The Witzard

While chances are kinda slim that this was recorded all at once (but you never really know with Stones Throw ), Rappcats gave cyber-birth to an amazing-sounding MED, Blu, Mayer Hawthorne & Madlib track, "The Buzz" around 12-1am Tuesday-Wednesday morning. Not unlike The Burgundy EP , MED & Blu share vocal duties, Madlib produced the beat, and Hawthorne's relegated to the buttery smooth hook; an unreleased Dâm-Funk track will also appear on flip Side B. The Buzz 12" EP will include two vocal tracks, bonus beat, instrumentals, and a cappella. It's currently available for pre-order today (November 5th) at either Stones Throw or Fat Beats . Let's talk about the sheer talent Stones Throw managed to wrangle yup for "The Buzz:" prolific underground king Madlib chopped up a beautiful Boom-Bap -infused Soul sample, the label's former Blue-Eyed Soul crooner Mayer Hawthorne on the hook, and MED & Blu , two of the most talented a...

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'.....

"Goodbye" and "Wicked" are comfortably nestled towards the tail-end of Hodgy Beats' just-released 7-song EP, Untitled 2 ; More often than not, this type of blatant Hip-Hop/Punk Rock fusion are relegated to cheesy one-off single status. But it sounds like MellowHype & Trash Talk are planning something a little more long-term: "No one knows about it. That shit is on the super-low," Hodgy Beats told Red Bull , referencing an upcoming album. "We spent last week [April] jamming and shit, finishing up writing and stuff," added Trash Talk bassist Spencer Pollard . Looks like "Goodbye/Wicked" are amongst the first tracks culled from those very sessions, while a full joint Odd Future Records -backed album still lacks any sort of solid release date. Honestly, "Goodbye" is my personal favourite of the 2 and man, it's one Hell of a brooding, heavy, Lee Spielman -assisted, guitar-filled closing track. It's a dam...

Haphazardly constructed around an old Rudy Ray Moore vocal sample, "3 Dollars" features MF DOOM 's triumphant return to the mic... Rapping over a beat produced by the younger brother of his long-time friend/collaborator, Oh No [Madlib] . Over time, Michael Jackson has somehow managed to tediously de-construct and re-assemble a collection of tracks, which were generously inspired [sample] by 1970's Blaxopolitan film series, Dolomite . Oh No's previous albums were exclusively built around samples culled from Middle Eastern Psych Rock , Galt MacDermot, Ethiopian Funk-Jazz , and video games. Five Day Weekend is prepping to release Oh No 's latest album, cleverly titled "Ohnomite," this upcoming June 5th in conjunction with Stones Throw . Graphic artist Charles "Ques" Munka designed the colorful album cover, which showcases the rappers featured within: Guilty Simpson , MF DOOM, Phife Dawg , Erick Sermon , Rapper Big Pooh , Frank Nitt, M....

Numbers-wise, Stones Throw 's Quakers [collective] is just about as MASSIVE as it's earth-shattering name-sake: 41-track album, 35 members, 3 producers. Because of Quakers' sheer size, it's almost ludicrous to try and summarize the wide scope of their self-titled debut... I have a copy, but have yet to listen straight through in one sitting. Guilty Simpson & M.E.D. are 2 of the countless featured rappers that Geoff Barrow (Portishead), Katalyst , and 7-Stu-7 recruited to come in and lay down verses. Quakers and Quakers (Instrumentals) are both now available for purchase over @ Stones Throw on vinyl, 2-CD, or mp3. Temporarily backed by The Quakers All-Star Brass Band , Guilty & M.E.D. abrasively lace up "Fitta Happier." Barrow pulled samples from 2 separate 1997-2000 era Radiohead tracks, "Fitter Happier" and "The National Anthem," now re-interpolated and complete with a horn section. It's companion Eric Coleman -di...