The Witzard

"Any question which starts with "Top 5..." is hard to answer. I used to ask all my friends and other musicians about their Top 5 albums. And since I asked them, they used to ask me the same. I have been with the same list for the last couple of years, which is, maybe, not really my Top 5 right now, but it's pretty OK for a Top 5 of all-time. Any of these albums I've played intensively, most of them for years straight on a daily [basis] and I can sing/rap them along or even play some of the solos. These are must-listen records for anyone because these records are my friends in the good and dark times. The Top 5 is in order of discovery because after all, there can't be just one winner. Let's start!" - Reinier Thijs (@thijsenterprise) I. Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys (1970) "When I was around 14/15-years-old, I got really into music; not only the mainstream, which was on MTV, but, also, the older stuff. I don't really know how I stumbl...

A Common Wonder - The Sixth Superstition by A Common Wonder " Stevie Wonder 's early use of synthesizers, drum machines, and samplers, in a lot of ways, paved the way for Hip-Hop and sampling. Part of my motivation for this project was to highlight those contributions," Nashville -based producer Amerigo Gazaway proclaimed within a recent press release. Gazaway is, of course, the genre-bending producer and remixer behind critically-acclaimed mash-up albums—are people still calling them "mash-ups?"—such as Yasiin Gaye: The Departure and The Return (Yasiin Bey FKA Mos Def & Marvin Gaye,) Fela Soul (Fela Kuti & De La Soul,) B​.​B. & The Underground Kingz: The Trill Is Gone (B.B. King & UGK,) Bizarre Tribe: A Quest to The Pharcyde , and more like-minded projects. It would appear as though Amerigo Gazaway is likely referring to Stevie Wonder 's beloved and world-renown string of seven "classic period" albums released between 197...

“We went out to LA with [Action Bronson] last month—me, him, Alchemist , and Sean [Mahon] recorded an entire EP of material under the name Jericho . Jericho may be a project that we drop, that’s really under-the-table, no one knows about that yet. Jericho may just be like a multi-genre, no label EP that may cross genres from Hip-Hop to Electro to 80's Pop . We may bridge the gap with that actually, because some of the stuff we recorded for that, one of the songs sounds like a late 80's Smokey Robinson record and sh*t. And then, there’s some Surf Rock on there that sounds like The Beach Boys and Bronson’s rhyming on it," Party Supplies multi-instrumentalist Justin Nealis revealed to HipHopDX way back in January 2014. Nealis, at the time, proclaimed that he aspired to be "like The Black Keys ; they blew up in Rock and had a few Rock records out and then, they went on and used that leverage to call up Raekwon on that BlakRoc sh*t." Party Supplies ...

Let me just preface this week's slightly abridged edition of The Witzard's Week In Rap by first explaining that while I could be covering Kanye 's "newly updated, remixed, and remastered version" of haphazardly-assembled steaming pile of s*it The Life of Pablo , I'm not even going to be giving his second of what could likely end up being umpteenth mixes, recently dubbed a "continuous process" by Def Jam , the sheer satisfaction of even buying into and covering it; however, with that said, his Sampha -assisted "Saint Pablo" (formerly titled "Closest Thing to Einstein" ) from his second of three rumored in-the-works albums, Turbo Grafx 16 , is likely as strong, lyrically verbose, and dare I say, self-reflective as Kanye 's sounded since Jay Z -helmed Watch The Throne or even 808's & Heartbreak . For what it's worth, a couple contenders for "honorable mentions" released sporadically throughout the week s...

Quasi-retired British songstress and walking firecracker Lily Allen has finally made a triumphant return to music, in one of the least Punk Rock ways humanly possible; covering "Somewhere Only We Know" (Keane) for a super-early John Lewis Christmas web-ad. But somehow, it really works and Allen's airy vocals synch up well with the playful, old school-looking Bear & The Hare animation work. Since releasing her sophomore album, It's Not Me, It's You (2009), Lily Allen got herself a husband and 2 kids, stared acting a bit, launched a record label imprint, changed her name twice (Lily Rose Cooper), and recently appeared on Pink 's latest single, "True Love." "Somewhere Only We Know" is a pretty drastic shift from Allen's former potty-mouthed brand of Reggae -infused Indie Pop , which could very well echo her forthcoming third album. According to NME , Lily Allen recently lamented that "it's not an earnest "I...

