The Audacity of Dope

From a song perspective, this is miles better than Will’s “Yes We Can” video, but it may not be as inspirational.  That said, this ish is dope!  It’s catchy as hell and does a good job capturing the feelings we all felt on Tuesday night.  It’s crazy to think that everyone – college kids, celebrities, children, foreign governments, people in 3rd world countries, scholars, etc. – were all celebrating like this when we finally did it.

Now it’s up to us to fight and work hard for what we believe in.  Obama is merely the inspiration.  We are the movement.

As I mentioned earlier, Tuesday was an incredible day in history and damn near everyone/thing I was rooting for ended up winning (*crosses fingers for Al Franken’s recount*).  However, in the same day that we took a huge step towards equality by electing Barack Obama as our 44th President, Californians voted yes on Propisition 8 and banned gay marriage.  Again, the idea that one could vote for acceptance and discrimination on the same ballot is sickening, disappointing, and confusing.

People have been protesting in the streets all over California this past week and the court battles have just started.  It’s critical that they keep up that fight and it’s important for us non-Cali residents (*hides Cali driver’s license from WA DMV*) support as best we can.

One simple way is to cop these “Repeal Prop. 8” t-shirts from ChunkyTees right here.  You can either buy one for $10, or more than 3 for $8 each, with all the money going to the cost of pressing and shipping them.  In other words, this isn’t a money making venture.  This is an important statement we can make to the world about equal rights.  Dr. King’s words have never been more true than they are today.

Some footage of Capitol Hill here in Seattle after Barack’s our victory swiped from Blogs Is Watching.  Do you realize that Obama literally had people dancing in the streets throughout the entire world?  I’ve been telling you this is big.  [Usual Suspects] I mean ‘orca’ big [/Keyser Soze].  We’ve never seen anything like this and it’s almost like all our mistakes have been erased.  We have a chance again…

More footage from my dude Druuuu:

Dru, you need to add that Journey dance mix to the gym soundtrack ASAP.

I’ve been real sick lately, but also real inspired.  I hope to blog more in the days to come, but right now work is piling up and headaches are killing me.

But guess what?

We did it.

You know what needs to be done.  Vote today, no excuses.

USA vote for Obama.  WA vote for Gregoire.  Let’s get to work.

Wow. I can’t believe we’re here: less than 24 hours from Election Day.  After all the hard work everyone has put in over the past year (and more for some of y’all), it’s finally time to go to the polls and vote for change.  By voting for Barack Obama tomorrow, we’re telling the world that America is ready to turn the corner on the last 8 years and move into the future with the right policies, strategies, beliefs, and behavior.  It’s time to regain our position at the head of the table and make the world a better place.  We’ll lead by example from here on out.

Throughout the election cycle, hip-hop has played an important and influential role, one that future generations will look back upon and recognize much more than we do right now.  Yes, at times, our culture does more harm than good, but overall, hip-hop continues to be the voice of young people around the world.  It drives popular culture and was synergistically tied into Barack’s entire campaign, providing an ever changing soundtrack throughout the primary and general elections.

On last night’s Sound Session, we ran an entire prObama show and played nothing but songs written for and inspired by Barack.  Big shout to all the artists who used their platform to speak on such important issues and apologies to those who we didn’t get to play on the show due to time constraints.  It may seem corny, but everyone who has made Obama songs over the past 2 years has really played a part in this campaign.  Somewhere, somebody was moved by the art you created…and that’s what it’s all about.

Another huuuuuge shout to Michelle Gregoire, daughter of Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, for coming through and co-hosting the show.  She broke down exactly why Barack and Michelle Obama have endorsed Gov. Gregoire’s bid for reelection, and why we all need to vote for Gregoire when casting our ballots for Obama.  This may be a “change” election nationally, but here in Washington, Gov. Gregoire has done a great job and deserves another 4 years…especially with like-minded people coming into power in Congress, the Senate, and the White House.  With everyone pushing progressive policies, we’ll see a lot of great things happen in the next 8 years, both nationally and at home here in Washington.

Lastly, many thanks to the founder of Hidden Beach Recordings, Steve McKeever, for calling in to talk about the Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement album they released in conjunction with the Obama campaign.  Be sure to check out the full interview through one of the links below.

