The Witzard

Sulu & Excelsior "Run & Hide" video still (SOURCE: Steven E. Mallorca) Long-time friend, collaborator, and one of our favorite artists here at The Witzard, Steven "Steve" E. Mallorca AKA Sulu has returned with the first single from his latest solo project/band, Sulu & Excelsior's third album, So Ends The Honeymoon. "Run & Hide" is the first piece of the musical puzzle that will soon be revealed to be So Ends The Honeymoon and So Ends The Honeymoon is the final album in a what has become a three-part sonic trilogy; directly preceeded by The AntiMatter Suite (2019) and E ddie Romero (2016.) In-between Eddie Romero/The AntiMatter Suite and So Ends The Honeymoon, Sulu has graciosuly gifted us a couple non-canon projects including 2017's "The Over Under" holiday single, Refinished (Remix Album) featuring new, slightly updated versions of all of your favorites from both Eddie Romero & The AntiMatter Suite, and XLCR Ins...

Un-G Opening for Sulu & Excelsior, 11/15/19 (CREDIT: Jean-Baptiste Sankara) Music has always been my muse and my place of refuge. Just like in high school, The Bad Brains & Public Enemy brought me through some pretty tough times, this Magnificent Mix allowed me to express and find some creative release through our present-day sh*t-show. This music came about when I was living in Southern California. I would, occasionally, fly back East to play shows with my bandmates (P.I.C.) to satisfy that itch to create and perform, but other than that, I didn't really have anything like P.I.C. going on in Cali. Plus, I started working as a Digital Communications Specialist for a non-profit health care provider that was a talking point in the 2016 Election. I loved the work, but I was looking and dealing with a lot of ill and hateful sh*t all day and every day. I needed to release the pressure, so after work, I would take out the pen and pad and The 16 Pads (AKA my Akai MPD24 contr...

"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...

CREDIT: Jean-Baptiste Sankara Sulu & Excelsior AKA the one-man band/solo project of multi-instrumentalist/rapper/singer Steve "Sulu" Mallorca has returned with it's (his) second album, THE ANTIMATTER SUITE ; released prior to Thanksgiving, THE ANTIMATTER SUITE is the proper follow-up to Sulu 's critically-acclaimed 2016 debut, Eddie Romero . This time about three years ago, we were fortunate enough to premiere the second music video from Eddie Romero , "Dam Foo's," right here at The Witzard. Although, we've never, actually, met in real life (despite numerous attempts!) Steve Mallorca and I have become very close friends, mutual admirers, and frequent collaborators; our coverage concocted together here, for The Witzard , to date, includes two Eddie Romero -era interviews, two premieres, and countless hip-shaking tracks ranking on numerous countdowns. Eddie Romero , ultimately, ranked at No.1 atop The Witzard's Best of 2016 Countdown an...

Although, they haven't released any additional material—aside from holiday single, "THE OVER UNDER" —since their 2016 debut, Eddie Romero , Sulu & Excelsior are still emphatically pushing the album, nearly two years later. I'm not exactly gonna get into it again within this space, but The Witzard & Steve "Sulu" Mallorca have worked extensively together on a wide array of unique content since Eddie Romero 's 2016 release, including exclusive premieres, comprehensive interviews, Funk -tastic features, and much, much more. For those unaware, Sulu & Excelsior 's sound has rather perfectly been described as something to the effect of " Johnny Mathis meets Mos Def meets Stevie Wonder meets Nat King Cole " or most recently, "a Hip-Hop version of Duke Ellington ." Listen If You Like: BadBadNotGood (BBNG) Beastie Boys, Durand Jones & The Indications, El Michels Affair, Jon Batiste & Stay Human, Mayer Hawthorn...

