The Witzard

"It's some random butt-head who told me if I wanted to use his song, I'd have to rip it off Soundcloud myself, so I did..." kitty pryde exclaimed when one of her trusty Twitter Followers asked who produced her #BRANDNEW track. "Dead Island" is pryde's latest stand-alone release, which pulls a sampled drum lick from "Pon de Floor" (Major Lazer) and also has a pretty iced-out STEAMCLAM -directed music video to go along with it. kitty pryde 's a Daytona Beach, FL 20-something[?] who's currently prepping the release of her new EP, D.A.I.S.Y. Rage , that should be out online later this month. kitty pryde 's cadence and rapping skills seem to have seriously improved since she unleashed haha, i'm sorry . But let's face it, kitty pryde's just a goofy/socially awkward/love-struck teenager who simply raps about what she knows best... she won't be on the same level as Missy Elliott or Jay-Z any time soon, but th...

"Fuck 1 Time" is quite arguably the most gripping, utterly revealing music video of 2012. It was filmed in the post-apocalyptic-looking world that is Lower East Side [New York] after Hurricane Sandy ; Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire 's face is dimly lit by whatever lighting Shane Annas and crew could scrounge together... flashlights, police car "cherry tops," mag lights, cell phones, etc. It's an eerily realistic clip that chronicles one of the toughest, most unifying natural disasters our nation as a whole has been through since Katrina (2005). The track's pulled from Mr. MFN eXquire 's guerrilla mixtape, The Man In The High Castle , which Universal has essentially pulled from the vast cyber-waves of The Internet . Sonically, he kinda sounds like a comic book/ WWE -loving mix between Biggie & ODB . Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire rolls with a crew of up-and-coming New York area rappers: Action Bronson , El-P, Danny Brown , Das Racist , Go...

(1) What made you decide to remix Danny Brown's "Grown Up" and why'd you choose it over all his recent output(s)? I remixed Danny Brown's "Grown Up" because for one, it's one of the cleanest a capellas of his that I could find on the net. There's also a remix competition that Fool's Gold is hosting. (2) Were you able to work hands-on with Fool's Gold/Danny Brown and Mishka to create your mix? No, not hands on. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to. Trackademicks, who's currently signed to Fool's Gold Records, and I have discussed collaborating on a track. That may be on a future project of mine in the future. (3) When remixing the track, where'd you actually start and what was the general concept in mind? Well, whenever I make a beat, I first decide whether or not I want to make it entirely from scratch or incorporate some type of sampling. With this, I figured that sampling would be the best way t...

Purity Ring - "Belispeak II" (Danny Brown) While Danny Brown has already worked with non- Hip-Hop cats like The Big Pink and The Streets The D.O.T. , he recently Tweeted : "Everybody I wanna work with don't wanna work with me, so I gave up on asking people to do songs with me a long time ago." Mr. Brown then proceeded to list The Weeknd and Purity Ring amongst his dream collaborators. Nearly 1 month later @ 12 midnight Oct. 9-10th, Purity Ring quietly debuted "Belispeak II" online, which just so happens to feature Danny Brown ! Back in August, Corin Roddick mentioned to Pitchfork that his production work's influenced by Soulja Boy, Justin Timberlake, Clams Casino , and that he'd "really like to get into producing for Hip-Hop and R&B artists." " [Danny] Brown , who first saw Purity Ring on their summer tour, expressed interest in wanting to work with the band via Twitter and the two then exchanged ide...

I guess it's pretty safe to say that The Streets & The Music were 2 of the BIGGEST British Rock bands to break on "this side of the pond" [America] since The Beatles/Rolling Stones' 1960-70's Classic Rock heyday; After 10+ years of well-received hits, Mike Skinner recently dissolved The Streets (2011) and around the same time, The Music decided to call it quits, too. Skinner has since teamed up with The Music frontman, Rob Harvey , and now they're producing new music under the group name "The D.O.T." Following the online pre-release of a few rough demo singles, it seems as though The D.O.T. are ready to unveil the debut full-length, And That (Oct. 22-23rd). Man, I can literally remember it like it was yesterday... when I first heard The Streets' witty, back-handed rhymes on "Fit But You Know It," which was released on some random Rolling Stone/Budweiser comp. ha. While Mike Skinner & Rob Harvey have self-rele...

"thanks kathryn obvious" by kitty pryde Kitty Pryde is a 19-year-old rapper hailing from Daytona Beach, FL who almost sounds like a strange blend of Lil B #BASEDGOD and reigning Pop princess, Katy Perry . She's going through the same experiences/mishaps as your average middle American teen, except it's being re-told along with a clever Hip-Hop cadence: Facebook infidelity, prom date woes, non-repliant texters, boy troubles, etc. Kitty Pryde recently complied a 15-minute setlist for her first New York area show, which went down this past weekend. It's the accumulation of a discography that can all be easily downloaded over @ Bandcamp . "Okay Cupid" is essentially an ode to Pryde's 3-ring binder-solidified crush, Danny Brown . Director Brian McKay quickly filmed it's companion music video @ a friend's yardsale last month and it's received some 400,000+ YouTube views ever since. I'm not 100% sure if Kitty Pryde's being T...

