The Witzard

"I used to have tons of songs in my head, but since I couldn't play anything well and I didn't know how to use programs [so] I was never able to make them," Chicago emcee and former Cool Kids affiliate Hollywood Holt writes within his rather compelling Facebook Bio section. Now better known as simply HXLT (pronounced: "Holt" ), the former club-friendly rapper has returned with the lead-off single from his as-yet-untitled G.O.O.D. Music debut; " Holt 's manager told Billboard at the time of his singing that "it's like if Joy Division , The Strokes , and Dr. Dre made an album together."' Judging by "Live to Death," it would appear as though HXLT has somehow already managed to master the whole Psych/Punk Rock -leaning brand of Alt. Hip-Hop that Kanye 's former protégé Kid Cudi has spent the past five or so odd years aimlessly trying to hone and perfect. Although, prior to unleashing "Live to Death"...

"Hit the HASH [button] at retrohash.com to uncover secret raps over @black_milk madness..." @asherroth somewhat cryptically Tweeted late Wednesday afternoon, accented by a "#hashwednesday" hashtag; a trend which can be attributed to the bulk of Roth's recent post- RetroHash activity, consisting of fully fleshed out non-album tracks haphazardly uploaded to his Asher Paul Roth Soundcloud account. Hash Wednesdays roll call additionally includes Chuck Inglish -produced "That's Cute," "Oren's Not Sure," Fat Tony -assisted "Sushi," "Taking My Time," and Nottz -produced "Blow Yr Head" amongst other questionable non-album loosies. Although many of Asher Roth 's one-time fans and detractors might have quickly written him off as a mere "one-hit wonder" during the five years between "I Love College" -featuring Asleep In The Bread Aisle and his nearly flawless second album Retro...

Not only did he appear within a self-satirical SNL 40 Wayne's World sketch dealing with last weekend's Album of The Year winner Beck 's near GRAMMY's acceptance speech-shattering events, Kanye additionally performed an emotional three-song medley towards the end of last night's 40th anniversary primetime special; Kanye appeared on stage, laying sprawled out across the stage floor under a dimly lit/low-hanging ceiling set-up performing "Jesus Walks" into a microphone dangling above his head. West slowly arose for the second segment of his medley — a fragmented chunk of his recent genre-blending collaboration with Sir Paul McCartney , "Only One" (suspiciously sans McCartney). For the third and final portion of his SNL 40 performance, Kanye was joined on stage by former Kids These Days emcee Vic Mensa and mysterious "Chandelier" songstress and in-demand producer, Sia for a dark, brooding animalistic performance of "Wol...

"In early 2014, Paul McCartney and Kanye West first began working together in a small bungalow in Los Angeles . The process that would result in "Only One" began with a simple brainstorming session between the two: with McCartney improvising on the keyboards and Kanye vocally sketching and shaping ideas in a stream-of-consciousness riff," laments a recent press release marking the 12 midnight New Year's Eve release of Kanye & Paul McCartney 's abrupt new single. Although a collaboration between the two men who recorded such drastically different world-renown songs as "Hey Jude" and "Gold Digger," "Only One" could be likened to the unknown middle ground that might exist between 808's & Heartbreak and Let It Be ; further accented by background vocals from Taylor Gang signee Ty Dollar $ign , co-writer Kirby Lauryen , and a beat concocted by in-house producer Mike Dean , McCartney adds in a beautifully sparse ...

Despite the fact, or maybe because, he looks like a modern day hippie burn-out, Asher Roth is easily one of the most talented and criminally under-rated emcees in all of the Boom-Bap land. While I've been a fan since "I Love College," I'll be amongst the first to admit that Roth's mixtapes have always been infinitely stronger than his lone radio-friendly album, Asleep In The Bread Aisle (2009). But with that said, all of Asher Roth 's non-album projects have sufficiently spotlighted his lyrical progression and sense of zen-like calm, cool, and collectiveness during an ill-fated and now severed deal with Def Jam ; Seared Foie Gras with Quince & Cranberry , RAWTH EP, Pabst & Jazz , and The GreenHouse Effect (Vol. 2) are therefore the missing creative links between Asleep In The Bread Aisle and his upcoming sophomore album, RetroHash . Although there's really no way of telling if it's even the same collection of songs, Roth's perpetual...

