Sol - "Dear Friends"

The 206 continues to bring their A game on the music video circuit. This week, my guy Sol is dropping his video for the title track of this latest free EP "Dear Friends, Vol 2." This one is directed by Jon Augustavo - who has been steady on it producing some great work for Wizdom and J Pinder - and he captures a fitting vibe with the somber black and white scheme.

Keep Your Hood Pass Intact

My 2009 MVP, Dam-Funk, is back with the "Hood Pass Inact" 12 inch single and t shirt. If you are not familiar with the West Coast Boogie Funk Ambassador then this track will give you everything you need to know.

For best results: dust off chucks, throw up dub & walk ever so crippily down the street whilst listening.

Cop it HERE.

Aloe Blacc on Sunday Night Sound Session

Holy Moley.

Aloe Blacc - Politician (Live on KUBE 93's Sound Session) from DJ Hyphen on Vimeo.

Via: The Audacity of Dope

#slap

Oddisee continues on his journey to become your favorite producer's favorite producer with his latest free offering "West Coast Beats."

This is my favorite track of the bunch for reasons obvious to those that know me.

Jarv Dee is the future.

#jetset

SOTA x Cloud Nice - Extrahelladope

...and here it is folks! SOTA's video for their first single off #seacal "Extrahelladope" ft. Cloud Nice. Huge props go to Stephan Gray for such an excellent product.

SOTA - "Extrahelladope" (Official Music Video) from Stephan Gray on Vimeo.

Ya Dig?

If you were somehow not in the building for their monumental performance at Neumo's a few years back, for shame! Digable Planets are back to give you another dose of that blowed out 90's golden age audible excellence Friday, August 21st.

I couldn't be happier about this show, for a few different reasons. One being that I wasn't sure how long their 'hiatus' would last...wondering if I would ever see one of my favorite groups ever perform again after such an amazing reunion tour was tough to swallow. Another reason for celebration is that Members Only's newest signee's Hi-Life Soundsystem (Khingz, B-Flat and Crispy) are going to open and bless y'all with some new classic material. Finally, I am djing the whole shebang, and that makes me a happy Stanley.

Get your advance tickets now.

MICK BOOGIE (!!!!)

So the first big announcement of the day comes in the form of world-famous DJ Mick Boogie. Members Only is teaming with HG Lodge and Steady to bring you the Brooklyn mixtape maestro on Saturday 8/21. If you are not hip to his musical stylings I suggest you start with the incredible summer mixtape he put together with DJ Jazzy Jeff. I will be opening alongside local legend DJ Soul One, and this promises to be one helluva party.

We hope to see all of your beautiful faces in the crowd!

MAD RAD x CHBP x FRIENDS

MAD RAD - "My Friends" (2010 Capitol Hill Block Party) from Stephan Gray on Vimeo.

Stephen Gray is an absolute BEAST. Be on the lookout for something special tomorrow at noon.

SOTA x KEXP x CHBP

Tanya Morgan @ CCT

This is gonna be an evening of that good ol' fashioned Boom Bap. If you aren't familiar with the Brooklynati, you should get so immediately. Good tunes. Classic vibe. Went with a Brooklyn themed poster on this one and I'm pretty stoked on it. Hope to see y'all there.

SOTA Promo Vid and Presale

State of the Artist - Columbia City Theater - August 14 from Columbia City Theater on Vimeo.

Presale: Brown Paper Tickets

Khingz - Pho99

Khingz has always been one of my favorite emcees in the town, and we are proud to say that we are welcoming him into the M.O. fold with his next full length release with B Flat and Crispy, Hi-Life Soundsystem.

That said, here is a little something to whet your appetite...the title alone makes me hungry. It's his newest mixtape Pho99 - available for FREE on his bandcamp - and as usual, it's filled with clever wordplay, his signature polar bear toenail delivery and calm confidence that we expect from such a seasoned local vet.

Can't wait to hear more from him...ahem.