Download this episode of SNSS and spread it around to anyone who’s fired up about this historic time.  If you’re waiting in line tomorrow at the polls, bump this in your mp3 player and remember what you’re doing this all for.  Change is coming and it starts with us.  GO VOTE TOMORROW!

Show #179 (11-2-08)
**Co-Hosted by Michelle Gregoire**

1. Big Boi ft. Mary J. Blige – “Sumthin’ Gotta Give”
2. DJ Green Lantern – “Stand Up (Interlude)”
3. Dres (of Black Sheep) – “The Choice Is Yours (Taster’s Choice Remix)”
4. 6th Sense – “Ignite The People (Like Obama)”
5. Daytona – “Can I Kick It”
6. Jay Smooth – “A Poem For The Young Voter”
7. John Mayer ft. Twista & Joe Budden – “Waiting On The World To Change (DJ Green Lantern Remix)”
8. M.anifest – “Age Of Obama”
9. Kidz In The Hall ft. Talib Kweli & Bun B – “Work To Do (Change Remix)”
10. Cocoa Tea – “Barack Obama”
11. DJ Green Lantern ft. Gabe Real & Jay-Z – “What We Need”
12. Wyclef Jean – “Obama For President”
13. Nas ft. Johnny Polygon – “Black President”
14. Joell Ortiz ft. Dante Hawkins – “Letter To Obama”
15. H-Town All-Stars (Bun B, Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Cory Mo, & Trae) – “Obama ‘08”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH STEVE MCKEEVER (CEO OF HIDDEN BEACH)**
17. Malik Yusef ft. Kanye West & Adam Levine (of Maroon 5) – “Promised Land”
18. DJ Green Lantern ft. Jay-Z – “Lick A Shot”
19. Ludacris – “Get Buck Freestyle (Politics (Obama Is Here))”
20. DJ Noodles – “Division & Fear (Interlude)”
21. RAtheMC – “Ready Or Not”
22. DJ Green Lantern – “Find Ur Dreams (Interlude)”
23. Alpha – “Obama ’08 (Do The Knowledge)”
24. DJ Green Lantern ft. Wale, Rhymefest, Christina K, & Royce The 5’9” – “Black President (Remix, Pt. 2)”
25. DJ Green Lantern – “1 Mic, 1 People (Interlude)”
26. Rock City – “Paper Planes Freestyle (Ride For Obama)”
27. Nappy Roots – “Good Day (The Barack Obama Yes We Can Remix)”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?di3x3z2oynz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/513827915293195f/ )

Link to download the full interview with Steve McKeever – http://www.mediafire.com/?zryzqgfj2nu
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/50825349e7680eb2/ )

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.

Over the weekend, I got the chance to talk with Steve McKeever, the founder of Hidden Beach Recordings, for the latest edition of Sound Session.  You’re probably familiar with the label through their releases from some of the dopest soul & jazz artists (Jill Scott, Kindred, Bebe Winans, Mike Phillips, Tony Rich, Lina, etc.), but they also recently teamed up with the Barack Obama campaign to release Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement.  The compilation features great songs from artists like Kanye West, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, John Mayer, Ozomatli, and more, and all the money goes directly to the Obama campaign.

With November 4th only 2 days away, I talked with Steve about how this project came about, what issues are most important to him this election, what words of wisdom he wanted to impart to the youth, and more.  You can check out the entire interview below:

Steve McKeever on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?zryzqgfj2nu
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/50825349e7680eb2/ )

After you check out the interview, head on over to BarackObama.com/music to cop the album and donate to the campaign.  Every little bit helps as we push through the finish line.  After the 4th, the album will be available in normal retail locations.  In any case, GET OUT AND VOTE!

Doo. Da. Dippity.

We’re going to have to play this on this week’s Sound Session.  Change is coming people!  Are you ready?

It’s a beautiful thing to see some of my favorite people all working together.  The homies GregTheDude and Tunji linked up with the other homies Com and Okayplayer to cook up a couple videos for y’all.  In these clips, Common talks about his upcoming Universal Mind Control album, politics, his past work, and more.  Hit the jump to watch the other two pieces and click here to check the last time we had Com on Sound Session.

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Nuff said.  Let’s get to work.