The Witzard

Still riding high on the success of his recent single with Rolled Gold & Reef The Lost Cauze , "Nite Owl's Theme," Ai-Que AKA Ai-Que MCBoogie AKA "The Multi-faceted Rap Machine" has returned with his debut full-length, The American Dream . Ai-Que is a Philly -based emcee "heavily focused on the cultural impact and unification of global communities." Ai-Que also, moonlights as co-host of The BANGERS & MASH PODCAST (@bangersandmashtheshow) along with Ali Miller FKA Truck North of The Legendary Roots Crew . On the eve prior to The American Dream 's Saturday, July 21st release, Ai-Que played a monumentous show with dead prez , Reef The Lost Cauze & DJ ANTLIVE at The Ardmore Music Hall hosted by D.R.E.S. Tha Beatnik . When asked what his greatest sources of inspiration and influence behind The American Dream were, Ai-Que stated he wanted to "create something that was sonically, more contemporary without compromising the...

No More Later / Narco by The Deadeyes Ever wonder what a "screaming violin" haphazardly nestled atop a feverish medley of "scorching guitars" and a pummeling drum/rhythm section filtered through a Punk/Hardcore lens might sound like? If so, look no further than Philly -based 3-piece band, The Deadeyes . Consisting of violinist John Coursey , vocalist and guitar player Patrick McHugh , and drummer David McMullin , The Deadeyes play a unique brand of violin-driven, Soul -tinged Punk that's been fittingly described as if " The Black Keys had a love child with [Nick Cave &] The Bad Seeds ." The Deadeyes' members have previously played with long-standing underground group Grubstake , as well as High Hearts , The Mikroknytes, and McHugh & McMullin's hilariously-named 90's college band, Connie Chung . John Coursey, Patrick McHugh & Dave McMullin have collectively played gigs in support of classic Punk bands such as The Dead Mi...

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it," as 1980's silver screen teen Ferris Bueller would say. Anthony Friedlander , frontman of New Jersey -based Indie/Alternative/Prog-Rock band 4:44 , gets it and really seized the day on July 9th when on a whim, around 3AM, he uploaded 4-track JAY-Z EP to their Bandcamp page. Friedlander and his 4:44 bandmates—bassist Greg Mele, Jr. and drummer Zach Gormley —readily admit that "THIS IS A SHAMELESS MARKETING TECHNIQUE," as JAY-Z 's latest album was seemingly "named after" their band; just imagine a stylistic mix between alt-j , Indie Rock innovators Radiohead, and the frantic, frenzied vocal delivery of Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock . "We're actually huge fans of JAY-Z . Before this whole thing even happened, I had "we are the Mike Jordans of recording" in our Bandcamp Bio ; that is one of his lyrics and this was before h...

"When I was asked to contribute to Rough Trade Publishing 's A Song A Day to Keep The Pain Away (#SADRTP) benefit project, covering Grizzly Bear 's outstanding album cut, "Foreground" somehow felt like the right starting point; in the moment, I was reacting to the Trump Administration 's Muslim Ban , projecting a song about a relationship falling apart onto man and country," one-time Das Racist affiliate and frequent Heems collaborator Lushlife wrote within a recent statement. "Foreground" was released on Day #74 of a planned 90-day initiative by Rough Trade Publishing , which they vehemently attest aims to "help a little with the pain and perhaps, even inspire you. We hope so. We all need to be doing whatever we can to make 2017 a better tomorrow." Previous prescribers to their A Song A Day Keeps The Pain Away benefit comp. include Sondre Lerche , Nada Surf, King Khan , A Place to Bury Strangers, Superchunk , awesomely-name...

"Basically, since Uncle Crimson and I hang out often, one day he walked in the door and I was chopping up a sample; he literally just started rapping a verse he had just started writing and it sounded so perfect, we decided to just put together a short project. Then, I put one of my simple drum breaks on that sample, which became "Book of David." The rest of the project fell together very naturally and we recorded all the verses in one Saturday afternoon. Looking forward, since our chemistry is so great, our future work will hopefully come together just as naturally, but with live instrumentation replacing the samples," Harry Metz , otherwise known as Philly -based producer Rolled Gold , wrote within a recent emailed statement. Metz was of course, talking about his recently released The Great Fallback EP recorded with fellow Philadelphian Dante D. Hill aka sharp-tongued emcee Uncle Crimson . Rolled Gold further describes The Great Fallback as "a 5-song ...

