The Audacity of Dope

If you’re part of the Twitter world, then you’ve probably heard the news that Kanye West has recently joined the community.  Lately he’s been dropping hints of a collaborative five-track EP between him and Jay-Z that should be dropping sometime soon. I don’t know what’s more surprising:  the thought of a Hov and ‘Ye EP or the fact that I’m kind of feeling a verse from Nicki Minaj. Kind of.

Kanye West – Monster Ft. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver & Nicki Minaj

Via: 2DopeBoyz

Preeeeeeeeeach.  I hate rappers.

A few weeks back on Sound Session, we had the pleasure of chopping it up with one of hip-hop’s rising stars, J. Cole, during his first trip to Seattle.  I’ll admit that I wasn’t up on J back when The Come Up dropped, but a few homies recommended it shortly after the release, and I once I checked it out, I was hooked.  Now that The Warm Up has solidified his “got next” status and he’s on tour with Jay-Z, it’s only a matter of time before he becomes a household name.

Peep our 3 part interview with Cole to hear him discuss all sorts of topics:

Part 1:

(watch on HyphenTV)

• His background and influences
• How he found his own voice on the mic
• His first rap names
• The tenacity in his delivery
• How graduating college helped him as an artist and person
• His experiences hustling beats as a producer

Part 2:

(watch on HyphenTV)

• His audition with Jay-Z and when he got signed to Roc Nation
• The Come Up vs. The Warm Up
• The state of his basketball game these days
• The Blueprint 3 tour and Jay’s cosign
• The status of his debut album
• His production influences

Part 3:

(watch on HyphenTV)

• Where he sees himself in 5 years
• What he would change about the music industry
• His 5 favorite foods
• The decline of MySpace

You can also download the entire interview, including some topics that weren’t included in the video segments, right here:

J. Cole on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?amymlnnjndy
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/6849461769676d85/)

“Everyday a star is born…”

I have mixed feelings about this song and video.  First off, since switching to a job where I see hundreds of music videos a week, I’m afraid Hype’s clips just don’t do much for me these days.  Perhaps he was at his pinnacle when I was younger and I was easily impressed by the old super glossy, big budget videos he shot, but I haven’t seen anything from him lately that’s absolutely wowed me.  This one is cool visually, but nothing too special and I see more innovative clips every day at the office.

Secondly, you will never, ever…[old school Jay] eva eva eva eva [/old Hov]…look cool/hard playing the piano in a video.  So while Alicia is quite possibly the hottest girl out there right now, I still think the piano shots look hilarious.  I don’t care if you’re a guy or a girl, you just can’t try to look cool in a video while playing the piano.  Sorry, just how it is.

Lastly, this song is overrated to me.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good, but it seems like everyone is trying to make it some epic, classic record.  Sorry again, it’s not.  The beat is cool, but not great, and there’s a horrible glitching sound in the loop from where they cut off the tambourine that comes around every time and annoys the hell out of me.  Jay’s lyrics are dope, but that sing-song flow gets old real quick and makes for boring repeated listens too.  Being one of the best songs on Blueprint 3 doesn’t mean it’s an incredible record.  It just means it’s not “Forever Young.”

I think this is a classic case of the music industry being a bit too NYC-centric.  With a lot of the labels, magazines, websites, and TV stations centered out there, they automatically assume what’s big in NY should be big all over the country (and the world).  NYC isn’t the center of the hip-hop universe anymore and just because this record is a great anthem for them, doesn’t mean it’s going to resonate with everyone else throughout the country.  Or if it does, not nearly to the extent they think.

It’s kinda like when XXL pressed up this cover:

There’s no way in hell…in 2009…that cover ever should have been made for a national publication.  None of those artists are remotely hot or popular outside of the Northeast.  I’d say 90% of people who listen to hip-hop on the west coast don’t even know who Freekey Zekey is, let alone like him.  Anyway, I get a similar feeling when I hear all these magazines, TV hosts, and label dudes tell me how classic “Empire State Of Mind” is.

If you’re from NY?  Sure.  Bang it.

If you’re not from NYC?  It’s cool, but it’s not a classic hip-hop record and nowhere near one of Jay’s best.

And this video isn’t either.

As I mentioned on this week’s SNSS recap, Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 tour came through Seattle this weekend and pretty much shut down the city.  Along with Hov, J. Cole, Wale, and N.E.R.D. performed and all the opening acts came through our station (KUBE 93) to chop it up before the show.

