The Witzard

MF DOOM Mixed-media Collage - GRAPHIC BY: Roy Christopher (@RoyChristopher) Honestly, it doesn't even feel like there's a proper way to elegize an eccentric and extremely talented artist such as MF DOOM, who meant so much to so many of us for so many years for so many different reasons as truly unique as DOOM himself. So, what better way to pay tribute to The Man, The Myth, THE MASK himself than by speaking to those closest to him? With a heavy heart, I proudly present Shadows of Tomorrow; a new recurring column in tribute to DOOM in an effort to re-tell the tall tales, strange stories, and lesser-known tidbits of The Metal Face Villain himself. R.I.P. Daniel "MF DOOM" Dumile Thompson. DARK SIDE OF THE DOOM by DRO CUP "Today is the day I finally get to share my visual album, DARK SIDE OF THE DOOM ([Pink] Floyd samples, DOOM bars) with you all. Pink Floyd & DOOM are two artists that have followed me around from when I was just a 10-year-old in 5th grad...

"The AntiMatter Suite is a "photon torpedo" of creativity during these tumultuous times. While the songs come from the same quadrant as Eddie Romero , the urgency of how they materialized are, no question, a response to how a lot of folks are feeling these days. Leave it to Sulu to turn this energy into beautiful music that, not only moves the spirit, but the body. Although, there are a few more guest contributions to this chapter, what you hear is the artist's vision undiluted. Let's not downplay the fact that this ENTIRE work was written, produced, played, arranged, recorded, edited, and mixed by Sulu. Check out any of the BTS [behind-the-scenes] videos on YouTube for a glimpse of the process. Early transmissions of the songs were already potent, when shared with The Bridge Crew. When Sulu sent me the demo and backstory for "Spacesuit," I was able to hear the scratches I wanted to add to the song very clearly. Tracking was finished in an hour or so...

John Morrison Diggin' for Records (CREDIT: D1L0) John "Liberator" Morrison is a self-proclaimed "Writer/DJ/Sample-flipper" hailing from Philly. Morrison is the host of Serious Rap Sh!t & Culture Cypher Radio and lists NPR Music , okayplayer, The Wire Magazine , and Bandcamp amongst his writing credits. John Morrison , additionally, functions as a Hip-Hop emcee and producer with remix credits on Lushlife 's MY IDOLS ARE DEAD + MY ENEMIES ARE IN POWER and Career Crooks' Thieving As Long As I'm Breathing . Morrison's debut full-length project, Southwest Psychedelphia was released on Deadverse Recordings in 2016 and there's currently a slew of remixes, flips, and non-album tracks uploaded to his Bandcamp page. However, in recent years, John Morrison has been on a bit of a hiatus/medical leave... as Morrison himself puts it, "on March 3, 2018, I was hospitalized with Flu-like symptoms and a searing headache. After nearly two weeks...

Rollerskating Jam named "Sundays" by Nautilus "So, I asked Toshi[yuki Sasaki] from Nautilus because of his creative Jazz style and singer Fleur Earth , who I had in mind as the voice for this version to [fully] realize it for me. And yes, there will be another cool re-interpretation of a classic tune... I'll keep you updated," DJ Oonops told The Witzard roughly two years ago. He was talking about Nautilus & Fleur Earth 's Beastie Boys "Root Down" cover from Oopops Drops Vol. 1 ; at the time, the part about "another cool re-interpretation of a classic tune..." was largely irrelevant, but now, all of a sudden, it has become relevant! DJ Oonops is currently assembling Oopops Drops Vol. 2 for a September release on Hanover, Germany-based Agogo Records —an "extensive compilation covering genres from Dub, Jazz, Funk, Soul to Beats & Hip Hop"—and has unleashed "another cool re-interpretation." This time, Oono...

"It's hard to pinpoint the moment I wanted to become a producer. I do remember contemplating at a young age the elements of Hip-Hop, wondering where I fit in. My older brother wrote [graffiti]. My other brother's friends were DJ's and emcees. To 12-year-old me, it was logical to take a craft up in one of these cornerstones. I, actually, wanted to break, but having no actual training available to me, that didn't last long. Around this time, I recognized my affinity for beats and beat-making. The part that interested me the most was seeing people come up with something from nothing. You didn't need to know how to play an instrument. The process intrigued and excited me. The rapping was cool, but what moved me the most was the music. I could get down with an average emcee, so as long as the sh*t he was rhyming on was tight; vice-versa, if a fire emcee had wack beats, it felt wasted to me." Four Albums of Note (Honorable Mentions) 1. De La Soul - 3 Feet...

