The Witzard

"In "Rushing Forever," it starts me trying to impress this girl with my game. We thought it would be cool to incorporate tennis because they have the love term "and... sometimes relationships can be a back-and-forth thing." Obviously, from my reaction at the end, I didn't win her over. I then take her to the park for a little... one-on-one picnic that seems to break through. There's an hour glass showing my impatience and some clips in the woods during the final performance where she's... showing resistance, but in the end, we find each other and walk off... "Rushing Forever" is produced by HulyOnTheBeat and I actually recorded this six years ago." Palm Beach rapper-producer Eric Biddines wrote the above statement within a series of texts he sent me over this past weekend. Biddines released three albums and two EP's-worth of material on his own planetcoffeebean label imprint between 2010-12, before signing with Juggerna...

It's almost hard to believe that chef-turned rapper Action Bronson 's independently pressed Dr. Lecter album was already released nearly four years ago. He's somehow managed to unknowingly charm over middle [white] America , whilst rapping almost exclusively about fine dining, pro wrestling, sexual exploits, and drug trade. My beautiful girlfriend and I have been lucky enough to witness Bronson's charismatic stage show twice thus far, on the 2 High 2 Die Tour alongside Danny Brown & Trash Talk and as part of the XXL Freshmen 2013 Tour with Joey Bada$$ & Big K.R.I.T ... both ahead of the release of his Blue Chips 2 mixtape, which is quite arguably his most cohesive body of work yet. While we're still patiently waiting for Action Bronson 's long-rumored VICE Records debut, tentatively titled "Mr. Wonderful," Spanish production duo Cookin' Soul recently concocted an unofficial remix of Dr. Lecter stand-out, "Get Off My P.P....

It's been proven time and time again that Action Bronson can essentially rap on almost any beat (or lack thereof), generally Party Supplies -produced: Peter Bjorn & John , "A Very Bieber Christmas," Peter Gabriel/Phil Collins , Guns N Roses , etc. Bronson's a highly-skilled rapper, who I can attest, can even rap impeccably sans beat; I had the honor of catching him on the XXL Freshmen Live 2013 mini-tour (Philly) last night, along with Joey Bada$$ and Big K.R.I.T. Far from the rookie of the group, Action Bronson somehow managed to go on first around 8:30pm, bummed a hearty joint off a crowd-goer... and completely SLAUGHTERED the majority of SAAAB STORIES, "Steve Wynn," a couple choice cuts with Meyhem Lauren , and of course, some shit-talking compliments of Big Body Bes . For his latest featured track, Bronson teamed up with a very unlikely set of collaborators, Skrillex -signed Dubstep group What So Not (OWSLA). "Every Time You See Me...

Yeah, it's 1am and I have work in about 7 mere hours, ugh; But "The Rockers" just seemed too good to be true, without hearing it before I get some zzzz's. Action Bronson has recruited Taylor Gang general Wiz Khalifa for the second leak from SAAAB STORIES , just a few days after unveiling "Strictly 4 My Jeeps" (Queens Day Remix) with LL Cool J & Lloyd Banks . Based around a weirdly catchy pseudo-hook, "I'll hit you with the dropkick Marty Jannetty ," Bronson & Wiz sound better than you'd expect lacing up a slick Harry Fraud -produced beat together. The gap between mainstream and underground Hip-Hop has seemingly been bridged, and all it took was a shared love for weed, women, and wrestling ha. It almost pains me to say this, but Wiz Khalifa has really grown a lot since "Black & Yellow." What can I say, the man is good at what he does, which is making Dance -inspired Hip-Hop for suburban white kids... and w...

Depending on who you ask, LONGLIVEA$AP is easily the most progressive/digressive Hip-Hop album of the last 5-10 years! A$AP Rocky sprinkles in stylistic touches [musical nods] to Public Enemy 's youthful rebellion, Wu-Tang Clan's expert swordsmen-ship, Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right to Party" mentality, and Kanye 's worldly fashion sense throughout the record. While it leaked back in early December nearly a full month a head of it's impending Jan. 15th release date, it's the sheer power of featured rappers and producers that's either gonna make or break the eventual fate of LONGLIVEA$AP . Shit, almost 1/2 of the album's rapping friends are housed on 2 MASSIVE posse cuts, "F*ckin' Problems" and "1 Train:" Action Bronson , Danny Brown, Kendrick Lamar , Joey Bada$$, Drake , Yelawolf , Big K.R.I.T. and 2 Chainz. Florence [-The Machine], Gunplay, Pharrell , Gucci Mane, and Waka Flocka 's assorted talents ar...

