The Witzard

CREDIT: Shades of Blue Prints (@fcarteron) Honestly, it doesn't even feel like there's a proper way to elegize an eccentric and extremely talented artist such as MF DOOM, who meant so much to so many of us for so many years for so many different reasons as truly unique as DOOM himself. So, what better way to pay tribute to The Man, The Myth, THE MASK himself than by speaking to those closest to him? With a heavy heart, I proudly present Shadows of Tomorrow; a new recurring column in tribute to DOOM in an effort to re-tell the tall tales, strange stories, and lesser-known tidbits of The Metal Face Villain himself. R.I.P. Daniel "MF DOOM" Dumile Thompson. "MADVILLAINY is one of our favorite albums and we've been fans of Madlib & MF DOOM for ages. We, normally, don't see musicians covering Madlib & DOOM stuff as much as the [J] Dilla catalogue, so we thought we would try it out [...] His rhythm was super-inspiring and not a lot of other rappers i...

"It's our summer jam, so we figured we should put it out, cuz I am very bored of waiting to finish my album [before] releasing new music haha," Grimes (real name Claire Boucher ) said in a recent press release. Last winter, Boucher signed what some might call a mildly head-scratching management deal with Jay Z 's own Roc-Nation off-shoot company — alongside previous signees HAIM , M.I.A. Santigold , Mark Ronson, Shakira , Wale, and The Ting Tings . Grimes and her fellow Canadian comrade/frequent collaborator Blood Diamonds were reportedly commissioned by Roc-Nation to produce and original track for R&B super-star Rihanna . While it was ultimately rejected by the Roc-Nation team, Grimes & Blood Diamonds recently recorded their own version of the track, now re-titled "Go." Blood Diamonds' 2010-12 reminiscent Dubstep/Electro -leaning production work seems to have been influenced by Grimes' former Full Flex Express touring mates, ...

A-Trak & Armand Van Helden , better known as super-DJ duo Duck Sauce , finally released their long-awaited full-length album, QUACK earlier this month; included within are previously released neck-snapping singles "aNYway," "It's You," and "Barbara Streisand" amongst a gaggle of newly-crafted Disco-Funk revival jams. Duck Sauce 's wonderfully ridiculous new video for "NRG," which was previously remixed by Skrillex, Kill The Noise, Milo & Otis as well as Hudson Mohawke , premiered on the front page of Buzzfeed Wednesday afternoon. Director Dugan O'Neal ingeniously cast Kroll Show funnyman and RHCP2014 mastermind Jon Daly as a cheesy late night info-mercial pitchman, who's seemingly mesmerized A-Trak & Armand Van Helden (who oddly enough appear as his back-up pitchmen, too). The NRG product being sold in the clip is a magical "everything gel" that can supposedly fix over cooked left-overs, help yo...

"It's really druggy, ambient sh*t... I think people are gonna be intrigued by it because it's actually good," A$AP Rocky told MTV News about his debut instrumental Hip-Hop album, which was then rumored for a Summer 2013 FREE-release. "The name of it is Beauty [N] The Beast: Slowed Down Sessions, Chapter 1 . And it's because everything is like classical beautiful music and boom-bap Wu-Tang sh*t mixed together," he continued. Rocky unleashed the album's first track, "Riot Rave" late Monday night, nearly nine months after it's initial announcement. Internet meme-phenom Baauer helped co-produce the track alongside A$AP Rocky , who previously self-produced "Fashion Killa" from his own LONGLIVEA$AP album; directors Kostas Seremitis, Danilo Parra , and A$AP Rocky unveiled a 3-panel split-screen guerrilla-style "art video" that supposedly features "real life rioting" in accompaniment with "Riot Rave...

