The Witzard

"Me, Dan [Edinberg] (from The Stepkids ), and Chuck [Inglish] got together and made the instrumental. Me and Chuck were got connected 'cause we were already working... on the Kali Uchis album. Dan was visiting me in LA ; so, we got together and made the beat. We were really interested in combining elements... that haven't been combined before. It was the Summertime , so we were feeling a certain way. We hypothesized on what it would sound like to... combine South American [Bachata] music with Trap . Needles to say, when we started making the music, we all got super excited at this new sound... After that, Trinidad Jame$ came in and set the tone for lyrics and melody," producer, guitarist, and song-writer @JeffGitelman wrote within a Twitter -sent statement; "WunderLAnd," the aforementioned track, was released roughly 10 days ago, following Chuck Inglish 's instrumental project Texturizer and Blended Babies -produced Ev Zepplin . "The son...

"[ "42" is] a song that's literally been in-the-making for over a decade. Wanted to flip this sample since '05 and I finally brought it to a producer and got the job done," Ukrainian-American rapper Your Old Droog , who was widely speculated to be Nas alias at first, recently told Complex upon the premier of his "42 (Forty Deuce)" music video. It was produced by Marco Polo and Droog himself, who together, somehow managed to expertly flip a sample of Nu Shooz 's 1984 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart No.1, "I Can't Wait." "42" was proceeded by its frenzied @CLEOFUS -designed single artwork about two weeks prior, which featured Your Old Droog front and center in an Elmo costume surrounded by a bunch of eclectic New Yorkers , but now, along with his Jonah Schwartz -directed video, makes a lot more sense in retrospect. "It's about a special place that I really used to frequent back in the days. The vi...

"White means purity, purity means GOD and GOD means the ruler of the land," @ShafiqHusayn profoundly replied, when asked what the name "WHITE BOIZ" actually meant, along with their stark white-stylized aesthetic; "'white" means different things to different people — from their record label to the Los Angeles Police Department to The Nation of Islam . In the 1700's, "white" did not represent race, but a state of freedom versus servitude. Today, however, white can be powder in the trap or a party in The Hamptons , which are seemingly worlds apart. Or are they," Husayn and primary WHITE BOIZ emcee Krondon continued in a Stones Throw-penned press release. Peanut Butter Wolf 's latest rapper-producer pairing formed organically out of mutual admiration when the Strong Arm Steady emcee would randomly show up to performances from Shafiq Husayn 's then G.O.O.D. Music -affiliated Alt. Hip-Hop collective, Sa-Ra (Creative Partn...

What we have here are essentially three newly un-vaulted Troubadour era non-album Stepkids tracks; Stones Throw quietly uploaded their Wanderers EP to it's label website and companion Soundcloud page this past Tuesday, June 17th. "The songs in this collection are different than anything else we've done. We wrote and recorded them at the height of our experimentation," The Stepkids quipped on the free-form nature of their latest mini-EP. "We spared no artistry and weren't limited to any business strategy, a target audience, single considerations, or [style] limitations... In other words, for better or worse, you will never again hear anything like this from us, let alone anyone else. Enjoy," bandmates Jeff Gitelman, Dan Edinberg & Tim Walsh collectively continued. The Wanderers EP standard download zip-file comes complete with three previously unreleased carelessly noodling Psych-Rock tracks and six variations of it's largely black-and-...

Not even counting his seemingly endless pre- Stones Throw material, veteran emcee Homeboy Sandman has released one album, First of a Living Breed , and about four EP's with the documentary-wielding Indie Hip-Hop label since inking a deal in 2011; most recently having concocted a Jaylib -style collaborative EP with Stones Throw affiliated producer Paul White , ingeniously titled White Sands . According to Stones Throw , Homeboy Sandman 's latest track, "Atlantis" is "one of a few dozen new tracks Sand's been working on this year. Expect to hear the best of them in a new full length album set for Fall 2014 - title, producers and track list TBA." It's single cover is essentially laid out to mimic Nirvana 's iconic Nevermind album artwork and the track itself was produced by insanely prolific rising West Coast rapper-producer Blu . Comfortably nestled atop a jittery off-kilter beat, Homeboy Sandman ferociously raps, "I'd rather l...