"Birthday Sex" crooner Jeremih has teamed back up with LA -based Electro/Hip-Hop producer and beat-maker Shlohmo to release "No More" just in time for inclusion on your nearly-finalized Valentine's Day playlist. NPR of all places premiered the latest Future-R&B track from the pair, which they further described as "the first single from their forthcoming [WEDIDIT/Def Jam] joint EP, and it's edgy, 3am, come-down-after-the-club music... more Avante-Garde than club-friendly." It's definitely amongst a recent crop of Kanye -inspired sinister-leaning love songs; Shlohmo initially remixed Jeremih 's Late Nights mixtape track, "F_ck U All The Time" around late 2012 and then linked back up for "Bo Peep (Do U Right)" for Yours Truly and Adidas' Songs from Scratch collaborative video-series. While Jeremih & Shlohmo 's long-rumored Untitled EP was previously slated for a February 2014 release, whi...

Asher Roth is hands down one of the most talented rappers in the game. But I feel like I always have to defend him because of his well-known semi-shitty single, "I Love College" and his scattered album release schedule or lack thereof. Roth is currently working on his long-awaited follow-up to Asleep In The Bread Aisle (2009), although I personally feel that his mixtape game is generally stronger. Not too long after Bread Aisle , I saw Asher Roth put on a show @ Club Roxxy (Philly); I'd somehow lost track of my friends by the time he got on stage, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself nonetheless. The second time I saw Asher Roth was yet another hometown show @ Milkboy on the tour behind Def Jam -backed mixtape, Pabst & Jazz (2011). My buddies Pat, Pauly, and I were essentially FLOORED when Roth came on stage with a full, Roots -esque Jazz band and effortlessly ripped through choice selections from Pabst & Jazz . Since signing with Def Jam a couple years ag...

Newly buzzed-n-bleached British songstress Jessie J has recruited 2 sharp-tongued rappers from both sides of the pond, Dizzee Rascal & Big Sean , for her latest genre-blending single, "WILD." It's the world's first taste from her forthcoming currently untitled sophomore album, which has already been described as quite the sonic departure from Who You Are (2011); But on the other hand, Jessie J herself dually described "WILD" as "a very small reflection of what the album sounds like" and noted that she's still as nervous as she was when releasing her debut full-length. In addition to shaving her head on live TV back in March, Jessie J 's become something of a British mega-star, gaining additional notoriety as a judge on The Voice UK . "WILD" comfortably sits @ #42 on iTunes' Pop Charts after being released about a month ago and has raked up nearly 1,500,000 YouTube views in just a matter of days. Needless to say,...

Let's face it, there's a certain breed of Pop -injected Hip-Hop that's mainly meant for spoiled-rotten suburban white girls, slutty socialites, college co-eds with "daddy issues," etc. We'll just call it "Hip-Pop," for lack of a better term... Not to say that it can't be mildly good/catchy from time to time, but you're not gonna get the street grit of Wu-Tang or social commentary along the lines of Common . Anyways, when it comes to radio-friendly Hip-Pop , I'd say Macklemore & 2 Chainz are quite arguably 2 of the sub-genre's BIGGEST Internet -certified super-stars; each releasing 2 of 2012-13's more popular mainstream Hip-Hop albums, The Heist and Based On a T.R.U. Story , respectively. So, it makes complete and total sense that Boston -based Hip-Pop producer, Clinton Sparks enlisted the 2 rising emcees to appear together on a track for his upcoming album, "Disco Ball & Chain" (Def Jam). Sparks then ...

Ancient Egypt was quite the area of interest for this guy right here was back in grade school... pyramids, King Tut , mummies, scarabs, The Nile, Spinx , etc. Frank Ocean really seems to share the same mutual admiration for Egypt , as his new 10-minute opus is affectionately titled "Pyramids." Friday [June 9th] was a BIG day for Mr. Ocean! It was later revealed that a mysterious trailer which was leaked in the early morning hours in fact contained both a new track and proper album release date; channel ORANGE , Frank Ocean 's long-awaited debut LP, is finally slated to be unveiled on Def Jam July 17th. John Mayer supposedly managed to string together a guitar solo for "Pyramids'" mid-song tempo/stylistic shift. Fresh off the heels of some Coldplay support dates, Frank Ocean announced his first full-fledged solo tour: Seattle-Chicago , running from July-early August. I guess it's pretty safe to assume that "Thinking About You" will re-...

