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 ,...

Dream Team: A Stokely Hathaway Joint by Griff/Scorcese Dream Team: A Stokely Hathaway Joint is a project that's long been in-the-works from Chicago-based producer Jason Griff and Philly emcee Scorcese Lorde Jones , here, known together as Griff/Scorcese . Dream Team... was originally pitched as a mixtape in celebration of the independent wrestling circuit, as well as Hathaway's unique, Hip-Hop indebted approach to the artform. However, it eventually evolved into a full-fledged album based around the ideals and inspiration of the esteemed 1996 Source Award Winner, publicist, and manager, Stokely Hathaway —now signed to WWE/NXT as Malcolm Bivens . Dream Team... is entirely produced by Jason Griff (Alex Ludovico, Zilla Rocca) and primarily performed by Scorcese Lorde Jones AKA Scorcese FKA Scorcese Shells (2-Man Power Trip... Gods Know) with cinematic interludes and embellishments from Stokely Hathaway AKA Malcolm Bivens himself. Dream Team... is, indeed, Wrestle/Wra...

"We got something special for you today. ialive & The Custodian of Records teamed up to bring you this one-off gentle heat. Make it rain on the boys with half dollars," Cold Rhymes Records ecstatically posted on their Facebook page early Tuesday morning. ialive & The Custodian of Records' (TCOR) debut collaborative stand-alone single together, "INTERVALS," was quietly released late Monday night into Tuesday morning. It appears as though "INTERVALS" came to fruition rather organically, as ialive & The Custodian of Records are, simply, fans and mutual admirers of each other's work; "I believe, I reached out to ialive after peeping "THE OUGHTS" video and then, purchasing TIME WAVE ZERO and enjoying the album. He may have expressed interest in a possible collaboration, so I sent him a couple tracks and this is the one he chose," TCOR recently explained to The Witzard, via email. Intervals (prod. The Custod...

"Hathaway comes to the Performance Center after a successful tenure as a manager and a wrestler on the indies. Although, trained for the ring, Hathaway gained a reputation in recent years for wheeling-and-dealing on behalf of other wrestlers. The notoriously outspoken Hathaway has represented clients in several promotions throughout The US, from EVOLVE Wrestling to the New England-based Beyond Wrestling. He hails from New York City," reads a recent WWE Performance Center press statement. They're, of course, talking about Independent wrestler and manager Stokely Hathaway, who recently signed a deal with WWE NXT/Performance Center. Hathaway has previously wrestled and managed talent for EVOLVE Wrestling, Beyond Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and Major League Wrestling (MLW) and has gone by a variety stage names, including Chuck Taylor, Ramon, and most recently, Court Moore for NXT. Stokely is the self-proclaimed 1996 Source Awards Winner & Former Editor of XXL Magazine. ...

Last year, we had the pleasure of premiering a Zilla Rocca -produced remix of Alpha x Scorcese 's "Untitled" Feat. Killer Mike & Pastor Troy from their 2018 collaborative effort as Gods Know , A World Only Gods Know . Now, Scorcese (@JihaDScorcese) has returned with his first proper "solo" project of 2019: A Remix Only Gods Know - SIDE A , a cleverly-titled and long-awaited 7-track remix companion EP to Alpha x Scorcese 's A World Only Gods Know . Not only does A Remix Only Gods Know feature the aforementioned "Untitled" Zilla Rocca Remix , it boasts six additional remixes from Scorcese 's Underground/Indie Rap peers, Tony Dark , Disco Vietnam, Jason Griff , Camouflage Monk, and L'Orange . "So, yeah... "THIS. IS. THE. REMIX." ( Puffy voice.) Been a long time coming, but you all can blame L'Orange ! Anyway, this was a selected [seven] remixes based on fan response," Scorcese Lorde Jones explained on Gods ...

Death By Misadventure by Conway X Sonnyjim Conway is a Buffalo -bred emcee, Wrestle-Rap enthusiast, and one half of Hall N' Nash with his rapping brother Westside Gunn . Last year, both Conway FKA Conway The Machine & Westside Gunn and their Griselda Records (GxFR) imprint/roster signed an exclusive deal with Eminem 's Shady Records/Universal Music Group . Following a string of critically-acclaimed releases and Wrestle/Rap -inflected guest appearances, Westside Gunn & Conway have temporarily "split" to issue a number of solo and collaborative releases: most recently, Westside Gunn 's March-released, Mr. Green -produced FLYGOD Is God... All The Time EP and Conway 's just-released, SONNYJIM -helmed Death By Misadventure EP . SONNYJIM is, of course, a UK -based emcee and producer whose name you may very well recognize from his recent collaborative outing with Chicago sharp-spitter Vic Spencer , Spencer FOR HIGHER . " Death By Misadventur...

The Witzard regulars might recognize the name "Sleep Sinatra" from a recent post on these very pages; if so, you've likely heard his silky smooth rhymes schemes on either "B.I.E." with The Custodian of Records AKA TCOR or Flashius Clayton 's The Custodian of Records -produced "Anchorman Fight Scene" —or maybe, even TCOR 's recent "Anchorman Fight Scene" (Frozen Earth Mix) —alongside equally gritty SPENCER for Higher emcee Vic Spencer . Since running said "B.I.E." -centric post, both Sleep Sinatra and The Custodian of Records have issued new projects: surprise-released XMXTHXST (AMETHYST) EP and mail-order "Lousy New Year's" B/W "Blizzard" 7-inch, respectively. 7-inches can be ordered directly from The Custodian of Records at fiverowsback@gmail.com , however, at the time of this articles's publishing, post- Super Bowl LII , @Custidainofreco Tweeted 7-inches were quickly "Going, go...

"Two emcees: one from Chicago’s gritty East Side and the other, from Birmingham, UK. I became a fan of Chicago’s Vic Spencer around 2015, soon after his The Cost of Victory album dropped. I heard his unique voice, delivery, and wit and I knew this guy was special. In 2016, his album The Ghost of Living , produced by one of my all-time favorite producers, BIG GHOST, dropped and was Vic’s best album yet and one of my Top 5 favorite albums of 2016. I became a casual fan of the UK’s SonnyJim a few years ago, soon after his How to Tame Lions? (2014) album dropped, but it was his Mud In My Malbec album that made me a big fan of the emcee-producer and was also, one of my Top 5 favorite albums of 2016. Now, two years later, the two artists—who both put out two of the best albums of 2016—decided to collaborate on an album titled Spencer FOR HIGHER, based off a Mystery TV series from the 1980's called Spenser: For Hire. Maybe it was fate that these two talented artists separated by th...

"Peace! I appreciate you reaching out... I was familiar with TCOR 's production, prior to the joint with [Flashius Clayton] , but that song's the first that I've rhymed on one of his beats. We linked from there and he started sending me stuff. "B.I.E." is the first of many [collaborations] between us," Nebraska sharp-spitter @SleepSinatra told me within a recent Twitter Direct Message. Sleep Sinatra and the aforementioned producer TCOR AKA The Custodian of Records first worked together on "Achorman Fight Scene" from Flashius Clayton 's recent WOLF MOON EP , alongside Chicago emcee Vic Spencer . "You're gonna see me with these good brothers frequently, in the future; might as well get used to it. Talented-a$$ muthaf***as, man. Salute each of them," @FlashiusClayton enthusiastically Tweeted. On "B.I.E." The Custodian of Records creates a refreshing Jazz -laden, beat-inflected soundscape for Sleep Sinatra t...