The Witzard

Been seeing a lot of Shock G stories (so many of 'em, so good.) Many people in The Bay, mostly music industry folks, all have a story of that cat, kinda mythical, like the Prince or Bill Murray tales you sometimes hear. An indelible mark they leave on you just doing some regular sh*t, 'cuz they're simply special like that. I have a few, but this one sticks out as one of my faves, details all, of course, a bit fuzzy due to this time in my life (so much 🥦) but, also, this was roughly 20 years ago (crazy that I still remember so much of this night, but you would, too, if you experienced it...) My guy, Ryan (then, known as Earflaps, now running Discos Mas) used to have a Wednesday at The Ivy Room on San Pablo. It was, generally, a laid-back affair, but all wax and tons of fun when I joined. Ivy Room is (historically) a little hole-in-the-wall (mostly Rock) live music venue, but on occasion, they'd have Blues & Soul and some random DJ nights. One Wednesday, we wer...

Digital Underground Word Up! Magazine Fold-out Poster (SOURCE: WEIRD RAP) In a year of seemingly unending Hip-Hop artist deaths, [Thursday] night was a particularly rough blow to Gen X Rap old heads with the passing of Shock G AKA Humpty Hump AKA Gregory Edward Jacobs. While reviewing Twitter [Thursday] night, it became immediately clear that too many folks born post-1990 didn't really know who he was, beyond his one massive hit. This following list is intended to educate, entertain and elucidate. No list of Shock G tracks would be complete without Digital Underground (D.U.)'s explosive two singles from their debut album, Sex Packets. Yes, these, obviously, are party tracks intended to get a$$es shaking, but listen to the lyrics and you'll quickly find surprising depth. The message is deceptively simple—don't let others dictate who you are or how you should feel. Fat, skinny, fake-nosed—all were welcome at a D.U. party. Without Shock G, the world may w...

" NATION is a Paris -based project that combines Pop song-writing with futuristic R&B influences. It showcases a synth-heavy, brooding brand of Future Soul and some of their preferred themes like complicated love, existential doubt, and the way music can repair our souls," read part of an email I recently received from MusigaMy founder Philippe Manivet . NATION is just the latest alias of French song-writer and multi-instrumentalist Guillaume Destot AKA Vim Cortez AKA Vim le Commodore . Destot's latest release and first billed as "NATION" is a 2-track EP titled Baltimore Rising , which I would fittingly describe as a stylistic mix between The Postal Service and Mayer Hawthorne & The County with a hint of "Get Lucky" -era Daft Punk thrown in, for good measure. NATION 's Facebook page (The Sound of NATION) readily lists Guillaume & Co. 's influences as Little Dragon , D'Angelo, Jai Paul , Ben Khan, James Blake , NAO...

"When I first read this phrase at 16, it blew my mind: "all songs written, performed, produced, and arranged by D'Angelo ." After that point, I knew [that was] exactly what I wanted to do for my debut: write, produce, and play all the instruments on my project (I recently learned, it was Prince who inspired D'Angelo to do this). To express myself to the full capacity of my abilities and strive to take a similar challenging, but rewarding, journey as one of my idols to create the debut that I truly wanted," singer, song-writer, producer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Chris McClenney wrote within A Written Note On Portrait In Two . McClenney's self-released Portrait In Two EP , which was just released this past Friday, January 13th and followed by a Saturday Blue Not Jazz Club release show, was preceded by critically-acclaimed singles "Headlines," "Otherside," and "What You Mean to Me." McClenney has previously ...

" Tuxedo Xmas jam dropping for all my gentiles (Santa emoji)," @MayerHawthorne Tweeted in the wee hours of the morning, preceding his newly unmasked Disco-Funk duo's yuletide single. "Happy Holidays from Tuxedo . Original by some guy named Paul McCartney ," reads the Soundcloud description scribed beneath "Wonderful Christmastime." While most of us have known it since day one, about two years ago, Hawthorne and producer buddy Jake-One just recently revealed themselves as Tuxedo , along with their self-titled Stones Throw -backed album announcement. Jake-One manages to keep the majority of the former Beatles' holiday track intact, but adds a little more Disco-Funk /kazoo-fueled Hip-Hop swing to "Wonderful Christmastime;" while Mayer Hawthorne delivers his now signature buttery smooth New-Wop vocals, without disgracing McCartney's arrangement and even appends a couple Prince -level high notes, for good measure. Now, mind ...