Needless to say, "Bitter Bug" (Pyramid Vritra Remix) isn't exactly rapper-producer Hal Williams' first time re-imagining a track by fellow Stones Throw labelmates The Stepkids ; Williams previously remixed Troubadour album track "Desert In The Dark" with Odd Future shoot-off, The Jet Age of Tomorrow . While working on his upcoming 2014 Stones Throw debut, Pyramid Vritra managed to conjure up a heavily Funk -laden, Hip-Hop -infused remix of "Bitter Bug," which was originally released as a play-able postcard 45. North of the 4-minute mark, as the track slowly draws to a close, Williams effectively chops-n-screws the Hell out of "Bitter Bug." The Stepkids seem to have already been flirting with the idea of a semi- Hip-Hop crossover; previously working with Pharoahe Monch , Homeboy Sandman , and now one of Stones Throw 's newest signees, Pyramid Vritra . That's one area in which Stones Throw seems to be consistently la...

18-year-old 90's Hip-Hop revivalist and head PRO ERA wordsmith Joey Bada$$ recently described his still brief discography in 140 characters or less , " 1999 was the debut. Summer Knights [EP] was the "holdmedown" people. But B4.DA.$$ [full-length] will be the break-through!!!!!" While Bada$$ previously laced up a few Dilla beats on 1999 , "Two Lips" marks his first Yancey family-approved, non- Pirate Bay 'd instrumentals, which he promises is only the first of his upcoming posthumous J Dilla "collaborations." The fruits of their labors, "Two Lips" 7-inch (with optional Dilla -themed T-shirts or sweatshirt) will become widely available through Akomplice , Maureen "Ma Dukes" Yancey 's newly-formed record label/streetwear company, at 12 noon on November 29th. It's pretty amazing that even though "Two Lips" was essentially harvested from a vault-full of unused beat CD-R's, it still sound...

Rising comedian Kyle Mooney is one of the latest additions to a recently-gutted SNL , after a few long-time cast members made their final departure(s) last season; Director Henry Demaio recently pre-cast Mooney in his latest music video creation, "Moving Pictures," which itself is pulled from The Stepkids' second album recorded for Stones Throw , Troubadour (Sept. 9-10th). It's a mildly trippy affair, fittingly outfitted with plenty of real-life moving pictures, as the cameraman slowly pans across various scenarios. The Stepkids seemingly used green screens to their full advantage and were able yo "travel" to sun-soaked beaches, an awkward house-party with a kiddie pool, various city streets and sidewalks, an ever-changing trendy beach/desert party, and a giant-joint rolling super-science lab. Now, on a purely sonic level, "Moving Pictures" is really what we've grown to expect from The Stepkids : a seamless hybrid of cheesy Yacht Rock...

Even since I've been into Stones Throw (Champion Sound-Donuts Era), the semi-respected Bay Area record label has slowly morphed into the place to go for cool, head-jerking vinyl. Peanut Butter Wolf has hand-picked a wide array of emcees, weirdo producers, Funk/Folk revivalists, solo artists, etc. Stones Throw 's genre-blending " Hip-Hop & more" roster presently includes: Madlib , James Pants, The Stepkids , Matthew Larkin Cassell , deceased mega-producer J Dilla , Steve Arrington, Quakers (Geoff Barrow) , Jonti, The Lions , Dâm-Funk, Jonwayne , and countless others. Announced just last Friday, 2 of the label's most note-worthy musicians have teamed up for a collaborative LP - Steve Arrington & Dâm-Funk ! Arrington, former Slave Funky drummer turned spiritual foot-soldier, has bonded with Dâm-Funk , who's quite arguably G-Funk 's last remaining post-90's producer. Steve Arrington self-released his first album in 20 years, Pure Thin...

The Stepkids are kinda like a Hip-Hop -infused modern day version of Steely Dan ; equal parts sleaze, cheese, and white-bred Funk-Soul ! In-between The Stepkids (2011) and it's upcoming follow-up, Troubadour the band leaked a string of Jazzed up cover tunes: Daft Punk , Rihanna, and Justin Timberlake . Last year, Stones Throw even teamed them up with sharp-tongued emcees Homeboy Sandman , Percee P, and Pharoahe Monch for an all too short-lived remix project. The Stepkids' latest Funk -drenched concoction is "The Lottery" a freshly tracked video-single preceding Troubadour , which hits shelves nation-wide Sept. 10th. Guitarist Jeff Gitelman described the album's creation as "deep musically, there are whole sides to us [that] we haven't really explored yet." Gitelman further laments that The Stepkids haven't even discovered some of their "most exciting stuff" thusfar. "The Lottery" co-stars trombone dancer Jonathan...

