11.11.09: FF SE - Wale [Live @ Commonwealth DC]


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Yes, originally you read we'd be live backstage at Ibiza from 8-11pm EST. Unfortunately, some ****boy ish happened and now we'll be broadcasting live at Commonwealth during Wale's official In-Store Meet & Greet from 8-10pm EST. Yes, we'll be talking to the man of the week - and perhaps some guests that stop by. So tune in - or stop by if you're in the area and pick up one of two (or both) new Cmonwealth x Wale t-shirts!



FF SE: Wale [Live @ Commonwealth DC]
Hosted by jben.ok, Jay Promo, & Unkle Scooty
8:00-10:00pm EST
WRGW Radio @ The George Washington University
CALL IN! (202) 994-WRGW
LIVE on GWRADIO.COM and campus channel 22
Posted by jben.ok

11.10.09: FF 056 - Wale Celebration Show!


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The coveted day in DMV hip hop history has finally arrived! Washington, DC's own, Wale, has finally released his debut album Attention Deficit and tonight, we celebrate! Tonight's special ONE-hour show will be filled with in-studio and on-the-phone guests including Dan Weisman, Mike Posner, X.O., and a collection of DMV hip hop heads who helped make Wale's dream possible! The show will also serve as a prelude for tomorrow night's 3-hour extravaganza backstage at Ibiza during Wale's Official Album Release Concert (you don't even wanna know how many special guests are scheduled to appear...).

Tune in tonight from 9-10pm EST. If you're free from 8-9, tune into a special edition of WRGW's Going Coastal featuring the homie dj raph. Also, tune into WRGW all this week for Wale Week! Click the banner on the right for information on how you can win t-shirts, posters, and copies of Attention Deficit! Oh...and don't forget to BUY THE ALBUM!



FF 056: Wale Celebration Show!
Featuring Dan Weisman, Mike Posner, X.O., and more!
Hosted by jben.ok, Jay Promo, King Carter, Ravi Mongia & Unkle Scooty
With DJ Jerome Baker III
9:00-10:00pm EST
WRGW Radio @ The George Washington University
CALL IN! (202) 994-WRGW
LIVE on GWRADIO.COM and campus channel 22




Posted by jben.ok

VIDEO: Phil Ade - Hollywood



A new music video from the DMV's own Phil Ade - an incredibly unique young rapper signed to Raheem Devaughn's label 368 Music Group. Under the direction of Tabi Bonney, the video for "Hollywood" off Phil's latest mixtape, Starting on JV, was shot at the Stussy DC store, a DC-area house, and the Boys & Girls Club on 14th. My good friend Dre The Mayor hooked me up with a special role to go along with the concept of the video - I play Phil's butler in a dream-like sequence that unfolds as the rapper is eating a big bowl of cereal and watching The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Enough narrative; just click play and laugh hard at the images of me, in a tux.




Posted by jben.ok

11.3.09: FF 055 - Introducing... Incwell


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Last week was fun - it was hectic, stressful, but ultimately rewarding. This week we head back to the studio for a NORMAL episode of Funkadelic Freestyles (ha), and an extravagant evening of mixing (c/o DJ Jerome Baker III) with discussion. Plus we'll tell you all about WRGW's Wale Week (!), the Roc Nation-endorsed promotion including Funkadelic Freestyles broadcasting live backstage from Ibiza at the Attention: Deficit album release party. We've got free t-shirts, posters, and probably CDs...but you'll have to wait until Monday (11.9) for us to get things started.

Tonight we continue our "Introducing..." series with the DC artist and Redskins fanatic Incwell, who emerged from a tragic upbringing to an independent career in music and civic work. He's a friend of Jay Promo and the show, so why not take this week to introduce him to y'all? Tune in tonight from 8-10pm EST for Incwell live in-studio and A LOT of new music (I see you Zo!).



FF 055: Introducing... Incwell
Hosted by jben.ok, Jay Promo, King Carter, Ravi Mongia & Unkle Scooty
With DJ Jerome Baker III
8:00-10:00pm EST
WRGW Radio @ The George Washington University
CALL IN! (202) 994-WRGW
LIVE on GWRADIO.COM and campus channel 22
Posted by jben.ok

NEWS: WRGW Hip Hop Top 10 (Week of 11.2.09)


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As the current WRGW Hip Hop Director (2009-10), I present you with the first-ever WRGW Hip Hop Top 10 album chart. This chart has been submitted to the College Music Journal (CMJ) for official consideration.


1 DIAMOND DISTRICT In The Ruff [Mello Music Group]
2 BROTHER ALI Us [Rhymesayers]
3 MOS DEF The Ecstatic [Downtown]
4 WALE Attention: Deficit [Interscope]
5 PHIL ADE Starting On JV [368 Music Group]
6 SHAFIQ HUSAYN Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka [Plug Research]
7 KEV BROWN Random Joints [Low Budget]
8 ROYCE DA 5'9" Street Hop [Koch]
9 FASHAWN Boy Meets World [One Records]
10 SKYZOO The Salvation [Duck Down]
Posted by jben.ok

10.27.09: WRGW & GWTV Present Funkadelic Freestyles: Live From The Hip Hop House


The increasingly-popular weekly hip hop radio show hits the small screen with our first ever video broadcast live on location. Jamie Benson (aka jben.ok) welcomes his cohosts Jay Promo, King Carter, & Unkle Scooty along with their DJ Jerome Baker III into the hip hop house, his own "historical" residence. The hip hop house has been in the WRGW Hip Hop Department for four generations and has yet to be exposed in this manner.

