The Witzard

Over the course of the past month or so, there have been a plethora of solid Hip-Hop EP's released online; a quick, concise 30-minutes or less format that's seemingly, replaced the mixtape/"street album" format of years passed to become your favorite underground rapper/producer's go-to promotional tool. Here, for this inaugural edition of The Witzard's Rap EP Wrap-up, we'll be profiling eight EP's released throughout March 2018, as well as two released at the end of February that were honestly, way too dope to not include! Featured below, in no particular order, are EP's from the likes of ALASKA & PJ Katz, Elaquent, Epic Beard Men (Sage Francis & B. Dolan,) Luke Sick & Damien *, Madlib & J Dilla's proteges MED AKA Medaphoar & Guilty Simpson, Loretta Records founder Observe, Roughneck Jihad & IL Torsolo *, SULTANS OF SPRING touring mates PremRock & Fresh Kils, and Purple Dialect, as well as a posthumous Illa Ghee-as...

Over the course of the past month or so, there have been a plethora of solid Hip-Hop EP's released online; a quick, concise 30-minutes or less format that's seemingly, replaced the mixtape/"street album" format of years passed to become your favorite underground rapper/producer's go-to promotional tool. Here, for this inaugural edition of The Witzard's Rap EP Wrap-up, we'll be profiling eight EP's released throughout March 2018, as well as two released at the end of February that were honestly, way too dope to not include! Featured below, in no particular order, are EP's from the likes of ALASKA & PJ Katz, Elaquent, Epic Beard Men (Sage Francis & B. Dolan,) Luke Sick & Damien *, Madlib & J Dilla's proteges MED AKA Medaphoar & Guilty Simpson, Loretta Records founder Observe, Roughneck Jihad & IL Torsolo *, SULTANS OF SPRING touring mates PremRock & Fresh Kils, and Purple Dialect, as well as a posthumous Illa Ghee-as...

Tha Hustle 'N Bustle O' Life -SINGLE- by VIPER & Broken Machine Films presents... VIPER is a Houston, Texas -based "Entrepreneur, Rapper, Pianist, PhD In Business (In 2019), U.S.A. Licensed Real Estate Broker (In 2018), Alcor Life Extension Member, 5-9 Piru Member." While VIPER has been producing his own music childhood, he first gained notoriety online amongst Underground Rap circles in 2008 with You'll Cowards Don't Even Smoke Crack . VIPER would soon, garner wide-spread praise, as well as comparisons to like-minded outsider artists and fellow Internet phenoms Lil B & Wesley Willis . Pigeons & Planes reports that VIPER released a staggering 333 albums in 2014 alone—in addition to 262+ more albums in 2015—all of which are available to stream on Spotify ; last year, VIPER affiliated himself with equally prolific Florida tape label Illuminated Paths , together, properly re-releasing his albums Tha Top Malla , MY GHOST ARMY, COPS CAN...

Not as They Do by Manikineter It's a little tough to pinpoint all these years later, but I honestly think my first exposure to Hip-Hop was House of Pain 's "Jump Around" playing in one of the opening "party scenes" in Robin Williams' 1993 blockbuster hit, Mrs. Doubtfire , which would have made me about six. Although, a number of years later, my older cousin Josh gifted me a stack of CD's and a shoe box-full of cassettes containing Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science (1999) 2-CD set, as well as the Beasties' 1986 debut, Licensed to Ill and its follow-up, Paul's Boutique (1989.) Around the same time, I was just starting to get into Punk/Hardcore and cut my teeth listening to Henry Rollins -era Black Flag , Minor Threat, Fugazi , The Misfits, Samhain , and a slew of additional staple 1980-90's Punk albums—soon, discovering two Punk -minded Beastie Boys releases: Some Old Bullsh*t and Aglio e Olio EP . Ever since, I...

Billy Batts (prod by Zilla Rocca) by Curly Castro & Zilla Rocca "Zilla Rocca" is, at this point in time, a name even casual readers of the pages here at The Witzard should almost instantly recognize and readily associate with dope output. I think it's safe to say, I've covered nearly every Zilla/Zilla -related release since 2016's Anything I Touch, I Bruise Vol. 2: The Superior Foes of Zilla Rocca , as well as a gaggle of Bandcamp loosies and Soundcloud stand-alone singles. To my knowledge, Zilla Rocca has at least three (announced) projects currently planned to be released throughout 2018: Thieving As Long As I'm Breathing - a Career Crooks Remix EP with S mall Professor , his '90's Hip-Hop -flavored mixtape/"street album" '96 Mentality , and a proper solo album quite cleverly entitled Future Former Rapper ; all of these, featuring a who's-who of friends, affiliates, and fellow Underground Hip-Hop rappers and producers...

Noordhollands Dagblad: Festive reunion of Wormerpunk By: Rob Hendriks (Mar 4 2018) "In the early 80's a number of Wormerpunk bands put the village on the music map. The music scene had become sluggish and commercial record companies dictated the market. "Do it yourself" became the motto. Back to the original form of pop. Start a band, make your own record, and party with your audience. Two old Wormerpunk groups—Zowiso and The Sox Pistels 3.0—made Sunday afternoon into a nostalgic punk party in a packed room of De Groote Weiver in Wormerveer. They had come from near and far, the fans and volunteers of the first hour with gray hair and grooved heads, but with the indestructible punk vigor of solidarity, creativity and disobedience. At that time, 'The White Villa' in Wormer was the beating heart. There are the roots of The Ex, Svatsox, De Kift, and many other bands. 30 years later, The Ex is still busy there. Musicians of long-gone Wormerpunk bands have...