"WOOOOOO PARTTTTTYYYYY SUPPPPLLIIEESSS. "@ILLROOTS: CAM'RON & A-TRAK - HUMPHREY..." exclaimed Queens emcee Action Bronson in 140 characters or less; his Blue Chips 2 partner-in-crime and current tour-mate Party Supplies jointly co-produced the premier track from label-boss A-Trak and Cam'ron . What could quite arguably be labelled the Dipset general's long sought-after comeback, Federal Reserve EP is reportedly due out sometime this spring and will additionally feature Juelz Santana , Jim Jones, Just Blaze (drum programming), and executive producer Dame Dash . While the greater Hip-Hop-trolling corner of The Internet initially believed that Cam'ron 's opening bars, "Dame said I'm 'bout it cuz I wanna fight B-Hop . I said I'll f*ck him up after 2 months of detox - true. Besides that, 8 mill from Reebok , I take him to the bar, pa. That's 33 shots..." was a lyrical jab at Jay-Z 's cousin and Roc-Nation -aff...

"I've always felt like "Life Round Here" wasn't [ever] really finished," lamented English singer-songwriter James Blake during a recent Noisey video-interview with new-found collaborator. Chance The Rapper . Arguably a First Wave Dubstep pioneer, Blake's music almost seems pre-fit for a sharp-tongued young emcee like Chance ; But it doesn't come off in that preconceived, label-suggested, and slapped together kinda way like other recent "crossover" hits (ie: A$AP Rocky & Skrillex ). It's pretty easy to tell that these guys are true admirers of each other's work, who have become fast friends. Fresh off a collaborative track with Lil' Wayne , Chance The Rapper recently revealed to online-magazine XXL that he and Blake met at this past year's SXSW and "kept in touch and started working together on a couple of tracks, including some original material... people seem to like ["Life Round Here"] a lot....

James Blake is a London -based First Wave Dubstep super-producer; one of the genre's originators, before it got all Americanized , club-ready, and alcohol-infused (ie: Skrillex ha). Blake has always kinda seemed like an on-looking Hip-Hop supporter/closet fan... he actually unleashed a series of white label 12" Harmonimix[es] prior to his self-titled debut: Lil' Wayne , Destiny's Child, Snoop Dogg , and handsome hermit D'Angelo. After working with master swordsman RZA on his second album Overgrown , James Blake recently recruited hyper-rhyming Chicago upstart, Chance The Rapper to help remix "Life Round Here." It's supposedly the "first of many songs with @jamesblake ," if Chance The Rapper 's righteous Twitter feed is to be believed; Blake told Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe Tuesday morning that the track was re-recorded post- SXSW and lamented that "[He] never really felt the track was finished; even when it went on the album...

It's been proven time and time again that Action Bronson can essentially rap on almost any beat (or lack thereof), generally Party Supplies -produced: Peter Bjorn & John , "A Very Bieber Christmas," Peter Gabriel/Phil Collins , Guns N Roses , etc. Bronson's a highly-skilled rapper, who I can attest, can even rap impeccably sans beat; I had the honor of catching him on the XXL Freshmen Live 2013 mini-tour (Philly) last night, along with Joey Bada$$ and Big K.R.I.T. Far from the rookie of the group, Action Bronson somehow managed to go on first around 8:30pm, bummed a hearty joint off a crowd-goer... and completely SLAUGHTERED the majority of SAAAB STORIES, "Steve Wynn," a couple choice cuts with Meyhem Lauren , and of course, some shit-talking compliments of Big Body Bes . For his latest featured track, Bronson teamed up with a very unlikely set of collaborators, Skrillex -signed Dubstep group What So Not (OWSLA). "Every Time You See Me...

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...

I'm just gonna go out on a limb here and say that "Numbers On The Board" is my favourite Hip-Hop track of 2013 [so far], although Pusha T is quite honestly far from my favourite rapper. I mean, Wrath of Caine is great and so were/are Clipse . But Pusha T never really had that one stand out, defining moment for me and I think "Numbers On The Board" is finally it! Parisian director/graphic artist So Me filmed it's companion music video during a break in recording sessions for Kanye 's top secret new album; Rumored to feature Daft Punk , Chief Keef, Odd Future , Skrillex, John Legend , and 2 Chainz and could be out as early as June 18th. Kanye & Chief Keef both make brief cameo appearances towards "Numbers On The Board"' s end, pulled from Pusha T 's forthcoming G.O.O.D. Music debut, My Name Is My Name (July 16th). Whilst spitting rapid-fire verses over a gritty Don Cannon co-produced instrumental, Pusha T struts through ...

