The Witzard

The Diabolical Doctor Strange "Solomon Strange AKA The Diabolical Doctor Strange is a Incandescent man, originally from the planet Qutan. He was working on The Space Program, as an astronaut going through various tests, when a freak accident happened and he was electrocuted and exposed to a new form of technology called Estonic Energy, which can re-animate the dead with soundwaves. He must feed from electronic resources to stay alive and can manipulate electricity. He fled his home planet and now, moves from dimension to dimension consuming electronic energy in a bid to find a source which will keep him alive forever. In his journey from from universe to universe he has collected an army of celestial beings; they are called The Guerilla Godz." THE DOOM BROTHERZ "THE DOOM BROTHERZ AKA THE MAN IN THE MASK & Solomon Strange are criminals trapped in a vast prison discovered by Citadelian scientists, where they are able to see and hear all destruction since the be...

"Last night in Nashville, I received the strangest compliment after the show. A young lady came up to me and said, "I don't even really like MUSIC, but enjoy what you do." I laughed and then, asked, "what DO you like to listen to, then?" "Mostly podcasts," she said. As a massive music nerd, even I have my mostly-podcast seasons. Today's Fake Four FREECEMBER EP by AllOne brings us the best of both worlds. AllOne re-interprets four True-Crime stories throughout a hyper-rhyming EP produced by Dope KNife (detailed booklet included for those who download,)" Fake Four Inc. co-founder Ceschi Ramos enthusiastically wrote on Facebook nearly two weeks ago. Prior to Ceschi's post, I honestly, had never heard of Bruce "AllOne" Pandolfo before hearing his Dusty Dossiers EP and boy, was I in for a treat! I've always been a fan of CSI:/murder mystery-type shows and have consistently had somewhat of an interest in podcasts, which only...

Let's just get right into it: it's that special time of year where everyone readily flaunts their holiday cheer for everyone to hear! Jingle Bell Rocks! director and Christmas record collector Mitchell Kezin (@mabooshi) curated an especially festive mix full of Alt. Christmas songs, Hanukkah hymns, and obscure holiday jams entitled Mitchell's 'SOUL SISTA' Holiday Mix for The Witzard . Thanks again to Mitchell for sharing his special brand of holiday cheer and a very special thanks goes out to The Ologiest AKA JD at Common Good Records —his old imprint, When Crates Create combined with Analog Burners . In addition to my personal 2017 holiday favorite, Jumbled's Christmas comp. Merry Christmess , there has been quite the influx of festive musical cheer spread by your favorite musicians, emcees, and producers just in time for your last-minute shopping and wrapping sessions. Now, without further ado, I'm proud to present to you: The Witzard 's 2017...

Mitchell Kezin is a self-described Canadian "gentle giant, crate-digger, and filmmaker" whose award-winning film, Jingle Bell Rocks! toured the international festival circuit in 2014, including The Beefeater IN-EDIT Music Documentary Film Festival held in Barcelona, Spain . Jingle Bell Rocks! was then, acquired by Brooklyn -based Oscilloscope Labs —founded by the late, great Beastie Boy Adam "MCA" Yauch —and released theatrically in over 50 cities across the USA and can now be found on Amazon Prime , iTunes, VUDU , and like-minded streaming services and on DVD through Oscilloscope . Mitchell 's current film, BUT FOR NOW: The Music & Mojo of Bob Dorough about the Bebop/Jazz legend and Schoolhouse Rock! creator is currently in-production. Jingle Bell Rocks! thoroughly examines the slightly obsessive habits and tendencies of avid Christmas CD, vinyl record, and cassette tape collectors. Jingle Bell Rocks! follows Mitchell Kezin , as he seeks out...

foolHearty by TOYFRiEND TOYFRiEND is the latest Avant-Garde Indie-Pop project from Hip-Hoppers Jason "ECID" Mckenzie and Louis Dorley AKA louis logic . ECID & Louis Dorley readily liken their inaugural release, fullHearty EP to Indie/Dream-Pop staples Blonde Redhead , Blood Orange, Elliot Smith , Little Dragon, Unknown Mortal Orchestra , Beach House, Purity Ring , and Animal Collective/Panda Bear. fullHearty features Louis Dorley on vocals and keys and ECID helming both drums and production duties. Amidst six original Indie-Pop -minded TOYFRiEND compositions, fullHearty additionally features two heavily re-worked cover tunes: Howard Jones' "No One Is to Blame" and "You're The Best (Around)" as performed by Joe Esposito , most recognizably from The Karate Kid (1984.) Prior to TOYFRiEND , ECID self-released his latest critically-acclaimed album, HowToFakeYourOwnDeath and contributed production work to Mega Ran 's Ceschi ...

"C'est la vie, c'est la vie. N****s better know that we never comin' weak. Ohtwo comin', but we a group of three... plus, one more—that's BYSON on the beat," Xavya tactfully rhymes on "Intro" from Ohtwo's BYSON-produced Session One. Ohtwo consists of emcees Faust AKA Old Man Faust, Thrilla, and Xavya, as well as producer and beat-maker BYSON. BYSON, as well as Ohtwo, is signed to Florida-based label Illuminated Paths (IP) run by Josh Rogers AKA Broken Machine Films Presents... I've been in touch will Mr. Rogers since IP released PASSAGE's March 2017 album, WORKED ON/RE-WORKED ON . PASSAGE's ULTIMATE WORKED ON BUNDLE and WORKED ON LIVE CASSETTE MIXTAPE featured appearances from Skyrider, Emceein' Eye, theclosing, Eze Jackson, Height Keech, and Hemlock Ernst AKA Future Islands' Sam Herring. Illuminated Paths have released a whopping 68+ genre-blending releases since the onslaught of 2017 and Ohtwo's Session One is among...

