The Witzard

So, The Witzard regulars may recognize the artwork/overall style displayed above to be that of one Patrick "Pat" Quinn AKA Pecue Design or simply, Pecue . Quinn previously designed the "top-billing" movie poster-sized feature artwork for our Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique 30th Anniversary All-around Breakdown (PB30) last year. Basically, I just gave Pecue the idea to take inspiration from one of my personal favorite Beasties lyrics, "I'mma Die Harder... like my kid, Bruce Willis!" and he just ran with it, incorporating elements from the Paul's Boutique cover, the iconic Capitol Records Building , Willis' beloved character John McClane , and, of course, the Beastie Boys themselves. Not only is Pecue a Philadelphia/South Florida-based designer, but he's, also, a producer in his own right; having released a slew of instrumentals, remixes, and the like on his own Bandcamp page, as well as on his newly-minted imprint, Sole Imperial ,...

Summah Stoop by Call Out Culture (Alaska & Zilla Rocca) feat Curly Castro Late last night, I received a Bandcamp Notification email from Wrecking Crew—Curly Castro, PremRock, Small Professor & Zilla Rocca—about their latest stand-alone single, "Summah Stoop" by Call Out Culture: Alaska x Curly Castro x Zilla Rocca. Essentially, this is the Call Out Culture Podcast Crew consisting of Alaska, Curly Castro & Zilla Rocca... but there's, also, a similarly named Hip-Hop crew consisting of Alaska & Zilla unofficially/FKA ZILLASKA. Those who know, will know this is FAR from Zilla Rocca & Alaska's first time collaborating together, but for those who may be unaware, Alaska & Zilla previously worked together on a number of occasions, including: "Return of The Angst" from Alaska's ALKAST EP/WORDS HURT's ALKAST:REMIXES from 2015, "Debuild" with Defcee from Curly Castro & Fakts One's RESTROY & DEBUILD, WORDS HURT...

"The new Wu-Tang EP is kind of boring. So, in response, I made my own "Wu-Tang EP" with all of their collabs/remixes with Madlib, who has surpassed RZA ten-fold: Wu-Tang Clan x Madlib - The Wu Digger ... Madlib is what you get, if RZA just keep sitting in a room full of records from '95 until today. "And Madlib is who RZA would have been, if he could just learn instruments when he felt like it," Small Professor (@smallpro)... On some real sh*t, Madlib's remix of "Black Boy" by [Cappadonna] is better than almost any [Wu-Tang Clan] track this decade by any Wu member. These guys have access to any producer on the planet and act like Madlib or Alchemist don't exist." - Zilla Rocca (@ZillaRocca) Wu-Tang Clan & Madlib - The Wu Digger Playlist/EP (Tracklist) 01. Cappadonna - "Black Boy" (Madlib Remix) from Madlib Medicine Show #12: Raw Medicine [2011] 02. Method Man - "Uh Huh" (Madlib Remix) from MIND FUSION ...

The Vivian Maier EP by Alex Ludovico Since we last spoke with Los Angeles -based bartender and A Clockwork Orange -referencing emcee Alex Ludovico , upon our premiere of "Calendar," he has released five more one-off single installments in his ever-evolving #MedicineMondays series. The, suddenly, before year's end, Alex Ludovico unleashed a brand new 10-track full-length entitled pretendtobe , which we previously teased within our "Calendar" premiere. Just this year, as part of his #MedicineMondays2019 series, Ludovico has already unleashed six one-off singles, as well as a fittingly festive 3-track EP entitled New Year's Resolutions . I've heard "through the grapevine" that Alex Ludovico is earnestly at work finishing up an EP with Brooklyn -based producer and fellow Zilla Rocca collaborator, Jason Griff (@iamJasonGriff) which should be properly released within a month or so. It appears as though, in the meantime, Ludovico has still b...

SUNDAY NO. 1 by defprez First time I had heard Defcee rhyme was on "Angel Dust (Leak Brothers 2)" from Zilla Rocca & Small Professor 's 2017 URBNET debut, Good Luck With That , as Career Crooks . I've since delved deep into Adam Levin —no, not Maroon 5 's shirtless frontman!—AKA Defcee 's catalog, which now spans six albums and EP's dating as far back as 2007's One Eye Open . We recently featured Defcee 's December 2018 project, A Mixtape As God Intended, Vol. 1 right here, across the pages of The Witzard . It's my first newly-released album-length exposure to Defcee 's music, as released on Chicago -based Machine Wash Music ; a phenomenal 20-minute display of what Defcee has to offer displayed across one single track, which features an array of well-known beats originally used by Drake , Rick Ross, Nipsey Hussle , 6LACK, The Alchemist , Goodie Mob, Group Home , and Nasty Nas. A Mixtape As God Intended, Vol. 1 , also, feature...