Let's just say, for argument's sake, that Kanye 's recent Aggro-Hip-Hop meltdown of an album Yeezus is a 10 on a scale of mid-career re-defining albums, which would then put Asher Roth 's long-delayed and well-matured second album, RetroHash at a solid five. It's technically a "Hip-Hop" album at it's beat-centric core, but Blended Babies' genre-blending production work ultimately helps Roth effortlessly bob and weave throughout a gaggle of assorted musical styles; "It's a classy little nugget — very unique — a little Prince , little Jazz , all Asher. You should be proud regardless of what happens commercially. You've created something distinctly you. Almost a concept album. Really good," as Asher Roth 's father David wrote in a praise-filled April 22nd text message. It's been a fairly long tumultuous road for RetroHash , which has been about 3-5 years in-the-making and was tentatively titled both The Spaghetti Tree ...

The self-proclaimed "Greatest Band In Late Night," The Roots have really come a long way since busking for pocket change on South Philly street corners back in the late 1980's; now in their sixth year with Jimmy Fallon as his show changes hands from Late Night to The Tonight Show , the on-screen band has been augmented to include two horn players borrowed from The Dap-Kings . What initially started as a brief behind-the-scenes vignette, okayplayer in-house videographer Jake Remington ended up filming a 2-part mini-documentary. Part 1 effectively shadows ?uestlove , who'll soon appear as a crusty afro-corpse on Law & Order: SVU , as he goes through his pre-show rituals and morning routine before Fallon #970 ; Hashtag-savvy fans get an inside look into ?uestlove 's New York high-rise apartment, his coveted sneaker and T-shirt collection, his breakfast-scented cologne cabinet, boxing with a personal trainer, and 20 minutes of electric relaxation on the ...

"I asked your boss for your number. I never wondered which way it would go. You woke me up from my slumber. Now let me break your work flow. It's not a lot, but all I wanna do is skip town on a weekend with you. There's still so much to discover There's still a lot we don't know," read a recent suspiciously rhythmic-sounding Craigslist missed connections posting. It's actually a thinly veiled album release announcement for Chromeo 's new album, " White Women (title) 05-12-14 (date) - m4w," which also includes the Retro-80's album artwork. The FADER dually notes that the address listed with the posting, 701 1st Ave. N , was actually the location of First Avenue , Prince 's favourite hometown Minneapolis venue, where Purple Rain 's concert sequences were filmed. White Women , a self-described Larry David Funk album, is rumored to house a few choice cuts assisted by frequent collaborator Solange , Toro Y Moi, Vampire Weekend...

While Dave Chappelle is sadly nowhere to be found, "Breakfast Can Wait" features dancer/director/etc. Danielle Curiel masquerading as The Purple One . okayplayer really put it best... "When we put the teaser image (those lips, that eye!) out to our network and said "who's this girl impersonating Prince ?" the answer we got back (from some people who should know) was: That's Prince 's new girl!" It's seemingly a non-album online single, which marks Prince 's first widely-released, proper music video since "Musicology" (2004). Somewhat surprisingly, "Breakfast Can Wait" was partially inspired by Dave Chappelle's imgenious Prince -bashing Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories sketch; wherein Eddie Murphy 's brother and his friends got challenged, badly beaten, and schooled by Prince & The Revolution at a mid-80's pick-up basketball game. "Breakfast Can Wait" is one of seven ...

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: I kinda feel like everyone is making fun of Miley Cyrus and she TOTALLY doesn't even get it ha. What ever happened to the little girl who played Hannah Montana , "Partied In The USA" that one summer, and passionately sang about "The Climb" or whatever? Maybe it's just bad parenting; either way, I'd assume she's crushing her dad's achy breaky heart. I feel like "We Can't Stop" and Miley Cyrus' whole quasi-affiliation with Hip-Hop is just a giant Rick Roll , too. But on the other hand, if Kanye & Miley 's rumored "BLKKK SKKKN HEAD" remix ever comes to fruition, that'll likely be the theoretical icing on the cake. "Wrecking Ball" is the second single pulled from her upcoming Bangerz album and it's a little more along the lines of a modern-day power ballad, sans it's now-infamous scantily-clad Terry Richardson-directed video. During a rec...

"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...

It looks like a Four Tet (Kieran Hebden) remix is most likely the closest Justin Timberlake 's ever gonna get to Indie Rock super-stardom; Besides that time he played Bon Iver on "The Prince Show" alongside in-house SNL Beyoncé & Jay-Z impersonators. The former N'SYNC crooner seems to be focusing on music full force yet again, after a 6+ year-long absence from the music industry. Justin Timberlake hosted/performed on SNL this past Saturday (joining The 5-Timers Club ) and he's guesting on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon all week, shows airing March 11-15th. In what appears to be another act of cleverly-planned promotional, Four Tet 's label-sanctioned "Suit & Tie" remix was mysteriously leaked to The Internet late Sunday night, coincidentally followed up by a superior quality version the next day. UPDATE: It's been brought to my attention that The 20/20 Experience 's complete 70-minute tracklist is now streaming on iTunes...

