The Witzard

CREDIT: Ivan Scruby/NOBL (@noblphotos) Total Nonstop Action by The M-Tet "Growth is a slippery slope for musicians. Once you've become established for a sound and style, the expectation to adhere to what put you where you are looms overhead at every writing session, rehearsal, and show. Purists for Meters-style Funk would, probably, scoff at a band suddenly rolling out Yamaha DX-7's and double-neck guitars, no matter how stank the groove. But, then, there's the musician's inner itch for exploration, experimentation, and expansion that keeps the process that much more exciting at a time where most of us won't reach higher tax brackets through music. The incentive to keep going is growth. But, perhaps, the most difficult feat is straddling the line—to grow and build upon a trademark sound while managing to not alienate a core audience. Bay Area Funk quartet, The M-Tet, manage to pull off the ever elusive Option C on their sophomore long-player, TOTAL NONSTOP A...

Detroit -based Funk Night Records (Fnr) has continually released a slew of phenomenal records, over the years, including 45's and 12-inches from the likes of The Great Revivers , The Soul Surfers, Guilty Simpson & Musca , Phat Kat, Aeon Seven , Nico Collins & The Soul Chance, and Scone City Players . Founder and in-house DJ/producer Frank Raines has meticulously selected artists from as far reaching as Detroit, Germany , and everywhere in-between for touch-stone releases on Fnr . For their latest double-release, Funk Night Records quietly issued two separate 45's from San Francisco -based Instrumental/Classic Soul quartet, The M-Tet : "Redbone" B/W "Ray Ban, Part 2" and "Gotta Be with You" B/W "Shades of Joy." Yes, "Redbone" is, in fact, an impassioned Instrumental Hip-Hop/Soul cover of Childish Gambino 's break-out hit from 2016's "Awaken, My Love!" but, unfortunately, all 250 limited-press F...

Lor Shaman by URBN SHMN URBN SHMN (pronounced "Urban Shaman" ) AKA KendalL Ca$h is a Baltimore -based producer/beat-maker originally hailing from DMV —otherwise known as District (DC)/Maryland/Virginia —who was formerly a B-more area DJ. I actually, first heard about URBN SHMN earlier this morning, after long-time The Witzard affiliate and collaborator John "Jumbled" Bachman FWD'ed me an email from The Urban Shaman himself; fittingly titled " Urbn Shmn is taking lofi to Datpiff ," it contained URBN SHMN 's latest mixtape, Lor Shaman . It's been widely referred to as a " summer '18 mixtape" by URBN SHMN himself and contains remixes of chart-topping hits by Childish Gambino , Desiigner, Drake , Future, Gucci Mane , Lil Yachty, Migos , Rihanna, and more. While showcased on a recent episode of Baltimore FLIPS. URBN SHMN readily shared his sources of inspiration and influence, which includes Flying Lotus , Madlib, J Dill...

"The band we know as Phony Ppl is a mix of people, time, and sound that's been nurtured over generations in Brooklyn " currently consisting of members: Elbee Thrie on vocals, Elijah Rawk on lead guitar, Matt "Maffyuu" Byas on drums, Aja Grant on keyboards, and Bari Bass on, of course, bass guitar. Since forming in 2009—amidst self-releasing 3 albums and an EP on Phony PPL LLC — Phony Ppl have had the unique opportunity to perform alongside Domo Genesis , Erykah Badu, Fetty Wap , Kali Uchis, Mac Miller , Odd Future, Princess Nokia , The Roots, Snake Hips , and more. Now, following a brief hiatus, Phony Ppl have returned with their first new material since Yesterday's Tomorrow (2015.) Last week, okayplayer premiered "Before You Get a Boyfriend," which effortlessly blends together Soul , Funk, Hip-Hop , and R&B-leaning sounds into a "noGENRE" musical mix the site deems "an ice-cold summer daydream." Phony Ppl '...

"I'm an actor, a writer, and a singer; some people have described me as a "triple-threat," but I kinda like to call myself... JUST A THREAT," Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino cooly detailed during his double-billing SNL host/performer monologue this past weekend, Saturday, May 12, 2018. Amidst his claims he "can do anything," Glover nonchalantly showed off his assorted skills including music-making, skateboarding, cooking, fixing lighting rigs, "playing" clarinet, and general awesomeness. Since his last critically-acclaimed album, "Awaken, My Love!" Donald Glover has launched Season 2 of his semi-autobiographical FX show Atlanta , made a cameo as Aaron Davis (The Prowler) in Spider-Man: Homecoming, worked on a now-shelved Deadpool cartoon series for FXX , has signed on as Simba in Jon Favreau's 2019 re-make of The Lion King, and will play a young Lando Calrissian in Disney/Lucafilms ' as-yet-unreleased SOLO: A S...