While Port Arthur, Texas emcees Bun B & Pimp C were commonly referred to as Underground Kingz (U.G.K.) I would strongly attest that Broownsville emcee Sean Price AKA Sean P! AKA Ruckus/Ruck from Heltah Skeltah was, indeed, and "Underground" King in his own right. Sean P , unfortunately, only spent 43 years on this Green Earth, although, he had been rapping since 1995 after his crew, Boot Camp Clik , appeared on Smif-N-Wessun 's Wreck Records debut, Dah Shinin' . Honestly, my earliest personal memories of Sean P! date back to my 12 years spent stocking shelves at Shop Rite ; sometimes, at night, I used to help my buddy, Jared Jenkins , stock the bread shelves and he was always bumpin' and big uppin' Sean Price . I guess, what really stuck with me first, aside from his relentless rhymes, was Sean 's tendency to take his name and blatantly insert it into common Pop culture phenoms, movie titles, etc. which was a great promotional tool in the...

"I first met Zilla, barely out of college, downing bottles of malt liquor and idiotically, drunkenly throwing them into darkened stairwells at his old Catholic high school in South Philly. He was aligned his former crew then, one half of a Rap group called Clean Guns , attempting to start a fledgling label in an underground climate that seemed inhospitable and rebarbative to anyone trying to figure out what Boom-Bap would sound like 20 years in the future. Zilla could always rap and produce, but he hadn't found a voice or character that allowed him to channel what eventually reached its (27-inch) zenith on Future Former Rapper—believe it! Starting with the 5 O'Clock Shadowboxers project, he's refined an aesthetic akin to Raymond Chandler raised on Raekwon, splitting the difference between James Ellroy and Guru sneering at rivals that they're paranoid because they're sons like Elroy. One of the reasons why I started POW was to offer a wayward station for the ...

Boogieman Dela - Hustler (Rolled Gold Remix) by Rolled Gold Rolled Gold is the production alias of Philly -based beat-maker, multi-instrumentalist, and charismatic remixer Harry Metz . Over the course of the past year or so, Rolled Gold has become something of a mainstay and frequent collaborator, as you may have already noticed, here at The Witzard . It's been great to personally see Harry's whole sound, style, and musical approach grow and progress since his 2016 EP, The Great Fallback , with fellow Philadelphian , Uncle Crimson . What I have noticed, however, is Rolled Gold 's tendency to continually construct and release easily-digestible "bite"-sized projects, which are generally, very short and concise, yet extremely enjoyable and exceedingly well-orchestrated. For an example of what I'm talking about, I would strongly suggest checking out Rolled Gold 's SALTY (3P) EP, "The Field" Feat. No Headliner, "Nite Owl's Theme" ...

"I'm Zilla Rocca. I rap, produce, and write articles. I have my own Indie label, Three Dollar Pistol Music and put out music with my friends Curly Castro, Small Professor, and PremRock as our posse, Wrecking Crew. Me and Small Pro put out a group album as Career Crooks [last] year called Good Luck with That , where he did all of the beats, but I've been a producer, as well for 15 years. So, here's some of the most important albums to me, when I'm "behind the boards.'" I. Handsome Boy Modeling School - So... How's Your Girl? (1999) "I remember buying this album in 1999 and having no clue how any of these songs were made. I didn't start making beats for another three years or so, but this album never left my conciousness. [Dan The] Automator is one of my all-time favorite producers because he bounces between genres effortlessly, from Serge Gainsbourg stuff with Lovage, to Sci-Fi Fantasy Robot sh*t with Deltron [3030], to the first Go...