It seems like Miley Cyrus has somehow become some sort of weird Ellen DeGeneres or Justin Bieber -like punchline-inducing phenomenon for 4 out of 5 of your favourite rappers; Recently referenced by everyone from Jay Z to Rick Ross , who eloquently rapped, "I got a bad bitch in my Chevy / Selling Miley Cyrus in my brand new Monte Carlo ..." on Meek Mill 's recent Dreams & Nightmares track, "Believe It." All of this likely originated from Cyrus' own generally off-the-wall BONKERS Hip-Hop -infused "We Can't Stop" video-single. G.O.O.D. Music emcee Big Sean kinda took it to a whole 'nother level Friday upon unleashing his latest Hall of Fame single, "Fire." Leading up to the album's August 27th release date, Sean has leaked 3 additional teaser singles: "Guap," "Switch Up" [-feat. Common ], and "Beware" with Lil' Wayne & Jhené Aiko . DONDA director Matthew Williams mor...

Let's face it, there's a certain breed of Pop -injected Hip-Hop that's mainly meant for spoiled-rotten suburban white girls, slutty socialites, college co-eds with "daddy issues," etc. We'll just call it "Hip-Pop," for lack of a better term... Not to say that it can't be mildly good/catchy from time to time, but you're not gonna get the street grit of Wu-Tang or social commentary along the lines of Common . Anyways, when it comes to radio-friendly Hip-Pop , I'd say Macklemore & 2 Chainz are quite arguably 2 of the sub-genre's BIGGEST Internet -certified super-stars; each releasing 2 of 2012-13's more popular mainstream Hip-Hop albums, The Heist and Based On a T.R.U. Story , respectively. So, it makes complete and total sense that Boston -based Hip-Pop producer, Clinton Sparks enlisted the 2 rising emcees to appear together on a track for his upcoming album, "Disco Ball & Chain" (Def Jam). Sparks then ...

Let me just start out by saying that I've been a die-hard Roots fan for about 10 years now, since The Tipping Point (2004). But after seeing The Legendary Roots Crew LIVE @ House of Blues last night [Dec. 28th], while their frequently-released studio albums are great sounding, they pale in comparison to the band's FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC stage show. We're talking about a gang of Classically -trained musicians playing blazin' solos and breaks... synchronized Motown dance routines throughout and when drummer ?uestlove accidentally pummeled into the wrong beat mid-song, he and his Philly -bred buddies just laughed it off and kept going. The best damn thing about a Roots show is the sheer unexpected, versatility of the material to pull from - Nearly 14 records -worth of Hip-Hop/Deep Soul , a feat which most seasoned Rock "N" Roll bands couldn't even rival. Black Thought & ?uestlove proceeded to lead bandmates Captain Kirk, Tuba Gooding Jr., Frank...

And I'm back from a nice, relaxing weekend getaway to Ocean City, MD : friends, cars, chicken, girls, beer, scooters, sun rays, etc. But it's great to finally be back home in good ol' Jersey ! Upon my re-entry to The Inter-web earlier this evening, I was pleasantly surprised with 3 FRESH Cocaine 80s tracks, which were slowly unveiled over the past 3 days. "This Can't Be a Crime," "Queen to Be," and "Take My Keys" were recently recorded by Chicago mega-producer, No I.D. While Cocaine 80s' choice nom de plume might implies a certain level of excess and debauchery, their collective musical output is far from it... Cocaine 80s is a Chicago -based group of talented behind-the-scenes players, which includes the likes of James Fauntleroy , Kevin Randolph, Rob Kinelski, Steve Wyreman , and Makeba . Since quietly forming roughly 1 year ago, the loose collective has released 2 digital projects, The Pursuit EP and Ghost Lady EP . The att...

The go-to phrase has always been, "Party like a Rockstar," but in recent months, I've almost learned that rappers party even HARDER! In a unique promotional effort for their upcoming film, the people behind Project X teamed up with Vice Records ... producing a series of short animated YouTube clips dubbed, "PARTY LEGENDS." Delicately sub-titled as "an oral history of absolute insanity," a handful of colorful rappers/actors have re-told the tales of their craziest party-fueled experiences. Precursed by the likes of Snoop Dogg , A-Trak , and Tyler The Creator _ Nas is the latest rhymesmith to present his own f*cked up story. He proceeds to lay down the details behind some random Queens[bridge] "kegger" gone terribly wrong, which was then re-re-animated by Jesse McLaren . It's nice to hear these generally "HARD" [tough] rappers mellow out a bit and tell some fun-loving stories! Tales that I bet we can all relate, even if on...

