The Witzard

"We talk about the everyday ills of being black, while combining all of the things that make this country beautiful, ugly, and raging against the machine. Trino also explains a war with himself about what he sees of the [discrimination.] Should he feel angry and riot or should he sit back and be ignorant about it; the track, "Loose Change" explains that," Cap City Ent. founder and New Jersey -based producer Ill-Omega wrote within a recent emailed transmission. Many of you may recognize Ill-Omega 's name from his recent work on emcee Ray Strife 's latest Preface: I Will Never Be Beautiful EP , which was, as a matter of fact, premiered right here at Your Friendly Neighborhood Music Publication, The Witzard . Ill-Omega and emcee Trino first met back in the 7th grade, grew up together, and always possessed a common affinity for Hip-Hop . Trino started doing poetry, which eventually segued into rapping and coincidentally, right around the same time, Ill-...

Throw.sTones by Turkish Dcypha Turkish Dcypha is a producer and multi-genre DJ hailing from the UK , who co-owns a small boutique (or Indie ) record label called Dcypha Productions , which was founded by fellow producer Sway DaSafo around 2004 under Akon 's Konvict Muzik imprint. Turkish Dcypha has released a multitude of projects remixing and re-working the likes of Prince , Kanye, 2pac , Biggie, and JAY-DILLA ( Jay Z over J Dilla beats,) as well as his own instrumental music and original production work for Awate and Mr. Bigz . Turkish can count Yasiin Bey , DJ Premier, actor Idris Elba , and J Dilla's Estate amongst his famous fans; "Actually, I was listening to this kid Awate recently. You know him? He’s from Eritrea , I think, but now in London . It's produced by Turkish [Dcypha.] His beats are old school and very influenced by Dilla , Pete Rock , etc. I was super impressed..." Elba gushed within a 2014 taste-making interview with Noisey . I re...

"Back in 2005, super-producer Danger Mouse and Hip-Hop super-villain DOOM came together for THE MOUSE AND THE MASK , a collaborative album released under the name DANGERDOOM . Among DOOM 's most successful projects both critically and commercially, the album was inspired by Cartoon Network 's late-night [adult swim] programming slate and includes appearances from Aqua Teen Hunger Force , Space Ghost, Harvey Birdman , and more. THE MOUSE AND THE MASK also features guest spots from Talib Kweli , Ghostface Killah, and Cee-Lo Green ," METALFACE Records wrote within a villainous statement; they're gearing up to unleash a 3xLP and deluxe CD edition of DANGERDOOM 's critically-acclaimed first and last album, THE MOUSE AND THE MASK this upcoming May 5th. Let me make an attempt to best convey the musical climate THE MOUSE AND THE MASK was released into (albeit, on Punk/Hardcore label Epitaph Records )... prior to forming DANGERDOOM , Danger Mouse 's las...

Noir Dub by The Drastics The Drastics drummer-producer and founder of Chicago -based Reggae imprint Happy As a Lark , Anthony "Nantee" Abbinanti sat down with fellow Chicagoan Richard Milne from 93XRT for a recent installment of his Local Anesthetic Podcast . Milne asked Abbinanti to define "Dub" and to clarify the difference between Dub and Rub-a-Dub . Anthony Abbinanti readily replied: "So, Dub is... I think you could apply to anything. I mean, I think The Clash dubbed their albums. So, it's just taking the track and adding the delays and the reverbs and sparing it up. Basically, Lee ["Scratch"] Perry called Dub "X-ray Music," which is a term I really like; where you kinda take the track and you see different layers at different times. Rub-a-Dub : the actual origins of it, I couldn't pinpoint exactly right now... but it sort of encapsulates more of a backbeat-style Reggae that was popularized more in the 80's. Gr...

"Sean McGuinness is an American musician living in Philadelphia. He has played with Pissed Jeans, Utensil, The Great Collector, Bazhena, Technician, Navies, Go to Sleep, Like Language, Ready Set, Air Conditioning, Oil Drum, Birth Control, Rat Fist, Des Ark, Dark Blue, STREET STAINS, and Remote Places, among other sit-ins, sessions, and general groupings of friends and strangers," Sean "On The Drums" McGuinness' newly-minted Bandcamp Bio simply reads. As you can see, the long-time Pissed Jeans drummer has his hands in a lot of pots... even the brewpot at Ardmore-based Tired Hands Brewing Company , where he bartenders a few days a week, when not recording or touring with Pissed Jeans. Although, McGuinness is fresh off a handful of local dates with Pissed Jeans, he also played on STREET STAINS self-titled self-released debut with long-time friend and collaborator Chris Richards, formerly of Q and Not U and currently of The Washington Post. And even though I just ...

LURK is a self-described "lowbrow artist and lover of the weird." He's originally from England, but is now based out of Canada and simply told me, he did art as a kid and now, does art as an adult. "A little while ago, I did a portrait for the @homeboysandman; if you haven't heard his music and love Hip-Hop, go give him a Follow. @schlonglord offered to animate a quick clip using the portrait! Kris and I are now Skype friends. It's getting kinda serious," @thelurk1 half-jokingly gushed on Instagram roughly 24 weeks ago. 2-D animator, visual effects artist, music video director, and musician Kris Baldwin (@schlonglord) had reached out in an effort to animate LURK's recent zombie-esque The Boy Sand portrait for a short animation to accompany Sandman's Jonwayne-produced "America, The Beautiful" from HALLWAYS (2014.) Not only did Instagram play an integral part in initially connecting LURK and Kris Baldwin with each other, as well as Home...

BLKrKRT LP 2 by BLKrKRT (Blacker Karat) "I'm a lover of the Avant-Garde , Abstract, and Electronic [music.] My work is about the subjective nature of human experience through art, it's effects on the human psyche, and the efforts to create elegant, yet basic shapes, usually utilizing a post- Internet methodology. I like cutting up things and re-purposing them. I love to collaborate, especially via The Internet . I am a product of remix culture. I love to use samples, clip art, and font. I adore collage. Currently, I am actively pursuing an adventure in fashion design," Fort Worth, Texas -based Instrumental Hip-Hop producer BLKrKRT (Phil Ford) wrote within his about.me profile. I actually met BLKrKRT through my frequent collaborator and friend Darko The Super , who released Ford's The Witzard-premiered Okinato Black on his U DONT DESERVE THIS BEAUTIFUL ART imprint. Darko actually flipped Okinato Black 's "3,000 Words" into "God, F**...