The Audacity of Dope

Half the time people congratulated us on our 300th episode of SNSS, they couldn’t help but toss in a reference to The 300 and, while trite, I chuckled every time.  What can I say?  I’m a fan of the movie…and the Spartans were my people, kinda (Dorians…read up, #realnamenogimmicks).  Perhaps I’m looking for parallels that don’t really exist, but when I thought about it further, Sound Session’s endurance for 6 years and 300 consecutive weeks does vaguely remind me of the Battle of Thermopylae.  Stick with me here.

Not to go overboard on a soapbox worthy rant, but in a sense, hip-hop and the arts have been under attack for years.  While there’s always been an interesting battle between art and commerce, and hip-hop’s been affected since the suburbs caught on in the late 80’s, many feel that we’re in our final hours.  I’d never go that far, especially with the way Web 2.0 has pumped new life into the culture, but in light of the media consolidation we’ve seen in the past 15 years, outlets for alternative/independent/”genuine” art are positioned with their backs firmly against “the Hot Gates.”  Have I lost you with the analogy yet?

Ok, let’s keep it simple.  Stations similar to KUBE exist in every city, often multiple times over.  Very few have the desire, ability, and guts to allow a show like Sound Session to use their platform, let alone thrive through it.  We are continually thankful for the support from all the departments at KUBE, particularly programming, where our PD and MD always look out for us.  Without their commitment to the art, we aren’t here.  Likewise, without the listeners, our attempts to support new music and groundbreaking artists go unheard.  We’re simply the middle men in the equation, pause, and we work hard to seek out joints every week for y’all.  Seeing as how we haven’t had a relaxing, low key Sunday in 6 years, I hope you enjoy the efforts!

And who are we kidding…even if you didn’t, we’d do it any way.

“We did what we were trained to do, what we were bred to do, what we were born to do!”

Peep the info below to check out the 300th show.  We celebrated the occasion by having our first broadcast in the brand new KUBE building, so you’ll have to bare with us as we get the recording levels straightened out.  Volume inconsistency aside, you can hear great records from artists you may not be familiar with…yet: Frank Ocean, Translee, Charlie Smarts, Ro Blvd, 14KT, Spree Wilson, and more.  Plus, the homey Fashawn joined us live in the studio on his stopover while headed up to Vancouver.  He’ll be back in Seattle on Wednesday night, performing at the Nectar Lounge alongside Evidence and CurT@!n$.  See y’all there…

Show #300 (2-27-11)

1. Kanye West – “Dark Fantasy”
2. Frank Ocean – “Novacane”
3. Translee – “Get Off Me”
4. Charlie Smarts – “The Skin”
5. Ro Blvd ft. Micah James & Chasiti – “SPIN”
6. Havi Blaze – “Don’t Worry” (Local Music)
7. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – “My Oh My” (Local Music)
8. Outasight – “It’s Like That”
9. YC The Cynic ft. Soul Khan, Von Pea, & Sene – “More and More”
10. Obie Trice – “Making Dough”
11. Talib Kweli ft. Sean Price – “Palookas”
12. Kaimbr & Kev Brown ft. The Kid Daytona & Asher Roth – “More Gritz (Gritz Remix)”
13. Mac Miller – “She Said”
14. Lupe Fiasco – “All Black Everything”
15. REKS ft. Styles P – “Why Cry”
16. **INTERVIEW WITH FASHAWN #02, PT. 1**
17. Fashawn ft. J. Cole – “Nothin’ For The Radio”
18. Saigon ft. Devin The Dude – “What Lovers Do”
19. **INTERVIEW WITH FASHAWN #02, PT. 2**
20. 14KT ft. Aloe Blacc – “Fourteen”
21. Malice & Mario Sweet – “DateNite” (Local Music)
22. Slum Village – “Climax (Girl Sh*t)” (Throwback of the Week)
23. **INTERVIEW WITH FASHAWN #02, PT. 3**
24. Spree Wilson ft. Esthero – “Don’t Pass Me By”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?r44q5zgt07076g6
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/87226218aaf22949/)
(2nd back up – http://www.usershare.net/1bphslrs6sp1/DJ Hyphen and J. Moore – Sunday Night Sound Session, Show 300, 2-27-11.mp3)

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.