"Wild for The Night" is a pretty vain take on Hip-Hop 's own version of the infamous "sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll" lifestyle, that's quickly become a crusin' around/weekend ramp up kinda jam for my friends and I amongst countless 20-something Middle Americans . A$AP Rocky released it's debauchery-filled music video a couple days ago, which stars A$AP Mob, Skrillex , and Birdy Nam Nam rippin' it up throughout the Dominican Republic . Looks like Rocky & friends pissed away RCA/Polo Grounds' big budget allotted towards "Wild for The Night" and director Chris Robinson just happened to tag along and film all the hi-jinx that ensued. We're talkin' about everyday/above-average shit like hanging out on rooftops, gun-toting children, practicing karate kicks with friends, seducing hunnies on the beach, motorcycle burn-outs, a late night club gig, etc. The always fashionable A$AP Rocky sports a number of DKNY...

Spring Breakers seems like one of those Pop Culture -ragging statement piece/art films that NO ONE's gonna get, which'll likely get dismissed as yet another alcohol-soaked PARTY flick. Having directed a handful of "cult classic" status short films and music videos for everyone from Die Antwoord to The Black Keys , Harmony Korine is finally attempting to bridge the gap between independent semi-success and mainstream recognition. After months of post- Cannes Interne t buzz, Spring Breakers first full-length trailer was unleashed late Friday afternoon. It's primary cast includes former Disney starlets Selena Gomez & Vaness Hudgens , James Franco, Gucci Mane, Ashley Benson , and his wife Rachel. Some of Harmony Korine's past work(s) encompass Gummo , Kids, Above The Below , Mister Lonely, and The Fourth Dimension . It all starts when "Four college girls who land in jail after robbing a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation fi...

Depending on who you ask, LONGLIVEA$AP is easily the most progressive/digressive Hip-Hop album of the last 5-10 years! A$AP Rocky sprinkles in stylistic touches [musical nods] to Public Enemy 's youthful rebellion, Wu-Tang Clan's expert swordsmen-ship, Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right to Party" mentality, and Kanye 's worldly fashion sense throughout the record. While it leaked back in early December nearly a full month a head of it's impending Jan. 15th release date, it's the sheer power of featured rappers and producers that's either gonna make or break the eventual fate of LONGLIVEA$AP . Shit, almost 1/2 of the album's rapping friends are housed on 2 MASSIVE posse cuts, "F*ckin' Problems" and "1 Train:" Action Bronson , Danny Brown, Kendrick Lamar , Joey Bada$$, Drake , Yelawolf , Big K.R.I.T. and 2 Chainz. Florence [-The Machine], Gunplay, Pharrell , Gucci Mane, and Waka Flocka 's assorted talents ar...

SPACE JAM by ST 2 Lettaz Huntsville, Alabama -based rapper-director and former gas station attendee Stephen "ST 2 Lettaz" Harris is fording a solo career of his own after the recent demise of his Country Rap group, G-side , who managed to release 5 Hip-Hop albums between 2007-11; R.E.B.E.L. EP was announced along with SPIN 's "break-up piece" @ the beginning of September and released nearly a week later online Sept. 17th. R.E.B.E.L. stands for "re-think every belief ever learned" and it seems like that's what ST 2 Lettaz and Yung Clova decided to do after 10+ years of teetering the underground/mainstream Hip-Hop circles. For new-comers like you and I, R.E.B.E.L. EP seems like a perfect place to start. It's a project that I was actually tipped off to by Tom Breihan's latest [excellent] "Mixtape of The Week" review. Clova seems to be piddling away @ a solo career, too... He's formed his own label imprint (Lambo Mu...

