The Audacity of Dope

New music on this week’s SNSS from artists like Busta Rhymes, Twista, Just Blaze, Kardinal Offishall, Nottz, Reef The Lost Cauze, BJ The Chicago Kid, AZ, Obie Trice, Eminem, Steven A. Clark, and more.  Plus, we were joined by Stas and Cat, collectively known as THEESatisfaction, who have just released their newest album, awE naturalE, today.  Go cop that!

Show #354 (3-25-12)

1. Busta Rhymes ft. Twista – “Can U Keep Up”
2. Oddisee – “Slow It Down”
3. Kardinal Offishall – “Kill Shot”
4. DJ Phinisey ft. John Crown – “Attention!” (Local Music)
5. Reef The Lost Cauze – “The Prey”
6. Nas – “The Don”
7. Big K.R.I.T. – “I Got This”
8. Schoolboy Q ft. ASAP Rocky – “Hands On The Wheel”
9. Danny Brown – “Grown Up”
10. **INTERVIEW WITH THEESATISFACTION, PT. 1**
11. THEESatisfaction – “Earthseed” (Local Music)
12. **INTERVIEW WITH THEESATISFACTION, PT. 2**
13. THEESatisfaction – “Deeper” (Local Music)
14. BJ The Chicago Kid – “Fly Girl Get’em”
15. Frank Ocean ft. MeLo-X – “White (MeLo-X Gentrification Mix)”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH THEESATISFACTION, PT. 3**
17. Rittz ft. Yelawolf – “Sleep At Night”
18. Slum Village ft. De La Soul – “Turning Me Off”
19. AZ – “My N****s”
20. Outkast – “Aquemini” (Throwback of the Week)
21. Dee-1 – “It’s My Turn”
22. Notion ft. Grynch & Luck-One – “Champagne & Caviar” (Local Music)
23. Obie Trice ft. Eminem – “Richard”
24. Miguel – “Adorn”
25. Steven A. Clark – “Don’t Have You”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?xa558y1wqup1vho
(back up / steaming link – http://www.sharebeast.com/6oqf11ci4jgr)
(2nd back up – http://linkmixes.com/ykmteillslhz)

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.

During one of the 329821329834230 times I saw the Pac Div homies rock live at SXSW, I remember tweeting that they make the exact kind of hip-hop I like the most. “Fallin'” off their Mania release is just such a record.  While I may take excursions into other sub-genres, it’s essentially the same experience I have while consuming other forms of media: fantasy land is fun to visit, but I live in the real world and relate to that real music.  Exhibit A above.

Big Boi continues to make dope music, but I think we can all agree that we’d rather hear him rhyme with Andre than Too Short and Gucci.

Definitely more of a viral video than anything that official, but the song is ill so I’m glad they shot some quick visuals for it.  Despite Gucci’s best efforts, I really dig this record.  #in2010 we better get Big Boi’s album released…

As much as I love all my favorite classic artists, there’s really nothing better than seeing the next generation come up and begin to establish themselves.  I remember when I first heard of B.o.B., I was impressed, but not blown away.  Fast forward to almost 2 years later and now I’m definitely a huge fan of Mr. Bobby Ray.  He killed every verse and hook in 2008 and ’09 will officially be his break out year.

Not only is he insanely talented, but he’s also a real cool dude.  You all saw a glimpse of that in the “Autotune” video, but I got to see it firsthand when B.o.B., Playboy Tre, and their manager B. Rich came through Sound Session to chop it up a while back.  We talked all about their backgrounds, B.o.B.’s upcoming debut album, the lead single (“I’ll Be In The Sky”), their ability to write infectious hooks, why their music has to be genuine, why the industry needs a reality check, and much more.  You can check out the full interview below:

B.o.B. & Playboy Tre on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?xnlx1wmo0gz
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/54012448089f57ba/ )

Big shout to the whole crew for dropping by and a special shout to TJ Chapman too.  Get ready for the B.o.B./Tre takeover in ’09, for real.

3RD UPDATE: The interview Vimeo clip appears to be working at the moment. If it stops, please use the YouTube link right underneath the video. The live footage has been removed at the request of the label, sorry.  Holler @ me if there are any problems.

(if you prefer YouTube, watch it here)

Last weekend, the lovely Ms. Janelle Monae came to Seattle and we had the pleasure of sitting down with her for an interview on Sound Session.  If you’ve somehow missed her huge (and well deserved) buzz all over the net, she’s a singer from Kansas City, Kansas, by way of New York and Atlanta, who broke into the industry with Big Boi’s Purple Ribbon label.  After debuting on his Got Purp, Vol. 2 compilation, she linked up with the other half of Outkast, Andre 3000, and appeared on 2 songs from their Idlewild project.  She then released the first part of her Metropolis mega-series, The Chase Suite, only to re-release the Special Edition after impressing Diddy at a live performance enough that he immediately signed a partnership with her.

Janelle sat down with us to talk all about her background and inspirations growing up, how she connected with Big Boi and Diddy, the intricate storyline behind Metropolis, and much more.  You can either watch the interview above, or, as I would recommend, download the broadcast quality audio feed below (complete with one of the songs off Metropolis).

Janelle Monae on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?glvcjjxcbt5
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/18029402495320a0/ )

Even at such an early stage of her career, Janelle’s live show is legendary so I shot some footage from her concert at the Nectar Lounge later that night.  Watch the clip below to see her run through songs like “Violet Stars Happy Hunting,” “Many Moons,” “Smile, “Sincerely, Jane,” and “Lettin’ Go.”

EDIT:  Video has been removed at the request of the label, sorry.

Go see this woman when she comes to your town, she’s incredible.  Seattle people: Janelle will be back on October 3rd at the Showbox opening for Jamie Lidell.  Be there.

Finally!  Here’s the oft-talked about video for one of the best songs of the year, John Legend’s “Green Light” with Andre 3000.  I’m hard pressed to think of a better guest verse on a R&B song than what Dre drops here.  Ridiculous.  Also, you get a quick preview of another track off Evolver, “Good Morning,” right at the end.  Dope ish.

If for some reason you still need this song, grab the high quality wav here and cop Evolver when it drops!

Video courtesy of OnSmash.

(I feel your pain man.  The $100 Bentley fill ups are killing me too.)

CNN featured a fluff nice piece on Antwan recently, highlighting his politically charged video for “Sumthin’ Gotta Give.”  I’m pleasantly surprised to see a network actually run a positive story about his beliefs, especially after Fixed News did their best xenophobic reporting on Luda last week.  Sidenote: the massive Obama attack and smear campaign that we all expected is just kicking off.  We have a long way to go, and the attacks will only get uglier and more illogical.  This is when we have to work extra hard to dispell rumors and innuendo, so let’s all stay focused.  gObama.

Swiped from Nah Right.

(did I see John Legend making 2 quick cameos in there?)

Now this is the kind of single we need on the airwaves.  Saw this on OnSmash and was gonna hold off on posting because it’s got an awful hiss in the audio, but I figured I’d forget if I waited a few days.  Besides, it’s dope as hell to see this kind of message coming from top tier artists.  See Luda, that’s how you do it.  Although, I did have to chuckle at Mary as the community organizer, but it’s still cool.  You know she couldn’t wait to rhyme “drama” with “Obama” too…that’s right in her wheelhouse.

Here’s the mp3, without Drama’s completely unnecessary intro, for y’all if you need it:

Big Boi ft. Mary J. Blige – “Sumthin’ Gotta Give”