Let's just get right into it: it's that special time of year where everyone readily flaunts their holiday cheer for everyone to hear! Jingle Bell Rocks! director and Christmas record collector Mitchell Kezin (@mabooshi) curated an especially festive mix full of Alt. Christmas songs, Hanukkah hymns, and obscure holiday jams entitled Mitchell's 'SOUL SISTA' Holiday Mix for The Witzard . Thanks again to Mitchell for sharing his special brand of holiday cheer and a very special thanks goes out to The Ologiest AKA JD at Common Good Records —his old imprint, When Crates Create combined with Analog Burners . In addition to my personal 2017 holiday favorite, Jumbled's Christmas comp. Merry Christmess , there has been quite the influx of festive musical cheer spread by your favorite musicians, emcees, and producers just in time for your last-minute shopping and wrapping sessions. Now, without further ado, I'm proud to present to you: The Witzard 's 2017...

"The musicians in both Blacksonny and Red Datsun are all part of our collective of creative friends that fall under the Riding Mower Records umbrella. For example, Joel [Bernardo] , who plays bass in Blacksonny is also P.I.C. 's bass player, Eric [Gonzales] , who plays keys in Red Datsun is P.I.C. 's keyboard player, I play bass in Red Datsun , but am the DJ for P.I.C. Dave Canton , who plays guitar in Red Datsun has played guitar in Blacksonny and has joined P.I.C. on stage on occasion, as well, etc. Riding Mower Records is the record label that was started by P.I.C. to release their own recordings, but also those of our talented friends. Blacksonny and Red Datsun have released albums on Riding Mower Records in the past. The "label" that this specific release is on is Persistence of Sound , which is my personal imprint and was done with the blessing of Riding Mower Records with both groups retaining all rights to music and artwork accordingly....

"Here's another excerpt from the Sulu & Excelsior visual album and what will probably be the next official music video we'll be releasing (we still have to shoot a set-up.) Enjoy this clip of "Misery Luv," which I directed and shot along with @jbsankara - This vid took some serious digging in the Super 8 crates of my pops, who is also featured in this video, as well as a slew of family," @suluandexcelsior wrote on his Instagram back on MARCH 31. I'll never forget, when I first met Sulu & Excelsior frontman Steve "Sulu" Mallorca back in Nov. 2016, he described his rather unique Hiphopfunkpunkmamboska blend of music as "Johnny Mathis meets Mos Def meets Stevie Wonder meets Nat King Cole" and it's stuck with me ever since! Sulu & Excelsior's instantly catchy, foot-stompin' debut Eddie Romero was entirely "Produced, Arranged, Composed & Performed by Steven E. Mallorca." Thanks to an introduction ...

ALBUMS 1. J-Zone & Pablo Martin - The Du-Rites LP (Old Maid Entertainment/Ilegalia Records) "Can you dig it? If so, get a plate of neckbones, beans, and rice and put on your Old Spice. The Du-Rites are here to pour some fried fish grease on your kale salad. They’ll out-Funk you so bad, you’ll give up the Funk and start making ballads. Rollin' with Soul like a 1979 Cadillac when you step on the gas. Groovin' so hard, they’ll knock the boogie man on his a**,” writes Neighborhood Wino & Music Connoisseur Pimpin' Polyester Pete on the LP's reverse sleeve. The Du-Rites LP is currently available digitally, with politically-charged bonus track "Moving to The Moon," on either J-Zone's personal or The Du-Rites Bandcamp profiles or on sunset orange wax from Old Maid Entertainment/Ilegalia Records in conjunction with Redefinition Records. "Ever order a kale salad and discover a neckbone in it? That’s Funk! Ever write a love letter on a chicken...

"One of the running themes in Eddie Romero can be heard in the opening and closing tracks of the album, when I rhyme "shall I croon or shall I spit?" Basically, I wanted to play with the image of an old school crooner, a slow jam king, that all of a sudden, flips his ballad on its ear and starts rhyming all fast and frenetic. On the first single, "Up to You" this idea is in full effect; to me, I feel like the melody is really sweet and romantic, but I wanted to contrast this with a fast and somewhat hectic beat that hits hard and could be equally at home with Big Daddy Kane rhyming over it," Steven "Sulu" Mallorca wrote within a recent statement included along with my previous Sulu & Excelsior write-up. Mallorca's unique sound has been fittingly categorized as "Johnny Mathis meets Mos Def meets Stevie Wonder meets Nat King Cole," which I would almost equate to something along the lines of Mayer Hawthorne meets Eric B. & R...