The Audacity of Dope

One of the most eye opening parts of this election has been the lack of discussion around the rampant sexism and misogyny allowing these two candidates to be seen anywhere near equally qualified. When I worked on the Obama campaign, I encountered racism quite often (mostly indirect, sometimes explicit) and I was happy we were going to get him elected in spite of it. I thought it was awesome how we were going to overcome this ridiculous self-constructed hurdle, and anticipated future doors being much easier to break down as a result.

Only later, when Hillary won the nomination, did I realize that old racist white men were actually more willing to accept a black man than a white woman. Not knowing how these people think, I just always assumed they valued race over sex. After all, they came from white women, married white women, and fathered white women. Logic would indicate their fear of the “other” would apply to a group outside their own immediate family.

Turns out, I was wrong. These folks will begrudgingly, while fighting every step of the way, accept the fact that a minority male can join their inner circle, but ask them to do the same with a woman and that’s where they attempt to draw the line.

Tiger can join the golf club. After all, he’s a male. He “gets it” (though perhaps too fervently and too publicly, as it turns out in that case). A woman though? Bollocks. Read the sign: “No Girls Allowed.”

Well, we are here: at the last stand of the patriarchal Alamo, and we are poised to make history.

If that’s not exciting enough, this is merely the beginning!

With all the negativity and pessimism surrounding us, we must recognize that progress takes time and we continue to steadfastly march down that path, undeterred by the delays and extra effort it requires. We will not see “the end” in our lifetimes, because it doesn’t exist. The goal continually moves because we continually evolve. The only constant is change and living life is to embrace that change.

This week we will take a massive step forward, one that will change the perception of what is possible for every generation of girls AND boys that follow. I’m so excited to take that step with you all.

Vote! And I will see you on the other side…literally in this instance.  I’ll be coming back to the States for some business in New York City from the 10th to the 20th, so holler accordingly NYC homies!

Onwards.

Show #575 (11/6/16)

1. Meek Mill – “Blessed Up”
2. Dame D.O.L.L.A. ft. Lil Wayne – “Loyal To The Soil” (Local Music)
3. Apollo Brown & Skyzoo ft. Patty Crash – “One In The Same”
4. Common ft. BJ The Chicago Kid – “The Day Women Took Over”
5. ASAP Mob ft. ASAP Nast & Onyx – “Nasty’s World”
6. Onyx – “Last Days” (Throwback of the Week)
7. No Panty (Bodega Bamz, Joell Ortiz, & Nitty Scott) – “The Afterparty (Live At Jimmy’s, Pt. 2)”
8. Action Bronson ft. Big Body Bes – “Durag vs. Headband”
9. Like – “Lamped”
10. Jalen Santoy – “Foreplay”
11. Dave ft. Drake – “Wanna Know (Remix)”
12. Big Sean – “No More Interviews”
13. Ari Lennox – “Night Drive”
14. GTA ft. Jarina De Marco – “True Romance”
15. Jay Prince ft. Raheaven – “All In”
16. Drake – “Fake Love”
17. Taliwhoah – “Alright”
18. Khalid – “Hopeless”
19. Manatee Commune ft. Sol & Flint Eastwood – “What We’ve Got (Remix)” (Local Music)
20. All Star Opera ft. Warm Gun – “Lifeline” (Local Music)
21. JAHKOY – “Don’t Beg”
22. NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge) – “Sidepiece”
23. Mayer Hawthorne – “A New Love”
24. Joe Budden – “Forget”
25. Brent Faiyaz – “Invite Me”
26. Mickey Factz & Nottz ft. Phonte – “Treat You Right”
27. De La Soul ft. Usher – “Greyhounds”
28. Ray BLK – “Chill Out”

Link to download – https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B72U-rgJjvmWbzhjN2hkUGNuSDQ

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.

Apologies for the delays in getting recent Sound Session archives online for y’all, but we should be all caught up soon.  We had to skip a show at the end of September, so here’s episode #536 from the start of October.  A few weeks old, but still full of dopeness.  Check out the below for new tracks from Guilty Simpson, Redman, Brothers From Another, Torae, Anderson Paak, Gallant, Little Simz, BOYSLASHFRIEND, Elhae, Nao, Collie Buddz, Big Grams, Deacon The Villain, and more.

