The Witzard

"Beastie Boys + James Brown = Beastie Brown. Music is the sonic version of a person's soul. You can hear it in the vibes they create. If it hits you on the positive tip, you'll definitely Shake Your Rump. You might be head-bopping on the train caught up in the commuter headphone zone or be a B-boy up rocking on linoleum in the park while a DJ does his thing. Regardless of the situation, the Body's Moving to a Funky Drummer. You can't fight that emotional connection, so don't try. The rhythmic arts are an Ill Communication, no doubt about it. What you have right here is a labour of love mixed up with true passion from the Brooklyn icon, Jazzsoon. He's the living embodiment of all that's authentic New York City and that shines through in all his endeavours." "Serious biz. It's a beautiful combination of The Three Bad Brothers That You Know So Well and The Godfather of Soul. A sonic enterprise like you've only ever dreamed of. It's...

When we last spoke with Third Sight emcee Roughneck Jihad, he was preparing to release his critically-acclaimed 2017 album, THE WRETCHED OF THE VERSE: A MICROPHONE MURDERER'S EXTENDED-PLAY RESPONSE TO UNABRIDGED WACKNESS IN HIP-HOP MUSIC TODAY. Since our comprehensive interview here at The Witzard, Roughneck hasn't slowed down one bit... releasing his IL Torsolo-produced Disco Sinistro EP, The Tarantula Bros. with Third Sight's "The Chef" DJ Du-Funk, and most recently, The Red Herring Mixtape. Next up for Roughneck Jihad is limited edition Tarantula Bros. vinyl, as well as his third solo album, Juan Sequitur (JS) expected to be released this Fall/Winter. JS will feature appearances from DJ Zuckell, Spex, Jason Lee, Abom, IL Torsolo, Sir Dino, Kwantize, and Teran. Enjoy perusing through Roughneck Jihad's Red Herring Mixtape All-around Breakdown below. "Red Herring is made up of tracks I recorded between 2008-12; production duties are held down by Mr....

"Honestly, it's a very chaotic little commentary on a very chaotic time. Some of the sound bites come from campaign ads from 50 years ago; [it's] always a bit of a tightrope between serious and ridiculous," mix master maestro graciously Alan "illchemist" Friedman told me within a brief, yet self-explanatory Facebook DM'ed statement sent Thursday night. Now, take it with a grain of salt, but in my eyes, throughout the course of "A Story of Power," Friedman is essentially commenting on the current state of the nation and better yet, the world: social injustices, our comedy show of a 2016 Presidential "race," this ungodly wet, hot American summer, and general state of unrest—"it's a very, very mad world, mad world," as a wise man once said. "A Story of Power" has supposedly been sitting dormant on the back burner... or more so, the back of illchemist 's hard drive for a few months and as he put it him...

Esquire Classic 's nearly 4-minute "Tribute to The Greatest" mash-up was quietly shared by @EsquireClassic this past Sunday morning, June 5th, along with a striking image of recently deceased three-time World Champion Muhammad Ali sorting through a collection of dusty 45's in a 1960-70's car along with the caption, "Ali spins the platters that matter;" Esquire 's digital archival curator and editor Alex Belth composed the mix along with frequent collaborator Alan Friedman (aka illchemist ). "I see it as an extension of the curation I do with print on the [Esquire Classic] site," Belth wrote within an email, which contained a 20-song tracklist from which he and illchemist meticulously composed a Soul-Funk -evoking soundbed to underlay beneath an array of Ali's finest spoken word material and fight commentary. Miles Davis , The Temptations, Bob & Earl 's House of Pain-sampled "Harlem Shuffle," Bill Deal & ...

Daptone Records' own revered Soul-Funk crooner The Screamin' Eagle of Soul , better known as 67-year-old Charles Bradley , a former James Brown impersonator who once went by "Black Velvet," is hearing up to unleash his third studio album this upcoming April 1st, 2016, Changes . Bradley's Menahan Street Band , The Budos Band, and The Bullets -assisted album is the proper follow-up to 2013's Victim of Love , and his debut No Time for Dreaming two short years prior, Changes takes its name and overall running theme from a similarly-titled Black Sabbath Vol. 4 track, which Daptone exclusively released as a Record Store Day 7-inch back in 2013. Interestingly enough, Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach 's recently-premiered Psych-Rock side project The Arcs features three rotating members of The Menahan Street Band – Nick Movshon , Homer Steinweiss , and El Michels Affair founder Leon Michels – who spearheaded a retro-futuristic Funk -leaning sound, w...