The Witzard

Just about a month ago, I got an email from my friend, producer buddy, and frequent collaborator John Bachman AKA Jumbled mysteriously labelled "2 things." Bachman was writing me about his upcoming Bmore Club -minded project, as well as an idea he said he had been "kicking around;" wherein he simply detailed he wanted to ask "producers to name 3-5 albums that influenced them/their style and talk a little about each album and maybe their [favorite] track." Needless to say, I was immediately interested and Jumbled and I collectively decided we would jointly run our producer playlist column (now, appropriately deemed "Beat-maker Bedrock" ) on both The Witzard and his Hatford & Reckord Tumblr . And without further ado, here's the inaugural Beat-maker Bedrock artist-penned column with brainchild and beat-maker himself, John "Jumbled" Bachman . Beat-makers and producers: if you're reading this and could like to partake in f...

Just in case you've been living under a rock for the past few months or recently awoke from a coma—we're terribly sorry for 2017!—Beat-maker Bedrock (BMB) is a new, recurring column here at The Witzard; initially, the brainchild of Baltimore-based beatsmith John "Jumbled" Bachman, BMB simply asks beat-makers and aspiring producers to highlight 3-5 of their personal favorite albums, which, early on, helped shape their overall sound and style. I'm proud to present to you our first Beat-maker Bedrock column 2018 and 14th overall features a playlist selected and meticulously arranged by New York-based rapper-producer and We Are The Karma Kids founder Lt Headtrip—or just "Headtrip" for production work. Following his critically-acclaimed 2017 album, Comedy of The Filtbeast , Lt Headtrip teamed up with The GreenHouse Studio/Backwoodz Studioz producer and engineer to curate LNYCHPIN; described on Bandcamp as "a full-length collaborative album featuring 16 ...

"I go by the name King Ani Mal. I'm out of South Philly and originally from Gulf Port, Mississippi. SPP GSF AFFILIATE. I am currently working on a "so-far" untitled 5-track EP produced entirely by Look! It's Aidan AKA Aidan Douglas AKA A.I.D. (@look_itsaidan.) It should be out very soon! To keep up with my music and shows, Follow my Instagram, @turbocrunch . Also, check out my latest album, Skinny God out on EVERY streaming platform. Here's my Beat-maker Bedrock:" I. TV On The Radio - Dear Science (2008) "I think, Dear Science was one of the first albums that made me want to dip into production. I just remember thinking how good the album was and telling myself that if they could do it, so could I. Then, I downloaded LMMS (Linux MultiMedia Studio) and started playing around on my laptop. At the time, I was playing guitar in a Punk band and no one wanted to hear what I was making, except my homie Scress. I didn't rap or even plan on becomi...

"What's goodie!? My name is iLL-Omega . I'm a beat-maker from Trenton, NJ . This is my column [for] Beat-maker Bedrock ! Here's three albums that inspired me to start making music. Salute to John "Jumbled" Bachman and The Witzard for letting me be a part of this!" - Darnell "iLL-Omega" Storey I. Wu-Tang Clan - "Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993) "This album is one of the first Hip-Hop albums that made me want to start doing music. The RZA delivers a cinematic feel with the Kung-Fu samples and crazy chopped-up samples. The hard-hitting drums shake your car and pound your chest on each track. I remember first listening to Wu-Tang in intermediate school. When I first played this tape, it felt like a movie that I didn't want to end. The contributions from all nine members of the Wu-Tang seemed like a big Kung-Fu fight scene with each line that punches you in the face." II. Redman - Muddy Waters (1996) ...

Aside from our aptly-named ongoing The Witzard Interview(s) series, 3 Fee High & Rising new artist featurette, and producer-selected playlist Beat-maker Bedrock , we really don't have a lot of recurring columns here at The Witzard. Partly because my fiance and I just moved into our first home together within the last month or so and also because there's just an influx of solid independent releases before year's end, I thought it might be a good time to start up a new recurring weekly wrap-up column tentatively titled, The Witzard's Take 5: Five Independent/Self-released Albums & EP's Worth Checking Out This Week. So, without further ado, here's The Witzard's Top 5 albums/EP's for the "week of" 10/27-11/3—a slightly expanded "weekly" edition to include a couple releases from last week, as well—in no particular order or ranking. Now, a few of these artists should be quite familiar to The Witzard regulars, while some might be e...