Enjoy!

Show #536 (10-4-15)

1.    Guilty Simpson ft. Spacek – “Smoking”
2.    John Crown ft. DJ Phinisey – “Reign” (Local Music)
3.    DOOMSTARKS (MF Doom & Ghostface Killah) – “Lively Hood”
4.    Redman ft. Stresmatic – “Dopeman”
5.    Brothers From Another ft. Nacho Picasso & Raveena – “Blunt Talk” (Local Music)
6.    Logic ft. Big Lenbo – “Young Jesus”
7.    Torae – “Saturday Night”
8.    Blended Babies ft. Anderson Paak, Asher Roth, & Donnie Trumpet – “Make It Work”
9.    Dave B – “Do That” (Local Music)
10.    Mac Miller – “ROS”
11.    Bryson Tiller – “Exchange”
12.    ZHU ft. Gallant – “Testarossa Music”
13.    Little Simz – “God Bless Mary”
14.    Outkast – “Return Of The G” (Throwback of the Week)
15.    Erykah Badu – “Hotline Bling”
16.    BOYSLASHFRIEND – “Not Me Not Now”
17.    Leon Bridges – “Smooth Sailin’ (Donnie Houston & Chris Rockaway Remix)”
18.    Disclosure ft. Nao – “Superego”
19.    Elhae – “Halfway Love”
20.    The Age Of L.U.N.A. – “Better Than”
21.    Collie Buddz – “Pressure”
22.    Drake – “30 For 30 Freestyle”
23.    Big Grams (Big Boi & Phantogram) – “Put It On Her”
24.    Rapper Big Pooh & Nottz ft. Novej – “Memory”
25.    Deacon The Villain ft. Tunji – “Marmalade”
26.    CRL CRRL – “Take Away”

Stream via Mixcloud:

Download via Sendspace – https://www.sendspace.com/file/7ar29k

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.

Quick update with last week’s episode of SNSS before I hop on a plane and head to NYC for the week.  Heading back to the States after 8 months in London has me feeling like Eddie in Coming To America.  Just hope I get a friendly reception when I recreate the balcony scene in the morning.

NYC homies – I’m there until Friday, hit me up!

Check out this week’s show to hear new tracks from 3 of our favorite Northwest artists, Dave B, John Crown, and Brothers From Another, plus a special old school Seattle throwback in honor of the Museum Of History & Industry opening “The Legacy Of Seattle Hip-Hop” exhibit downtown.  More details here.

Alongside our local talent, we showcased new records from BROCKHAMPTON, Bryson Tiller, Guilty Simpson, Mac Miller, Russ, Big Pooh & Nottz, Travis Scott, Toro y Moi, Redman, Method Man, MF Doom, Ghostface Killah, Roman GianArthur, Gary Clark Jr., Elhae, Rationale, Abhi//Dijon, and more.  Great music throughout the night, enjoy!

Show #535 (9-20-15)

1.    John Crown ft. DJ Phinisey – “Reign” (Local Music)
2.    Dave B – “On” (Local Music)
3.    BROCKHAMPTON – “Dirt”
4.    Bryson Tiller – “Sorry Not Sorry”
5.    Brothers From Another ft. Otieno Terry – “One More Time” (Local Music)
6.    Guilty Simpson ft. Spacek – “Smoking”
7.    Mac Miller ft. Miguel – “Weekend”
8.    Russ – “Here I Am”
9.    Rapper Big Pooh & Nottz ft. Novej – “Memory”
10.    Dr. Dre ft. BJ The Chicago Kid & Justus – “It’s All On Me”
11.    Travis Scott ft. Toro y Moi – “Flying High”
12.    Maino ft. Chinx – “PNP”
13.    Ghetto Chilldren (B-Self & Vitamin D) ft. Sharizad – “Court’s In Session” (Throwback of the Week)
14.    DOOMSTARKS (MF Doom & Ghostface Killah) – “Lively Hood”
15.    Method Man ft. Redman, Hanz On, & Streetlife – “Straight Gutta”
16.    Redman ft. Stresmatic – “Dopeman”
17.    The Age Of L.U.N.A. – “Better Than”
18.    CRL CRRLL – “Swim Wave”
19.    Tom Misch & Bearcubs – “Colours Of Freedom”
20.    Abhi//Dijon – “One”
21.    Roman GianArthur – “All:Need”
22.    Gary Clark Jr. – “Our Love”
23.    Rationale – “Fast Lane”
24.    Elhae – “Halfway Love”
25.    Big Grams (Big Boi & Phantogram) – “Fell In The Sun”
26.    Rick Ross – “Geechi Liberace”
27.    Leon Bridges ft. Bun B – “Better Man (Chi Duly Remix)”
28.    Azekel – “Mad About The Boy”

