The Witzard

Since re-launching Cold Rhymes Records a few years back around the time of the release of Mind Moves The Mountain (2017) Dan "Height" Keech has stayed extremely busy. Cold Rhymes' roster now includes 83cutlass, Ardamus, Darko The Super, Emceein' Eye Height Keech, ialive/Donovan Days, Jack Toft, Kate Ferencz, MISTER, Off The Meat Rack, P.T. Burnem, Param Anand Singh, (rapper) andrew. Shark Tank, Speak N' Eye, Trauma Lavern, Vans_Westly, and Wounds. The bulk of said recent releases having been produced by Height Keech himself, along with ialive (together, as Necessary People,) art direction provided by Height's sideman MISTER AKA CoolGuyBry, and mastered by C$ BURNS. Earlier this year, Height produced the entirety Ardamus' Astro Blocks with the exception of one beat, "Tunnel Light," produced by Necessary People. Plus, Necessary People made their proper production debut across andrew.'s second Cold Rhymes offering, W.O.T.W. Additionally, I BET...

Monday morning, self-described "Rap singer, song-writer, beat-maker, and pal" Donovan "ialive" Phillips quietly announced he'll be releasing his fourth (fifth?) solo studio album, I'LL WAIT FOREVER , later this month. It will be his fourth consecutive release with Baltimore-based Cold Rhymes Records run and operated by Dan "Height" Keech & MISTER AKA Cool Guy Bry . We first heard about ialive through an interview posted by John "Jumbled" Bachman on his blog a few years back with both Donnie & Darko The Super , together, billed as The Hellhole Store . ialive 's Height Keech -produced TIMEWAVE ZERO (2017) and self-produced follow-up, DON'T DO NOTHING (2019) were, easily, two of our favorite Hip-Hop albums of the last few years. I'LL WAIT FOREVER is the direct follow-up to ialive 's Odds & Ends-style 2019 EP, ODD ORTS , which boasts remixes from both Juan Cosby & Unsung. Now, it appears as though this...

"We got something special for you today. ialive & The Custodian of Records teamed up to bring you this one-off gentle heat. Make it rain on the boys with half dollars," Cold Rhymes Records ecstatically posted on their Facebook page early Tuesday morning. ialive & The Custodian of Records' (TCOR) debut collaborative stand-alone single together, "INTERVALS," was quietly released late Monday night into Tuesday morning. It appears as though "INTERVALS" came to fruition rather organically, as ialive & The Custodian of Records are, simply, fans and mutual admirers of each other's work; "I believe, I reached out to ialive after peeping "THE OUGHTS" video and then, purchasing TIME WAVE ZERO and enjoying the album. He may have expressed interest in a possible collaboration, so I sent him a couple tracks and this is the one he chose," TCOR recently explained to The Witzard, via email. Intervals (prod. The Custod...

Donovan "ialive" Phillips is a self-described "Rap-singer-songwriter/beat aficionado/musical collector" hailing from The City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . ialive has released numerous collaborative and solo projects over the years, but hasn't released a tried and true "solo" album since 2015's Awake In The Snake Hole . However, in recent years, he's released collaborative projects with both Darko The Super as The Hell Hole Store and TIMEWAVE ZERO with Height Keech , as well as Four to The Floor 1-2 EP's with Cody Cody Jones ... just this past week, ialive announced his long-awaited third solo album, DON'T DO NOTHING , which will be dropping on Height 's Cold Rhymes Records Friday, January 11, 2019. DON'T DO NOTHING was fully produced, recorded, and mixed by ialive himself at The Green Gem in Philly with mastering done by Vinyl Cape 's own C$ BURNS . On the most recent episode of THIS COLD RHYM...

Height Keech is arguably, as successful as one one could ever imagine to get as an Underground/Indie Hip-Hop emcee. A figurehead within the Baltimore/East Coast Alt. Hip-Hop scenes since 1999 with now-defunct crew Wounds , Height recently started producing his own and others' music and released four of his own albums last year, as well as a career-spanning "Guest Spots" compilation. In recent years, Height turned his long-standing, loosely-formatted imprint, Cold Rhymes Records into a full-fledged functioning label powerhouse. Just this year alone, Cold Rhymes has issued albums from MISTER , Off The Meat Rack, Height , and the "Ariel Pink of Hip-Hop," Darko The Super, as well as a label-encompassing compilation, three of which were produced by Height Keech himself. Height 's most recent album, COMPUTER ROCKER , showcases close friend and touring/label mate MISTER as a "Featured MC" throughout in an almost B-Legit right-hand man-esque ca...

"Cold Rhymes [Records] has long been my own label for my own solo albums. I started releasing other people's music under the Cold Rhymes banner last Spring. Recently, my pals Mister & ialive have joined me in working behind-the-scenes to make this label a reality. This is a compilation of songs from all our recent/forthcoming releases. The title comes from Kate Ferencz's opening track. In engaging with all these hard-working people over the last year, I'm constantly reminded how we're all engaged in a race against time. We all have to draw up our own battle plans and wage our own wars against the clock to bring this music and art into existence. I think, it's true that there isn't very much time and I'm amazed at the resolve my compatriots have to fight this fight." - Height Keech (Cold Rhymes Records) There Isn't Very Much Time: 14 Ice-Cold Devastators From Cold Rhymes Records by Kate Ferencz 1. Kate Ferencz - "Who Do You Real...

