The Audacity of Dope

Since J. Moore’s been recovering over the last month or so, we pulled some strings and executed this episode of SNSS all the way from London, where I’ve been working this past year for my ESPN day job.  Special shout to the ESPN and KUBE folks that helped set things up so I could make my return to the airwaves.  It was great fun being back on the mic and I’m looking forward to my official return in the next few months when I get back home to Seattle.

For now, enjoy this international episode of SNSS with dope new music from the likes of Pusha T, Run The Jewels, Dave B, Porter Ray, Golden Rules, Anderson Paak, Kali Uchis, RDGLDGRN, EarthGang, PREP, Alex Wiley, Erykah Badu & Andre 3000, Mack Wilds, Majid Jordan, and more.  Quality throughout…hope you agree!

Show #542 (12/6/15)

1. Pusha T – “Untouchable”
2. The Game – “Documentary 2”
3. Miike Snow ft. Run The Jewels (Killer Mike & El-P) – “Heart Is Full (Remix)”
4. A Tribe Called Quest – “Can I Kick It (J. Cole Remix)”
5. The Pharcyde – “Y? (Jay Dee Remix)” (Throwback of the Week)
6. Dave B – “Navy” (Local Music)
7. Porter Ray – “Bless Me” (Local Music)
8. Golden Rules (Eric Biddines & Paul White) ft. Yasiin Bey – “Never Die”
9. Kooley High – “Alone”
10. Monday/Friday – “Sugar and Salt”
11. Anderson Paak – “The Season / Carry Me”
12. Kali Uchis ft. Tory Lanez – “Ridin Round (DJ Dahi Remix)”
13. iSHi ft. French Montana & Raekwon – “We Run”
14. Kirk Knight – “Brokeland”
15. EarthGang ft. Marian Mereba – “Liquor Sto’”
16. RDGLDGRN – “Won’t Last”
17. Snakehips ft. Tinashe & Chance The Rapper – “All My Friends (PREP Remix)”
18. Logic – “City of Stars”
19. Majid Jordan – “Something About You”
20. Disclosure ft. Lorde – “Magnets (SG Lewis Remix)”
21. Alex Wiley ft. Calez & Chance The Rapper – “Navigator Truck”
22. Isabella Du Graf – “So Beautiful” (Local Music)
23. Erykah Badu ft. Andre 3000 – “Hello”
24. Mack Wilds – “Love In The 90z”
25. Snoop Dogg – “Back Up”

Stream via Mixcloud:

Download via Sendspace - https://www.sendspace.com/file/jijjur

If you’d like to be added to our weekly email list to receive the playlist and stream/download links after every show, just shoot me an email, DJHyphen@gmail.com.

“Ask my guy how he thought travellin’ the world sound // Found it hard to imagine he hadn’t been past downtown” (c) Common, “Respiration“

When we announced that I would head to London for much of 2015, a few folks asked me if we’d still be able to do SNSS since J. Moore and I would be almost 5k miles apart.  To me, someone who started reading sports news when I was 10 years old off “Gopher,” an online protocol that eventually lost out to “http” in the early stages of the internet (aka WAAAAAY back), I never had a doubt that we’d stay in sync.  The underlying goal of the entire tech industry over the last 20 years (aside from this) has been to connect every corner of the world via zeros & ones.  Safe to say, we’re good.  And I don’t even have my Apple Watch yet.

Instead, I looked at this as an opportunity to take SNSS even more international than we have already.  Yes, we have dedicated listeners from around the globe and already play international artists, but now we have a man on the ground in Europe.  One who even likes to write about himself in the third person, at times.  I’m not “discovering” artists here, but I am able to help connect the dots and bridge the gap further.  If Jay-Z can send his cousin to Nigeria, we can send Hyphen to London.  If I’ve learned anything while here, it’s that music, and the love/passion certain people have for it, is somehow even stronger than I ever thought.  Good music knows no boundaries: physical, mental, spiritual.

For evidence, look no further than this week’s SNSS episode, a veritable Goodwill Games of good music: NYC (De La Soul, Nas, Dipset), Cali (E-40, Kendrick, Duckwrth, Dam-Funk), Australia (Ta-ku), the Netherlands (Mar), the UK (Natalie Duncan)…hell, we even ran a Baltimore themed remix of MJ’s classic “They Don’t Care About Us,” featuring Dilla’s Detroit soul, mixed together by a Seattle OG.  And we can’t forget our friendly neighbors to the north, Canada, for our obligatory Drake cut, plus a gem by newcomer Alessia Cara.  I was told this show marked her first ever radio spin, so when she’s on top of the game in a few years…you already know.