The Roots became Jimmy Fallon 's in-house band [comedic relief] when Late Night originally kicked off back in 2009. All the while, they've still somehow managed to produce 2 studio albums (How I Got Over & undun) , as well as supply session work for John Legend , Duffy, Booker T. D'Angelo , and the late Amy Winehouse . ?uestlove recently became little Blue Ivy 's godfather and started a road-side food service truck, "Quest Loves Food." Since re-discovering this new-found sense of fame that came along with their 13th full-length album, The Roots have been asked to curate 2 separate yearly festivals: The Roots Picnic and July 4th Jam (Philly). One of the first BIG festivals of Summer [concert] season, The 5th Annual Roots Picnic is actually taking place this upcoming weekend - June 2 & 3rd. The Legendary Roots Crew will be playing a full "solo" set, backing De La Soul , and re-creating Paid In Full with Eric B. & Rakim ; They al...

Danny Brown is most likely far from your average rapper; Granted he regularly brags about "drinking & smoking," but he's been somewhat weirdly well-received by Indie Rock blogs and endearing fans alike. Maybe it's Brown's affinity for non- Hip-Hop beats, stark realism, cutting-edge threads, outsider appearance... or that Trent Reznor -reminiscent side-swoop haircut. Whatever the reasoning behind it, ex- Pitchfork contributor Eavvon O'Neal felt compelled to shadow and film Danny Brown for a few days back in February. The final edit has been dubbed Detroit State of Mind , a mini-documentary which Brown himself simply describes as, "really like a movie/reality show pilot or some shit ... you laugh, u cry and someone dies at the end lol." Overall, Eavvon O'Neal 's filmed account is a candid 20-minute look into Danny Brown's everyday life. Un-charistically "normal" happenings include: hanging out with family, getting a ...

Ma Dukes is prepping to release her son J Dilla 's long-awaited third posthumous album, Rebirth of Detroit this coming June 12th. Following Dilla 's sudden 2006 passing, 2 other incomplete records were eventually finished and released: The Shining (2006) and Jay Stay Paid (2009) at the hands of producers, Karriem Riggins/Pete Rock . Throughout his short career, J Dilla supposedly recorded troves of music that only his inner circle had ever heard; But now that his estate has gained back the rights to most of these "lost recordings," I'm hoping to see a few more proper releases like this fairly soon! Danny Brown , Guilty Simpson, Amp Fiddler , Illa J, Frank Nitt , Chuck Inglish, and Phat Kat are set to appear over 25 unreleased J Dilla donuts on Rebirth of Detroit . In preparation for the album, "Jay-Dee's Revenge" & "Birthright" will be issued as a limited edition 10-12" single on May 25th. So, don't forget: Rebirth of...

For all intensive purposes, El-P and his Brooklyn -based crew, Company Flow (1992-2002) essentially spearheaded the formation of East Coast Underground ["Indie"] Hip-Hop . Company Flow has since disbanded and El-P recently dissolved his own record label, Definitive Jux . But El-Producto is still fairly active as a producer, solo artist, graphic designer, etc. Fresh on the heels of his upcoming solo album, Cancer for Cure (May 22nd), El-P has carefully re-aligned himself with the Brooklyn scene that he once helped create. Much like a returning, hard-partying frat boy, El-P now rolls with Indie Hip-Hop 's finest up-and-comers: Das Racist , Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire , Danny Brown, Killer Mike , Nocando, Aesop Rock , Despot, Cannibal Ox , and... The Mars Volta? El-P most recently lent his production talents to Das Racist and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire 's breakthrough efforts, Relax/Lost In Translation ; Even spitting a few memorable bars, for good measure...

Brooklyn rapper Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire has signed with Universal Republic , Billboard has learned and confirmed with the label. The news came on the heels of a SXSW 2012 panel eXquire participated on Wednesday (March 14), "The Importance of Online Video & Social Media," a topic in which the rapper is quite well-versed. Since posting his $400 video for "Huzzah" on YouTube last spring, eXquire ignited the attention of the Underground Hip-Hop community and the Indie blog circuit alike, making Pitchfork 's year-end list and attracting interest from rappers like Danny Brown and Das Racist , who guested on a remix of "Huzzah." - Andrew Hampp (Billboard) In November of last year, as the rapper's success began to rise, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire took to his Tumblr to share a few words: "What [an] ill fuckin' journey this year has been for me! When that New Year's Ball dropped, I would have never thought I'd be on...

Himanshu "Heems" K. Suri is really the only [rapping] person who can ACTUALLY pull off sounding so smart/dumb all @ once, without coming off as a complete and total toolbag. It almost seems like "WOMYN," which was the premier track debuted from Nehru Jackets (June) and still my personal favourite... is being told through the voice of Saved By The Bell 's very own "AC Slater." Indeed, yet another fine Pop Culture reference from America 's favourite brown Indie Hip-Hopper ! Remember that one time that Jessie told him that girls don't like being called "chicks" and would much rather prefer "women" instead? Well, this is kinda like after that, when Slater [trying his absolute best] continued to use "women" in the totally wrong tense. OK well, maybe that last part didn't really happen on Saved By The Bell . But it's highly plausible and that what Heems & Mike Finito Lakutis proceed to do here, an...

