The Audacity of Dope

Fresh off a year-long stint across the pond my bro DJ Hyphen comes through for one of my favorite episodes to date. We spend minimal time on his back story and then delve into everything that comes to our minds from Game Of Thrones to Kanye. A true convo amongst music nerds. This is what The Biggest is all about. #ItsTheBiggest

The longtime homey Miguel Rockwell recently invited me on his super dope podcast series, The Biggest, and the episode is up now for y’all to check out.  I really enjoyed this convo with Mike and his cohost Joe “HawkinsBird” Hawkins, who Mike affectionately refers to as “the most redundant man I’ve ever known.”  They’ve been recording some great conversations with all sorts of folks in the Seattle hip-hop scene, so it was an honor to sit down with them and chop it up.

There’s all sorts of random Hyphen-related trivia sprinkled in here as we completely nerd out about random topics.  This is probably the most you’ll ever hear me talk, so you’ve been warned!  Enjoy!

This has been my theme song so far in 2015.

A year ago, I was about to move to Los Angeles to pursue an ESPN role in sales.  At the last moment, Amazon swooped in out of nowhere and convinced me to stay in Seattle to work on their digital music team.  While the job was a great one and the people were awesome, I could tell early on that ESPN was really where I belonged and I was anxious to get back.  I thought it might be years down the line, but then I got the call to rejoin the Worldwide Leader In Sports with the opportunity of a lifetime.  They sent me to London for the year to work in our office here and it’s already been a life changing experience.  Sometimes I’ll be out exploring London and just randomly think to myself…”I’m waaaaaaaay up, I feel blessed!”

You’re not perfect, but you’re not your mistakes.

Woooooo, it’s been a hectic few weeks!  Sorry for the delay everyone, here’s SNSS episode #469, featuring new cuts from Fabolous, 50 Cent, Statik Selektah, Common, Drake, SBTRKT, Sampha, Blueprint, Russ, Little Dragon, Michael Jackson, Disclosure, Vitamin D, The Roots, and more.  Plus, we debuted a WORLD PREMIERE of a new Big K.R.I.T. track, “Something Right,” featuring Yo Gotti.  Two weeks later and that track still hasn’t hit the internet.  Whaddaya know, DJ’s can still have exclusives every now and then…

Lastly, we were joined in studio by one of our favorite MC’s from the Northwest, Thaddeus David, and we played a portion of our discussion with the HRDCVR team, Elliott Wilson & Danyel Smith.  If you want to peep the full interview with these hip-hop journalism legends, click here.

Enjoy!

Show #469 (6-8-14)

1. Fabolous ft. 50 Cent – “Cuffin Season (Remix)”
2. Statik Selektah ft. Joey Badass & Freddie Gibbs – “Carry On”
3. The Roots ft. Dice Raw – “Black Rock”
4. **INTERVIEW WITH THADDEUS DAVID, PT. 1**
5. Common ft. Vince Staples – “Kingdom”
6. Boaz – “Like This”
7. **INTERVIEW WITH THADDEUS DAVID, PT. 2**
8. Thaddeus David ft. T Spoon & Stewart Villain – “Everything” (Local Music)
9. Ghostface Killah & BADBADNOTGOOD ft. Danny Brown – “Six Degrees”
10. Vitamin D – “Birds of a Feather” (Local Music)
11. **INTERVIEW WITH THADDEUS DAVID, PT. 3**
12. Drake – “0 To 100 / The Catch Up”
13. BOOTS – “A Day In The Life Of Jordan Asher”
14. Esty – “4:44”
15. Vanessa Elisha – “Ocean”
16. SBTRKT ft. Sampha – “Temporary View”
17. Raleigh Ritchie – “Stronger Than Ever (The Internet Remix)”
18. Sam Smith – “Lay Me Down”
19. Vibe – “Vibe Wit Me” (Local Music)
20. **Big K.R.I.T. ft. Yo Gotti – “Something Right” (WORLD PREMIERE)**
21. Kanye West – “Through The Wire” (Throwback of the Week)
22. Blueprint – “The Climb”
23. Russ – “Problems”
24. **INTERVIEW WITH HRDCVR (ELLIOTT WILSON & DANYEL SMITH)**
25. Michael Jackson – “Loving You (Original 1987 Version)”
26. Little Dragon – “Let Go”
27. Kiesza – “Hideaway”
28. Pharrell ft. Jay-Z – “Frontin’ (Disclosure Re-Work)”

Link to download/stream the mp3 of the show – http://www.solidfiles.com/d/ecdf666d82/DJ_Hyphen_and_J._Moore_-_Sunday_Night_Sound_Session%2C_Show_469%2C_6-8-14.mp3
(back up – http://linkmixes.com/lvy1h0gjnkl8)
(2nd back up – http://www23.zippyshare.com/v/30253295/file.html)

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.

