The Witzard

Jai Paul is a mysterious London -based singer-songwriter & producer who basically has one sole, albeit wide-spread claim to fame: "BTSTU" (2012). Upon it's initial XL Recordings -fueled release, the track quickly blasted atop many online music blogs' year-end lists; Paul's melodies were even sampled by a few popular artists: Drake , Beyoncé, XV, Pusha-T , and Intuition . When I contacted Holly @ Air Force London ("other shit") back on 11/8-11/2011, she simply replied saying that " Jai [Paul] will be releasing his next single in the New Year and the album will some sometime after, please stay tuned." The Indie blog community as a whole, I included, has yet to hear a peep from either Jai Paul or Air Force London since "BTSTU." But man, that all changed late yesterday afternoon, right as the weekend was beginning to start... seemingly out of nowhere, Jai Paul uploaded a BRAND NEW [demo] track, "Jasmine" to XL Rec...

Originally formed in 2002 as the passion-filled solo project of frontman David Longstreth , has gradually morphed into a melodic sextet. Like many Indie Rock fans nation-wide, I first fell in love with Dirty Projectors' 2007 album-length project, Rise Above ; Loosely re-imagined version of Black Flag 's debut LP, Damaged (1981) spun solely from Longstreth's [spotty] memory. Wile previous incarnations included members of Vampire Weekend, Dirty Projectors is currently made up of Nat Baldwin , Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian, Haley Dekle , and Brian Mcomber . It's follow-up, which materialized some 2 years later, Bitte Orca ["please whale"] ended up appearing on many year-end lists. David Longstreth & Dirty Projectors recorded it's companion EP, Mount Wittenberg Orca "on the fly" along with Björk . The band became friendly with The Roots after playing Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and "The Dirty Projectors Girls" eventually en...

Homeboy Sandman is far from your average gun-slinging, crack-dealing, bitch-slapping rapper. Granted he's no Will Smith either, but Sandman teeters the fine line between "parent approved" and parental advisory. His playful, blatantly honest couplets often remind me of one of my personal favourite rappers' schemes: Biz Markie . While he's amongst Stones Throw Records' freshest crop of signees, Homeboy Sandman has been self-releasing music for the bulk of the past 5-6 years (2007). Past cohorts [collaborators] include: Das Racist , 2 Hungry Bros, Paul White , Nottz, Kyle Rapps , and DJ Mick Boogie. Subject: Matter EP is being billed as "6 Rap songs dealing with content no one has ever rapped about before," which ultimately showcase Homeboy Sandman 's intelligently-woven wordplay and keen sense of storytelling. "Mine All Mine" is the second music video culled from Subject: Matter , released in just as many weeks. Filmed through...

Brooklyn 's very own Flatbush Zombies are preparing to essentially single-handedly "bring [back] da mother_ucking ruckus." The One, Two crew of tag-team rappers Meechy Darko & Zombie Juice are backed by the morbidly RZArected beats of in-house producer, Erick Arc Elliott . Flatbush Zombies indeed evoke the mid-90's, Gravediggaz popularized genre of Horrorcore ... adding their own unique updated twist(s), in an effort to revitalize the music after Limp Bizkit forever tarnished and brutally killed it. From what I can tell, The Zombies released their first track, "Thug Waffles" back in November 2011; Since then, they've slowly leaked out a handful of additional tracks: "S.C.O.S.A." "Caps Lock," "Gucci Gucci" (KREAYSHAWN) , and "Suspiria." While their latest track, "Laker Paper" was liberated roughly 2 days ago, there are still no signs of a Flatbush Zombies mixtape/full-length. But if the ...

"Many years ago, a young and naive Nine Inch Nails were asked what TV shows they'd be interested in appearing on. As a joke (and likely drunk), they thought of the most absurd choice they could come up with at the time. They were then informed their bluff had been called and were actually booked on said show... They hopped in their Honda Civic touring vehicle and traveled many miles to (I think) NJ for the big show. They had a laugh making fun of the people, their fashion choices and hairstyles. Life was good. Years later, The Internet is discovered... There's a moral in there somewhere. Come to think of it, Skrillex may indeed owe me some publishing on that hairdo." - Trent Reznor

The latest addition to Stones Throw 's ever-growing and eclectic label roster are The Lions ; A loose collective made up of 10-12 LA area Reggae musicians. Formed in 2007, The Lions are currently putting finishing touches on their Stones Throw debut, which should be expected this upcoming Summer/Fall season. It's formative members include Dan Ubick, Black Shakespeare, Malik Moore, Deston Berry, Alex Désert , and Dave Wilder ... as well as a number of additional musicians who have played with the likes of De La Soul , Barrington Levy , Beck, Raphael Saadiq , Big Daddy Kane, and Black Eyed Peas . In conjunction with the BIG announcement, Peanut Butter Wolf let loose The Lions' premier Soul -tinged Reggae track, "This Generation" (Dub) . Custom edits often used in traditional Roots Reggae music, it's essentially a remixed & re-mastered version that ends up taking a few rhythmic, pretty "zany" turns! "All the guys in The Lions grew up o...

For all intensive purposes, writer/director Scott Crawford was roughly 12-years old during the height of "Reaganomics" (1981-89) and of course, the rise of Hardcore Punk forming adjacent to the nation's capitol: Washington, DC . D.I.Y. fanzine publisher, Crawford was a fairy instrumental player attached to DC Hardcore 's initial burst in popularity. Around the same time, young Hardcore bands like Misfits, The Ramones , and Beastie Boys were making waves on the nearby coasts of New York and New Jersey ... Now, some 30+ years later, he's piecing together an end-all-be-all documentary to properly tell the story of the genre and city that he knows best! Salad Days: The DC Punk Revolution is scheduled for a 2013 wide release and interviews are still being conducted, but we already have 2 short "teaser trailers" to help whet your appetite. In an earnest attempt to fully convey the passion-filled story of DC Punk , Scott Crawford is currently re-intervi...