The Witzard

Despite the fact, or maybe because, he looks like a modern day hippie burn-out, Asher Roth is easily one of the most talented and criminally under-rated emcees in all of the Boom-Bap land. While I've been a fan since "I Love College," I'll be amongst the first to admit that Roth's mixtapes have always been infinitely stronger than his lone radio-friendly album, Asleep In The Bread Aisle (2009). But with that said, all of Asher Roth 's non-album projects have sufficiently spotlighted his lyrical progression and sense of zen-like calm, cool, and collectiveness during an ill-fated and now severed deal with Def Jam ; Seared Foie Gras with Quince & Cranberry , RAWTH EP, Pabst & Jazz , and The GreenHouse Effect (Vol. 2) are therefore the missing creative links between Asleep In The Bread Aisle and his upcoming sophomore album, RetroHash . Although there's really no way of telling if it's even the same collection of songs, Roth's perpetual...

"The way to my heart: the Vanity 6 shuffle, @HAIMtheband ," Tonight Show bandleader and Roots drummer Questlove Tweeted mere hours after "If I Could Change Your Mind"' s late night release. Multi-instrumentalist sisters Alana, Danielle & Este Haim did in fact work alongside esteemed choreographer Fatima Robinson and director Warren Fu . For those of you who have been living under a rock these last few years, HAIM could essentially be likened to a Hip-Hop & R&B -infused all-female version of Fleetwood Mac ; they've previously collaborated with A$AP Rocky , Childish Gambino, and Kid Cudi on wax [record]. The fifth commercial single pulled from their debut Days Are Gone , "If I Could Change Your Mind" is a moody oftentimes dimly-lit affair, which kinda resembles an old Soul Train sound stage. Inter-splicing back and forth between synchronized dance sequences and two separate performance clips, Warren Fu has effectively created ...

The self-proclaimed "Greatest Band In Late Night," The Roots have really come a long way since busking for pocket change on South Philly street corners back in the late 1980's; now in their sixth year with Jimmy Fallon as his show changes hands from Late Night to The Tonight Show , the on-screen band has been augmented to include two horn players borrowed from The Dap-Kings . What initially started as a brief behind-the-scenes vignette, okayplayer in-house videographer Jake Remington ended up filming a 2-part mini-documentary. Part 1 effectively shadows ?uestlove , who'll soon appear as a crusty afro-corpse on Law & Order: SVU , as he goes through his pre-show rituals and morning routine before Fallon #970 ; Hashtag-savvy fans get an inside look into ?uestlove 's New York high-rise apartment, his coveted sneaker and T-shirt collection, his breakfast-scented cologne cabinet, boxing with a personal trainer, and 20 minutes of electric relaxation on the ...

Pharrell arguably had one of the most successful years of his career last year with the combined mega-success of "Get Lucky," "Blurred Lines," and countless other chart-topping hits. Late Tuesday night, news broke that Pharrell 's long-rumored second solo album, now titled G I R L will see a March 3-4th release. Pharrell himself described the album as "the difference between [age] 30 and 40" during a career-spanning Complex interview and in stark contrast with both In My Mind (2006) and N*E*R*D , G I R L will supposedly feature "no rapping" whatsoever. While I've always thought Pharrell was a pretty impressive rapper-producer, he's a damn awesome singer and hook-man, as well. "Happy," the first single of the album's 10 currently untitled tracks, is a prime example of Skateboard P 's singing chops; it was originally composed for the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack and almost functions as a modern day all-a...

For the sake of cohesive clarity, maybe it should be duly noted that the majority of this very post was written down in my parents' basement earlier tonight while I was listening to Dope Body 's latest Sludge-Punk album, Natural History , and drinking midair-smuggled German beer: While I can't exactly say that I'm a huge Kelis fan, and you may not be either, but let's be totally honest... who isn't at least vaguely familiar with "Milkshake" or even "Got Your Money" (ODB)? TIME further notes that Kelis has essentially bounced all over the place during her 15-year career; "she made strange, funky Pop songs like "Milkshake" [with Pharrell ] that took over American radio. She was more forceful still with clanging, dissonant R&B tracks like "Bossy." Then, she transformed into a spaced-out Electro-House diva on her last album, 2010's Flesh Tone ." Now the ex-wife of legendary Queens emcee Nas , K...

While it might not exactly be the righteous ear-piercing RAGER you'd expect from a Trash Talk/Flatbush Zombies team-up, "97.92" is a pretty legit-sounding thankfully Nü-Metal -less Rock -tinged Hip-Hop banger; frontman @LeeSpielman notes that it's first-time beat-maker(s) and fellow bandmate " Garrett [Stevenson] and Kellen on the beat." Even though Trash Talk are signed to Odd Future Records , they really haven't dabbled too much into Hardcore Punk/Hip-Hop hybrids, aside from two Spielman-assisted tracks on Hodgy Beats' quick-strike Untitled EP 2 (2013). Stereogum premiered "97.92" mid-Monday morning, which Trash Talk & Flatbush Zombies collectively recorded together at Converse 's own Williamsburg -based Rubber Tracks studio recently. If The Internet -propelled rumor-mill is to be believed, both groups are currently working on new music; Flatbush Zombies leaked a new track, "LiT" from their upcoming I...

"I asked your boss for your number. I never wondered which way it would go. You woke me up from my slumber. Now let me break your work flow. It's not a lot, but all I wanna do is skip town on a weekend with you. There's still so much to discover There's still a lot we don't know," read a recent suspiciously rhythmic-sounding Craigslist missed connections posting. It's actually a thinly veiled album release announcement for Chromeo 's new album, " White Women (title) 05-12-14 (date) - m4w," which also includes the Retro-80's album artwork. The FADER dually notes that the address listed with the posting, 701 1st Ave. N , was actually the location of First Avenue , Prince 's favourite hometown Minneapolis venue, where Purple Rain 's concert sequences were filmed. White Women , a self-described Larry David Funk album, is rumored to house a few choice cuts assisted by frequent collaborator Solange , Toro Y Moi, Vampire Weekend...