Sound Session #452 was an episode all about celebration.  As we always do around his birthday, we celebrated J Dilla’s life by playing his instrumentals all night long and talking a bit about his dopeness.  Still the greatest producer of all time in my book!

We also discussed the 10 year anniversary of a classic album, Kanye’s debut, College Dropout, which coincidentally dropped during the 2nd semester of my senior year in college.  We were graduating, not dropping out, but that album still defined that time of my life and encapsulated so many of the feelings my friends and I had back then.  It helped that we got to kick it with a younger Yeezy when he was on tour in LA that year, and the stories we have from those encounters are some of my favorite memories ever.

Kanye rapping his “18 years, 18 years!” verse from “Gold Digger” acapella to us 2 years before we’d hear it again on Late Registration?  Check.  Kanye asking us incredulously, “you’ve actually heard of me?” when we were telling him about how much we liked his mixtape freestyles?  Check.  The turntables skipping so much at the El Rey that Ye stopped Don C from playing the instrumentals and had John Stephens (later renamed John Legend) sing background melodies for him to rap over?  Check.  Kanye pouring us all glasses of champagne as he performed “Last Call”?  Check.

Ironically enough, I went back to my college last week to play in an alumni game with my old basketball teammates and it definitely brought me back to those days.  Shout to everyone I saw in LA, I appreciate y’all!

Enough of that, enjoy this week’s show and be sure to come out to the release party for our new Northwest Fresh mixtape on Saturday at 2312 2nd Ave in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood.  Free entry, open bar, prizes, good music, good people…what else do you need?  You can even celebrate Valentine’s Day and my birthday at the same time!  Here are the details.

Show #452 (2-9-14)

1. YG ft. Drake – “Who Do You Love”
2. Schoolboy Q – “Break The Bank”
3. Future ft. Pusha T & Pharrell – “Move That Dope”
4. Raz Simone – “Don’t Shine” (Local Music)
5. Yelawolf – “Box Chevy V”
6. CyHi Da Prynce – “Napoleon”
7. Phife Dawg – “Dear Dilla”
8. Add-2 – “Bomber & A Fly Chick”
9. Joey Badass – “Pantie Raid, Pt. 2”
10. Jarell Perry – “Black Valentine”
11. Rashad – “First Move”
12. Miguel – “Simplethings”
13. Mar – “Man x Woman”
14. J. Pinder – “Orange Papers” (Local Music)
15. Isaiah Rashad – “Soliloquy”
16. Step Brothers (Evidence & Alchemist) – “More Wins”
17. OB Obrien – “Steve Nash”
18. Grieves – “Shreds” (Local Music)
19. Tech N9ne ft. Mayday, Kendrick Lamar, & Kendall Morgan – “Fragile”
20. Kanye West ft. Jay-Z & J. Ivy – “Never Let Me Down” (Throwback of the Week)
21. Sam Smith – “Nirvana (Harry Fraud Remix)”
22. Fabolous ft. Jeremih – “Thim Slick”
23. Major Lazer ft. Pharrell – “Aerosol Can”

Link to download/stream the mp3 of the show – http://www.solidfiles.com/d/2b48507905/DJ_Hyphen_and_J._Moore_-_Sunday_Night_Sound_Session%2C_Show_452%2C_2-9-14.mp3
(back up – http://www69.zippyshare.com/v/63999368/file.html)
(2nd back up – http://linkmixes.com/u98z3ledypgd)

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.

Ye got jokes. Still my favorite song of the year though!

For the second time, Kanye West kicked off an international tour here in Seattle and while the Yeezus show wasn’t as amazing as his Glow In The Dark tour (best show I’ve ever seen, btw), it definitely shut down the city over the weekend.  I swear, damn near everyone in Seattle was there and despite some issues that might be expected with opening night (missed effect queues, inconsistent sound, a stolen equipment truck?…sorry Vancouver), it was a great night.  If you’re a Kanye fan, and more importantly a fan of the Yeezus project, then you’ll love it.  It’s an amazing spectacle either way…

We had to discuss the show and dedicated the last set of this week’s SNSS to the man himself.  Over the past decade, who else has released more quality music and grown with each release, than Kanye?  I’ll wait.

And in the meantime, enjoy the show!