Frank Ocean is a brave, brave man for coming out as bi-sexual in the [final] weeks leading up to the release of his major label debut... something that could have deeply affected channel ORANGE 's initial sales, which ended up debuting @ #2 on the Billboard 200 chart! Ocean's new-found "preference" really doesn't have any bearing whatsoever on channel ORANGE 's overall song content, quality, etc. Most of the time, Frank Ocean sounds a lot like Usher ; a suave R&B singer who could easily fit in on "Urban Radio" and hang with the music industry's BIGGEST rappers. While there's definitely a great mix of various styles spread out all across channel ORANGE , there's an underlying Soulful Funkiness , mildly reminiscent of Prince . Man, it's almost difficult to describe on "paper" how fucking AWESOME channel ORANGE really is - quite easily the best Hip-Hop/R&B album of 2012 [so far]! Granted each of Frank Ocean ...

While he's mainly known for wielding a ukelele and generally garners comparisons to The Beach Boys , Dent May is just as downright Funky and rebellious as the next 20-something young adult. In promotion of May's recently-released Paw Tracks LP, Do Things , the label unveiled a faithful cover of The Grateful Dead 's Disco -tinged cult hit, "Shakedown Street." Stereogum writer Amrit Singh vividly details the scene way back then... "Back when Dead shows were a thing [1978], the main drag of the parking lot where kind veggie burritos, ganja goo-balls, and sundry wares of that ilk were at their highest concentration was called "Shakedown Street."' By most accounts, Do Things is a little more Surf Rock -leaning than his first album, The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele (2009). Every so often, Dent May records Dance music under the moniker, "Dent Sweat" and has been working on an unfinished Psych-Count...

Prince supposedly has 500+ written, recorded, fully completed albums and films just sitting locked up inside a giant dusty vault somewhere. Only a certain breed of artist can be that prolific/guarded, while remaining successful all @ once; Lil' Wayne and Bob Dylan also come to mind when taking about insanely fruitful singer-songwriters. But this here post is actually about none of the above... they may be discussed @ a later date. It's simply meant to set up the groundwork for tonight's "Main Attraction(s):" Lil B and local legend, Mr. Moot ! A former member of The Pack , Lil B is still rockin' those same scruffy-looking brown [white?] "Vans" until he banks $1 million. BASEDGOD is essentially so prolific that he releases a new stream-of-conciousness mixtape nearly every week. It's increasingly hard to keep track of his rapidly unveiled output, but Lil B 's full-length album, I'm Gay (2011) was truly LEGENDARY! The track presented ...

Born in 1987, I really can't say that I remember the events surrounding the tragic deaths of Biggie , Kurt Cobain , and 2Pac . But I do recall that these people meant a lot to many adoring fans and that everyone was really sad. Over the course of the past 15-18 years since, I've grown to know and love the music of 2Pac & Biggie . The older I get, the more I grow to appreciate Nirvana (Nevermind) and now I [fully] understand Kurt 's vast artistic vision. I must say though, that I'm a bigger Foo Fighters fan, hands down! In no way would I ever "knock" Nirvana 's legacy... maybe simply because of age, Foo Fighters is the band that I've grown to know, love, and favor instead. We all know that lead Foo , Dave Grohl used to be Nirvana 's drummer and prior to that, he ripped it up along with legendary DC Hardcore band, Scream . I can honestly say that I vividly remember watching the "Big Me" video on MTV way back when (1995), and have...

Yes, last night was in fact, the pinnacle of Halloween Weekend(s) ; In honor of the closing events séance, "Conan" 's newest episode was flavored with a moderate amount of extra [special] tricks and treats. Following an approximately 55-minute dosage of the regular hi-jinx, Jimmy Fallon -assisted laughs, and slightly awkward moments... Reggie Watts & House Band proceeded to take the Beacon Theater main stage. The musical comedian took the stage, decked out in his signature 'fro and a Prince -esque blood red velvet suit jacket/puffy shirt. In an earnest, heart-felt effort to give long-time friend Conan a proper "Welcome Home Celebration," Reggie Watts performed a re-arranged version of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town" (1976). Honoring Conan 's week-long stay @ Beacon Theater -- his first lengthy New York holiday since roughly 2009 -- Watts performed a truly unique version of the band's staple hit: Shifting back and ...