Back in 2004, Raphael Saadiq opened his studio doors to Spacek (band) to produce an album for one of his sub-labels. The album was supposed to be called "Pookie Blue Room" and feature 10 songs produced by both Steve & Morgan [Spacek] with Raphael singing on all of them and featuring guest appearances by Common, Q-Tip, Ledisi , Steve Spacek , and Sir [Fonzworth] Bentley . Anyhow, the album was never completed and therefore, never released. As one of the executive producer of this album, I have been sitting on those tracks for years now... sharing my fav with you now. - Mathieu Schreyer (executive producer)

The Artist Formerly Known as "Mos Def," Yasiin Bey has finally taken a long-overdue break from his day job (film actor) to make an undoubtedly triumphant return to his first true love: Hip-Hop . In what appears to be The Soulquarian 's premier offering under his newly-adopted guise, Bey proceeds to remix a familiar Top 40 hit. "Niggas In Poorest" is the first in a series of socially-conscious Top 40 Underdog freestyles... and Yasiin Bey drastically flips Kanye & Jay-Z 's uncanny "radio single" (2011) on it's head. The weekly series will seemingly re-appropriate some of the year's finest Hip-Hop/Mainstream hits, albeit in thought-provoking, new light. The formerly lavish tale of over-indulgence has now been morphed into a painfully accurate lament of modern-day society. Of course though, @ it's stereophonic heart, "Niggas In Poorest" is in fact a politically-driven, racially-charged social commentary released just...

Hip-Hop "Beef" is essentially a long-forgotten art form/promotional exercise. Infamous beefs of the per-Internet Golden Boom-Bap Era (1980-90's) include: 2pac-Biggie , Nas-Jay-Z , "The Bridge Wars," LL Cool J-Kool Moe Dee , and "The Roxanne Saga." A carefully designed marketing tool, beef is usually kick-started when one rapper does/says something that the other doesn't exactly agree with. Beefs are usually all in good fun and most times, end in a truce... One exception however, is the tragic deaths of former friends, 2pac & Biggie . Recent Internet -based beefs have included: Kanye-50 Cent , Nicki Minaj-Lil Kim , [The] Game -everyone, Eminem-Canibus (Mariah Carey) . In what may very well be the first size-able Hip-Hop beef of 2012, Common released a diss track aimed @ Drake just yesterday afternoon. Common-Drake 's feud stems back to Nov. 2011 when Common released "Sweet." The third single from The Dreamer/The Believer n...

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving just as much as every other warm-blooded American citizen; Gotta love those celebratory, non-present giving holidays! But I must digress a tad but, and admit that the historical roots of said festivities aren't as "cookie-cutter" as we are all generally led to believe. For argument's sake, majority of us were taught back in grade school that the Indians/Pilgrims met, laughed, united, and collaborated to produce the joyous, harmonious feast that was forever immortalized as "The First Thanksgiving." According to various alternative accounts, the settlers at Plymouth Rock were in fact a very cruel, conniving brand of people. "They landed at Plymouth with a smile on their face / They said, "We're your brothers from a far away place" / I know the Indians greeted them with wide open arms / Too simple-minded and trusting to see through the charms / In came the religions, the liquor, and...

This cryptic message was packaged along with the 10/20-21 after midnight release of Cocaine 80s - GhOSt LaDy EP : " ...but one of the many had their soul forced from where it was once was, and realized it wasn't so scary floating there, just outside the norm... " Thus building off the loose story arc initialized with Cocaine 80s' 2 previous June 2011 efforts: "...and he sang softly to them, and told them that though their noses may bleed, there would always be tissue... (The Pursuit EP) ...and when they returned only a short while after, they were warmly welcomed back with promises of more dope...oh, so much more..." (Like a Fool - birdsong) . Once again, the gang's all here; A slew of earnest session musicians, singer-songwriters, studio engineers, etc: Common, No I.D. James Fauntleroy, Kevin Randolph, Rob "The Mixer" Kinelski, Steve Wyreman , and Makeba . Employing a similar Tweet -for-download promotional campaign, GhOSt LaDy EP is no...