The Audacity of Dope

It’s so dope to see the homey Shad blowing up all over the world these days.  Right after Yeezy, SK is my second favorite artist out these days, and above all, him and his team are just good, cool folks.  Peep the video above to see clips from his recent performance in Cologne plus some interesting interview excerpts.

The same day that I chopped it up with Wiz Khalifa, his co-star for the Waken Baken Tour, Yelawolf, stopped by the studio to kick it as well.  We discussed his official debut album Trunk Muzik 0-60, how it continues where his last mixtape left off, his nervousness/excitement during the BET Awards Cipher, his history working every odd job imaginable, being homeless in Seattle, and more.

Not only is Wolf a cool, down to Earth dude…but his album and style are both really fresh.  Hip-hop needs his presence and music right now, so do yourself a favor and check out the project if you haven’t already.

If you prefer to just listen to the audio, here you go:

Yelawolf on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?qyc22m5pgyba2e4
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/833551839dcab9c5/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/y9ipbtzo96yw)

Shout to the whole Ghet-O-Vision & Interscope fam too.

Sound Session listeners will remember that about a month ago, we co-hosted the show with the legendary Bilal.  Loyal listeners will remember our first interview with him from last year, but this time around, we dedicated the whole episode to his music.  We played nothing but Bilal records all night, mixing a sampling of our favorite songs from all 3 of his classic albums, some b-sides, and guest appearances with his colorful and insightful commentary.  He even closed out the show with a live performance of “Levels” off his newest project, Airtight’s Revenge.

I posted the audio of the entire show previously (download here), but now I’ve got the accompanying video up for y’all if you’re so inclined.  Be sure to check out part three, where he performed “Levels” live on the air to close out the show.

Cop Bilal’s latest album, Airtight’s Revenge, if you haven’t already.  Another classic!

I’ve been watching Hov make the rounds to damn near every media outlet in NYC over the past week, but I wasn’t really sold that I wanted to check out Decoded until this interview at the New York Public Library.  It’s almost 2 hours, so it’s certainly long, but if you can watch it, I highly recommend it.  There’s really good, insightful commentary from Jay, Cornel West, and Paul Holdengraber throughout.

Shout to Shad’s manager, G, who sent it over and summed it up nicely:

There is a video link below.  It’s not short.  But it’s great.

It reminded me about how important the work that we do is.  We are quite literally changing the future.

For the remaining history of this world, people who love really good food, will undoubtedly stumble upon the creative output of our friends.  I think that’s f*cking incredible, and I often forget…to remember it.

It was great to revisit Jay-Z as an artist…and it was great to see Cornel West attempt to evoke just a bit more enlightenment in a person who he clearly has a ton of respect for already.

This video also made me realize how important it is to have a Cornel West Uncle at the dinner table.

Anyways, here she is.  Dig in someday.

Now…who’s gonna cop Decoded for me for Christmas?

In case you overlooked it in this week’s SNSS wrap up, Joell Ortiz stopped by the show again to give us an update on everything he’s working on.  We discussed his Farewell Summer EP that just dropped, his upcoming Free Agent project, working with Jake One, whether or not Slaughterhouse is signing to Shady Records, and more.  You can check out the interview below:

Joell Ortiz on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?v43tdydgwml15x9
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/819879679df95f7d/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/1zwf2itwan0k)

YAAAAAAAOOOWAAAAAAA

I know it’s a bit lazy to go bullet-point style, but it’s a fairly effective way to communicate, right?  Here are your weekly SNSS highlights:

• Shout to the State of the Artist (SOTA) crew and Candidt for dropping by the studio to chop it up with us.  We also world premiered a new SOTA record called “Chief Seattle.”  Yeah, you know what it’s about…
• Thanks as well to Joell Ortiz for coming by a few weeks ago when he was in town.  Peep our interview through the links below to hear updates on his Free Agent project, working with Jake One, whether or not Slaughterhouse is signing to Shady Records, and more.  YAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOWWWAAAAAA!
• Lastly, be sure to check out two video interviews we released in the last week: 1st with Wiz Khalifa (70k views, Wiz is a STAR) and yesterday’s with my favorite writer in the game, Shad.  Surreal to be able to connect with such dope artists left and right…we’re just happy to be able to provide a platform for ’em:
• Wiz Khalifa – https://www.theaudacityofdope.com/2010/10/20/wiz-khalifa-on-sound-session/
• Shad – https://www.theaudacityofdope.com/2010/10/25/shad-on-sound-session/

Enjoy the show!

Show #282 (10-24-10)

1. Nottz ft. Dwele – “You Need This Music”
2. Child Rebel Soldier (Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, & Kanye West) – “Don’t Stop”
3. Freeway – “Escalators”
4. The Kid Daytona – “Fly Lullaby”
5. Kendrick Lamar ft. Jhene Aiko – “Growing Apart (To Get Closer)”
6. Wiz Khalifa – “Mezmerized”
7. Celph Titled & Buckwild – “Miss Those Days”
8. **INTERVIEW WITH STATE OF THE ARTIST, PT. 1**
9. State Of The Artist – “Chief Seattle” (**WORLD PREMIERE**) (Local Music)
10. **INTERVIEW WITH STATE OF THE ARTIST, PT. 2**
11. Cee-Lo – “Old Fashioned”
12. theFEW ft. Cilvaringz & Blue Raspberry – “Homage To RZA”
13. **INTERVIEW WITH JOELL ORTIZ #02**
14. Joell Ortiz – “Battle Cry”
15. 7L & Esoteric ft. Inspectah Deck – “12th Chamber”
16. Mayday ft. Money Making Jam Boys – “Worst Case Scenario”
17. **INTERVIEW WITH CANDIDT**
18. Candidt ft. Maya Jenkins – “Imaginary Stereo” (Local Music)
19. Common ft. Bilal – “The 6th Sense” (Throwback of the Week)
20. M.anifest – “Coming To America”
21. DJ Nphared & Grynch – “Air Max ‘Em” (Local Music)
22. La Roux ft. Kanye West – “In For The Kill (Remix)”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?qw7x36t3b821dew
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/819873988cf85373/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/wywpyp5rpky8)