"Hey, what's up? I'm Darko The Super AKA Doc Heller , an Experimental Hip-Hop artist from Philadelphia , by way of Jupiter. These are a few albums that have influenced my production [work]. There's much more, but these were the ones I found easiest to write about. Obviously, Frank Zappa is the greatest musician of all time and has affected me in greater ways than just sonically, but I found it too difficult to choose just one of his albums to mention from his massive catalog. Also, Camu Tao 's King of Hearts (2010) was on my list, but I couldn't think up something good enough to do it justice. Anyway, here's my Beat-maker Bedrock ." Watered Down Demon Fuzz by Darko the Super Charles Hamilton - My Brain Is Alive mixtape (2009) " Charles Hamilton 's my favorite producer and an artist who doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves for influencing a whole generation of rappers. Out of the 200 or so albums he's released, I chose My...

"I could easily talk about how loud I blasted [ Public Enemy 's] Fear of a Black Planet (1990) daily from my Yorx Entertainment System in junior high or pumped [ Company Flow 's] "8 Steps to Perfection" (1996) and everything else recorded from my Stretch & Bobbito tapes in the Burger King kitchen, after closing time during my shifts or dip into how DJ Premier made beats that were completely abstract, but made them instant norms by nature of his talent. But, in truth, when I sit and make a beat, I don't feel the influence of other Hip-Hop producers too heavily anymore, even less than I feel when I write rhymes. I've settled into something pretty original, not without influence, but kind of it's own thing, for better or worse. So, what I'd rather talk about is my relationship with Progressive Rock music and how it spurned my definition and coining of the term "Progressive Hip-Hop." I still love some good old Prog-Rock ,...

"I'm Height Keech. I'm a rapper from Baltimore, MD . I grew up being the guy in the crew that didn't know how to make the beats I heard in my head... Now, I feel like I've found my own voice as a producer and I'm off to the races. These are some of the records [whose] production has inspired me, through the years." - Height Keech (Shark Tank) Dan's House by Shark Tank I. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) "A lot has been said about this album, so let me zero in on my favorite track: "Night of The Living Baseheads." The main sample is like a Jack-In-The-Box opening every two seconds. The change-up leading into the second verse feels like a transmission from another planet. Every little piece is perfectly executed, yet it feels like you’re on an insane train that could go off the rails at any second. It used to be way more labor-intensive to do all these weird one-off changes and flourishes; the ...

"Hi people, my name is Cryptic One, a producer from Brooklyn, NY and I have been making beats since 1989. Yes, you read that correctly, I am THAT old. With that said, when asked to write about a few albums that had an influence on my production, I was initially overwhelmed with a seemingly infinite number of important works to mention. After long deliberation, I narrowed it down to these five; keep in mind that on any given day, I could easily pick five different picks that were just as important to me. So, with no further ado, here is my Beat-maker Bedrock:" I AM by IT I. Jungle Brothers - Straight Out The Jungle (1988) "This was the record that helped me understand how sample-based beats were made. The whole album was great and a big influence on me, but specifically, there is one song from the album that really set things off for me: "[Because] I Got It Like That." But first, a little background/history: In the 80's, Hip-Hop wasn't th...

"Steel Tipped Dove is a music producer and recording engineer in Brooklyn, NY who has the skills and desire to service your audio needs from vocal recordings, song mixing, podcasting, video scoring, etc. He has done work for Armand Hammer (billy woods & ELUCID,) Kool A.D. PremRock, Quelle Chris, SHIRT, and many more talented Underground Hip-Hop emcees. Hit him up at steeltippeddove.com . Here are three albums that were extremely influential on my overall style and sound:" cui bono by Steel Tipped Dove I. Viktor Vaughn (AKA MF DOOM) - Vaudeville Villain (2003) "This sh*t sounds like a movie. It's astonishing. I once took 'shrooms and sat in the room with the lights out and just watched DOOM walk around, go up and down these golden staircases—hitting the walls and sh*t to make the beats. The production on this album is so wild and detailed, it's incredible. If DOOM put this album out in 2025, it would feel brand new. "A Dead Mouse" really s...

The Ghost of Len Bias by ullnevano x jumbled It would be safe to say that the immense musical diversity and sheer success seen published across the pages of The Witzard within the last year or two is largely due in part to one man, John "Jumbled" Bachman ; a self-proclaimed "teacher, husband, beat-maker, and dish-washer," Bachman has been a long-time champion, supporter, featured artist, talent scout, and most recently, idea man behind Beat-maker Bedrock here at The Witzard . Jumbled has either produced beats for, set up shows, introduced, or simply referred me to an ever-evolving crew of head-nodding East Coast -based emcees and beat-makers since we first met, after he sent me his 2016 album, [I wish it was longer] AKA WIWL . John Bachman and his wife recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl into their family and started a new school year at a new school, all the while, simultaneously working on a number of extracurricular projects: The Ghost of Len Bias , Bu...