The Witzard

CREDIT: Jason Jägel (@jagel) 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. "I owe a lot to DOOM & Madlib, for that matter, and, especially, to the MADVILLAINY record. MADVILLAINY was the first Hip-Hop record I ever purchased (aside from a [Will Smith] Big Willie Style CD when I was in grade school.) Back in the day when I was still playing in my old Screamo band and we were on tour, I would al...

CREDIT: Greg Gardner (SOURCE: Buenaventura Records) Controller 7 is a Berkeley, California-based producer, who makes self-described "beats, mostly sample-based cut-and-paste type stuff." C7 spent his early years spinning G.I. Joes off of his Sesame Street record player, playing in the mud, and falling face first off his bike. After spending some quality time memorizing the lyrics to Run-D.M.C.'s "You Be Illin,'" air drumming to mid-80's jams on MTV, and becoming obsessed with dubbing tapes, he started playing the drums in 1988. Fast-forward to a number of years later, Controller 7 had honed in his technique and started making rough demo tapes, one of which just so happened to fall into the hands of sole—then, one of the founders of anticon.—and by 1998-99, things were starting to take shape. Controller 7 has since worked with the like sof sole, Sage Francis, Third Sight, Atmosphere, Themselves (doseone & JEL.) Deep Puddle Dynamics, and Sixtoo. He ...

MESTIZO & Controller 7 - Couch "Fan Art" CREDIT: Jason Jägel (@jagel) MESTIZO & Controller 7 are two Underground/Indie Hip-Hop luminaries, who have now teamed up to self-release a collaborative 10-track album entitled Couch . Emcee MESTIZO , a Fake Four, Inc. affiliate, has released music with A7PHA (doseone,) Free The Robots, The Heavy Twelves , Mike Gao, k-the-i??? Meaty Orge, MURS , and Isaiah Toothtaker. Beat-maker Controller 7 , a one-time anticon. affiliate, has contributed production work for projects attributed to Atmosphere , Deep Puddle Dynamics, Sage Francis , sole, Themselves (doseone & JEL,) and Third Sight. Upon Couch 's initial release a few weeks ago, I decided to reach out to Controller 7 on a whim, via email, who told me he and MESTIZO are, actually, friends-of-friends and despite working together, have never met in-person. In addition to having doseone as a mutual collaborator, Controller 7 & MESTIZO "met" through p...

"If you are one of the few who have known about MF DOOM ’s debut album since the year it first dropped (1999), you’ll know there’s been a few versions of the album to come out. There’s been bonus tracks, bootlegs, CD's, tapes, and even a lunch box edition. But here’s the thing about OPERATION: DOOMSDAY — it’s a Hip-Hop classic! Those who don’t have it, need it. The record keeps selling out, and they keep making more. Just like The Beatles , if The Beatles came to destroy Rap ," Egon 's Now-Again -affiliated online record store Rappcats wrote within a rather "villainous" press release. Egon 's co-conspirator and revered Beatsmith-In-Chief , Madlib has had a particularly mysterious, light years ahead of its time, and oddly progressive relationship with the self-proclaimed METAL-FACE[D] VILLAIN since unveiling their lone collaborative project, MADVILLAINY , amongst the terribly unsuspecting world nearly 12 years ago. Now, upon Rappcats latest OP...