Calendar by Alex Ludovico Alex Ludovico is a bartender/mixologist by night and emcee by day. Currently hailing from Los Angeles , Ludovico was born and raised in The Midwest — Gary, IN & Chicago, IL , specifically—and has spent time in Atlanta , but now, calls LA home. He's been rapping for 12 years, has been going by "Alex Ludovico" for about nine, and took a 6-year long hiatus in-between. Alex Ludovico explains his unique brand of Hip-Hop as " Rap for a new generation: diverse, irreverent, and real without pretention, yet honest and humorous." Ludovico makes music intended to be utilized as "the soundtrack of life, sometimes serious, sometimes fun, always memorable." He's previously worked alongside and collaborated with the likes of Blurry Drones , Gzu​-​Tek, The Dutchmaster, Young Live , and Zilla Rocca, as well as a multitude of Hip-Hop/Electro producers. Alex & Zilla have worked together on a number of occasions, since first...

My Man Shafe (@MyManShafe) is a South Philly Soul magnate, Funk buster, crowd rocker, and self-proclaimed " Street Funk/Soul rapper." Shafe self-released a FREE mixtape/street album entitled "Who's That?!" recorded and mixed by Zilla Rocca and has since unveiled material with Nex Millen , Wrecking Crew on Wu-Tang Pulp, Curly Castro , Zilla Rocca & Has-Lo, Small Professor for World Around Records , Son Raw, and most recently, Career Crooks' "Mike Milligan (Kitchen Brothers)" with Curly Castro & ALASKA . "I make Soul music. Even though I rap and came up as an emcee, my music is Soul . It's Soul because of the place that it comes from," My Man Shafe profoundly writes within his on-site Bio . " Soul music comes from the gut; the bottom, the pit of your stomach. It's a feeling. It's a vibe. It's the notion that we've all been through things and together, we can overcome," he continues. Si...

Billy Batts (prod by Zilla Rocca) by Curly Castro & Zilla Rocca "Zilla Rocca" is, at this point in time, a name even casual readers of the pages here at The Witzard should almost instantly recognize and readily associate with dope output. I think it's safe to say, I've covered nearly every Zilla/Zilla -related release since 2016's Anything I Touch, I Bruise Vol. 2: The Superior Foes of Zilla Rocca , as well as a gaggle of Bandcamp loosies and Soundcloud stand-alone singles. To my knowledge, Zilla Rocca has at least three (announced) projects currently planned to be released throughout 2018: Thieving As Long As I'm Breathing - a Career Crooks Remix EP with S mall Professor , his '90's Hip-Hop -flavored mixtape/"street album" '96 Mentality , and a proper solo album quite cleverly entitled Future Former Rapper ; all of these, featuring a who's-who of friends, affiliates, and fellow Underground Hip-Hop rappers and producers...

South Philly rapper-producer and one half of Career Crooks , Zilla Rocca has returned with his first proper solo release of 2018, "99 Triple 5 Soul Flow." Zilla is not only, part of Career Crooks with producer buddy Small Professor , but also, runs with his own crews, The Shadowboxers —formerly, The 5 O'Clock Shadow Boxers —and Wrecking Crew with fellow emcees Curly Castro & PremRock , along with Small Pro . Zilla Rocca additionally, runs his own Philly -based label, Three Dollar Pistol Music , is co-creator of @rapbooklets' Instagram , and fancies himself a " Noir-Hop originator and corrupt novelist." "99 Triple 5 Soul Flow" is of course, a reference to infamous 1990's Hip-Hop clothing brand Triple 5 Soul and is the sequel to last year's similarly-minded "98 Avirex Flow;" a stand-alone single with sonic ties to Zilla Rocca 's upcoming '96 Mentality , which was produced by Disco Vietnam AKA @SupernovaLox ...

Steve Martin 's long-standing and storied relationship with Hip-Hop goes back nearly 30 years. It seems to have all started with "The Steve Martin" from EPMD's critically-acclaimed and genre-shaping debut Strictly Business (1988) which goes a little something like this: "Well, I have a new dance, that you all must learn You may have seen the Pee-Wee Herman , but it's had it's turn Now, this brand new dance, I know you not with it You might break your neck, to really try to get it If you seen the clumsy movie it was called The Jerk You had to check out Steve Martin , as he started to work He was doin' freaky moves with his feet and head With his blue farmer suit and his big Pro-Keds ." Good Luck With That by Career Crooks It appears as though, according to YouTube 's Learn Hip Hop Dance instructor MahaloDance , "The Steve Martin" is also "an old school Hip-Hop move," which I would assume was likely inspire...