Lord Finesse braggadociously rhymes: "as long as the beat phat, my sh*t'll be off the meat rack" on Handsome Boy Modelling School's "Rock and Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2 / Knockers" from Dan The Automator & Prince Paul's 2004 album, White People. Unbeknownst to Lord Finnesse, that very line would go on to inspire Mike "ZIPRHED" Mattox and Brett "Brett F." Fullerton to form their own genre-eschewing Hip-Hop group, fittingly called "Off The Meat Rack." While It's Not Okay is Off The Meat Rack's proper full-length debut, it's far from ZIPRHED & Brett F.'s first time working together... but I'll let them get into that. Lyrically, ZIPRHED's delivery personally, reminds me of a stylistic mix between Atmosphere, Darko The Super, and "Clint Eastwood"-era Del The Funky Homosapien; while beat-maker and producer Brett F. honestly, has a style unlike anyone else's beat-chopp...

Computer Rocker by Height Keech Height Keech is, in a lot of ways, if you really think about it, the "Bob Dylan" of Underground/Indie Hip-Hop ; an extremely talented and well-respected solo artist, who plays well in groups, but doesn't really NEED one, oftentimes, produces records for himself and his friends, fosters and champions young talent, ages like a hearty whiskey, isn't afraid to collaborate, tours at a never-ending pace, and continually puts out solid, progressive music at an in-humanly fast rate. Also, much like Robert Zimmerman , Dan Keech has amassed quite a few AKA's to his name: Height , Height with Friends, Height Keech , Shark Tank, Bow n' Height , ialive & Height Keech, Wounds , and "John" Height. After effectively re-launching his long-time CD/CD-R imprint, Cold Rhymes Records , Height issued or had a hand in a staggering number of 2017 releases including, but not limited to: his own MIND MOVES THE MOUNTAIN , STRANGE LOOKS...

"recorded in like, 2008 by mr. ski-mask on 1-inch analog tape at the electric pumpkin patch studio on the east side of buffalo . lindsey did guitar, i did drums, and me and ski-mask did synths. i wrote the song before i had a band in 2000," Jack Topht AKA Jack Toft AKA Jack Topht with The Vegetables AKA Little Cake n Jack Toft AKA Lindsey & Jack Toft AKA TEENWOLF AND JACK TOFT wrote within a recent email exchange regarding "Come On Nike." His rather unique style has been self-described as " Kool Keith meets Crass " and has often been labelled Awesome Rap , Folk-Rap, Americana Grime , Grunge-Funk, Grunge Rap Punk/Ska , "kooky, riveting Rap , wild freak Anti-Folk Noise/Free Jazz " ( Little Cake n Jack Toft ,) and "part rapper, part performance artist, part comedian/motivational speaker." Jack Topht 's largely genre-less style has been compared to the likes of Bob Dylan , Minutemen frontman D. Boon, Kool Keith , Le T...

"Most of my favorites from 2016 have been from friends! ialive & Darko The Super from Philadelphia released a project called [Hell Hole] Store, which I picked up on tape. Height Keech from Baltimore has ventured off in a new direction on his Unending Blaze Vol. 1 EP. Local emcee and songstress Anna Notte put out her second EP and used one my of my favorite beats I’ve ever made called "Ppl Are Mean..." Baltimore "teacher, husband, beat-maker & dish washer" John "Jumbled" Bachman wrote within our 2016 published interview. I had simply asked Bachman to name a few of his personal favorite Hip-Hop releases from the past 6-8 months, but little did I know, I would eventually end up working with nearly ALL of the artists he had mentioned (besides Kanye) and countless Baltimore area friends, affiliates, and associates. Height Keech appeared on "Lamplight" from Jumbled's then just-released [I wish it was longer] album along with the like...

Mind Moves The Mountain by Height Keech " Mind Moves The Mountain is the eleventh album from Baltimore 's Height Keech . Reflecting on 17 years of DIY touring, the record asks what happens when your dreams lead you into parts unknown; what's down in the lonesome valley from the Folk songs? What happens when you venture out there and never come back?" Baltimore rapper-producer Dan "Height" Keech cryptically wrote within a recent emailed statement. Mind Moves The Mountain is actually parts 1-3 of a planned and since-abandoned EP trilogy, which started with Height 's Unending Blaze, Vol. 1 EP and an accompanying nation-wide tour, which was released at the top of 2016. "After one EP and one tour, I realized this was all wrong. I sold out of my small run of CD's quickly (which is a good thing), but I sensed that my concept of a EP trilogy hadn't really made a dent in people's minds. I got this feeling that I was going to go in circl...