“In ‘Flashback,’ the first video from Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame 1′s upcoming Parallel Uni-Verses project, the duo recall favorite artists and moments from the hip-hop era in which they came up, set to a backdrop of a concert in Brooklyn, the iconic Fat Beats record shop, and various other locations throughout the city. Read the rest of this entry »

This one appeared in the inbox with the message “Hey man, here’s the first bit of audio from this record. If you’re feeling this one, it’s a good bet you’ll like the album.” Read the rest of this entry »

Video Footage By Corey Bloom

It was only fitting for The Smoking Section to catch up with Del The Funky Homosapien on a bidi break at his home studio in Richmond, CA. There was other business at hand, so instead of waxing about Del’s latest album, Eleventh Hour, we took the opportunity to take a look at some of the greatest offerings his native Bay Area has brought to the world of music. Topics shifted casually and instead of answering with innocuous explanations Del would go on to give a brief lesson in music history, applying his own experience through music as the foundation.

While the platform to promote Eleventh Hour wasn’t directly presented, I will take this opportunity to say buy the album, listen to the album, and most importantly GO SEE DEL WHEN HE COMES TO YOUR CITY. He’s a good dude, and an incredible artist whose dedication to Hip-Hop has only increased throughout his seventeen years of service.

Previously Posted — TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Del

Damn near twenty years in the game and Del is still a breath of fresh air in a hip-hop culture that at times has appeared stagnant and some (read: one) have even declared dead. First dropping I Wish My Brother George Was Here in 1991, and then founding Bay-area crew Hieroglyphics and releasing Third Eye Vision in 1998, Del has given listeners passion, creativity, and a certain level of uniqueness for the last fifteen years. TSS crew member Ian M. got on the phone with Del while he was on tour in Canada for a discussion on his new album, a Deltron sequel, the Nintendo Wii, and getting harassed at the border.

TSS: What’s going on Del?

Del: What’s happenin?

TSS: Good to finally connect. You don’t have a cell phone?

Del: Nah…I don’t talk on the phone. I got a Sidekick, but I ain’t paid the bills so it’s cut off.

TSS: Ha. OK. I’m with Smoking Section, I don’t know if you know us but we…

Del: No I heard of y’all. I seen y’all online for sure doing your thing.

TSS: Yeah, thanks. I think we have the freshest content out there, but you know a lot of our draw is musical download. What do you think about that?

Del: How I feel about it? I feel like this man: It’s cool because a lot of shit you can’t get no more or you might have on cassette, know what I’m saying, or you might have the CD and can’t find it. It’s just that much easier to download it at that moment, or if you want to check something out, know what I mean, before you get it, to see if it is worth your merit or whatever. I don’t mind it on that level, but there’s a lot of cheapos out there who think they can just download shit and never buy a fucking record.

TSS: I have to agree. The way I see a lot of artists reacting is people are starting to put a lot of records, mixtapes out there for exclusive download on the internet. Have you ever thought about doing something like that?

Del: I was going to do an album called Achilles Heel and I was going to give the motherfucker away online for free. This is before this downloading shit even happened like now, this was like five or six years ago.

TSS: What happened to it?

Del: Nothing. I still got the songs. Shit man, I got to focus and finish my fucking album. I just stopped thinking about the motherfucker basically.

TSS: Where are you right now? How is the tour going? What is the structure of this tour?

Del: I’m basically trying to hit up shit I ain’t hit in a while. Canada, um, Alaska is basically where I’m at. Just came out of Alaska…we in Canada now.

TSS: Does all of your sound – an American sound or a Bay sound – translate into the context of the Canadian experience?

Del: I would imagine everyone experiences hip hop in their own way. They [Canadians] feel it for sure. I was out there, they was hyped, they was hyphy, they loved it. I ain’t got no complaints about how they received me. I don’t know how they receive everyone else, but while I was out there they showed me hella love. Which is good because it was a pain in the ass to get out there. Both Canada and fucking Alaska especially because flight after flight after flight, I was a madman when I got out there. In Canada, you can’t cross the fucking border without them looking up your bootyhole. When you do get out here they show you a lot of love because they know what it takes to get out here. Read the rest of this entry »