Our special guests at the hip hop house include Diamond District (Oddisee, X.O., & yU) and Phil Ade, who will be both joining us on special occasions. Diamond District's debut album In The Ruff officially hits store tomorrow, and Phil Ade will stop by to premiere the "Hollywood" video live from the house.

EDIT: Check out the full video from Tuesday's show. Featuring appearances by X.O., Oddisee, Kokayi, and yU. Also featuring special guest and former hip hop director Mikhel.
Posted by jben.ok

10.20.09: FF 053 - The Producer's Showcase (feat. Best Kept Secret & K-Murdock)



Tonight on Funkadelic Freestyles we present to you our first ever "Producer's Showcase" episode featuring two (er..three) talented artists from the DC-area. First up, the young duo Best Kept Secret - Craig B and Tone P have been crafting modern classics for a few years now. You probably know BKS from their work with Wale (and their song "Ice Cream Girl," featured on season 3 of HBO's Entourage), but more recently they've joined up with Rhymefest, Skyzoo, & X.O. K-Murdock is another genius from this area - he's one half of the experimental hip-hop outfit Panacea and has produced records for Random, Braille, and Ebony Bed. And the best part? Best Kept Secret and K-Murdock met in the semifinal round of last year's Red Bull Big Tune Battle in DC (see the above video).

Tune in tonight from 8-10pm EST for another dope show...we'll also talk about this week's CMJ Festival in NYC and the Bentzen Ball Comedy Festival here in DC. And oh yeah, there's that Howard Homecoming thing.




FF 053: The Producer's Showcase (feat. Best Kept Secret & K-Murdock)
Hosted by jben.ok, Jay Promo, King Carter, & Unkle Scooty
With DJ Jerome Baker III
8:00pm-10:00pm EST
WRGW Radio @ The George Washington University
LIVE on GWRADIO.COM and campus channel 22
Posted by jben.ok

10.13.09: FF 052 - The ELs Live In-Studio!


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Tonight we recreate last May's season finale with the return of the live hip-hop band The ELs. If you don't know anything about The ELs, well, you're probably losing. But as luck has it, you can grab your education tonight. The DC-based band, comprised of Zo! (keyboard), Asheru (emcee), Slimkat78 (MPC), and Omar (guitar) have been touring nationwide with The Foreign Exchange for over a year. Back in May, they rocked our studio with a 3-hour extravaganza that featured live cyphers from a plethora of DC/MD/VA rappers. Tonight: be on the lookout for Lyriciss, Pro'Verb, yU, Kokayi (last May's undisputed champion), The Package, K-BETA, and many more.



FF 052: The ELs Live In-Studio!
Hosted by jben.ok, Jay Promo, King Carter, & Unkle Scooty
With DJ Jerome Baker III
And an especially long guest list
8:00pm-10:30pm EST
WRGW Radio @ The George Washington University
LIVE on GWRADIO.COM and campus channel 22
Posted by jben.ok

9.29.09: FF 050 - Durkl Survivor Series Vol. 1 x PHZ-Sicks


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Woah, look what tonight is! Our 50th show...maybe Unkle Scooty will bring the bar to the studio or perhaps Jay Promo will give us all the swine flu (he's sick, but it's not REALLY swine). To "celebrate" our 50th official show, we'll be joined by the DC producer Judah and Durkl rep Luke Pierce as they discuss their new collaborative mixtape/t-shirt release, Survivor Series Vol. 1. Also during the two hours tonight, DMV's own PHZ-Sicks will stop by to talk about his new mixtape, Less Than Zero.

Topics for conversation tonight include the DMV South Takeover Show, 50 Cent's "faux" trip to the hospital, and my involvement in last weekend's Phil Ade "Hollywood" video shoot. Don't miss it!



FF 050: Durkl Survivor Series Vol. 1 x PHZ-Sicks
Hosted by jben.ok, Jay Promo, King Carter, Ravi Mongia & Unkle Scooty
With DJ Jerome Baker III
8:00-10:00pm EST
WRGW Radio @ The George Washington University
CALL IN! (202) 994-WRGW
LIVE on GWRADIO.COM and campus channel 22
Posted by jben.ok

9.22.09: FF 049 - The Call-In Show


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Yesterday morning, I woke up a text message from my roommate. It read: "Front page [of the school newspaper] "Is Anyone Listening" LMAO." I had been anticipating this day - hoping that since GW Hatchet decided to feature our radio station, WRGW, on the front page, the coverage would help attract new listeners. Instead, the article was negative and somewhat distasteful.

For those of you that DON'T KNOW, Funkadelic Freestyles would not exist without the radio signal of which WRGW provides. And you might not know this either: I'm the station's hip-hop director, and I care deeply about ALL OF OUR programming. And I'll tell you this: I'm not going to let the GW Hatchet drive away our loyal listeners.