"I have a She's So Rad EP I am working on, dreamy Shoegaze stuff. I have a Leonard Charles Modern Funk [album] with a Lo-Fi Disco tint full-length record that is nearly complete, a Basement Funk record that will feature Wildchild , Guilty Simpson, Declaime AKA Dudley Perkins , Team Dynamite, and Georgia Anne Muldrow , and then, I still have a few things up my sleeve... but I gotta stay focused on these records, for now. I am easily distracted by amazing music and stupid plans!" Jeremy Toy AKA Leonard Charles replied when asked what he had planned following Basement Donuts . Basement Donuts is, of course, Toy's 2016 album-length debut as alter-ego " Leonard Charles ;" a Basement/Modern Funk album recorded in his basement as a 31-track tribute to Stones Throw /Instrumental Hip-Hop pioneer, producer, and rapper James "J Dilla" Yancey . During the interview prep leading up to our November 2016 The Witzard interview, Leonard Charles casually ...

"The process on making the album pretty much was made during a tough and stressful time this year. It's crazy that this album has a chill vibe, when I was going through crazy sh*t, personally. I was inspired by J Dilla 's Donuts , Kendrick Lamar 's DAMN. and Lo-Fi Hip-Hop music—which I have been listening to [heavily] this year," Trenton -based DJ and producer Darnell "iLL-Omega" Storey wrote within a recent email. I rarely listen to Rap these days, so this was my "f**k you" to typical-sounding beats and albums," iLL-Omega continued. Just about four months ago, iLL-Omega unleashed his proper solo "debut," Omegatron , which ran right here at The Witzard along with his Beat-maker Bedrock column. Darnell Storey has previously released material with fellow New Jersian Ray Strife and his DKFG crew, Rocky, Alien , Kahlil Ali, and A Mankind Complex with Trino , as well as signees on his Cap City Ent. imprint. Since Om...

Merry Christmess by Jumbled Merry Christmess exudes a frantic sense of fluidity, similar in nature to that of my personal favorite Hip-Hop -minded Christmas comp. Peanut Butter Wolf Presents: BADD SANTA - A Stones Throw Records Xmas . After initially pitching a batch of holiday-themed beats to an East Coast-based crew of emcees to no avail, John "Jumbled" Bachman , unfortunately, aborted his then-untitled Christmas EP for a planned 2016 release. Now, nearly a year later, Jumbled is back with his fully-realized 15-track Merry Christmess comp. Following The Ghost of Len Bias EP with MGNTK. emcee UllNevaNo and THE INSULT with long-time friend and emcee Dwell (as Bully Preston ) Merry Christmess is Jumbled 's third proper release of 2017. While Merry Christmess is, in fact, Jumbled 's first beat-minded Christmas release, John Bachman 's Indie Rock/Power-Pop band, Soft Peaks actually issued a 2013 cover of The Kinks' raucous "Father Christma...

Tim "ALASKA" Baker (@alaska_ATOMS) and Lang Vo (@langkimvo) are two aging "Rap Dads," I believe, I met on Twitter about a year or so ago. Both Lang & Tim had note-worthy Hip-Hop careers during the late 1990's to early 2000's and then, took periods of self-imposed sabbaticals to get married, have kids, and do other things Rap Dads do. Now, ALASKA & Lang Vo are back in full-force and collaborating as WORDS HURT. Lang met Tim around 2014-15 when the Def Jux vet enlisted the former's skills behind the boards to properly mix his then-latest project, OutKast-remixing ALKAST. ALASKA also had a verse on "Impulse Control" alongside emcee Elsphinx from Lang Vo...Is Just An A**hole. Not long after, Lang hi-jacked Tim's acapellas to make his own remix collection entitled ALKAST:REMIXES , which would soon become the first official WORDS HURT release. What we have here, is the third part in a 3-pronged initiative—a collaboration between The Witz...

Chopped Herring Records is a UK -based boutique label that's been releasing and re-issuing limited press vinyl since 2000. They've previously issued releases from Action Bronson , The Cenobites (Kool Keith & Godfather Don,) The Juggaknots , Masta Ace, Meyhem Lauren & Buckwild , Prince Paul, Shaz Illyork , and Your Old Droog. Chopped Herring 's start-up story was recently profiled within a 2016 Bandcamp Daily piece entitled Digging Up Rap History: The Story of Chopped Herring Records . Just yesterday, Chopped Herring unveiled their latest limited release: Shylow 's Please Listen to My Demos (LP) 12-inch. Shylow AKA Jay Khan is one half of Canadian Hip-Hop duo, First Division and over the course of his storied career, has shared the stage with the likes of Cage , Yakballz, Ill Bill , Aceyalone, Boot Camp Click , Mr. Lif, Camu Tao , Red Clay, and Jedi Mind Tricks . Chopped Herring Records have now partnered with Shylow to effectively re-release his Seco...