The Witzard

earlytwothousands by Drew Scott Baltimore -based producer and beat-maker Drew Scott had quite a big year in 2018: first and foremost, he got married to his long-time partner and frequent collaborator, Pale Spring . Congrats to Drew & Emily ! Musically, Drew unleashed CRITTER from his "Basement" Pop alter-ego, Giddeon Gallows , as well as remixes from Butch Dawson , HI$TO, and Infinity Knives . Now, Drew Scott has effectively returned with his first proper release of 2019—something I've been hearing about for a while now— earlytwothousands ; just as it sounds, is an 8-track collection of early 2000's Hip-Hop remixes "featuring" Snoop Dogg , 50 Cent, Juelz Santana , Clipse & Pharrell, Ghostface Killah , T.I. Lil' Wayne , and JAY-Z. "It was just something I've been wanting to do. I was a teenager when these songs came out, which was around the same time I first started making beats," Drew Scott told The Witzard , via email. ...

"Today is the day that this gets released. There are so many people to thank for this and I hope you all know who you are, so "thank you" a million times. I sat in a room writing these songs on an acoustic guitar and every time I would finish a song, I would take my guitar and go see my mother. I would go into her apartment and play the song for her, letting her hear everything first. My mother loved every song, but all she asked for me to do was to always make sure that I kept the music real and pure with lyrics that people can relate to. "Put your pain out into the world, so others can heal, Zak." Those were her exact words. So, I just want to say that is what I will always do; I will always write music to help people feel less alone. I will always write music that will have a positive message for not only myself, but for every person that listens. To anyone suffering from anxiety, depression, family problems, mental illness, addiction, fear, or any other fo...

"Hi there, my name is Steven Curtis . I'm a musician based in Seattle, Washington with a decent local following going. I recently released a video that reached over 200,000 views on Facebook . I performed with a loop pedal at Robert Lang Studios , which have worked with Nirvana , Foo Fighters, Macklemore , Train, Linkin Park , Kenny G, and more," read a recent email from self-described Seattle "singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, looper, performer," and Alex Hager affiliate Steven Curtis . "With just a microphone, loop pedal, and a guitar, Steven takes the stage and blows the crowd away... in the summer of 2015, Steven did over 100 shows. 2-3 shows a night just to get his name around Washington ; now, he's starting to trend everywhere, [recently] reaching over 1,200,000 views on Facebook doing a cover of "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent . Steven 's hard work and dedication has given him a steady following and supportive fan base,"...

Stones Throw alums J. Rocc & M.E.D. (Medaphor) initially linked up last summer to assemble a podcast-contained mixtape; Collectively operating under the group name "Axel F," it featured a collection of largely original tracks and previously unreleased material. Now, exactly 1 year later to the day (July 9th) later, J. Rocc & M.E.D. have unleashed a brand new track from their forthcoming Rebel's Theme LP, "The Set." It's unclear if Axel F. is intentionally named after Beverly Hills Cop 's Eddie Murphy name-checking title theme or not, but either way... this is about as down and dirty, intentionally grimy-sounding Hip-Hop as it gets! M.E.D. 's semi-confrontational verses are slickly inter-spliced between J. Rocc 's neck-snapping, sample-accented production work. A few of those hard-hitting Boom-Bap 'd couplets include: "Big beat knockin', streets keep watchin', big things poppin', Pee Wee stoppin'.....

Justin Timberlake makes the kind of music that's supposed to help you get laid; Let's call it "baby-making music," for lack of a better term. But JT has spent the bulk of last 6-7 years since his last album, Future Sex/Love Sounds (2006) doing damn-near everything besides writing/recording music: re-launching MySpace , sharpening his acting chops, launched a designer clothing line, recorded a few seriously good comedy tracks, and just being charming in general. During his time off, Justin Timberlake managed to record vocals for a gaggle of hits and misses for his musical friends' albums, too... 50 Cent , Jimmy Fallon, [The] Game , Ciara, The Lonely Island , T.I. Madonna , Timbaland, Duran Duran , Diddy-Dirty Money, Talib Kweli , Rihanna, and Chris Cornell ? Timberlake finally took the plunge and "wifed up" his long-time on-again-off-again girlfriend, Jessica Biel @ a private ceremony back in October 2012. Following nearly a solid week's-wor...

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire is hands down one of the most outlandish, characteristically "un-commercial" major label signees to co-align with the big dogs since... I don't know, Frank Zappa or Alice Cooper . Mr. MFN eXquire is basically like a more crazy/broke version of Biggie & Ol' Dirty Bastard , who frequently raps about comic books, pro wrestling, and bitches; Tom Breihan almost perfectly described his overall persona once as "the perma-drunk guy in your building, the one who's still PARTYING loudly @ 4a.m. but who never gets told to keep it down, since he makes everyone vaguely nervous." Power & Passion EP/mixtape is slated for an Oct. 30-31st release, making it his first project since initially signing a deal with Universal Records back in April-May. Mr. MFN eXquire manages to lace up some pretty slick rhymes, which are then over-laid on top of a beat hi-jacked from 50 Cent 's sophomore album The Massacre , "Position of Po...

Self-proclaimed "Ringtone Rapper," Soulja Boy is that young, instantly successful artist that everyone loves to hate. Soulja's detractors proclaimed that he's one of the highly "disposable" rappers that have allegedly "killed" [ruined] Hip-Hop in recent years. His die-hard fans will obviously fire back with examples supporting the exact opposite. I must admit that I am in fact one of those fans; Albeit a close observer who's followed Soulja Boy 's career path over the years, but a fan nonetheless. A creative 21-year-old young man hailing from Chicago , Soulja Boy 's overall message is surprisingly positive and violence free - In an era of "Hard as Nails" gun-slinging rappers, DeAndre Way is a rarity: Guy simply traveling down the straight-and-narrow who claims absolutely no gang affiliation whatsoever nor a violent, blood-drenched past. Soulja Boy initially burst onto the music scene with debut single/turned viral meme, ...

"Shadows On Behalf" The latest addition to Stones Throw 's ever-growing, Hip-Hop genre-straying roster are The Stepkids . Tim Walsh (drums), Jeff Gitelman (guitar), and Dan Edinberg (bass/keys) - 3 singer/songwriters - [along with live additions, Fred Dileone and Jesse Mann] make up the group. Together crafting a brand of Psychedelic [ Zappa-esque ] Jazz/Folk Rock, the 3 core members have previously spent time touring with Alicia Keys , 50 Cent , Lauryn Hill , and Indie Punk band Zox , as well as recording commissioned music for movies/TV commercials. The Stepkids join the likes of Stones Throw 's varied genre signees (Tony Cook, James Pants, Mayer Hawthorne, Dâm-Funk, and Gary Wilson). Rumored 2011-12 additions also include Vex Ruffian, Bryant K., and the artist formerly known as "Danimals" - DJanimals. The Stepkids ' [limited edition] "Shadows On Behalf" / "La La" 12" will be released in April, with their self-titled Stone...