When we last spoke with Phoenix-based/Philly born and raised rapper, producer, wrestling super-fan, and former teacher Raheem Jarbo AKA Mega Ran, he was preparing to unleash his DJ DN3 & Fresh Kils-produced Biggie tribute, Notorious R.A.N: Ready to Live. Ran's since "[taken] on a rigorous touring schedule, [hosted] a wrestling podcast Mat Mania , and [made] high-profile appearances on WWE television" and "returns to release the introspective and enlightening album, EXTRA CREDIT." His latest collection, EXTRA CREDIT—which even I had absolutely NO IDEA about until about 2-3 weeks prior to its release—is effectively a "greatest hits" collection made up of equal parts new tracks, old tracks, and re-imagined versions. Anchored by a few RNDM left-overs, EXTRA CREDIT features production work from K-Murdock (mixing & mastering,) The Rockit Scientist, Charlie Mumbles, ECID, Kaito Kobayashi, RandomBeats & Middle East Modern, DIBIA$E, Wann Sklobi, Y...

"Hi people, my name is Cryptic One, a producer from Brooklyn, NY and I have been making beats since 1989. Yes, you read that correctly, I am THAT old. With that said, when asked to write about a few albums that had an influence on my production, I was initially overwhelmed with a seemingly infinite number of important works to mention. After long deliberation, I narrowed it down to these five; keep in mind that on any given day, I could easily pick five different picks that were just as important to me. So, with no further ado, here is my Beat-maker Bedrock:" I AM by IT I. Jungle Brothers - Straight Out The Jungle (1988) "This was the record that helped me understand how sample-based beats were made. The whole album was great and a big influence on me, but specifically, there is one song from the album that really set things off for me: "[Because] I Got It Like That." But first, a little background/history: In the 80's, Hip-Hop wasn't th...

Sacramento -based Noise-Rap band Death Grips have had a very tumultuous, to say the least, relationship with the media since their sudden 2010 inception, although the recently "disbanded" and reunited three-piece have been heralded as "the first truly important band of the 21st century;" having direct influence on The Thin White Duke's final album ★ (Blackstar) , Kanye 's Aggro-Rap masterpiece Yeezus , and even Travi$ Scott 's righteous T.I. & Kanye -assisted Rodeo . Death Grips' first post-"breakup" album, Bottomless Pit was unleashed Friday, May 6th at the stroke of midnight, amdist a weekend abuzz with new music and countless headlines from the likes of Radiohead , James Blake, Chance The Rapper , De La Soul, Homeboy Sandman , KAYTRANADA, and Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def . Bottomless Pit was preceded by eventual album tracks "Hot Head," Zane Lowe -debuted "Eh," and non-album "Interview 2016," althou...

The Roots became Jimmy Fallon 's in-house band [comedic relief] when Late Night originally kicked off back in 2009. All the while, they've still somehow managed to produce 2 studio albums (How I Got Over & undun) , as well as supply session work for John Legend , Duffy, Booker T. D'Angelo , and the late Amy Winehouse . ?uestlove recently became little Blue Ivy 's godfather and started a road-side food service truck, "Quest Loves Food." Since re-discovering this new-found sense of fame that came along with their 13th full-length album, The Roots have been asked to curate 2 separate yearly festivals: The Roots Picnic and July 4th Jam (Philly). One of the first BIG festivals of Summer [concert] season, The 5th Annual Roots Picnic is actually taking place this upcoming weekend - June 2 & 3rd. The Legendary Roots Crew will be playing a full "solo" set, backing De La Soul , and re-creating Paid In Full with Eric B. & Rakim ; They al...

1996 was quite the memorable for fans of both Hip-Hop and Pop Culture . Just ask the members of TOOTHPASTE , Kassa Overall & TECLA . The pair are currently readying a mixtape, aptly titled 1996 ; It's poised to be "AN ODE TO THE PAST AND AN ODE TO THE FUTURE" (Kassa Overall ) and will feature raps/hoops over beats culled from various 1996-bred hits... featuring New York 's finest up-and-comers: Big Baby Gandhi , DVS, Chaz Van Queen, Tavi , and K-Bob . TOOTHPASTE 's upcoming mixtape will most likely be composed of beats culled from landmark Hip-Hop albums that were originally released back in 1996: OutKast, Aaliyah, 2pac, Jay-Z, The Roots, Tribe , Busta Rhymes , De La Soul, Nas , and Lil Kim . I really enjoyed Kassa Overall 's latest commercial effort, Stargate . Skillfully apping over top of a size-able amount of current Pop Radio staples... a vein in which I figure 1996 will essentially mirror. From what I hear, TECLA is making some pretty note-wort...

The latest addition to Stones Throw 's ever-growing and eclectic label roster are The Lions ; A loose collective made up of 10-12 LA area Reggae musicians. Formed in 2007, The Lions are currently putting finishing touches on their Stones Throw debut, which should be expected this upcoming Summer/Fall season. It's formative members include Dan Ubick, Black Shakespeare, Malik Moore, Deston Berry, Alex Désert , and Dave Wilder ... as well as a number of additional musicians who have played with the likes of De La Soul , Barrington Levy , Beck, Raphael Saadiq , Big Daddy Kane, and Black Eyed Peas . In conjunction with the BIG announcement, Peanut Butter Wolf let loose The Lions' premier Soul -tinged Reggae track, "This Generation" (Dub) . Custom edits often used in traditional Roots Reggae music, it's essentially a remixed & re-mastered version that ends up taking a few rhythmic, pretty "zany" turns! "All the guys in The Lions grew up o...

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...