.I.G. ft. Method Man – “The What” (Throwback of the Week)
13. Grynch ft. Jon Hope & Language Arts – “Timeless” (Local Music)
14. Bambu – “Something”
15. J*Davey – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH PRECIZE**
17. Mickey Factz – “Paradise”
18. Thurzday – “Rodney King”
19. Sweatshop Union ft. D-Sisive – “Bring Back The Music” (Local Music)
20. Recess ft. Blu – “How Do You Sleep?”
21. The Weeknd – “Wicked Games”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?yqciwhqyfjm02f6
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/8780237842a73436/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/7jb9t3ptu6lr/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Sunday Night Sound Session, Show 302, 3-13-11.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.

I mean…look at all the homies involved.  It’s so dope to be able to call these folks friends and I couldn’t be prouder of what J. Moore and the fellas have built with the Big Tune series. Shout to the homey Budo on a huge win, but also congrats to KT for being an alien with beats human beings are not worthy of rapping over. If you weren’t lucky enough to be in Austin for this, enjoy the video recap…

“We back.  We back, we back, we back” – Ma$e

Yes y’all, another SXSW trip in the books and while there were certainly great moments and it’s always fun to see all the industry homies, I must say, it’s good to be back home.  It’s a great event, but when you go 5 straight days walking mile after mile, shouting over loud sound systems in every venue, giving a million daps, and all without eating or sleeping properly, it’s a bit draining.  Not to mention that the weekend always coincides with the best 4 days in sports: the opening 2 rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  Suffice it to say, I’m glad I don’t drink, otherwise I’d still be lost on 6th street somewhere.

As you would expect, the list of people we need to shout out is faaaaar too long to get everyone, but here goes.  Peace to…

Mekado @ NY Times, Jason @ the Orchard, Vicki @ Girlie Action, Cook Classics, Greg The Dude, Freddie Gibbs, all the Stones Throw folks, Pill, Von Pea, Donwill, Dom & ID @ Interdependent Media, 6th Sense, Outasight, XV, Shake & Meka @ 2DopeBoyz, Eskay @ NahRight, GLC, Geno, The Kid Daytona, DJ Reflex, David Dallas, Che, Peter & Nick Rosenberg, Rhymefest, 88-Keys, Jessica @ Spectre, JJ @ Foundation, Davey D, Devon & Jenn @ Sport’n Life, Michelle @ Audible Treats, Josh & Steph @ A-Side Worldwide, Jackson Perry, Buff1, DJ Graffiti, Rhettmatic, Mayer Hawthorne, 14KT, Vaughan T, D. Black, Spaceman, J. Pinder, Grynch, DJ Nphared, Ryan On A Mission, Sioux @ Magnum PR, Crew 54, Killer Mike, El Prez, Soulico, Jake One, Vitamin D, DV-One, Mind of I, THEESatisfaction, Theo Martins, Karim @ Myx, Talib Kweli, Strong Arm Steady, Jean Grae, Mela Machinko, Ayah, Corey @ Blacksmith, Fashawn, Aren, Alchemist, Evidence, Carlitta Durand, Pac Div, the Cool Kids, Chris @ Chrewd, Freeway, Jakk Frost, Pugs Atomz, Mic King, One Be Lo, Primeridian, Keelay, Kooley High, Jon Hope, Balance, Noah Ayala, U-N-I, Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Murs, DJ Quik, Kurupt, Daz, Sean Price, Black Milk, Kosha Dillz, Smif-n-Wessun, GZA, Jon Kim, Paul & Omid @ Zune, Torae, Skyzoo, Marco Polo, Temper Trap, Nneka, Dru & Noah @ Duckdown, Jon @ Cornerstone, Evil Dee, Buckshot, SMKA, Kyle Lucas, D-Solo, Clint @ MVD, Mike & Connie @ Filter, Mazzi, PSo, Homeboy Sandman, Brittany Bosco, Fadia Kader, TC & LC @ The Smoking Section, Hollyweerd, Sean Falyon, Grip Plyaz, Aleon Craft, Stat Quo, Bobby Creek, Steve-O, Yelawolf, Donnis, BB Gun, Motion Family, John Norris, Maridi @ Cornerstone/GLS, Brianne @ Cashmere, John Public, Get Busy Committee, Invincible, A-Trak, Catchdubs, Theophilus London, Finale, Nabil @ 4AD, Khrysis, The Are, Babu, Court Dunn, Curtis Santiago, Pharoahe Monch, JR & PH7, Oddisee, Grieves, Budo, Tishiz, Mistah F.A.B., Logics, Dyme Def, Soul Gorilla, Meli, QB Da Problem, Jasmine, Andrea, Jansport J, DRG Films, Chris London, Kidz In The Hall, Wiz Khalifa, Chamillionaire, Dam-Funk, Blue Scholars, Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, Larry Mizell Jr., Bun B, J. Cole, Nas, Damian Marley, Mos Def, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and more.  Oh, and my personal favorite, the lovely Zoe Kravitz (helllllllllllo).