The GoGo Loco Twist by GOGO LOCO As you may well remember, The Witzard published a comprehensive 2016 interview with The Mobbs' extremely well-groomed frontman Joe B. Humbled to coincide with their fourth album, PIFFLE! on Dirty Water Records . Back in 2016, The Mobbs released PIFFLE! as well as a companion beer brewed by Hart Family Brewers fittingly deemed Pale & Interesting . I hadn't heard much from The Mobbs' drummer and general manager/press contact/booking agent Cheadle since late 2016, but still, assumed The Mobbs were together and actively working on their fifth studio album; however, this past weekend, I got an email from Cheadle , which read, in part: "Hey Matt! How are you doing? I'm sure you already know, but The Mobbs are no more... but before you get too upset, check out GoGo Loco , our new project!" The Mobbs quietly announced they were "gone" at the beginning of March with bassist The Bishop having announced his de...

Last we heard from Los Angeles -based Common Good Records , they were gearing up to release Drtysoap 's festive beat tape, MERRY CHRITHMITH and if you'll remember correctly, co-founder The Ologist AKA J.D. actually, sequenced and arranged Mitchell Kezin 's Mitchell's 'SOUL SISTA' Holiday Mix for The Witzard . Following the releases of Te'Amir Sweeney 's Tiger Breaks 7-inch and brother Tutu Sweeney 's "Party In The Ghetto" B/W "Walking Forward" J.D. 's When Crates Create imprint folded and quickly joined forces with Jason McGuiness ' LA -based Analog Burners to collectively, form Common Good Records . Now, Common Good Records are back with their first proper release of 2018: Unown & DJ Ragz 's Pasta & Wings , described as "a concept project with a 90's era Hip-Hop instrumental vibe that finds Unown handling the beat duties on the MPC and DJ Ragz cutting up on the turntables." Pasta ...

"I did this beat in my aunt's garage... before I gave the beat to Everlast ... I tried to give it to Ice Cube , B-Real , and Special Ed an' they all passed on it," DJ Muggs told Genius concerning his beat, which would ultimately, end up being House of Pain 's 1992 break-out hit, "Jump Around." House of Pain 's initial incarnation was active between 1991-96 and has re-formed a number of times over the past 26 years, both as part of 2004 est. Hip-Hop super-group La Coka Nostra and Cypress Hill -helmed music and graphic arts collective, Soul Assassins . As legend has it, DJ Muggs approached his Cypress Hill bandmates, who passed on his Bob & Earl 's "Harlem Shuffle" -flipping instrumental, but suggested he pitch it to their "brother band," House of Pain . "We were like, 'give it to the white boys,'" Cypress Hill emcee Sen Dog recounted to Mike "DJ" Pizzo during a 2016 interview for cue...

Lord Finesse braggadociously rhymes: "as long as the beat phat, my sh*t'll be off the meat rack" on Handsome Boy Modelling School's "Rock and Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2 / Knockers" from Dan The Automator & Prince Paul's 2004 album, White People. Unbeknownst to Lord Finnesse, that very line would go on to inspire Mike "ZIPRHED" Mattox and Brett "Brett F." Fullerton to form their own genre-eschewing Hip-Hop group, fittingly called "Off The Meat Rack." While It's Not Okay is Off The Meat Rack's proper full-length debut, it's far from ZIPRHED & Brett F.'s first time working together... but I'll let them get into that. Lyrically, ZIPRHED's delivery personally, reminds me of a stylistic mix between Atmosphere, Darko The Super, and "Clint Eastwood"-era Del The Funky Homosapien; while beat-maker and producer Brett F. honestly, has a style unlike anyone else's beat-chopp...

Baltimore emcee UllNevaNo has returned with his first quasi-"release" of 2018, an 8-week project unofficially titled the #SHAMMGODWEDS series produced by Norfolk, VA -based MGNTK. affiliate MANHE . Following last year's Jumbled -produced The Ghost of Len Bias EP on Harford & Reckord Tapes/MGNTK. RSRCH , #SHAMMGODWEDS will be Neva 's first proper "full-length" release of 2018. Not unlike The Ghost of Len Bias EP and Ohbliv -produced "WRK." this weeks' #SHAMMGODWEDS release, "FIGHT KLUB POOL TABLE" keeps right in line with UllNevaNo 's on-going series of basketball-themed rhymes. "On this particular record, Neva pays homage to a culture that made him who he is as [an] artist today and that's battle rap. Even though he hasn't battled since 2010, UllNevaNo still loves the sport and tuning into leagues, such as King of The Dot Ent. (KOTD) and Ultimate Rap League (URL) " UllNevaNo wrote within a r...

I've personally, been rockin' out to Super Hi-Fi 's new album, Blue & White —which is out today on Very Special Recordings —since January thanks to Alex Pastuhov at Behind The Curtains Media . Luckily, I've had time to sit with the album and digest it's complex Reggae/Rock -fusing stylings. Blue & White was recorded directly to tape at Jersey City -based 9 Lives Studios with engineer Nicola Stemmer ; bandleader and bassist Eza Gale produced the album himself, which features the talents of fellow Super Hi-Fi bandmates Rick Parker , Robert Stringer, Jon Lipscomb , Ezra Gale, and Madhu Siddappa , as well as a crew of talented friends and musically-inclined associates. Collectively, Super Hi-Fi 's members have played alongside a wide array of artists, including Beyoncé , Curren$y, Donovan , Bill Frisell, Gregory Porter , and The Skatalites. " Blue & White is an album punctuated by dueling trombones, gut-rattling basslines, and Afrobeat -insp...