The Audacity of Dope

There are few things more rewarding for those of us who really live and breathe this music and culture than seeing talented artists, who are also good people with good teams, break through and get the success they deserve. I couldn’t be happier to see someone like Big K.R.I.T. get shine on a major label and have a hit record on his hands with the “Country Sh*t” remix. Kudos to his whole team and to Def Jam for getting this one right.

Seattle folks: come see K.R.I.T. at our Summer Jam on July 16th at the White River Amphitheater!

I absolutely love this track off The Kid Daytona’s Come Fly With Me project (download here).  The homey 6th Sense murdered the beat and Tona’s flow is so ill on it.  Shout to Three/21 Media and Derek Pike on the direction for the visuals too.  Great job all around.

Some words from the director Derek Pike:

Last week I shot the “Air Born” video for The Kid Daytona featuring Bun B. The beat which is produced by 6th Sense has this real mellow floaty vibe to it so I knew I wanted to shoot the majority of this video with someone or something floating in midair. Since shooting in outerspace wasn’t in the budget, I had to settle for NYC. Luckily, Daytona knew someone here on earth that could defy gravity for us, EBCstar Africa. We shot the whole video at a little park downtown, no permits. Aside from having to work around screaming kids at camp, and a basketball leagues scheduled game everything went surprisingly smooth. Daytona and Bun B are two of the nicest and most laid back artists I have ever worked with. Shout outs to the Three/21 fam Rik, Nancy and Steve, Jamal, Owen, Jordan at Sneaktip, Dan, Evan, and of course Daytona, Bun B, 6th and Africa.
-Derek Pike

I’ve been waiting for Daytona’s official album to drop for a minute and the day is finally here.  Don’t get it twisted either…despite my blog tag calling Come Fly With Me a mixtape, this is indeed a full length project full of original material…and it’s dope as hell.  Peep the press release if you need to get up to speed on Daytooooooooona and then download the project below.

New York, NY – The Kid Daytona, born in Atlanta, GA to a set of Caribbean parents, grew up with a unique blend of cultural identities, which was only further expanded by his teenage years in The Bronx, NY. It was these formative years in New York’s northern borough that led The Kid Daytona to his current path as a musician — and the June 30th release of his full length studio album, Come Fly With Me.

The flight path leading  to the release of Come Fly With Me has been a long one. The Kid Daytona attained early success when his group The Aces was signed to Atlantic Records in 2002. Though the group dismantled shortly thereafter, Daytona managed to establish himself in the eyes of legendary MC Busta Rhymes, who quickly enlisted the young artist for a role in Flipmode Squad. In addition to Busta Rhymes, Daytona has also been blessed with the guidance of Cipha Sounds (Hot 97 WQHT), who has helped create the dynamic artist that appears on Come Fly With Me.  Daytona and Cipha started out by releasing A Tribe Called Fresh in 2008,  which garnered the attention of major media outlets like The Fader. Daytona explains that, “the success of the Tribe tape helped me realize it was time to put an official album together. I want people to be able to hear my music, and this is best way for me to make that happen – by making it available, and doing it well.”

On Come Fly With Me, The Kid Daytona shares airspace with musical superstars such as Bun B (UGK), Kardinal Offishall, and seasoned newcomers such as Mickey Factz, Amanda Diva, Harlem’s Cash, Outasight, and more. Production credits for the album include 6th Sense, Double 0 (Kidz In The Hall), Cook Classics, Jet Audio, Ill Bomb, The Government, and Deputy.

Both Come Fly With Me and its single, “Contact” featuring Kardinal Offishall, will be distributed digitally by Community JUICE beginning Tuesday, June 30, 2009.

1.  Just Fly {prod. 6th Sense}
2.  Air Jordan feat. Harlem’s Cash {prod. The Government}
3.  The Groove feat. Mickey Factz  {prod. Deputy}
4.  Honestly feat. Avriel Epps {prod. Cook Classics}
5.  Twilight  {prod. Jet Audio}
6.  Contact! feat. Kardinal Offishall {prod. 6th Sense}
7.  Flava Season {prod. Double 0}
8.  The Minimum feat. Tiara Wiles {prod. 6th Sense}
9.  In The Wind {prod. 6th Sense}
10.  Lately feat. Amanda Diva  {prod. Ill Bomb}
11.  Eye Know feat. Mike Maven {prod. 6th Sense}
12.  Perfect feat. Outasight {prod. 6th Sense}
13.  Right Now Till Then {prod. 6th Sense & Frequency}
14.  Air Born feat. Bun B {prod. 6th Sense}

Download here. (right click, save as)

Ok, granted that he’s performing his H-Town anthem in H-Town (one of my former residences by the way), but it’s crazy how Drake doesn’t even need to rap/sing any of his lyrics already.  These fans know every single word and just like the last time, this same phenomenon plays out every single night he performs.  Every time I play this joint on SNSS we get immediate calls on it and folks even email later asking what it was.  It’ll be crazy to see how big (pause) Drizzy is by the end of the year.

Swiped from H.E.R.

I’m still in the process of moving and I’m currently without internet access at the crib until Tuesday, but you know I had to get back to the blogging grind to support the homey Statik Selektah.  Here’s the new video for “Get Out The Way” featuring Bun B and Cory Mo off Statik’s Stick 2 The Script.  Cop that!

New visuals for the lead single from Term’s upcoming Politics As Usual album featuring Bun B and DJ Premier.  I’m not sure what that little digital/touch turntable contraption was, but that thing looked dope as hell.  Not so dope?  The contortionists at the end.  That was slightly offputting.  Good stuff regardless, be on the lookout for Term’s new mixtape, 50 Bodies 2, dropping soon on TermanologyMusic.com.

(I know what you’re sayin’)

AllHipHop caught up with Bun at the Convention to get his take on hip-hop’s role in the political process.  That’s interesting that he’s planning on going to the Republican National Convention next week in Minnesota too.  I understand where he’s coming from, but you couldn’t pay me to be surrounded by that much ignorance.  As Bill said last night, “thanks, but no thanks.”

To hear more of Bun talking politics, peep the interview I did with him for Sound Session back in April right here.  Video swiped from Eskay.