Quite arguably the second most recognizable [note-worthy] member of Harlem 's very own 7 man-deep A$AP Mob Crew , A$AP Twelvy liberated 2 previously unreleased tracks to Twitter late last night. While the young gifted producer(s) behind "A.S.A.P. Bullshit" and "12 Unleashed" is currently unknown, the pair of slightly dated tracks indefinitely reveal key aspects of Twelvy 's vivid, colorful personality. "A.S.A.P. Bullshit" showcases a slick beat pain-stakingly melded down from Chicago Bulls' Theme (Alan Parsons Project) . Another contempo, albeit "high-profile" A$AP Twelvy verse of particular note recently appeared within Asher Roth & Blended Babies' excellent mixtape, Pabst & Jazz . "12 Unleashed" on the other hand, features A$AP Twelvy rapping over what seems to be an instrumental pulled from Young Buck 's "Get Buck" (2007). It's unclear as to weather or not these 2 tracks will app...

"I'd like to stay in love with you all summer and after fall, I'll keep you warm through the winter." [Front] and center for Danny Brown at Fool's Gold. Cities Aviv speaks 
excitedly, like a fan first and a rapper second: "When I go to a show, I want to feel like, 'This dude is gonna kick me in the fuckin' face.' If they let you down live, it's to the point that you don't want to listen to the record anymore." - Cities Aviv (Spin, Dec. 2011) The manic young man behind mysterious musical pen name, "Cities Aviv" is in fact Memphis, TN 's very own Gavin Mays. Cities Aviv 's overall sound is essentially a haphazard juxtaposition of May's favourite genres: Indie, Punk, Hip-Hip , and Chillwave . Yes, that sounds like a formula to produce a completely terrible combination of sounds... Various media outlets have shown particular liking to May's Cities Aviv project; Even going as far as to dub him " Hip-Hop...

A$AP Rocky 's involvement with fellow up-and-comer, Danny Brown 's BRAND NEW "Blunt After Blunt" music video has been long-rumored. While the final cut has finally been liberated, additional rumored friends/collaborators that were set to appear [ Kendrick Lamar , Dave Chappelle , and Mos Def Yasiin Bey ] are noticeably absent. A$AP Rocky's directorial debut is executed surprisingly well: Dark undertones, vivid color use-age, simplicity! "Blunt After Blunt" is without a doubt one of the darker and more effective cuts on XXX - Thanks to SKYWLKR 's lush, dirty production style. Danny Brown is all about repping his hometown of Detroit ... collaborating with as many link-minded D-based artists as possible: Random Axe , Black Milk , SKYWLKR, Dilla (R.I.P.), House Shoes, Rosalinda Ruiz, hexmurda , etc. Both Danny Brown and A$AP Rocky have a few solid outputs currently on the market: Black & Brown EP, XXX , and LIVELOVEA$AP - respectively. A r...

Danny Brown is far from shy about his love affair with prescription drugs and is often coincidentally referred to as "Adderall Admiral." Since releasing his 2010 debut project: The Hybrid , Brown has constructed a joint street album with Tony Yayo (G-Unit) , liberated a loose concept mixtape - XXX , dubbed up a RELAX ing verse for Das Racist , and appeared within Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire 's posse cut [remix]: "Huzzah!" Motor City Brown 's latest contribution to the world is... some appended bars to an alternate remix of AraabMUZIK's flip of The Big Pink 's come-back lead single, "Stay Gold." Come Nov. 1st, Fat Beats will unleash Black & Brown EP; A collaborative 10-track effort... a sequel of sorts, between Detroit "Boom-Bap" pioneers, Black Milk and Danny Brown . Thanks to a tip provided by the lovely PR wonder Rosalinda Ruiz, I was directed to an easily accessible full stream of said joint EP. With the excepti...

New-comer Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire reminds me very much of Biz Markie ... wherein @ any given moment in time, you're not entirely sure if he's fucked up, prolific, "mental" [zany], or TOTALLY serious. Last week, Мишка (Mishka) liberated eXquire's debut mixtape, Lost In Translation , to the masses. It's 18 contained tracks channel that raw energy/talent that Tom Breihan & I have [very] recently championed. The mixtape features beats pain-stakingly crafted by Charli Brown Beatz, Necro, El-P (Cannibal Ox), Constrobuz, Jake-One, BoweryBeats, Esoteric , and eXquire himself. Note: The young New York rapper's vocal stylings may remind seasoned fans of Wu-Tang Soldier, Method Man 's notorious rhyming abilities. For all intensive purposes, "Huzzah" is being pushed as Lost In Translation 's lead single. Directed by TKTK Media and filmed entirely in black-and-white, the music video for "Huzzah" (Bonus Remix) features fellow...