In these clips, peep the homies Karen Wild and Producer L talk with Pharrell, Shay, and N.E.R.D.’s newest member, Rhea, all about their upcoming Instant Gratification album.  They also revealed some secrets behind their creative process in the studio and gave lots of insight to the motivation behind their art.  Some lucky listeners also got to ask the group a few questions as well.

Check out all 4 parts of the interview…P kicks knowledge throughout.

Weekends like these don’t come along too often.

This past Saturday, Jay-Z performed in Seattle for the first time in 10 years (apparently Bill Gates needs to remind Hov about our lovely city) and pretty much shut down the city.  Aside from a few Blueprint 3 songs that really have no business being performed at a Jay-Z show, the concert was epic from start to finish.  Call me old fashioned, but I’d like to see at least one song from Reasonable Doubt (“Dead Presidents”!?!?!) or In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (“A Million and One Questions”!?!?!?) rather than “On To The Next One.”  Maybe that’s just me.  *Kanye shrug*

That said, in front of a sold out Key Arena, Jay killed it from beginning to end and the opening lineup of J. Cole, Wale, and N.E.R.D. was excellent.  Big shout to all those artists for coming through the studio before the show.  We’ll have interviews with them coming soon…

Meanwhile, on this week’s SNSS, we played new joints from (who else) Hov, N.E.R.D., J. Cole, Big Boi, Slick Rick, the CunninLynguists, Ghostface Killah, Fashawn, and more.  Local artist Sol joined us in studio and we played a snippet of our interview with Royce Da 5’9″.  Cop Street Hop in stores now!  Last but not least, we world premiered a new track from the one and only YZ featuring Slug and Brother Ali.  If you don’t know, now you know.

Show #229 (10-18-09)

1. Jay-Z ft. Pharrell – “So Ambitious”
2. N.E.R.D. ft. Santigold – “Soldier”
3. Janelle Monae – “Come Alive (The War Of The Roses)”
4. Lupe Fiasco – “Fire”
5. Dynas ft. Slick Rick – “Family Jewels”
6. Keelay & Zaire ft. Tunji, Thurzday, Kam Moye, Ragen Fykes, & the Park – “Addicts For Real (Remix)”
7. **INTERVIEW WITH SOL, PT. 1**
8. Sol ft. Grynch – “No Sleep” (Local Music)
9. **INTERVIEW WITH SOL, PT. 2**
10. Big Boi ft. Gucci Mane – “Shine Blockas”
11. J. Cole – “World Is Empty”
12. **INTERVIEW WITH ROYCE DA 5’9” (SNIPPET)**
13. Royce Da 5’9” ft. Phonte – “Something 2 Ride 2”
14. Yoshi ft. Buff1 & Darien Brockington – “Magnetic”
15. Jay Rush ft. D-Black – “I Ain’t Even Mad (Khrysis Real Sh*t Remix)”
16. BK-One ft. Murs – “Eighteen To Twenty-One”
17. YZ ft. Slug & Brother Ali – “Did I Ever Tell You” (WORLD PREMIERE)
18. CunninLynguists ft. E-40 & Evidence – “Running Wild”
19. Macklemore ft. Geologic – “Church” (Local Music)
20. Debaser ft. Phat Kat & Rasco – “Out Front” (Local Music)
21. Ghostface Killah – “Stay”
22. Sene – “WonLover”
23. Fashawn ft. Exile – “Bo Jackson”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?jjmocwngna4
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/6721777347ecef6a/ )

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.

*Ok, ok…to be fair, I haven’t even heard it.  I sure hope the early reviews I’ve seen on Twitter aren’t accurate though.  The leaks I’ve heard thus far haven’t been that impressive, but I’m about to give it a real listen…here goes nothing!

Pretty good interview if you’re looking to kill some time.  Bill’s a bit of a hip-hop head (no pun), but Jay’s laugh kinda reminds me of Kobe’s these days…seems so contrived.  Shrug.

Swiped from IllRoots.

How did I miss this when it first dropped?  Wow.  My bad y’all…

Yes, I’m a ‘Ye stan, but I really do dig damn near everything Kanye is involved in.  This track with Mr. Hudson was recorded during the autotune phase, which he seems to be pretty much done with…probably half on his own volition and the other half thanks to Jay.  Either way, it came out pretty dope and the video has a really ill star effect that I haven’t seen before.  Plus, it’s catchy…

And I feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel like takin’ off