Stream via Mixcloud:

Download via Sendspace – https://www.sendspace.com/file/lsf4o9

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.

Apologies for another late archive of SNSS, but I was running around crazy last week in NYC for the day job and didn’t get a chance to toss this up.  Shout to everyone I ran into in the Big Apple, especially Lee (Warner), JJ (Foundation), and Jess (CoSign), who have been supporting me from waaaaay back in the college radio days and continue to be some of my favorite folks in the whole biz.  Appreciate y’all!

LA folks, headed your way this week so holler at me if you want to catch up!

For this week’s episode, we played new cuts from artists like Action Bronson, Sean Price, A$AP Mob, Kanin, YG Hootie, Nipsey Hussle, Alina Baraz, 21, Wiley, Joey Bada$$, Tinashe, 7 Days Of Funk, and more.  Lots of good music here.  We were also joined in studio by yet another talented up and coming MC from Seattle (we’re producing those for fun these days), Donte Peace.  Watch out for this kid and enjoy the show!

Show #443 (12-8-13)

1. Action Bronson & Party Supplies – “Rolling Thunder”
2. Sean Price & M-Phazes – “Dump In The Gut”
3. A$AP Mob ft. A$AP Nast & Method Man – “Trillmatic”
4. Drake – “Wu-Tang Forever”
5. Wu-Tang Clan – “It’s Yourz” (Throwback of the Week)
6. Kanin ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Winner Circle”
7. YG Hootie ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Two Presidents”
8. Nipsey Hussle ft. J. Stone – “All Get Right”
9. Leezy Soprano ft. Kokane – “Just That Type” (Local Music)
10. 7 Days of Funk (Dam-Funk & Snoop Dogg) – “I’ll Be There 4U”
11. **INTERVIEW WITH DONTE PEACE, PT. 1**
12. Donte Peace – “Remember ‘97” (Local Music)
13. **INTERVIEW WITH DONTE PEACE, PT. 2**
14. Jhene Aiko ft. Childish Gambino – “Bed Peace”
15. Childish Gambino ft. Jhene Aiko – “Pink Toes”
16. Tinashe ft. Travis Scott – “Vulnerable”
17. Alina Baraz & Galimatias – “Make You Feel”
18. Made In Heights – “Death” (Local Music)
19. 21 – “Smoker’s Redemption”
20. MeLo-X – “Break From Flatbush”
21. Wiley ft. Andreena Mill – “Born In The Cold”
22. Justin Timberlake ft. J. Cole, A$AP Rocky, & Pusha T – “TKO (Black Friday Remix)”
23. Joey Bada$$ – “Two Lips”

Link to download/stream the mp3 of the show – http://www.solidfiles.com/d/b27f4f1e84/
(back up – http://www6.zippyshare.com/v/14516984/file.html)
(2nd back up – http://linkmixes.com/o5vhq370ao7o)

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.

Looks like the ASAP Mob is gearing up for another group release and this is the first offering we’ve seen from it. While I don’t expect them to follow this vibe for the whole project, I’m glad this one isn’t a trap record.

This one is straight out of ’95. And that’s a beautiful thing.

Little behind on archiving SNSS, but thanks to today’s holiday, I’ll be able to catch up for y’all.  Here’s our show from 5/19/13, where we were joined in studio by Cam The Mac and French Montana called in to talk about his new album, Excuse My French.  HAAAAAAAAHN.

We also posted up our interview with A$AP Rocky, which you can watch right here.

Enjoy!