Last, but not least, J. Moore was joined in the studio by Young Fathers, a group from Edinburgh, Scotland, drawing roots from Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Maryland.  Their eclectic mix of hip-hop, R&B, pop, funk, reggae, and rock defies those labels and represents the potential of where music is headed.  Everywhere, every time, everything.  No boundaries, just you and the art.  Vibe to it however you see fit…and when we come back next week, let’s talk about 10 years of SNSS, k?

Show #516 (5-3-15)

1.    De La Soul ft. Nas – “God It”
2.    Duckwrth x The Kickdrums ft. Miloh Smith – “Indica La Roux”
3.    Hezekiah – “Coming Back Is Harder”
4.    Kendrick Lamar – “Hood Politics”
5.    Stay Hi Brothers (Vitamin D & Maineak B) – “Never Seen It” (Local Music)
6.    Michael Jackson – “They Don’t Care About Us (DJ Topspin’s Blendiana Baltimore Blend)” (Local Music)
7.    **INTERVIEW WITH YOUNG FATHERS, PT. 1**
8.    Young Fathers – “Rain Or Shine”
9.    **INTERVIEW WITH YOUNG FATHERS, PT. 2**
10.    Oddisee & Phonte ft. Tamisha Waden – “Requiem”
11.    Currensy & Freddie Gibbs – “Fetti”
12.    The Diplomats – “I Really Mean It” (Throwback of the Week)
13.    Young Fathers – “Nest”
14.    **INTERVIEW WITH YOUNG FATHERS, PT. 3**
15.    Wale – “The White Shoes”
16.    Drake – “Star67”
17.    Ta-ku ft. JMSN & Sango – “Love Again”
18.    Mar – “She’s A Dancer”
19.    Natalie Duncan – “Black & White”
20.    Alessia – “Here”
21.    Lion Babe – “Wonder Woman (DJ Premier Remix)”
22.    Jarv Dee ft. Nacho Picasso – “Problem” (Local Music)
23.    Illa J – “Strippers”
24.    E-40 ft. Ariel Pink & Dam-Funk – “California”

Stream/Download via Soundcloud –

(back up – https://www.sendspace.com/file/615eop)

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.

Huge super duper hyphenated Euro shout out to my man Nils, who sent me this email recently:

Hey Hyphen,

I am writing from Germany, and I want to say “Thank you” for putting your sound session show online so that I can download it each week! I started listening to it in June 2006 starting with show #50-something. (I don’t know why) but I got to your myspace page somehow (googling, I guess) and started listening and cutting the shows to single mp3 tracks on my PC, having a good time every time I am listening to the mp3’s. The first mp3 track that I can cutting remember is “The storm” by the “Procussions”. Other remarkable artists are Grynch and Choclate.

I have been watching american TV shows since my youth (starting with Star Trek:Enterprise, ALF, A-Team, Simpsons, Baywatch among many others), so that I feel some kind of connection to the USA. This might seem strange on the first sight, but I just think that american culture is just some kind of different. I watch “Conan O’Brian” and “Jay Leno” since 10 years. I listen to your show since 2 years. : )

Well, I don’t know what you think of this email, but for me you are a kind of “anchor” to american hip hop culture and music. I don’t understand each sentence of the music, but many beats (connected with the vocals) are a very welcome earcandy.

I have learned English language for 9 years at school, but I still don’t get the lyrics. Maybe I just I don’t really want to understand, I just want to feel the beats and the flow of the rappers/singers. The sound of the music is just satisfying enough, and understanding 48 bars of foreign language is really hard work.

Without you, I wouldn’t have bought the “Kenna”-CD, downloaded the U-N-I mixtape and so on.

Last week I have started reading your audacity of dope website/blog. Thanks for that as well, you have a huge output. That is remarkable. I will read your blog in the future.

Greetings from Germany,
Nils

(Nils’ English is crushing my German)

I get emails like this every now and then (as I’m sure a lot of artists & DJ’s do), but it’s always wild and encouraging to see how I can affect what people listen to all over the world.  I started DJ’ing back in 2000 with the sole purpose of helping shine light on good music that people might not be hearing elsewhere.  Things have evolved a bit since then, but still, that’s the whole point of all this.  To put a dude from Germany up on Kenna, U-N-I, Choklate, and other dope artists is the illest thing to me.  I love living in a world where technology brings us closer together with every day that passes.

I really appreciate every single person who’s checked out anything I’ve done over the years, especially those as dedicated as Nils.  It’s all about the music though, and I’m just lucky enough to be the conduit sometimes.  Big shout to all music fans, artists, DJ’s, bloggers, industry heads, and friends who genuinely care about this artform.  Y’all inspire me daily.

*cue “Full House” aww moment*