ALBUMS 1. J-Zone & Pablo Martin - The Du-Rites LP (Old Maid Entertainment/Ilegalia Records) "Can you dig it? If so, get a plate of neckbones, beans, and rice and put on your Old Spice. The Du-Rites are here to pour some fried fish grease on your kale salad. They’ll out-Funk you so bad, you’ll give up the Funk and start making ballads. Rollin' with Soul like a 1979 Cadillac when you step on the gas. Groovin' so hard, they’ll knock the boogie man on his a**,” writes Neighborhood Wino & Music Connoisseur Pimpin' Polyester Pete on the LP's reverse sleeve. The Du-Rites LP is currently available digitally, with politically-charged bonus track "Moving to The Moon," on either J-Zone's personal or The Du-Rites Bandcamp profiles or on sunset orange wax from Old Maid Entertainment/Ilegalia Records in conjunction with Redefinition Records. "Ever order a kale salad and discover a neckbone in it? That’s Funk! Ever write a love letter on a chicken...

"I got body, no matter what I wear." "Got Body" VIDEO IN BIO! Directed by Julian Branciforte . Celebrate your difference, your individuality, your heritage, your family, your love, your hair, your ancestors, your growth, your skin, your organs, your fat, your bones! We really don't need to look, act, or be the same. It is a distraction. Celebrate life and the changes that come with it. Surround yourself with love!" @lionbabe recently wrote within an exuberant, self-empowering statement accompanying their latest Begin single, "Got Body." LION BABE consists of sultry songstress, dancer, and H&M & Pantene model Jillian Hervey and multi-instrumentalist and record producer Lucas "Astro Raw" Goodman . "Hervey dances in the streets, record stores, and subway train cars, while Goodman purchases and makes a beat on what appears to be a Roland SP-404 sampler; the duo eventually meets up with friends for a chill session,...

Los Angeles sister act HAIM have indeed dabbled with Hip-Hop in the past, whether it be nearly getting recruited as A$AP Rocky 's backing band or appearing on genre-blending Kid Cudi and Childish Gambino tracks... But now they've enlisted rising A$AP Mob emcee, A$AP Ferg to append a ferocious add-on verse to their Days Are Gone album stand-out, "My Song 5." It's not entirely unlike a visual Where's Waldo? of seemingly everyone Danielle, Este & Alana Haim have encountered or befriended while on the road over the last couple years; featured emcee A$AP Ferg , Ke$ha, Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig , Grimes, Big Sean , SNL comedian Vanessa Bayer, Mama & Papa Haim , producer Ariel Rechtshaid, and even "Artemis" from It's Always Sunny . Leading up to it's Tuesday afternoon release, @HAIMtheband's long-rumored "My Song 5" video was subtly teased with cleverly edited 90's screen-grabs from Sally Jessy Ra...

"The way to my heart: the Vanity 6 shuffle, @HAIMtheband ," Tonight Show bandleader and Roots drummer Questlove Tweeted mere hours after "If I Could Change Your Mind"' s late night release. Multi-instrumentalist sisters Alana, Danielle & Este Haim did in fact work alongside esteemed choreographer Fatima Robinson and director Warren Fu . For those of you who have been living under a rock these last few years, HAIM could essentially be likened to a Hip-Hop & R&B -infused all-female version of Fleetwood Mac ; they've previously collaborated with A$AP Rocky , Childish Gambino, and Kid Cudi on wax [record]. The fifth commercial single pulled from their debut Days Are Gone , "If I Could Change Your Mind" is a moody oftentimes dimly-lit affair, which kinda resembles an old Soul Train sound stage. Inter-splicing back and forth between synchronized dance sequences and two separate performance clips, Warren Fu has effectively created ...

Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover ) hasn't really released much new material since unleashing last year's feature-heavy Camp follow-up mixtape, ROYALTY . But it sounds like the former Community star is planning to unveil what will likely be a new full-length mixtape [or album?], because the internet , "this winter break;" and if @DonaldGlover's Twitter feed is to be believed, it just might house collaborative tracks with buddies Kid Cudi , Flying Lotus, and Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend), as well as his other recent web-single, "Centipede." because the internet 's latest rumored inclusion, "Yaphet Kotto" (freestyle) was uploaded to Gambino's Soundcloud page roughly a week ago. Preceded only by a Skylar-White -drowning- Breaking-Bad -like teaser trailer, "Yaphet Kotto" showcases Childish Gambino blatantly addressing his detractors: "Worst rapper to ever spit on an open mic / Worst rapper to ever get on so...

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: I kinda feel like everyone is making fun of Miley Cyrus and she TOTALLY doesn't even get it ha. What ever happened to the little girl who played Hannah Montana , "Partied In The USA" that one summer, and passionately sang about "The Climb" or whatever? Maybe it's just bad parenting; either way, I'd assume she's crushing her dad's achy breaky heart. I feel like "We Can't Stop" and Miley Cyrus' whole quasi-affiliation with Hip-Hop is just a giant Rick Roll , too. But on the other hand, if Kanye & Miley 's rumored "BLKKK SKKKN HEAD" remix ever comes to fruition, that'll likely be the theoretical icing on the cake. "Wrecking Ball" is the second single pulled from her upcoming Bangerz album and it's a little more along the lines of a modern-day power ballad, sans it's now-infamous scantily-clad Terry Richardson-directed video. During a rec...

It's pretty safe to say that Chance The Rapper is quite easily the best thing to come out of Chicago since Kanye was a virtually unknown producer, making Soulful beats for Blueprin t-era Jay-Z . His latest mixtape, Acid Rap is 13 tracks-worth of sheer drug-fueled Psych-Rap weirdness; at just 19, Chance has already worked with now defunct Kids These Days , Hannibal Buress, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League , Nosaj Thing, Action Bronson , Twista, Jake-One , Childish Gambino, Ab-Soul , Blended Babies, etc. After the nearly insta-success of Acid Rap , Lil' Wayne 's people recently came a'calling for Chance The Rapper and co-producers Nate Fox, Peter Cottontale & Cam to conjure up a collaborative track. Nate Fox recounted the almost unbelievable scenario to Complex just the other day: " Chance texted me saying, "Come to the studio at 11." I get there at 11, and it's me and Peter, Cam, Chance , and Pat , and everybody's there. And he pulls us ...

Former Community cast member and aspiring funnyman Donald Glover released the first track in over a year under his Childish Gambino moniker Tuesday afternoon, "Centipede." It's a 6-minute brooding, epic track that flawlessly shifts between a cappella ballad, hard-hitting rhymefest, and bass-heavy street jam. While I was lucky enough to catch Gambino live at Starland Ballroom with Flatbush Zombies a couple years ago on the Camp concert tour (2011-12), he hasn't really put out much material since last year's ROYALTY mixtape. An uncharacteristically feature-heavy affair, Childish Gambino managed to recruit Danny Brown , RZA, Beck , Danielle HAIM, Bun B , Nipsey Hu$$el, Ghostface Killah , Chance The Rapper , and Tina Fey for ROYALTY 's 18 tracks. But anyways... "Centipede" is without a doubt Donald Glover 's return to form as Childish Gambino ; Glover recently Facebooked , "Smaller role on Community = More time for music. Life is ...

HAIM are a band made up of 3 20-something sisters from LA who's only recorded output includes: the 3-track Forever EP , a Fleetwood Mac cover, some hook work for Childish Gambino , and now "Don't Save Me/Send Me Down." Ever since the imminent break-up of family band Rockinhaim about 5 years ago, Danielle, Alana & Este have been secretly recording together non-stop... fine-tuning their sun-soaked Rock "N" Roll meets 90's R&B sound. They seem to be equally inspired by everyone from Usher to The Beach Boys , but HAIM have somehow been able to meld together a unique brand of Power/Girl Pop . I personally think it's pretty SICK [AWESOME] that 3 hot, model-ish chicks like Danielle, Alana & Este Haim can Rock this hard, whether or not you really even dig their music! While they're slowly but surely chipping away @ finishing up their major label debut, the Haim sisters unveiled a music video for "Don't Save Me...

