Darko The Super & U DONT DESERVE THIS BEAUTIFUL ART Present: BLKrKRT's Chamber Rap & Sakanouye no Tamuramaro-influenced 40th Release, Okinato Black (The Witzard Premier)

"Okinato Black is a reference to Yasuke, or Sakanouye no [Tamuramaro], the legendary African Shogun of early Japanese civilization. He was known to be the paragon of military virtues and regarded as one of the most distinguished Black warriors of antiquity, yet still, he is largely unknown. The project is a response to the resurgence of Chamber Rap beats, popularized by Wu-Tang [Clan], the proliferation of Experimental Hip-Hop producers using the legendary Roland SP-404, and my own fascination with the anime Samurai Champloo. The intention was to never limit the source or genre of samples, but through the usage, obtain a cohesion in sound," Texas-based Experimental Hip-Hop producer Phil Ford aka BLKrKRT (Blacker Karat) wrote within a recent emailed statement. Ford has fittingly self-described his unique sound as "Post-Dilla Hip-Hop Instrumental" and lists J Dilla, Madlib, KAN KICK, No I.D. Public Enemy, Prefuse 73, S1, and Boogie Down Productions amongst his greatest sources of influence. Okinato Black, which I'm proud to be premiering here today at The Witzard, will be released on Philly rapper-producer Darko The Super's eclectic U DONT DESERVE THIS BEAUTIFUL ART imprint and will quickly become BLKrKRT's whopping 40th Bandcamp release; one of three final releases before Phil Ford plans to retire from music altogether and embark on a new venture into the world of fashion design. "I met Phil during the early Soundcloud days. He actually remixed a lot of my very early Rap projects; I used a lot of his beats throughout the years. He’s an incredible producer! I asked him if he’d like to do a release with the label recently and he sent over Okinato Black right away," Darko The Super explained.

"I live in Texas, where Experimental Hip-Hop has always existed, but hadn't always been well respected, going mostly overlooked in favor of artists from the more metropolitan cities and music with a more mainstream appeal... Looking forward to taking the heads of Hip-Hop listeners seeking to see it remain the same... limiting the growth of our new era, [Okinato Black] is a slight departure from my previous works. In attempting to shed a persona, I had unwittingly re-invented one," Ford's email tellingly continued. BLKrKRT says that as he dug further into Yasuke's story, he found many (abstract) parallels between himself and the legendary African Shogun, which run through both his personal life and his discipline, musically. Phil Ford explained that Okinato Black differs from his previous 39 released works since "the focus of [his] work thus far, has been the nature of [his] "chop," or sample usage, now the hallmark of [his] sound" and further went on to compare his approach and sensibility to that of Jackson Pollock. It appears as though Darko The Super and Phil Ford's working relationship dates back as far as May-June 2014, as I recently unearthed two BLKrKRT-produced tracks amidst the Stereopathetic Soulmanure (Beck reference) heap that is Darko's plethora of released music: "President Camacho" and The Buggles-referencing "F*ck The Rap Game (Darko Killed The Radio Star)." BLKrKRT's Okinato Black is currently available for your streaming and downloading pleasures on U DONT DESERVE THIS BEAUTIFUL ART's respective Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages.

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra

Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel

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