The Witzard

Let's face it, nearly any avid supporter of either basketball or Hip-Hop can likely attest to the beloved genre and stadium-filling sport's frequent cross-sectional analogies and often unexpected collaborations; be it Skee-Lo 's 1995 Buffalo Springfield -interpolating "I Wish," Action Bronson 's sprawling genre-defying Blue Chips series, Jurassic 5 's trunk-rattling "What's Golden," or somewhat less favorable Michael Jordan & Bugs Bunny -helmed Space Jam soundtrack, Shaq 's head-scratching Kazaam soundtrack, or Kobe Bryant 's short-lived rap "career." Hip-Hop 's latest rhyme-laden page added to the NBA 's ever-growing playbook is brought to you by none other than Philly 's finest Legendary Hard-working Roots Crew and Jimmy Fallon 's long-time Tonight Show Band . The Roots seemingly penned "Champion" specifically for inclusion as the official 2016 NBA Finals Theme Song and in retrospe...

"Just in from the department of unexpectedness, Banks (no, not Lloyd ) has upped a mixtape and it's called EVERYBODY ON MY D*CK LIKE THEY SUPPOSED TO BE . Actually, we kinda knew this was happening. Paul [Banks] sent over a rough mixtape about nine months ago of his beats and production and it was genius. And what, with all the Kendricks and the A$APs and whatever, we thought a mixtape would take Banks to new heights if we got it out months before release... In this case, Paul called in a some mega-favors and got features from El-P , Talib [Kweli], Mike G , and hold up, HIGH PRIZM (né High Priest )," reads Matablog's tongue-in-cheek press release published accompanying Interpol frontman Paul Banks' surprisingly great 2013 "mixtape," Everybody On My D*ck Like They Supposed to Be . It would appear as though around the same general time frame, Banks miraculously managed to link up with avid chess player and Wu-Tang Clan founding member RZA ;...

"Don't sleep on Butch Bastard ," read a statement credited to Josh Tillman of Father John Misty and Fleet Foxes fame attached to a cold submitted message sent days after I posted my email address on Twitter , along with an open call for new music "not featured on Pitchfork ;" after reaching out to Poor Moon bassist and newly-christened Butch Bastard frontman Ian Murray himself, the Father John Misty -affiliated artist would go on to specify, "[ Josh is] my friend and I appreciate his endorsement, but I don't wish to be viewed as an appendage to his career." It would likely appear as though Butch Bastard was born when the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, performer, producer, and director uprooted his life from Seattle to Los Angeles in 2014 and started recording tracks from the comfort of his bedroom. Murray's wonderfully titled forthcoming album, I Am Not a Man , which currently lacks a proper label or release date, showca...

" Leland Jackson [@Ahnnu] creates Footwork and Juke as Cakedog . Devoted to the dancer, DJ, and producer culture, and mentored by fixture Footwork originator R.P. Boo , Champions is a 23-minute digital mixtape album leading into the proper LP release Doggystyle , on Leaving Records later this year," Stones Throw wrote within a recent on-site press release attached to their latest mixtape release on sister label, Leaving Records . For those who may be unfamiliar, much like myself, " Footwork is a genre of related music and street dance that originated in Chicago during the 1980's," which was pioneered by Jackson's own mentor R.P. Boo , and was later "popularized outside Chicago by inclusion in the music video for Dude 'n Nem 's 2007 single "Watch My Feet;"' from what I can understand, I would best appropriate Footwork/Juke to Kanye 's T-Pain -assisted Alvin & The Chipmunks -evocative Graduation smash single, ...

"So proud of my brother James Blake dropping the bigness tonight... Also, so proud of our song ["I Need a] Forest Fire" came from wonderful accidents and good friendship... James , or Jim as I call him when I'm upset with him, is such a powerful musician; to be like Aaron Neville , AND Aphex [Twin] ?" Bon Iver frontman and frequent James Blake collaborator Justin Vernon (@blobtower) exuberantly Tweeted on the eve of The Colour In Anything . Vernon and Blake previously collaborated on "Fall Creek Boys Choir" from mid-album Enough Thunder EP , although likely first rubbed shoulders due to this singular candid statement: "He's James Blake . Just go listen to his music and say, "hey, that's Kanye 's favorite artist." Justin Vernon contributed crooned backing vocals assists to "MONSTER" and the majority of Kanye 's sprawling magnum opus, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , as well as a number of fractured ...

Sacramento -based Noise-Rap band Death Grips have had a very tumultuous, to say the least, relationship with the media since their sudden 2010 inception, although the recently "disbanded" and reunited three-piece have been heralded as "the first truly important band of the 21st century;" having direct influence on The Thin White Duke's final album ★ (Blackstar) , Kanye 's Aggro-Rap masterpiece Yeezus , and even Travi$ Scott 's righteous T.I. & Kanye -assisted Rodeo . Death Grips' first post-"breakup" album, Bottomless Pit was unleashed Friday, May 6th at the stroke of midnight, amdist a weekend abuzz with new music and countless headlines from the likes of Radiohead , James Blake, Chance The Rapper , De La Soul, Homeboy Sandman , KAYTRANADA, and Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def . Bottomless Pit was preceded by eventual album tracks "Hot Head," Zane Lowe -debuted "Eh," and non-album "Interview 2016," althou...

"It's a song about someone who is tired of being taken advantage of by the free spirit they're in love with. They're trying to deal with the fact that they're not OK with being just a part-time lover. It sounds like Ultravox or a happier version of The Cure or any 80's band that [loved] string synthesizer sounds," Remote Places founding member Justin Geller revealed within a recent Tell All Your Friends press release. Geller, a long-time member of genre-eschewing two to five-man Philly -based group Pink Skull , has likened his upcoming Nights and Weekends EP to "the soundtrack to a modern day re-make of The Breakfast Club " and has already drawn comparisons to New Order , The Smiths, The National , Washed Out, and Wild Nothing . Geller and bandmate Julian Grefe released four sprawling full-length albums and countless EP's and 12-inches further blurring the lines between glitchy lo-fi House , Psychedelic/Krautrock Indie Dance, and f...