Pay close attention: tonight has to be a STATEMENT SHOW. I've dubbed it The Call-In Show - a spectacular 2 (maybe 3 hours) filled with live phone calls from artists, friends, and fans. (That last portion probably refers to you). Please flood the phone lines! The number is (202) 994-9749 - don't let it stop ringing!




FF 049: The Call-In Show
Hosted by jben.ok, Jay Promo, King Carter, Ravi Mongia & Unkle Scooty
Special Guest Co-Host Slump of UCB
With DJ Jerome Baker III
8:00-10:00pm EST
WRGW Radio @ The George Washington University
CALL IN! (202) 994-WRGW
LIVE on GWRADIO.COM and campus channel 22




Posted by jben.ok

9.15.09: FF 048 - 9th Wonder x The Paxtons


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Longtime friends of the show, The Paxtons, will join us for the final hour of Funkadelic Freestyles tonight. First hour features our exclusive *taped* interview with the super producer 9th Wonder. The Chicago natives have a new mixtape, Work, that they're pushing. Also on the bill tonight, GWU poet Elizabeth Acevedo. I've gotta run to class...details and BONUS download for The Paxtons tape below.



FF 048: 9th Wonder x The Paxtons
Hosted by jben.ok, Jay Promo, King Carter, Ravi Mongia & Unkle Scooty
With DJ Jerome Baker III
8:00-10:00pm EST
WRGW Radio @ The George Washington University
CALL IN! (202) 994-WRGW
LIVE on GWRADIO.COM and campus channel 22
Posted by jben.ok

POSTPONED! FF Special Report - Leaving Home: A Go-Go Retrospective


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Tonight we present a Funkadelic Freestyles Special Report - Leaving Home: A Go-Go Retrospective. In light of Wale and his backing band (also a well-known go-go band) UCB serving as the official house band for this weekend's MTV Video Music Awards (MTV, 9pm EST), we will be hosting a one-hour round table discussion of the history and future of go-go and DC music in general. With this weekend's festivities and the impending release of Wale's debut album Attention: Deficit, there is a good reason to believe that go-go is finally headed to a true international stage.

Our panel will include DC natives Lamine N'dour (promoter), D.L. Chandler (writer), Dre The Mayor (promoter), Jay Promo, King Carter, and many others. We're also expecting a special phone call live from NYC featuring Wale, Tre, and Slump of UCB. Perhaps an appearance from Anwan "Big G" Glover?

Tonight's special radio show will be filmed and turned into a short video piece to be released on Sunday morning preceding the live airing of the VMAs. Spread the word and get excited - DC is on the map!



FF Special Report - Leaving Home: A Go-Go Retrospective
Hosted by jben.ok, Jay Promo, King Carter, & Ravi Mongia
Featuring Lamine N'dour, D.L. Chandler, and many others
POSTPONED!
WRGW Radio @ The George Washington University
CALL IN! (202) 994-WRGW
LIVE on GWRADIO.COM and campus channel 22




POSTPONED!
Posted by jben.ok

9.8.09: FF 047 - Introducing... Soulful!


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Tonight we continue our "Introducing..." series with the up-and-coming producer from the DMV, Soulful! Do his beats live up to his name? You betcha; you can check out the intro to our Vol 1: The Offseason mixtape for proof. Or perhaps you could check out his collaboration with the NY emcee D. Julien, Live Love Learn. Either way, you should be tuning into tonight from 8-10pm to listen to our special interview.

DJ Jerome Baker III is back from his Left Coast trip, (although Modi isn't), and ready to showcase more of his skills on the tables! There will be a plethora of new music, including joints from the new Jay-Z and Raekwon LPs. And we'll also be celebrating the new re-launch of Real Mango Juice, our new official affiliate.



FF 047: Introducing... Soulful!
Hosted by jben.ok, Jay Promo, King Carter, Ravi Mongia & Unkle Scooty
With DJ Jerome Baker III
8:00-10:00pm EST
WRGW Radio @ The George Washington University
CALL IN! (202) 994-WRGW
LIVE on GWRADIO.COM and campus channel 22
Posted by jben.ok

VIDEO: iLLVibes Presents... J-$crilla Interview/Cypher





Video footage of the Funkadelic Freestyles Culture of Honor Takeover show, provided by our good friends at iLLVibes. Shouts to them and stay tuned for more collaborations in the future!



Posted by jben.ok

PODCAST: FF 045 - T3 of Slum Village


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Last Tuesday, we were lucky enough to get a special live call-in from the iconic rapper T3 of Slum Village during our radio show. We spoke to T3 for ten minutes about the mysterious absence of Slaughterhouse on the final night of the Rock The Bells mini-tour (in DC), SV's emotional performance the day after Baatin's death, and the new Slum Village LP Villa Manifesto, available for digital download on September 22nd.

This two-part podcast also features numerous special phone calls and a spectacular mix from DJ MAF. I've tried to remain humble for these past few weeks, but this has GOT to be one of our BEST shows ever!




Posted by jben.ok
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