The Witzard

While he's remained relatively silent since releasing The Ecstatic (2009), Mos Def aka Yasiin Bey has seemingly completed his forthcoming G.O.O.D. Music "debut" while shacking up overseas. Bey has recently re-emerged from his self-imposed exile and decided to unleashed a pair of unexpected André 3000 -style features for A$AP Rocky 's At.Long.Last.A$AP as well as Eric Biddines and producer Paul White 's newly-minted Golden Ticket project. His latest presumably non-album loosie, "Marigolds" skillfully re-appropriates New Zealand -based Kiwi Funk-R&B duo Electric Wire Hustle 's 2009 self-titled album track, "Chaser." It's almost aesthetically reminiscent of Yasiin Bey 's long-aborted Top 40 Underdogs cover/freestyles initiative; wherein he boldly took on radio-friendly Kanye & Jay-Z , Lil' Wayne, and Chief Keef beats and ruthlessly flipped them on their heads. "Marigolds," on the other hand, was su...

"Ladies and gentlemen, check this out... a spectacular event in rhymin'. It might seem insane, but the Big Daddy Kane is rockin' in the house with Paul Simon ... and my man Biz Mark down in the park. Even Spud Webb plays a cool part... in the video, "Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard,'" Big Daddy Kane effortlessly raps over a stuttering beat provided by human-beatbox, Biz Markie . While it may seem like a fairly odd pairing at first, Simon, Kane, and Biz were actually all label-mates at Warner Bros. Records at the time of "Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard"' s 1988 Negotiations and Love Songs re-release. Not entirely unlike Simon's Lorne Michaels -concieved "You Can Call Me Al," which co-starred then SNL cast member Chevy Chase just two years earlier, "Julio" boasts a staggering amount of star-power, in its own right: hit-making rappers Big Daddy Kane & Biz Markie , former NBA point guard Spud Webb , ...

"I've spent enough time thinking about [making songs for radio] with The Black Keys , not that we ever wrote songs just for radio. I just don't want to ever think about that stuff again. With The Arcs , we were just trying to make music that loves up to the kinds of standards that we love: old soul records, Captain Beefheart , newer Hip-Hop records. The songs are really experimental, but not over your head," Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach recently told Rolling Stone . Auerbach unleashed The Arcs' debut boxing-inspired single, "Stay In My Corner," back on May 2nd to coincide with Mayweather & Pacquiao 's monumental prize fight; in addition to all-female Brooklyn mariachi band Mariachi Flor de Toloache , The Arcs additionally showcases the musical talents of long-time studio buddies Leon Michels , Richard Swift, Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon , and Kenny Vaughan . Initially billed as a Dan Auerbach "solo" album, the newly-assemb...

"Ohh, what to do with childhood memories of frequenting overpriced boardwalk shops for gaudy sterling silver chains with dragons? You wait 12 years to flush them out in song form," newly-formed cousin-duo Jake D'Arc & Timmy Miller (Milky 22's) lamented within their Facebook band biography; a sentiment I can all too much relate to, having grown up frequenting "The Jersey Shore" summer after summer as a kid, much like D'Arc & Miller, who spent their summers down in beach-side town Ocean City, NJ along with brother/cousin Mike D'Arc . While on a brief hiatus from full-time band, Peanut Butter Lovesicle formed with D'Arc, Timmy Miller & Jake D'Arc managed to sporadically record some eight tracks in just one week's time at their Ocean City -based live-in studio space, The Ice Box ; five of those eight Summer 2014-recorded tracks have recently been collected, mixed, and mastered by Jake D'Arc & Mike Tarsia as their...

"Consider it a gift from us to you, who yearn for the Dilla -fide treats wherever, however you get them. So, grab yourself one of those delicious donut holes, put your feet up and bless the air to this certified heater from the gawd, every bit as sweet as the day itself," okayplayer's own "Voodoo & Old Donuts" -inspired wordsmith Michael Eric Gonik (@zogotsoul) transcribed within a National Donut Day -centric piece published prior to the weekend. Gonik is of course, referring to Biggie Smalls & J Dilla 's posthumously-released collaborative remix, "Kick In The Door," which until now, has never seen a fully untagged, full-length release; it's something of fabled Hip-Hop Holy Grail to 99.9% of digital "crate"-diggers and Dilla completists, like yours truly. Rumor has it that Biggie & J Dilla had initially intended to collaborate in the mid-90's on a Jay Dee -produced Busta Rhymes track tentatively titled "...

Death Grips have somehow already managed to "break up" via a napkin and "reform" in a matter of months, signed an Epic Records deal and purposely leaked private emails to get dropped, posed for a mysterious backstage picture alongside Robert Pattinson & Beyoncé (above), recruited Björk to contribute vocals to Disc 1 of their "comeback" album, The Powers That B , were surprisingly name-dropped on Rachael Ray by comedian Fred Armisen , bailed on a whole string of scheduled shows Axl Rose style, and licensed "You Might Think He Loves You for You Money But I Know What He Really Loves You for and It's Your Brand New Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat" for an Adidas Predator sneaker commercial... so, it would make sense that the newly-reformed Death Grips would need something of a fresh start; long-speculated Death Grips -affiliated Twitter handle @bbpoltergiest shared a cryptic zipfile link to a 9-track album called I've always been good...

"I got the idea for the video after I ruptured a disc in my back and needed emergency surgery. As someone who often goes under the knife, I've always been a bit overwhelmed by the process, paperwork, approvals and costs. Luckily, I have insurance, but it got me thinking about all the people in this country who can't afford medical treatment. I read an article recently that said there are over 40 million uninsured people living in The States , which is insane," former Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave bassist Tim Commerford lamented in a press release accompanying his latest blood-curdling music video, "Voodoo Juju." Commerford assembled his politically-charged musical outlet, Future User , sometime during 2013 following the disbandment of his post- Rage super-group, Audioslave ; Timmy C , multi-instrumentalist Jordan Tarlow , and drummer Jon Knox have previously attempted to self-describe Future User 's unique genre-blending sound as "P...