The Audacity of Dope

Some of that Young California for ya. Trackademicks on the beat.

Almost exactly a year after we played this record on SNSS, Nieve and the homey Tunji have released visuals for “California,” a straightforward ode to their state.  Better late than never!  Also, congrats to Tunj on his recent engagement.  Dopeness.

You can grab Nieve’s full project, Playback, right here.

“The Hard Way is an impromptu shoot during their recent stay in Los Angeles. It encompasses Fly Union’s ascension to the top of the mountain and their continued rise in the music industry.”

In other words…the video won’t really blow you away, as it’s essentially some cool shots, a few video effects, and some font laid on top, but I wanted to toss it on the blog because these guys are consistently making dope records and deserve more exposure. We played this record on SNSS when it first dropped and it’s still dope now…

This video gets a post for a few notable reasons:

• One of the better opening shots I’ve seen recently.
• Quoting the iconic “Jean Claude van Damme I’m fine!” FPoBA line.
• Fashawn is dooooope and I like what I’ve heard from Omar so far.
• Summer’s already almost over and I’ll miss videos like this when the rain hits here in Seattle.
• I miss my Cali homies.
• The homey Aren got his cameo on at the BBQ.

Dope stuff!

Dope visuals by Punit Dhesi for Fashawn & Blu’s “Samsonite Man” off the instant classic album, Boy Meets World.  Speaking of being a traveling man, Fash will be in Seattle today for 2 shows with Wiz Khalifa.  He’ll also be stopping by the Sound Session studio, so if you have any questions you want me to ask, email me.

This jawn reminds me of my Cali days…ah, I reminisce I reminisce…

Download SLikd‘s full LP, Midnight Vibes, right here.

When Zumbi & Amp dropped The Take Over, we played the hell out of this record on Sound Session.  The beat is pretty simple, but when paired with that hook, it’s insanely catchy.  Overall, it’s definitely one of my favorite songs of the past year.

Kay Slay should be on the remix though.  Just cause.

As I mentioned in the last post, Glasses Malone and Mistah F.A.B., came through Sound Session this past week while in town for a concert.  We didn’t get to knock out one of our traditional “Inside the Actor’s Studio”-style interviews, where we could really go in depth, but it was fun regardless.  We talked a little about Glasses’ upcoming Beach Cruiser album, his background, how he got his name, and why F.A.B. enjoys keeping his fingernails finely manicured hahaha.  Check it out:

Glasses Malone & Mistah F.A.B. on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?rejomlz2njm
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/52808768b3ac3185/ )

As always, click the “interviews” link on the sidebar to listen to most of our recent interviews.  Get your podcast game on point too.

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.