The Witzard

It appears as though reclusive early 2000's rapper, producer, and cold-cuttin' DJ Edan has finally decided to re-emerge from his self-imposed sabbatical and unleash his first batch of new material since 2009's "Echo Party" mixtape; Edan recently contributed production work to old sharp-tongued friend Mr. Lif 's long-awaited comeback single of sorts, "Whizdom," as well as Homeboy Sandman 's newly unveiled Kindness for Weakness album teaser, "Talking (Bleep)." Sandman 's latest Stones Throw Drip can likely best be described as a Hip-Hop -laden amalgamation of pop culture's beloved, often over-used "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH" filler phrasing for drab, long-winded, unnecessary, etc. conversation we're often subjected to throughout our every day lives – be it Ke$ha 's chart-topping No.1 single, Charlie Brown & The Peanuts' "WAH, WAH, WAH" diction substituted for adults talking, or Seinfeld prota...

" The Saint Cecilia Hotel , named after the patroness saint of music, is known as "a lush retreat from the world." And, believe me, that it is! 14 rooms and a small bar, it's tucked away in the trees within a bustling, Austin neighborhood. As our van pulled up in the wee hours of September 30th, 2015, I was struck with a rather impulsive idea: to record some songs on our days off to give to the world as a "thank you" for the last 2 years," Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl wrote in a heart-felt hand-penned letter on the heels of their 5-song Saint Cecilia EP . "Though there's a world-class recording studio just on the other side of the fence ( Arlyn Studios ), the hotel manager, Jenny offered that we record in the hotel... by 6pm the nest day, the office was transformed into a control room and the bar was littered with microphones and cables. Amps were in the kitchen. Drums in front of the fire place. Instant studio, courtesy of the legenda...

There's an old English proverb that goes something like "just ask and you shall receive," a phrase which Twitter user @Erick_Grady can whole-heartedly attest to; he initially Tweeted, " @JayElectronica I think this would be a perfect time for you to drop that "Better In Tune" record" late Friday night. Following a week full of random photo-opps at SXSW , the reclusive rapper almost immediately uploaded "Better In Tune with The Infinite" from his long-rumored Act II: Patents of Nobility (the turn) to his newly-formed CRACKTRACKS Soundcloud account, FACT further reports that "Better In Tune" actually lifts it's string-based instrumental from Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto 's piece, "Bibo No Aozona" (2006). It also manages to inter-splice a re-appropriated intro speech from The Wizard of Oz , spoken word dialog from Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad , and the lush vocal stylings of LaTonya Give...

While I'm a long-time Hip-Hop fan and Asher Roth is hands down one of my favourite rappers, I'd almost be a little hard-pressed to certify his latest RetroHash single 100% Hip-Hop . But with that said, "Tangerine Girl" is quite easily one of his most care-free and self-expressive singles yet. Released one day after his third weekly #HashWednesdays campaign, "Tangerine Girl" was directed by buddy Matt Spicer and as Asher Roth himself put it in a fan-club email, "the song made the perfect soundtrack to a bizarre love story at the skating rink, so we did exactly that." It centers around an average Joe working a mundane 9-5, whom we see secretly looking up "russian matures" on his office computer while in-house DJ Asher Roth smoothly croons "Made of money, I was thinking about her all week / Would've treated her to some Grigio , and fresh brie / The way we vibing it reminded me of ice tea / Want to drink it up so baby come...

Despite the fact, or maybe because, he looks like a modern day hippie burn-out, Asher Roth is easily one of the most talented and criminally under-rated emcees in all of the Boom-Bap land. While I've been a fan since "I Love College," I'll be amongst the first to admit that Roth's mixtapes have always been infinitely stronger than his lone radio-friendly album, Asleep In The Bread Aisle (2009). But with that said, all of Asher Roth 's non-album projects have sufficiently spotlighted his lyrical progression and sense of zen-like calm, cool, and collectiveness during an ill-fated and now severed deal with Def Jam ; Seared Foie Gras with Quince & Cranberry , RAWTH EP, Pabst & Jazz , and The GreenHouse Effect (Vol. 2) are therefore the missing creative links between Asleep In The Bread Aisle and his upcoming sophomore album, RetroHash . Although there's really no way of telling if it's even the same collection of songs, Roth's perpetual...