"This is a loosie joint that I put together this month (sort of celebrating my birthday) with Weirdo Rock God-head R. Stevie Moore on the hook; to that effect, I produced an Avalanches -inspired instrumental and we're spitting rhymes that lament and celebrate being grown-up Rap dudes," rapper-producer Raj Haldar , better known as Lushlife , recently told me within an email concerning his latest Soundcloud release, "Earl Sweatshirt, Give Me a Hug." "I actually knew R. Stevie Moore when I was a kid—he worked at the record store where I would go every day and spend my lunch money on records. Never really knew he was like a lo-fi God or later, would be huge inspiration to dudes like Ariel Pink . We got to talking a while back and decided to flip this joint together," Lushlife tellingly continued. Haldar then recruited fellow Philly -bred emcee, Anything I Touch, I Bruise master-remixer, recent Rap Booklets curator, and part-time Passion of The W...

"It's a song about someone who is tired of being taken advantage of by the free spirit they're in love with. They're trying to deal with the fact that they're not OK with being just a part-time lover. It sounds like Ultravox or a happier version of The Cure or any 80's band that [loved] string synthesizer sounds," Remote Places founding member Justin Geller revealed within a recent Tell All Your Friends press release. Geller, a long-time member of genre-eschewing two to five-man Philly -based group Pink Skull , has likened his upcoming Nights and Weekends EP to "the soundtrack to a modern day re-make of The Breakfast Club " and has already drawn comparisons to New Order , The Smiths, The National , Washed Out, and Wild Nothing . Geller and bandmate Julian Grefe released four sprawling full-length albums and countless EP's and 12-inches further blurring the lines between glitchy lo-fi House , Psychedelic/Krautrock Indie Dance, and f...

I'm almost positive that I myself, like many unknowing listeners, first heard the ferocious rhyming talents of Sugar Tongue Slim (STS) on The Roots' "Auto-Tune Baby"-borrowing How I Got Over (2010) bonus track, "Hustla;" an intriguing concoction produce by ?uestlove & Diplo, which was formerly inter-woven amidst an early M.I.A. & Prince Zimboo-assisted Major Lazer composition befittingly titled "Baby" (Switch Remix) . STS would self-release three volumes of his critically-acclaimed GOLD Rush freestyles series and later go on to join Black Thought-fronted Money Makin' Jam Boys alongside fellow Roots affiliates Dice Raw, Truck North, and Greg Porn. It would appear as though MMJB's post-Prestige indefinite hiatus has seemingly inspired STS to go ahead and form his own genre-blending Roots-esque Hip-Hop band, NAC; "Cultivated in Philly and created in LA, NAC is a unique band that have written music for artist such as John Legend,...

" Rat Fist is the result of a friendship that began over a decade ago in 2003 when [Randy] Randall 's former band Wives and [Sean] McGuiness' former band Navies played a house show together in Washington DC . It was then that the two quickly recognized they had a common love for loud, fast, heavy music," notes the newly-formed band's description on R5 Productions' upcoming events page. Rat Fist unveiled a string of six quick-strike East Coast tour dates, which are listed above, along with a righteous teaser single titled "Disrupt Yr DNA" late Tuesday afternoon. It sounds like a harshly grafted mix of both Pissed Jeans and No Age 's Noise Rock/Hardcore Punk sounds; while I'm not entirely sure who's on lead vocals, Randall's crunchy feedback-drenched guitar riffs meld perfectly with McGuiness' skull-bashing drum lines littered through out "Disrupt Yr DNA"'s nearly 2:30-minute duration. Despite the fact th...

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...

Although he largely retired from competitive figure skating around 2009-10, Braden Overett has decided to make a comeback, of sorts... call it a "blaze of glory" by way of Pissed Jeans new Joe Stakun -directed music video, "Romanticize Me." While the phrases Hardcore Punk and figure skating don't exactly line up, Stanuk makes it work much better than I could've (n)ever imagined; Upon announcing his retirement nearly 4 years ago, Overett penned an insightful article for USFS SKATING magazine, which blatantly laments, "In my mind, I was different... When I was done, it would either be because I had won the Olympics 19 times and broken all possible world records. I would have reached the pinnacle of sports fame, driving a different exotic car every day of the week and buying small countries with my 900 bazillion dollars. Or, I'd walk into the rink one day and there would be a giant neon sign reading: "Braden Overett's Retiring Today!...

Diplo has been a very busy man lately; a full-length with Snoop Lion , that new Major Lazer record, produced a track for Mac Miller , formed an audio-video channel with Skrillex & A-Trak , etc. Sometimes it's pretty easy to forget that Thomas Wesley "Diplo" Pentz is a former Philly teacher who just so happened to single-handedly pioneer Hip-Hop/Dancehall/Moombahton/Dubstep . Fully employing his Major Lazer alter-ego, Diplo 's latest creation is a remix of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' recent mega-hit single, "Can't Hold Us." Diplo then recruited 1st Klase to re-work to Hip-Pop beat into an Island riddim, which Trinidad -based rapper Swappi 4D proceeds to lyrically shred to pieces! Essentially, all that remains from the original are that Microsoft Outlook piano lick and Ray Dalton 's smooth "Can we go back, this is the moment. Tonight is the night" central hook. Macklemore 's verses seem a little haphazardly sprea...