Link to download only the interview with Joell Ortiz – http://www.mediafire.com/?v43tdydgwml15x9
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/819879679df95f7d/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/1zwf2itwan0k)

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.

Anyone who has visited TAOD before knows that I’m a huge fan of Shad.  Not only is he one of the most gifted MC’s around, but he’s also putting his heart and soul into his music and discussing deep, genuine emotions.  I’m not sure you can ask for anything more from an artist and I’m elated to see the United States finally starting to catch on to his music.

Fresh of the American release of TSOL, Shad came to Seattle with K-Os for the first stop on their Born To Run tour.  It’s only right that we recorded a little something for y’all, though I do apologize for the poor lighting and video quality.  Hopefully you still enjoy our discussion covering the tour, the TSOL project, how it compares to his previous work, the intricacies of his lyrics, and more.  It’s not often that I get to discuss the finer points of artistic expression/responsibility with our guests, so this was an especially fun interview to conduct.  There’s much more that can be said about the issue though, so we’ll have to rekindle it when Shad’s back in town.

In the interim, enjoy the interview and be sure to cop TSOL and The Old Prince ASAP!

This past weekend, I had a chance to check out the Seattle stop of the Waken Baken tour when it hit the Showbox Sodo.  I’ll be posting up my interview with the opening act, Yelawolf, soon, but I was also able to chop it up with Wiz Khalifa backstage and we recorded this quick interview for y’all.  We discussed the tour, Wiz’ incredible buzz, his experiences in the Pacific Northwest, getting his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers to support “Black and Yellow,” and more.

Shout to Wiz, Will, Artie, and Motti for hooking everything up.  Cop that Kush & Orange Juice if you haven’t already…definitely one of the best projects of the year.  Just wait until the official album drops…

[La Bamba] In the year 2000 [/Conan humor], I started working in radio at KSPC outside Los Angeles and as a college freshman, I was amazed by the freedom the indie broadcasting platform afforded me.  After looking through my personal collection, the music director was impressed and allowed me to play whatever I wanted, rather than being limited to the records in the station’s library.  As a result, my early playlists were filled with music from the Soulquarians, easily my favorite collective of artists back then…and still today.

Of all the classic albums they were involved with, perhaps the record I played the most was Bilal’s 1st Born Second.  Simply put, it’s flawless, front to back, and one of the most underrated pieces of music from the last 25 years.  If you would have told 18 year old Hyphen (who actually had a different, and horribly embarrassing nom de plume at the time) that I’d one day have Bilal co-host my radio show, I would have flipped.  Ok, I would have flipped twice: who knew I’d still be in radio 10 years later?  Shrug.

We’ve interviewed him before (peep it here), but it was a special honor to dedicate the entire episode of Sound Session this week to the genius that is Bilal Oliver.  We played nothing but Bilal records all night, mixing in a sampling of our favorite songs from all 3 of his classic albums, some b-sides, and guest appearances with his colorful and insightful commentary.  He even closed out the show with a live performance of “Levels” off his newest project, Airtight’s Revenge.

I’ll have the accompanying video up as soon as I can, but in the meantime, enjoy the audio.  Shout to Dru, JK, Hawk, Marc, and Chok for helping bring Bilal through the show.  Be sure to cop his albums if you haven’t already!

Show #281 (10-17-10)
**Co-hosted by Bilal**

1. Bilal – “For You”
2. Bilal – “Bring 2”
3. Bilal – “Cake & Eat It Too”
4. 88-Keys ft. Bilal – “M.I.L.F.”
5. Bilal – “Think It Over”
6. Bilal – “Sometimes”
7. Bilal ft. Mos Def & Common – “Reminisce”
8. Guru ft. Jay Dee & Bilal – “Certified”
9. Bilal – “All Matter”
10. Shafiq Husayn ft. Bilal – “Cheeba (Nottz Remix)”
11. Bilal – “Hollywood”
12. Bilal – “It’s Cold”
13. Bilal – “Soul Sista”
14. Bilal – “Funky For You (Interlude)”
15. Talib Kweli ft. Bilal – “Can I Talk To You (Lil’ Darlin’)”
16. Bilal – “Levels (Live On Sound Session)”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?k67xajkkqnupn8b
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/817543606bc77c35/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/e7zxor62i5h0)

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.

Aloe Blacc visited us last week and while here, he blessed us with a live performance of “Politician,” singing soulfully and eloquently about our government officials. The full interview is coming soon, but I wanted y’all to see this video ASAP.  Nailed it in one take…

Be sure to cop Aloe’s Good Things album on Stones Throw, coming out September 28th.  Support good music!

“My purpose for music is positive social change…” – Aloe Blacc