The Audacity of Dope

“Ask my guy how he thought travellin’ the world sound // Found it hard to imagine he hadn’t been past downtown” (c) Common, “Respiration“

When we announced that I would head to London for much of 2015, a few folks asked me if we’d still be able to do SNSS since J. Moore and I would be almost 5k miles apart.  To me, someone who started reading sports news when I was 10 years old off “Gopher,” an online protocol that eventually lost out to “http” in the early stages of the internet (aka WAAAAAY back), I never had a doubt that we’d stay in sync.  The underlying goal of the entire tech industry over the last 20 years (aside from this) has been to connect every corner of the world via zeros & ones.  Safe to say, we’re good.  And I don’t even have my Apple Watch yet.

Instead, I looked at this as an opportunity to take SNSS even more international than we have already.  Yes, we have dedicated listeners from around the globe and already play international artists, but now we have a man on the ground in Europe.  One who even likes to write about himself in the third person, at times.  I’m not “discovering” artists here, but I am able to help connect the dots and bridge the gap further.  If Jay-Z can send his cousin to Nigeria, we can send Hyphen to London.  If I’ve learned anything while here, it’s that music, and the love/passion certain people have for it, is somehow even stronger than I ever thought.  Good music knows no boundaries: physical, mental, spiritual.

For evidence, look no further than this week’s SNSS episode, a veritable Goodwill Games of good music: NYC (De La Soul, Nas, Dipset), Cali (E-40, Kendrick, Duckwrth, Dam-Funk), Australia (Ta-ku), the Netherlands (Mar), the UK (Natalie Duncan)…hell, we even ran a Baltimore themed remix of MJ’s classic “They Don’t Care About Us,” featuring Dilla’s Detroit soul, mixed together by a Seattle OG.  And we can’t forget our friendly neighbors to the north, Canada, for our obligatory Drake cut, plus a gem by newcomer Alessia Cara.  I was told this show marked her first ever radio spin, so when she’s on top of the game in a few years…you already know.

Last, but not least, J. Moore was joined in the studio by Young Fathers, a group from Edinburgh, Scotland, drawing roots from Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Maryland.  Their eclectic mix of hip-hop, R&B, pop, funk, reggae, and rock defies those labels and represents the potential of where music is headed.  Everywhere, every time, everything.  No boundaries, just you and the art.  Vibe to it however you see fit…and when we come back next week, let’s talk about 10 years of SNSS, k?

Show #516 (5-3-15)

1.    De La Soul ft. Nas – “God It”
2.    Duckwrth x The Kickdrums ft. Miloh Smith – “Indica La Roux”
3.    Hezekiah – “Coming Back Is Harder”
4.    Kendrick Lamar – “Hood Politics”
5.    Stay Hi Brothers (Vitamin D & Maineak B) – “Never Seen It” (Local Music)
6.    Michael Jackson – “They Don’t Care About Us (DJ Topspin’s Blendiana Baltimore Blend)” (Local Music)
7.    **INTERVIEW WITH YOUNG FATHERS, PT. 1**
8.    Young Fathers – “Rain Or Shine”
9.    **INTERVIEW WITH YOUNG FATHERS, PT. 2**
10.    Oddisee & Phonte ft. Tamisha Waden – “Requiem”
11.    Currensy & Freddie Gibbs – “Fetti”
12.    The Diplomats – “I Really Mean It” (Throwback of the Week)
13.    Young Fathers – “Nest”
14.    **INTERVIEW WITH YOUNG FATHERS, PT. 3**
15.    Wale – “The White Shoes”
16.    Drake – “Star67”
17.    Ta-ku ft. JMSN & Sango – “Love Again”
18.    Mar – “She’s A Dancer”
19.    Natalie Duncan – “Black & White”
20.    Alessia – “Here”
21.    Lion Babe – “Wonder Woman (DJ Premier Remix)”
22.    Jarv Dee ft. Nacho Picasso – “Problem” (Local Music)
23.    Illa J – “Strippers”
24.    E-40 ft. Ariel Pink & Dam-Funk – “California”

Stream/Download via Soundcloud –

(back up – https://www.sendspace.com/file/615eop)

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.

Man…Kwabs has one of the most powerful voices around. It gives you chills, quite literally in this video for “Perfect Ruin,” shot beautifully in a sub-zero location. Captures the song wonderfully…

Kwabs will release Love + War in May and this is the instant grat track when you pre-order now. iTunes / Amazon.

MNEK (and the UK) wins again.  This kid is super talented.

UK R&B is killing ours right now.  Here’s a new one from Sinead Harnett, who you may have heard on Disclosure’s album, produced by Snakehips, who are murking everything they touch right now.  Fire.

Very 80’s…from the visuals to the Prince-esque sounds. The UK wins again.

Shout to the homegirl Chaka for putting me up on this new track and video from A Yellow Man, a 3 person group from the UK.  The 2 MC’s and 1 vocalist combine to make a great record, with a message.  Download here.

Looking forward to hearing more from these guys…

Absolutely love this cover of Joni Mitchell’s classic. The original is below if you’re unfamiliar…

I’ve seen a few of these one take videos, but this one might be the best yet. The University of Kentucky athletic teams joined forces for this cover of Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite” and it turned out both corny and dope at the same time. LOL @ Terrance Jones though, cot damn.

Shout to the kids who clearly messed up in the video too. “50 grand I get this on one take…Hov!”

I’ve been putting off running errands and while checking Twitter, I saw Anjulie randomly post up this video. Both the song and the visuals are dope!

My UK obsession for the weekend continues…

Damn, again I thought I had tracked down all the bonus songs from Kenna‘s Make Sure They See My Face, but apparently not.  No idea how long this has been floating around the net, since it supposedly appeared on the UK version.  Either way, I gaffled it from Tunji.

Kenna ft. Justin Timberlake – “Rockaway Life”

Justin’s only on background vocals here, but both he and Kenna kill it.  Play it loud.