"We had to do this song... Only way to pay tribute to Daft Punk, Pharrell , and Nile Rodgers in one fell swoop. Enjoy y'all," The Stepkids Tweeted Tuesday morning; Diehard Daft Punk fan or not, I suggest you take a break from that Random Access Memories "leak" for a sec. and check this one out, my friends! Unlike Thomas Bangalter & Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo 's Electro-Funk -tinged original, The Stepkids have successfully infused "Get Lucky" with a sort of cheese-less Lounge Jazz vibe. The Stepkids are signed to genre-blending Indie Hip-Hop label Stones Throw and it's 3 extremely talented multi-instrumentalist members -- Dan Edinberg, Jeff Gitelman & Tim Walsh -- have separately worked with everyone from Alicia Keys to 50 Cent . Since inking a deal with Stones Throw a few years ago, the band has released The Stepkids (including "Legend In My Own Mind" ), Sweet Salvation EP , and a forthcoming album that's be...

Lots of interesting activity over @ Stones Throw today, Nov. 21. Sounds like The Stepkids Tim Walsh , Jeff Gitelman , and Dan Edinberg have been quite the busy cats lately. Whether it be laying down unintelligible vocals with Jonti & Illa J [above] or pumping out singles from their STELLAR self-titled debut. The Stepkids Album is without a doubt a dense, multi-layered musical journey... prepared by 3 extremely talented session musicians, now front and center - Finally in the limelight! "Suburban Dream" is in fact, The Stepkids' third official music video; As it's essentially the follow up to both "Legend In My Own Mind" and "Wonderfox." This most recent video was directed animated by Chris King and really teeters the line between the previous videos' sense of surrealism/realism. Throughout the course of "Suburban Dream" we follow a down-on-his-luck young fellow as he wonders through the city, stumbles into a speakeasy...

Once upon a time, I had a "Summer Kick-Off" Memorial Day 2011 BBQ. In preparation, I invited a motley crew of close friends including Wyatt Cenac , The Stepkids , and Kurt Braunohler . But of course, the last few additions to the guest list didn't end up showing; I'm sure they were probably off doing something better... like making the people of the world laugh infectiously. The Stepkids are made up of 3 multi-talented singer-songwriters: Tim Walsh, Jeff Gitelman , and Dan Edinberg . Together, they craft a unique blend of Hip-Hop, Psych-Funk , and Pop music - Sounds which can now be heard and enjoyed by way of The Stepkids' self-titled debut long-player (Stones Throw) . Tom Scharpling 's finely executed music video concept is in fact, fairly simple: It opens with a CD-peddling New York City street vendor (Wyatt Cenac) selling The Stepkids album to an off-duty "suit," Kurt Braunohler . Once the CD is unwrapped, a hazing purple mist steams up, o...

"EXCLUSIVE HORROR-THEMED MIX FROM THE CONNECTICUT PSYCH-FUNK MARVELS: Connecticut 's suave Psych practitioners The Stepkids have gifted The Stool Pigeon with a ghoulishy weird mixtape of horror-themed tracks... ahead of the release of their self-titled debut for Stones Throw on September 26-27th. The hour-long mix comprises a truly mind-messing array of artists; From kindred freak-funk souls in Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Funkadelic right [on] through to cosmic creepiness from Frank Zappa and Thelonius Monk . Watch out, this one'll blend your brains into a pink protein shake and not leave you a tip!" - The Stool Pigeon

"Shadows On Behalf" The latest addition to Stones Throw 's ever-growing, Hip-Hop genre-straying roster are The Stepkids . Tim Walsh (drums), Jeff Gitelman (guitar), and Dan Edinberg (bass/keys) - 3 singer/songwriters - [along with live additions, Fred Dileone and Jesse Mann] make up the group. Together crafting a brand of Psychedelic [ Zappa-esque ] Jazz/Folk Rock, the 3 core members have previously spent time touring with Alicia Keys , 50 Cent , Lauryn Hill , and Indie Punk band Zox , as well as recording commissioned music for movies/TV commercials. The Stepkids join the likes of Stones Throw 's varied genre signees (Tony Cook, James Pants, Mayer Hawthorne, Dâm-Funk, and Gary Wilson). Rumored 2011-12 additions also include Vex Ruffian, Bryant K., and the artist formerly known as "Danimals" - DJanimals. The Stepkids ' [limited edition] "Shadows On Behalf" / "La La" 12" will be released in April, with their self-titled Stone...