James Blake is basically the "Iggy Pop" of imported First Wave Dubstep , before it got all sugar-coated and mainstream [corny]. While it's a little unclear as to when it was originally stripped down and mixed together, "Confidence Boost" is a James Blake Harmonimix of a track that was first released back on Soulfood, Vol. 2: Lyriks (2007). Blake has brutally remixed Grime emcee Trim 's hard-hitting composition into something completely different... Skrillex could definitely learn a few things! Although, Pitchfork went on to point out that this isn't just a mere remix, it's a newly-recorded, suped-up version. Let's just call it "Confidence Boost (2.0)," for argument's sake and man, this is a CRAZY/cool breed of Hip-Hop that's in a category all of it's own! James Blake is quite arguably the most Soulful white dude in contemporary music since Hall & Oates made their ever-lasting mark on Soft Rock back in the...

Diplo reportedly antied up some $3-5 million to sign "viral rapper" RiFF RAFF to Mad Decent for a staggering 8 album deal; The labelhead also threw in a $45,000 3-D/reversible gold-encrusted Cheshire Cat chain to further sweeten their deal. Over the weekend, RiFF RAFF unveiled his first official [mixtape] project for Mad Decent , BiRTH OF AN iCON . It's basically a collection of 25 re-mastered tracks total, including 7 BRAND NEW productions to hold fans over til his 2013 full-length. 16 of 25 tracks already have music videos , all varying in quality and some of which date way back to Spring 2011. RiFF RAFF 's currently-untitled album will probably be released sooner than later and is supposed to highlight Dubstep production(s) from Diplo, Skrillex , and Rusko . BiRTH OF AN iCON kinda plays out like a "Best Of" collection and it's material was selected from a super-sized mix of old tracks, remixes, and features ... that further display the vast ta...

Just one day after posting it's looping 4-minute long trailer and mere hours after a collection of online remixes was released, Lana del Rey has unveiled the Anthony Mandler -directed music video short film for her track, "National Anthem." A pair of rising young stars each with a single album [mixtape] under their belt, I'm pretty sure that Lana del Rey & A$AP Rocky can relate to Jackie O. & JFK , the characters which they loosely portray throughout "National Anthem." Self-admitted fans of eachother's work(s), del Rey and Rocky first met over Winter 2011-12 while working together on a collaborative track. "Ridin'" was written/recorded along with The Kickdrums , hastily pulled from Follow The Leader , and appended onto A$AP Rocky 's upcoming Sept. 11th debut LP, LONGLIVEA$AP . Man, I can already tell that "National Anthem" is going to be one of those videos that everyone and their brother blogs bout, while no ...

"Many years ago, a young and naive Nine Inch Nails were asked what TV shows they'd be interested in appearing on. As a joke (and likely drunk), they thought of the most absurd choice they could come up with at the time. They were then informed their bluff had been called and were actually booked on said show... They hopped in their Honda Civic touring vehicle and traveled many miles to (I think) NJ for the big show. They had a laugh making fun of the people, their fashion choices and hairstyles. Life was good. Years later, The Internet is discovered... There's a moral in there somewhere. Come to think of it, Skrillex may indeed owe me some publishing on that hairdo." - Trent Reznor

This very Thanksgiving Day , much to fan delight, Lupe Fiasco liberated what has become a "lost album," of sorts: Friend of The People . The companion album mixtape to Enemy of The State (2009), which was scheduled to be released that coming Christmas holiday... until Fiasco decided to climb Mount Everest with Jessica Biel and then boyfriend, Justin Timberlake . The final released product seems to be a re-mixed and re-furbished version, as many of the sampled tracks [freestyles] weren't even out in 2009-10. That being said: Justice, Coltrane, M83, Ellie Goulding , and Skrillex originals are effectively sampled and "MURDERED" within the sonic confines of Friend of The People's 12 tracks. In addition to 2 separate audio sound bites pulled from Justice 's recent Audio, Video, Disco ... "Life, Death & Love from San Francisco" is yet another track of particular interest; Lupe Fiasco laces aggressive rhymes over an edited chunk of A Lov...