Show #414 (5-19-13)

1. Slaughterhouse – “House Gang”
2. Statik Selektah ft. Sean Price & Mac Miller – “21 & Over”
3. Slaine ft. Kali & REKS – “The F*ckery Hotel”
4. Talib Kweli ft. Rubix & Bajah – “High Life”
5. Mystikal – “Hit Me”
6. Bridget Kelly ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Street Dreamin’”
7. Big K.R.I.T. – “Banana Clip Theory”
8. Wu-Tang Clan – “Execution In Autumn”
9. Young Roddy – “Freedom Of Speech, Pt. 2”
10. J. Cole – “Cole Summer”
11. **INTERVIEW WITH CAM THE MAC, PT. 1**
12. Cam The Mac – “I’m On” (Local Music)
13. Nate The Great ft. Fego – “Them Days”
14. **INTERVIEW WITH CAM THE MAC, PT. 2**
15. Porter Ray – “5 Mics” (Local Music)
16. Bryant Dope – “Come Kick It”
17. **INTERVIEW WITH FRENCH MONTANA**
18. French Montana ft. Raekwon & Ne-Yo – “We Go Wherever We Want”
19. Gilbere Forte ft. Active Child – “Nolita”
20. The Black Opera ft. Mayer Hawthorne – “Queen Of Hearts (Oddisee Remix)”
21. Mayer Hawthorne ft. Jessie Ware – “Her Favorite Song”
22. A Tribe Called Quest – “Steve Biko (Stir It Up)”
23. A Tribe Called Quest ft. Dave (of De La Soul) – “Award Tour”
24. Brothers From Another ft. Asher Roth – “Groov” (Local Music)

Link to download/stream the mp3 of the show – http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/74288685/file.html
(back up – http://linkmixes.com/81hxzzpzr00m)
(2nd back up – http://www.sendspace.com/file/4rxujd)

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.

I’ve been in New York this week for some ESPN day job stuff and didn’t really get a chance to do anything music related, as I’ve been so busy working and hanging with some great co-workers.  That changed on Friday when I took the day off to explore the city a bit and visited my people at UMG and WMG.  After a long day, I headed back to my hotel and noticed Twitter was a buzz with Kanye’s amazing rollout of his “New Slaves” video projected on to 66 walls across the world, including one in Brooklyn.  At first, I thought it was the only NYC showing, but after checking their schedule, I noticed the last showing of the night was a few blocks from my hotel but was supposed to start 5 minutes ago.

Having worked in the industry for 13 years, I’m fully aware of hip-hop time, so 5 minutes ago really meant it was going to start in about 15.  Tossed on some clothes and jogged down to the 5th Ave Prada store (right across from Trump Tower) and sure enough, there was a crowd of about 50-75 people waiting for the showing.  Within minutes, a large black truck pulled up and crew dressed all in black hustled to pull off the tarp covering the cargo bay and unveiled the projector and speakers (seriously looked like something a Batman villain would do in Gotham City).  After a quick set up, they showed the piece, which is, of course, just as dope in its style and content as it is in its guerrilla marketing rollout.  Yeezy is back and spitting that real.

After playing it, the crew said they would run it back in about 15 minutes. They left and came back like clockwork, but after setting it up, waited a good 10 minutes before showing it a 2nd time.

Turns out, Kanye himself was on the way to watch this showing as he is in NYC for Saturday Night Live later tonight. He stood behind us with a phone up, as if he was filming like everyone else. Right after it ended, he hopped in his Maybach and drove off. And then he made us pancakes (…Chappelle Show reference).

Shout to everyone in the crowd that night. Real cool atmosphere as all us Yeezy fans were excited to see his new work and be a part of the rollout. Shout to Global Grind and XXL for picking up my video and tweets, and any other sites that have posted it.

And shout to Kanye for the realness. #YeezySeason

Denitia Odigie and Sene have collaborated numerous times before, but now they have an official project in the works.  Can’t wait to hear more.  Denitia’s voice is mesmerizing.

Somewhat random, because it seemed like the buzz around this album had already passed, but Childish Gambino just put out the video for “L.E.S.,” which is definitely one of my favorites from him.  Dope beat, dope hook, lots of nice wordplay…what else do you need?  The video is pretty much a spot on representation of the Lower East Side…or at least the version they want the world to see.