While André 3000 has been busy "recording a solo album," hawking Gillette razors/beard trimmers, and re-covering Hendrix covers ... Big Boi 's somehow managed to record & release 2 solo projects and produce the bulk of an album for Modest Mouse . All of this has collectively happened since OutKast 's long-lost last album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was released (2003) and on the heels of a long-rumored new album from the group, which no one really knows "if or when that will ever happen." Big Boi is currently putting a few final touches on his second solo LP, Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors ; This one's essentially the sequel to Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty and it's currently slated for a Nov. 13th wide release. "She Said OK" is a mega-sized sultry cut that's co-piloted by Big Boi and Brooklyn Hipster R&B rapper Theophilus London , along with background crooner Tre Luce and Soulful producer C...

When Instrumentals first dropped last year, it had that underlying "something great is going to happen" sort of feel and now a year later, on the heels of Instrumentals 2 , something great HAS indeed happened! Even when just looking @ it's commercial reception, Instrumentals achieved leaps and bounds for an independent online release; The collection was eventually label-released and re-mastered. This homegrown success is essentially what allowed Clams Casino to make the type of high-profile beats that he's managed to create in recent months. Gaining dual acceptance into both mainstream/underground circles has allowed Mike Volpe [Clams] the chance to work with Lil B , Soulja Boy, Florence + The Machine , G-Side , The Jealous Guys, and Big K.R.I.T. In fact, most of the instrumentals featured across Instrumentals 2 have been stripped down and re-purposed as vocal-less edits. These tracks previously housed either A$AP Rocky , The Weeknd, Lana del Rey , Squadda B , W...

Earlier this year, 23-year-old Nutley, NJ native, Mike Volpe ("Clams Casino") released a mixtape chock-full of instrumental Hip-Hop beats - completely on a whim. Said mixtape, the aptly-titled "Instrumentals" was received with great praise far and wide! So, instead of making one of those cliché "Year-End Lists" like everyone and their brother, though I will admit that I briefly contemplated the idea... I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: Clams Casino - Instrumentals was hands down, the Mixtape Album of The Year ! And with that said, it's almost inappropriate to categorize this genre-jumping materpiece as solely "Hip-Hop." Soon after, Witch-House label, Tri Angle released a collection of original Volpe material: Rainforest EP (June 2011). For all intensive purposes, Clams Casino essentially created Lil B 's now infamous stream-of-consciousness #BASED musical stylings. One could further argue that Volpe also had a strong ha...

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a sucker for a good cover. When it comes down to it, the practice of covering songs is the sheer essence of Pop Culture : Taking something vaguely familiar, re-hashing it, and then re-releasing it to [eventual] wild success. One could even go as far to argue that sampling beats in Hip-Hop is a form of "covering." The latest cover to show up on my radar is Mike Posner 's recent version of Oasis - "Wonderwall" (1995). Posner's biggest claim to fame may very well be "Cooler Than Me," a track which was written-produced in his Duke dormroom. A Matter of Time was distributed to the masses through iTunes U with help from friends, Don Cannon & DJ Benzi . One proper album and a couple digital mixtapes later... Mike Posner liberated a BRAND NEW collection around Thanksgiving, The Layover . While "Wonderwall" is easily the stand-out track, the mixtape features a fine assortment of collaborators...

Let's face it, "orchestral" and "concept album" are basically taboo words in The World of Hip-Hop ; Terms which are not generally met with the most positive fanfare. Though, there are of course exceptions for every rule: Kendrick Lamar 's incredible 2011 mixtape street album, #Section80 - A fictionalized account of this generation's all too real prescription drug dependency and alarmingly high tolerance... and The Roots' just-released [Dec. 6] landmark 13th commercial effort, undun . Over the course of it's 14 tracks, ?uestlove & The Roots Crew effectively flesh out the life story of one Redford Stephens , undun 's titular character. Stephens' primary traits were grafted from a number of real life inspirational sources including The Guess Who , Sufjan Stevens' "Redford" character (Michigan) , Black Thought 's own friends-family, and a few small-time Philly drug dealers. Frequent Roots collaborators Dice Raw,...

While the majority of their peers are busy rapping about bitches, drugs, and money ... The Roots spend the bulk of their time producing Conscious Hip-Hop , concerning the trials and tribulations of life. I've personally been an avid Roots aficionado since first hearing "Don't Say Nuthin'" and it's accompanying album, The Tipping Point (2004). But many fans may be most familiar with the Philly 8-piece because of their 2003 commercial break-out single, "The Seed (2.0);" De facto re-envisioning of Cody ChesnuTT 's own Funky original composition. The band really is so much more than "Hip-Hop," a group made up of true musicians, actively led by drummer ?uestlove since 1987. Between albums #9-10 [counting "The Roots Come Alive" ] The Roots Crew became the official in-house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon , fully on board for it's 2009 debut. For what it's worth, How I Got Over was hands down my favourite alb...