The Witzard

"Seems @theweeknd have said there is no sample used or enough likeness to "Machine Gun" to warrant any infringement... or credit," head Quaker and Portishead mastermind Geoff Barrow angerly Tweeted early Wednesday morning. It sounds like Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) initially asked Barrow and Portishead for permission to use said sample and upon being denied clearance, loosely re-created "Machine Gun"'s ferocious, almost Tribal -sounding drum pattern. But honestly, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense... since The Weeknd and Portishead are both signed to Universal Records , plus Geoff Barrow and Beth Gibbons are self-admitted Hip-Hop supporters. "Belong to The World" is actually The Internet 's second taste of The Weeknd 's upcoming "sophomore" album, Kiss Land . In what seems like an effort to foster more of a prominent public image, Abel Tesfaye granted Complex his first full-fledged earlier in the we...

"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...

It's no secret that I stay in quite close contact with Das Racist 's inner [rapper-producer] circle: Victor Vazquez , kechPhrase, Kassa Overall , and Daplib (Pedro) @ Illuminati Zone . Talking with these Brooklyn -based artists as of late, "Fat Tony" is a name that comes up in conversation pretty damn often! Originally based out of Houston , Fat Tony is currently prepping the follow-up to his last effort, RABDARGAB (2010); Double Dragon , which was produced along with Tom Cruz , will be released by newly-formed Indie Hip-Hop imprint, Young One this upcoming June 1st. It's set to feature contributions from 10ille , MURS, TECLA , Main Attrakionz, and Ninjasonik . Fat Tony 's record label roster also includes the likes of Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire , Cities Aviv, Main Attrakionz , and Children of The Night . Along with Young One 's formative announcement and mixtape sampler release, Fat Tony & Tom Cruz debuted Double Dragon 's premier single:...

For all intensive purposes, MondreMAN is the "Rakim" of up-and-coming Oakland "Cloud Rap" duo, Main Attrakionz . Aside from the fact that they quite obviously love weed, beer, Pro Wrestling , and "airy" [ Ambient ] beats... little else is known about the illusive rapper/beatsmith team, nor their Green Ova crew. Since bursting onto the Indie Hip-Hop scene back in 2010 along with fellow stream-of-conscious artists like Cities Aviv, Danny Brown, Lil B , Clams Casino , A$AP Rocky, Das Racist , and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire ... Squadda B & MondreMAN have branched off to record separate solo projects. MondreMAN liberated his latest effort, M A N EP back in December, which has easily become his most well-received release. Surf on over to Main Attrakionz' Bandcamp page to pick up selections from their newest batch of solo, group, and Killa Beez -esque releases. During his latest promotional push behind M A N EP, MondreMAN released a companio...

Full disclosure: This is like a "Dream Post" for us here @ The Witzard , as it includes 3 of my absolute favourite things... Indie Hip-Hop , voluptuous women [redheads], and cutting-edge sample sources. I really hope that all of my fellow Hip-Hop heads and crate-diggers , and of course our array of female fans thoroughly enjoy this assortment of tracks, too. The blending of Lana del Rey's sampled vocal riffs and go-to Hip-Hop stylings makes more sense than you might think... since Lana del Rey is in fact, a self-proclaimed Hip-Hop aficionado: "You're so fresh to death & sick as ca-cancer. You were sorta Punk Rock , I grew up on Hip-Hop ." I must admit that I'm really looking forward to seeing/hearing what this seductive songstress has in store next for the music industry! For starters, it should be noted that up-and-coming producer "Silky Johnson" is in fact named after Dave Chappelle 's infamous character of the same name, who ap...