Headed into Philly on a whim with my buddy Mike last night (Friday), speeding down 676 and over The Ben Franklin Bridge . Kanye 's site listed 22 new projection cities across America/Europe , including 3 planned Philly locations; Eastern State Penitentiary 's guerrilla-style showing was listed as 10:30-11:30. I called up my girlfriend once we got there, which was around 11:10 and only waited about 10-15 minutes longer amongst a group of roughly 100+ people trying to decide which side of the street to stand on. A black panel van with some sort of New York labeling pulled up and after knocking into someone's truck, pulled out a generator and started setting up as the crowd got more and more restless, starting to block the oncoming late night traffic. Kanye 's so damn obnoxious... like who would really think to project their face on building sides across the world from 9-12 @ night!? It's almost like he's gotten progressively crazier since The College Dropout...

Garrett "G. Love" Dutton is a Philly-based musician who's been making Blues -infused Hip-Hop for the better part of the past 20+ years. If you ask me, close friend/frequent collaborator Jack Johnson basically aped his whole " Funky [acoustic] surfer dude" style, ran with it, and got commercially successful. But maybe G. Love belongs in the underground music scene; I personally have damn near 100 G. Love & Special Sauce tracks in my iTunes library and 2011's Fixin' to Die was his 12-13th studio album. For those of you who are un-familar with G. Love (WAKE UP!), I'd say he's equal parts rapper and singer-songwriter; almost like a Beastie-Boys -meets- Johnny-Cash kinda guy. Bloodshot & Blue , a 10" EP limited to 2,000 copies, was released this past Saturday for Record Store Day ... and I was lucky enough to score a copy on wax! G. Love recently described the sheer genesis of the EP's creation to Rolling Stone , ...

The Sure Shot [parts 1 and 2] by Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge Ghostface Killah is a sharp-tongued, seasoned emcee who came up with Wu-Tang Clan during the height of 1990's Gambino Rap . Even when I first heard Wu-Tang Clan @ 12 after my cousins introduced me to the group, Ol' Dirty Bastard , Ghostface, and Raekwon were instant favourites. The 8 surviving members generally re-form about ever 3-5 years and are supposedly recording an album's-worth of new material, as we speak. RZA has become an increasingly sought-after director/actor since Man with The Iron Fists , already signing onto projects like Gang Related , Happy!, Genghis Khan , and No Man's Land. RZA 's own Soul Temple Records imprint will unleash Ghostface Killah 's Crime/Horror concept album - Twelve Reasons to Die , which was created alongside Black Dynamite (2009) producer/composer, Adrian Younge this upcoming April 16th. Younge recently spearheaded a Delfonics reunion with foundi...

Yeah, I basically drafted up a few terms and then coined one, "Neo-Classical Psych Rock," to help better describe SPACIN' s particularly unique, noisy sound. It's members all hailing from Philly , the band's sound seems like a by-product of Hardcore Punk and Noise/Garage Rock . SPACIN' is fronted by Jason Killinger and it's kinda a side project of his old band, Birds of Maya ; In the studio, he's joined by Paul Sukeena , Sean Hamilton , and his wife Eva on guitar/bass/drums (respectively) on their righteous Richie Records debut, Deep Thuds EP... I think it'd be safe to assume that SPACIN' are influenced by guys like Iggy & The Stooges , Velvet Underground, Black Sabbath , Ty Segall, and Pixies . While they've only unleashed roughly 8-10 tracks, SPACIN' really managed to effectively display a colorful, wide variety of styles on Deep Thuds : Psychedelic Rock, Noise Rock , riff-heavy Rock "N" Roll, Power Pop , Post-...

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel...

While the majority of their peers are busy rapping about bitches, drugs, and money ... The Roots spend the bulk of their time producing Conscious Hip-Hop , concerning the trials and tribulations of life. I've personally been an avid Roots aficionado since first hearing "Don't Say Nuthin'" and it's accompanying album, The Tipping Point (2004). But many fans may be most familiar with the Philly 8-piece because of their 2003 commercial break-out single, "The Seed (2.0);" De facto re-envisioning of Cody ChesnuTT 's own Funky original composition. The band really is so much more than "Hip-Hop," a group made up of true musicians, actively led by drummer ?uestlove since 1987. Between albums #9-10 [counting "The Roots Come Alive" ] The Roots Crew became the official in-house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon , fully on board for it's 2009 debut. For what it's worth, How I Got Over was hands down my favourite alb...