"I've always felt like "Life Round Here" wasn't [ever] really finished," lamented English singer-songwriter James Blake during a recent Noisey video-interview with new-found collaborator. Chance The Rapper . Arguably a First Wave Dubstep pioneer, Blake's music almost seems pre-fit for a sharp-tongued young emcee like Chance ; But it doesn't come off in that preconceived, label-suggested, and slapped together kinda way like other recent "crossover" hits (ie: A$AP Rocky & Skrillex ). It's pretty easy to tell that these guys are true admirers of each other's work, who have become fast friends. Fresh off a collaborative track with Lil' Wayne , Chance The Rapper recently revealed to online-magazine XXL that he and Blake met at this past year's SXSW and "kept in touch and started working together on a couple of tracks, including some original material... people seem to like ["Life Round Here"] a lot....

James Blake is a London -based First Wave Dubstep super-producer; one of the genre's originators, before it got all Americanized , club-ready, and alcohol-infused (ie: Skrillex ha). Blake has always kinda seemed like an on-looking Hip-Hop supporter/closet fan... he actually unleashed a series of white label 12" Harmonimix[es] prior to his self-titled debut: Lil' Wayne , Destiny's Child, Snoop Dogg , and handsome hermit D'Angelo. After working with master swordsman RZA on his second album Overgrown , James Blake recently recruited hyper-rhyming Chicago upstart, Chance The Rapper to help remix "Life Round Here." It's supposedly the "first of many songs with @jamesblake ," if Chance The Rapper 's righteous Twitter feed is to be believed; Blake told Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe Tuesday morning that the track was re-recorded post- SXSW and lamented that "[He] never really felt the track was finished; even when it went on the album...

Last week, Death Grips uploaded 5 minute-long semi-cryptic clips dubbed "No Hands" (Parts 1-5), which I hesitated on posting because I kinda figured there'd be more info revealed shortly. Sure enough, by mid-Wednesday afternoon, Death Grips had uploaded the next installment of their video series, "Lock your doors" (NoHands 6) . Drummer/band leaded Zach Hill further elaborated in a short [yet effective] statement, "They are a series of videos related to our recent first-person performance @ SXSW 2013, DXDG . "Lock your doors" (NoHands 6) , which drops today is the summarization of the concept and project.. It could keep going.. NoHands is in reference to the head perspective-oriented filming.." It's culled from footage filmed @ the band's recent SXXW (or DXDG ) show @ Boiler Room , which may or may not have used Google Glass technology or some sort of face-mounted goggle-cams. The live audio and crowd-sourced rumblings have...

For argument's sake, I guess I've always been an Usher fan... or @ least an admirer of Mr. Raymond's sheer talent and work ethic. I can vaguely remember nervously asking a few P.Y.T.'s to dance to "U Got It Bad" (2001) @ those painfully cheese-tastic 7-8th grade dances. Paraphrasing Pitchfork staff writer Ryan Dombal , it was an oddly-matched collaboration that no one expected, let alone asked for. But somehow still managed to greatly surpass everyone's non-existent expectations: Friday night @ FADER Fort (SXSW) , Usher wandered on-stage with The Afghan Whigs mid-way through their "Climax" cover. Frontman Greg Dulli & Usher then launched into spirited, guitar-driver renditions of both artists' more well-known tracks, "Somethin' Hot" and scorching set-closer, "OMG." Former- Yeasayer member and solo artist Sinkane (Ahmed Gallab) came on stage to perform a super- Funky version of his own single, ...

