The Witzard

CREDIT: Greg Gardner (SOURCE: Buenaventura Records) Controller 7 is a Berkeley, California-based producer, who makes self-described "beats, mostly sample-based cut-and-paste type stuff." C7 spent his early years spinning G.I. Joes off of his Sesame Street record player, playing in the mud, and falling face first off his bike. After spending some quality time memorizing the lyrics to Run-D.M.C.'s "You Be Illin,'" air drumming to mid-80's jams on MTV, and becoming obsessed with dubbing tapes, he started playing the drums in 1988. Fast-forward to a number of years later, Controller 7 had honed in his technique and started making rough demo tapes, one of which just so happened to fall into the hands of sole—then, one of the founders of anticon.—and by 1998-99, things were starting to take shape. Controller 7 has since worked with the like sof sole, Sage Francis, Third Sight, Atmosphere, Themselves (doseone & JEL.) Deep Puddle Dynamics, and Sixtoo. He ...

MESTIZO & Controller 7 - Couch "Fan Art" CREDIT: Jason Jägel (@jagel) MESTIZO & Controller 7 are two Underground/Indie Hip-Hop luminaries, who have now teamed up to self-release a collaborative 10-track album entitled Couch . Emcee MESTIZO , a Fake Four, Inc. affiliate, has released music with A7PHA (doseone,) Free The Robots, The Heavy Twelves , Mike Gao, k-the-i??? Meaty Orge, MURS , and Isaiah Toothtaker. Beat-maker Controller 7 , a one-time anticon. affiliate, has contributed production work for projects attributed to Atmosphere , Deep Puddle Dynamics, Sage Francis , sole, Themselves (doseone & JEL,) and Third Sight. Upon Couch 's initial release a few weeks ago, I decided to reach out to Controller 7 on a whim, via email, who told me he and MESTIZO are, actually, friends-of-friends and despite working together, have never met in-person. In addition to having doseone as a mutual collaborator, Controller 7 & MESTIZO "met" through p...