(1) I really dig the high concept, mysterious/vagueness & Frank Ocean cameo behind "Thinking About You!" But the video might be a little hard for some viewers to follow... Can you please walk us through it's perceived concept? No way... The video is how it is, the intention is for the viewer to pull the meaning that they want from the video. To us, explaining it would sort of ruin the concept and self relate-able emotion that is evoked in most people. (2) I remember when "Thinking About You" was originally uploaded to Vimeo & then Def Jam soon yanked it. What made then now decide to adopt it as the track's Official Music Video? No idea, we were just as surprised yesterday when we saw it popping up all over the internet. (3) How did you guys initially get in touch with Frank Ocean to film his cameo? While small, his role as a nurse seems pretty pivotal to the video's overall concept. How much input did he really have in "Thinking About You...

Frank Ocean uploaded his latest track, "Whip Appeal" to his personal Tumblr account earlier this evening. Like many of his other recent "releases," the track was pulled from the bulk of Internet servers just a few hours later [presumably by Def Jam ]. Soon after "Whip Appeal" was yanked, Ocean hopped back on Tumblr to clarify that the track probably won't be appearing on Nostalgia, ULTRA 's major label re-release, which might never even see the light of day. Frank Ocean has logged studio time and penned hits for the likes of Nas, Justin Bieber , Kanye & Jay-Z , John Legend, Beyoncé, Bridget Kelly, Pharrell , and Brandy . Since he self-released what would have been his debut project on his own back in February 2011, Frank Ocean and Def Jam have been on not so good terms... But his currently untitled premier release is expected sometime during 2012. "Whip Appeal" is roughly 5-minutes long and features Ocean lamenting about ...

For their latest "viral" cover selection, the boys of BADBADNOTGOOD decided to flip one of Odd Future 's most seasoned tracks, "Orange Juice." The now Jazz -tinged number originally appeared on Wolf Gang 's premier mixtape, The Odd Future Tape (2008). It should be noted that BBNG initially emerged under the guise, "The Odd Trio" and have since been closely linked to the righteous Hip-Hop crew. A wide array of Jazz -stepped OF covers have been included on their numerous releases, as well as a few previously-released "viral" videos of similar nature along with Tyler, The Creator himself. But wait just a minute there, partner... both BADBADNOTGOOD and Odd Future are currently working on a wide assortment of various projects - specifically "BBNG 2" and The Odd Future Tape, Vol. 2 (respectively). Eager fans can also expect to see/hear Tyler 's second third album "WOLF," Frank Ocean 's long-awaited Def ...

Similar to the vast majority of Hip-Hopping up-and-comers anymore these days, Asher Roth really manages to flex his lyrical "nuts" across the length of his free-form mixtape releases... Maybe it's the chance to pull samples from just about any source (free of charge) and "GO HARD" without a single worry or fret that's all the more liberating. Whether it be The GreenHouse Effect (2008), Seared Foie Gras with Quince and Cranberry , or THE RAWTH EP (2010); Roth's intelligent Beats & Rhymes which are thinly spread across his mixtapes, regularly TRUMP his companion major label-spun album by-products. Fun Fact: Asher Roth and Justin Bieber actually share[d] the same talent manager, Scooter Braun . Asher Roth initially burst onto the music scene in 2009 - upon the release of his radio-friendly lead single, "I Love College." Paired along with Asleep In The Bread Aisle (premier LP), Roth managed to reach the #5 spot on Billboard's Hot...

The final scenes of "Swim Good" feature a mysterious panda-masked man, limousine explosion, blood by the ocean... and do little-nothing to help clear up the amassed sense of confusion. Syncopated along with Tricky Stewart 's drumbeat, Frank Ocean does his best to stay true to the overall lyrical theme of said track. Behind the wheel of a vibrant orange Lincoln limo and under the direction of NABIL , Frank Ocean manages to get roped up in a number of hi-jinx. Those including but not limited to: forest-surrounded crusin', ninja sword tricks, passionate love-making [murder?], ocean crest stock footage, a pair of Air Jordans , and FIRE! " Kanye 's 808's & Heartbreak album is more influential than we think... It helped to free other hip hop artists to experiment. Visually speaking, Kanye and André 3000 are the most influential to this generation, whether we want to admit it or not. I don't think it will stop with wearing saggy "jeggings...