MEMBERS ONLY 1 yr Recap

So our 1 year anniversary was one for the ages. Not only did we have the rooftop of HG lodge packed for over 7 hours, we managed to wrangle 15 of the best Seattle area hip hop acts and 4 djs in one place and KEPT IT AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. I mean, anyone that has been to, worked at, or put on a hip hop show knows that this might be the first time in history that has ever happened.


Regardless, the beers were cold, the cake was monsterous, the bbq was fired up and the party people came to...party.



We were fortunate enough to have these heavy hitters come through: Canary Sing, Grynch, Victor Shade, Spaceman, OC Notes, Cloud Nice, Katie Kate, Luck One, Hi-Life Soundsystem, Q Dot, Darktime Sunshine, XP, Dyme Def, Sol and J Pinder. As well as djs: Shorthand (of the Filejerks), Swervewon, Radjaw, Clint Westwood, Sosa and myself.



So a big thanks to everyone that came out and celebrated with us. Turns out that we kinda have this party throwing thing down at this point. It took a year of practice...

To see the rest of the pictures from the event check out my photostream on flickr.

Going Hard In the Paint

Definition: Serge Gainsbourg

The Greatest Living Musician

Don't agree? I will fight you.

I am so fortunate to have seen this man perform a couple summers back. Who knows if he'll ever come around this area again. What an inspiration.

Best of Quantic

If I were to stop my current stint of creative A.D.D. and focus soley on music production, I would want to emulate Quantic. He epitomizes everything I love about fusing genres, blurring the lines between vintage/retro and contemporary and incorporating live instrumentation...helping me discover a zen-like space between my ears that often washes away any stress or day to day nonsense. His music is theraputic and mellow on the surface, yet intricate and somewhat complex in terms of composition.

Here is a perfect example of Quantic's amazing work for your listening pleasure... A 'Best of' mix compiled and mixed by Jeremy Sole to prepare you for his latest release 'Flowering Inferno.'


Lo Mejor y Sabor de Quantic (by Jeremy Sole) by Tru Thoughts


Via: Wax Poetics

Rick Ross is actually a good rapper (And Kanye is still pretty amazing)!

So I had been hearing more and more about the new Rick Ross record "Teflon Don" so I ended up giving it a listen and I have got to say I am really impressed. I was afraid of another cornball Mafioso Rap retread as the last Rawse album I paid attention to was his much hyped debut "Port of Miami" which was just that. Since then he has released a couple more records and was exposed as a former Corrections Officer during the biggest Bodying ever, via "King of Beef" 50 Cent. At that point any notion that Rick Ross would ever be taken seriously was destroyed, or so I thought. "Teflon Don" is a huge step up from any previous material he has released, its like he took his lumps and learned from them, who knew?

Here's the song I play the most the Kanye produced/featured "Live Fast, Die Young" a song where Ross goes hard over a very "busy" Kanye beat.

Dam-Funk: Future Sound of Modern Funk Mix

Dam-Funk put together a 45 minute mix last week while on tour in Croatia called the Future Sound of Modern Funk. I don't suppose I need to tell you what it covers, and how good it is. Well...it's funky...and it's awesome.

Download the 45-minute Dam-Funk mix:
The Future of Modern Funk (MP3)

Tracklist:
J1 – LiftOff [intro]
Devonwho – Slapshot
Reggie B – Khemitian Temple [Instrumental Version]
Teeko X. – BustAMOVE!GO!OFF
Chesca & Elliot York – Twilight Fades
B. Bravo – Two 2 Tango
AD Bourke – Cosmic Connection feat. Amalia
Distant Starr – Here We Go
Odidisee – Curl
Pudge – Jungle Funk [Jus Dance]
Subtitle x DâM-FunK – Experts
AD Bourke – One For Me
Grooveman Spot – Affection feat. Ahu
Teeko / Dibia$e / Devonwho – Young Funklords
Electric Wire Hustle – Unknown Instrumental aka Track 8
Computer Jay – Slipping!!
Fatima – Warm Eyes
Dam-Funk – The Funk Is 4 U/Outro [Unreleased]

Via: Stones Throw

SOTA 'My Shine' @ the CHBP

This show was preeeeeeeeeetty sweet.