I think one of the reasons that Das Racist works so well is because of the cross-section between Heems' great appreciation for Mainstream Pop melded against Kool A.D. 's desire to be weird/ Experimental . While Nehru Jackets (January) was just a bunch of Mike Finito-produced beats made from Indian samples, WILD WATER KINGDOM is slightly more commercial... almost directly influenced by post-2001 Hip-Hop : shit like The Blueprint , Dipset, Kanye , Meek Mill , and French Montana. Heems managed to hand-select some Funky "liquified" beats from Harry Fraud , Crookers, Beautiful Lou , LE1F, Steel Tipped Dove , Mike Finito, and Keyboard Kid . "I've become in touch with my astrological signs. I'm a Cancer , and I'm a Pisces Rising for my moon [sign], so I'm pretty fucking watery. I like water a lot and this past summer, I tried to be out by the beach as much as I could. I was out on the Hamptons , I was out on Martha's Vineyard , I was ou...

I guess bath salts are a formidable, new substitute for getting "CRUNK" in today's Popular [Hip-Hop] Culture ; Basically used to describe getting crazy/drunk @ a party... minus all the face-gnawing, bullet holes, carnage, nausea, and paranoia-enducing side effects, etc. A$AP Rocky and YG Addie A$AP Ant have enlisted the help of fellow Brooklyn area emcees, Flatbush Zombies for their latest track - "Bath Salts," which is seemingly the first cut from A$AP Mob's upcoming (untitled) Killa Beez -like group album. That very album will feature A$AP Rocky 's complete, lesser-know Rap crew: A$AP Twelvy, Ant, Yams, Bari, Ferg, Ty Beats, Nast , and resident producer, Clams Casino . "Untitled" A$AP Mob comp. is rumored to see a proper release sometime before A$AP Rocky 's debut record, LONGLIVEA$AP , which comes out on Sept. 11th (Polo Grounds). "Bath Salt" was produced by a up-and-coming young beatsmith who chooses to go by the my...

After 2 cancelled re-schedulings, I finally managed to see Childish Gambino live up in Sayreville, NJ with my buddy Ryan just about a month ago. Complete with lots of lights, "pyro," guitars, and violins, it seemed more like a KISS concert than a Hip-Hop show... definitely much more showmanship than I could have ever imagined! Donald Glover acts weekly on Community (NBC) and in his downtime, has begun to flesh out a pretty solid career moonlighting as an Indie rapper. Childish Gambino 's recent wide-spread release, Camp really helped solidify his unique brand of raps about [college] girls strewn across Dance -laden beats. Gambino previously self-released a slew of mixtapes and online albums between 2008-10, but Camp was still semi-misleadingly totted as his "debut album." Generally not one to enlist fellow emcees, Donald Glover seems to be changing his ways, as he's secretly complied a forthcoming feature-driven mixtape. 3 of 6 recently "lea...

Danny Brown is most likely far from your average rapper; Granted he regularly brags about "drinking & smoking," but he's been somewhat weirdly well-received by Indie Rock blogs and endearing fans alike. Maybe it's Brown's affinity for non- Hip-Hop beats, stark realism, cutting-edge threads, outsider appearance... or that Trent Reznor -reminiscent side-swoop haircut. Whatever the reasoning behind it, ex- Pitchfork contributor Eavvon O'Neal felt compelled to shadow and film Danny Brown for a few days back in February. The final edit has been dubbed Detroit State of Mind , a mini-documentary which Brown himself simply describes as, "really like a movie/reality show pilot or some shit ... you laugh, u cry and someone dies at the end lol." Overall, Eavvon O'Neal 's filmed account is a candid 20-minute look into Danny Brown's everyday life. Un-charistically "normal" happenings include: hanging out with family, getting a ...

Himanshu "Heems" K. Suri is really the only [rapping] person who can ACTUALLY pull off sounding so smart/dumb all @ once, without coming off as a complete and total toolbag. It almost seems like "WOMYN," which was the premier track debuted from Nehru Jackets (June) and still my personal favourite... is being told through the voice of Saved By The Bell 's very own "AC Slater." Indeed, yet another fine Pop Culture reference from America 's favourite brown Indie Hip-Hopper ! Remember that one time that Jessie told him that girls don't like being called "chicks" and would much rather prefer "women" instead? Well, this is kinda like after that, when Slater [trying his absolute best] continued to use "women" in the totally wrong tense. OK well, maybe that last part didn't really happen on Saved By The Bell . But it's highly plausible and that what Heems & Mike Finito Lakutis proceed to do here, an...