Before jet-setting off to SXSW March 15-16th for a secret showcase with ?uestlove & RJD2 , Justin Timberlake stopped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon for Night 5 of what's being dubbed, #JustinTimberWeek . Ramping up the long-awaited release of The 20/20 Experience this upcoming Tuesday, March 19th , Timberlake decided to string together a medley of greatest hits for the last performance of his week-long stay @ Late Night: "Like I Love You/My Love/Cry Me a River" and "Señorita." Joined on-stage by his 10-piece band, The Tennessee Kids , Justin Timberlake launched into a slow-building acoustic/electric performance that ended up lasting almost 11 sweltering minutes! Anybody else notice that saucy-looking Spanish or white chick singing back-up and cuttin' a rug!? "It feels like something's heating up, can I leave with you?" is what I'd like to holla @ a beautiful girl like that... to which she'd likely reply, "I don'...

Respect The Fly Shit was written/recorded in one fall swoop @ Embassy Suites during SXSW (March 2012) in just 24 hours. Harry Fraud and Tommy Mas mounted a mic on top of an ice bucket and somehow managed to morph a hotel room into a make-shift recording studio... Meyhem Lauren quickly invited everyone who was anywhere nearby Austin, TX to roll through Room #426 over a 2-day period and record a verse: Action Bronson , Heems, Sean Price , RiFF RAFF, Roc Marciano , AG Da Coroner , and a few more rapping friends. Beat-wise, Fraud and Mas somehow managed to conjure up 12 Jazzy , Boom-Bap -filled originals, ready to be fully laced up and punchline accented. Re-mastered @ SXSW' s end, Respect The Fly Shit is a collection of 12 care-free tracks that were loosely laid down over a long weekend [vacation]. Meyhem Lauren then managed to forge a solid enough relationship with clothing company LRG and Heems' record label, Greedhead that they both agreed to sponsor/fund his FRES...

Diarrhea Planet are exactly the kind of dudes I can get down with: hard-partying, guitar-drenched, Southern gentlemen with a Punk Rock edge! I must admit, I regularly talk with 3 of it's 6 Nashville -bred members through email, of course. Casey, Hodan & Evan C. Bird are really great dudes who really haven't let their recent wave of fame get to the heads and definitely appreciate their adoring fans. Since first hearing about their Infinity Cat debut, Loose Jewels over @ Prefix last October... I've worked "hands on" with Diarrhea Planet on a few assorted pieces for "The Witzard." Fresh on the heels of their recent SXSW 2012 appearance(s), Casey & Hodan mentioned a few upcoming happenings through email: Diarrhea Planet are currently in the studio... writing and recording material for a new 7" single, flexidisc, Infinity Cat LP #2, and a Titus Andronicus split! While nothing really has a concrete release date just yet, all 4 ...

Brooklyn rapper Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire has signed with Universal Republic , Billboard has learned and confirmed with the label. The news came on the heels of a SXSW 2012 panel eXquire participated on Wednesday (March 14), "The Importance of Online Video & Social Media," a topic in which the rapper is quite well-versed. Since posting his $400 video for "Huzzah" on YouTube last spring, eXquire ignited the attention of the Underground Hip-Hop community and the Indie blog circuit alike, making Pitchfork 's year-end list and attracting interest from rappers like Danny Brown and Das Racist , who guested on a remix of "Huzzah." - Andrew Hampp (Billboard) In November of last year, as the rapper's success began to rise, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire took to his Tumblr to share a few words: "What [an] ill fuckin' journey this year has been for me! When that New Year's Ball dropped, I would have never thought I'd be on...

Vex Ruffin releases his second EP today entitled Eulogy , which we're currently making available as a free download. The new work is a follow-up to his debut effort, Crash Course EP . The 6-track Eulogy EP picks up with the minimalist Pop of "Secret Weapon," Post-Punk "Perfect Congestion," and Goth, Dark Wave title track. Like Crash Course , all of the tracks on Eulogy were written, performed, and recorded solely by Vex. Stones Throw plans on releasing a vinyl edition of Eulogy EP as well as a third, as-yet Untitled EP this Summer followed by Vex Ruffin 's full-length debut in the Fall... - Stones Throw (Staff) Vex's live band will be playing a series of shows in Austin @ SXSW music conference, including the official Stones Throw showcase on March 13th. With the addition of drummer Liv Marsico , the four-piece band brings to life songs that were previously only performed solo by Vex Ruffin in his [home] studio. The band will also be pl...