Show #436 (10-20-13)

1. DJ Khaled ft. Scarface, Jadakiss, Meek Mill, Akon, John Legend, & Anthony Hamilton – “Never Surrender”
2. Tanya Morgan ft. Nitty Scott, MC – “Never Too Much”
3. 7 Days of Funk (Dam-Funk & Snoop Dogg) – “Faden Away”
4. Black Milk ft. AB – “Parallels”
5. Mack Wilds – “Magic”
6. The Flavr Blue – “We Can Go Blind” (Local Music)
7. Don Cerino – “Sit Still”
8. Marco Polo ft. Organized Konfusion – “3 O’Clock”
9. Livin Proof – “Keep Living”
10. Def Dee ft. Kenn Starr, One Be Lo, & Chev – “Coke nDa Canine” (Local Music)
11. Robert Glasper Experiment ft. Jean Grae & Macy Gray – “I Don’t Even Care”
12. Lupe Fiasco ft. Ed Sheeran – “Old School Love”
13. Vic Mensa ft. Ab-Soul & BJ The Chicago Kid – “Holy Holy”
14. Drake ft. Sampha – “Too Much”
15. Shad – “He Say She Say”
16. SPAC3MAN – “Speakin’ Tongues” (Local Music)
17. Busta Rhymes – “Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check” (Throwback of the Week)
18. Eminem – “Rap God”
19. Chops ft. Prometheus Brown & Bambu – “Put It On The Line”
20. IamSu! – “Hipster Girls”
21. Kanye West ft. Assassin & Justin Vernon – “I’m In It”
22. Kanye West ft. King Louie – “Send It Up”
23. Kanye West – “Black Skinhead”
24. Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean – “New Slaves”
25. Kanye West ft. Charlie Wilson – “Bound 2”

Link to download/stream the mp3 of the show – http://www17.zippyshare.com/v/72101778/file.html
(back up – http://www.sendspace.com/file/ceek7u)
(2nd back up – http://linkmixes.com/lwghfa8tm26y)

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.

Along with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, we sat down with good friend of SNSS, J. Cole, at our recent Summer Jam concert at the Gorge.  The video of our interview doesn’t fully share how dope a conversation this was, mainly because of the lack of proper equipment we had down there, but there’s still a lot of interesting stuff from Cole.

Of course we spoke all about his new Born Sinner album, including the pressure he felt while making it, why he decided to compete with the other artists dropping 6/18 too, and why the album is his attempt to “beat the system.”  We also spent time talking about his favorite subject, basketball, and what it’s like being friends and playing ball with NBA players, their words of encouragement for him, and if he would trade rap for hoops.  There’s some more random goodness in there too.

Shout to Cole for always being one of the coolest dudes in the industry and always supporting our show.  Be sure you cop Born Sinner in stores now!

Back in effect for another week, shout to everyone we chopped it up with at Summer Jam over the weekend, especially J. Cole, Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, Lee (WMG), and Noah (UMG).  Great to catch up with the homies!

Check out this week’s episode of SNSS for new music from artists like Logic, Action Bronson, J. Cole, TLC, Travis Scott, Schoolboy Q, Lupe Fiasco, Naledge, Chuck Inglish, Yonas Michael, Tanya Morgan, Wu-Tang Clan, and more.  Plus, we were joined in studio by our long time friends, former KUBE 93 host Eddie Francis and local artist, who has since relocated to Los Angeles, Mr. Xquisit.  

Additionally, be sure to check out last month’s Cornerstone Mixtape that J. Moore and I did if you haven’t already.  You can download it here.

Enjoy!

Show #417 (6-9-13)

1. Logic – “Nasty”
2. Action Bronson ft. LL Cool J & Action Bronson – “Strictly 4 My Jeeps (Remix)”
3. Romaro Franceswa ft. Fearce – “Bounce” (Local Music)
4. J. Cole ft. TLC – “Crooked Smile”
5. Travis Scott – “Hell Of A Night”
6. Schoolboy Q – “Yay Yay”
7. Wale ft. Rick Ross & Lupe Fiasco – “Poor Decisions”
8. ILLFIGHTYOU ft. JRM – “Fatal” (Local Music)
9. Naledge – “Loving Niece”
10. Chuck Inglish ft. Buddy & Jane Jupiter – “Dangerous”
11. Yonas Michael – “Volvo”
12. 2 Player Co-Op (Trackademicks & 1-O.A.K.) – “Someone Great”
13. Fearce & BeanOne – “Outlandish” (Local Music)
14. Tanya Morgan – “Whatever That’s Mine”
15. J Shiltz ft. Twizzmatic & Jon Moxin – “Switch It Up”
16. Reef The Lost Cauze & Haj (of Dumhi) – “92 Flow”
17. Wu-Tang Clan – “Family Reunion”
18. Kanye West – “Last Call” (Throwback of the Week)
19. Joey Bada$$ – “Word Is Bond”

Link to download/stream the mp3 of the show – http://www60.zippyshare.com/v/72817452/file.html
(back up – http://linkmixes.com/zwhtewzj2r2a)
(2nd back up – http://www.solidfiles.com/d/576b9b8353/)

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.