I’m running on fumes, so I know I’m forgetting hella folks, my bad.  But you can see why…it’s craziness all around.  Shout to everyone!  In celebration, we decided to do a little SNSS x SXSW show this week, so every track features at least one person we saw in Austin.  Until next time…

Show #251 (3-21-10)

1. Freeway & Jake One – “Throw Your Hands Up” (Local Music)
2. David Dallas ft. Buff1 – “Front To Back (Remix)”
3. Balance ft. Thurzday, Fashawn, & Mistah F.A.B. – “Bootleg Liquor”
4. Nas & Damian Marley – “As We Enter”
5. 88-Keys ft. Colin Munroe – “Wake Up Call”
6. Rhymefest ft. Little Brother & Darien Brockington – “How High”
7. Consequence ft. Pharoahe Monch – “Let U Live”
8. Kendrick Lamar ft. Punch & BJ The Chicago Kid – “Faith”
9. U-N-I ft. Miguel – “Lately”
10. THEESatisfaction & OC Notes – “Icing” (Local Music)
11. Ayah – “He Don’t Want It”
12. Gorillaz ft. Snoop Dogg – “Welcome To Plastic Beach”
13. Outasight ft. Asher Roth – “Catch Me If You Can (Remix)”
14. Kidz In The Hall ft. The Kid Daytona – “Out To Lunch”
15. Strong Arm Steady ft. Thurzday – “Follow Me”
16. El Prez ft. J7 – “Lil Miss Popular”
17. Ski Beatz ft. Jean Grae, Jay Electronica, Joell Ortiz, & Mos Def – “Prowler 2”
18. Reflection Eternal – “In This World”
19. Mos Def – “The Panties” (Throwback of the Week)
20. Blue Scholars – “Michelle Malkin” (Local Music)
21. Grip Plyaz ft. Young Trimm & Aleon Craft – “Caddy’s”

Link to download the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?yl2z4knmy1y
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/74063181588513f2/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/ejwq91np5yyu)

**Sidenote:  Warner Music Group decided to kill our links last week (apparently they don’t want their artists played?), so here’s a re-up of Show #250 – http://www.mediafire.com/?1mhtjkrmnmj

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.

This week can really be summed up with two things:

1. This was our 250th episode of Sound Session, which is actually pretty crazy/impressive when you think about the state of commercial radio these days.  We’re quickly approaching our 5 year anniversary, but 250 overall shows is a great milestone as well.  While we do put a lot of effort into broadcasting SNSS each week, as always, the key to everything is [Jay-Z] you, the customer listener [/Hov].  Thanks to everyone who has ever supported the show and we’re celebrating this with all of y’all.
2. Speaking of celebrating, 4 letters my friends: SXSW.  That’s right, the annual music/movies/interactive media festival down in Austin, Texas is upon us once again and J. Moore and I will be there in full force.  Actually, it feels like most of Seattle is headed down there, plus at least half of the music industry in general.  Are you going? If so, hit me (DJHyphen@gmail.com) and let’s link up while we’re there.  I would offer some can’t miss events, but really, it’s absolutely absurd how much dopeness will be packed within a 15 block radius.  I hope you’re ready.

Show #250 (3-14-10)

Drake – “Over”

Reflection Eternal – “In This World

Freeway & Jake One ft. Raekwon – “One Thing” (Local Music)

Kendrick Lamar ft. Punch & BJ The Chicago Kid – “Faith”

Little Brother – “Curtain Call”

Co$$ – “Dub Plate”

Toki Wright – “Barber Shop”

U-N-I ft. Bun B – “Land Of The Kings (Remix)”

Dave Coresh – “Keep It Movin’”

M.anifest – “Sankofa (My History)”

Aloe Blacc – “Take Me Back”

SOTA ft. Helladope & Jarv Dee – “Extrahelladope” (Local Music)

J*Davey – “Get Together”

Ayah – “He Don’t Want It”

J. Pinder ft. Big Pooh & Zach Bruce – “Later On”

Lauryn Hill – “Lost Ones” (Throwback of the Week)

Laws – “Hold You Down”

Janelle Monae – “Cold War”

Broken Bells – “The Ghost Inside”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?1mhtjkrmnmj

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.

Generally speaking, projects with this level of corporate organization/sponsorship turn out extra corny, but thanks to the talent assembled for the latest Pepsi Mic Pass video, this one came out dope.  All the live stuff was shot down in Austin at SXSW and you can see all sorts of folks in the background.  Town homies will recognize Dow Jones and Jake One especially…