Apologies for probably the longest delay we’ve ever had in archiving an episode of SNSS, but I was a bit busy last week on my first ever trip to New York City.  Yes, that’s right, first ever.  You’d think I would have stumbled my way to NYC just by happenstance at some point over the years, but this was it.  My day job kept me super busy and then any time leftover was consumed by catching up with some of my east coast label homies (UMG & WMG, what up!), plus I was just generally overwhelmed by the Big Apple.

I stayed around Times Square, which was equal parts fun and completely absurd, but it came in handy on Friday night when Kanye decided to unveil his “New Slaves” video a few blocks from my hotel on 5th Ave.  I literally ran over to the Prada store at 2am and caught the last live showing of the video in NYC, plus had a surprise pseudo-encounter with Kanye himself.  The full story and video can be viewed right here.  Pretty crazy, but apparently that’s the kind of thing that just happens in NYC.  I shall return.

Anyway, here’s our show from 5/12/13, which officially marked our 8 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SNSS (our first show was 5/8/05)!  You may recall we celebrated our 400th show not too long ago, but I can’t decide which milestone more impressive: shows vs. years.  400 is a big number and pretty impressive when you think about it, but for me, I think 8 years resonates louder.  That’s longer than middle and high school.  That’s college and (at least some) grad school.  That stretches back to before the world really knew about Barack Obama.  So much has happened over the last 8 years it’s crazy when you sit down and think about it.  And one constant has been that J. Moore and I have been on the air every Sunday night, bringing you SNSS without fail.

Every time we reach one of these milestones, it’s fun for us to reflect, but I just have one overriding feeling: thank YOU for rocking with us.  Thanks to our coworkers at KUBE, our label friends, managers, DJ’s, bloggers, artists, journalists, booking agents, promoters, etc….you guys helped us all immensely.  And most important, thanks to every listener.  Whether you’ve been riding since day one or just found out about the show lately, you’re the reason we’re here.

Here’s to 8 more years!

Show #413 (5-12-13)

1. Common ft. Kanye West & John Mayer – “Go” (Throwback of the Week)
2. Big K.R.I.T. ft. Ashthon Jones – “Good 2getha”
3. Drop City Yacht Club ft. THURZ – “Pipeline”
4. Slaine ft. Kali & REKS – “The F*ckery Hotel”
5. Tyler, The Creator ft. Erykah Badu & Coco Owino – “Treehome95”
6. sayknowledge ft. Cashius Green – “Art Goons”
7. Dariu$ – “Daydreemin’” (Local Music)
8. Substantial ft. Jsoul – “BBQ (Family Reunion Remix)”
9. 8thW1 – “Happy (Dirty Art Club Remix)”
10. Talib Kweli ft. Rubix & Bajah – “High Life”
11. K-Def ft. Blu & Quartermaine – “Fundamentals”
12. Nate Tha Great ft. Fego – “Them Days”
13. GrandeMarshall – “Gotmef*ckedup”
14. Porter Ray – “5 Mics” (Local Music)
15. Bryant Dope ft. ANTHM – “NNY”
16. Shad – “Peace”
17. Logic ft. Jhene Aiko – “Break It Down”
18. Denzil Porter – “Bishop”
19. Marco Polo ft. Lil Fame – “Fame For President”
20. Trek Life ft. Hardwerk & Bishop Lamont – “Rap Time”
21. Mike Champoux ft. Grynch – “The Rain” (Local Music)
22. The Micranots – “Mother’s Day” (Throwback of the Week)
23. J. Cole – “3 Wishes”
24. Kelis – “Jerk Ribs”
25. Major Lazer ft. Amber Coffman (of Dirty Projectors) – “Get Free”

Link to download/stream the mp3 of the show – http://www19.zippyshare.com/v/46832492/file.html
(back up – http://linkmixes.com/pnp9wfhujfe8)
(2nd back up – http://www.sendspace.com/file/j55j5h)

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.