The Witzard

Digital Underground doesn't really get the respect it deserves, I'd say. They were wildly inventive, balancing silliness with musical chops, and were, arguably, instrumental in starting the wave of George Clinton/Funkadelic-inspired sound that would dominate mid-to-late 90's Hip-Hop. Of course, they, also, introduced us to 2pac and were an integral part of one of the craziest movies of all time, Nothing But Trouble. And Shock G took the Rap alter-ego to new extremes with the Humpty Hump persona, to the point where many people didn't realize they were the same person. We could assume this was inspirational for Kool Keith & MF DOOM, among many others. A lesser-known alter-ego of Shock's was The Piano Man, who was credited with much of the group's instrumentation and production. As Rackadelic, he created their iconic cover and liner [note] artwork. These alter-egos, also, including MC Blowfish, The Computer Woman, and more, all served to obscure the fact...

Digital Underground Word Up! Magazine Fold-out Poster (SOURCE: WEIRD RAP) In a year of seemingly unending Hip-Hop artist deaths, [Thursday] night was a particularly rough blow to Gen X Rap old heads with the passing of Shock G AKA Humpty Hump AKA Gregory Edward Jacobs. While reviewing Twitter [Thursday] night, it became immediately clear that too many folks born post-1990 didn't really know who he was, beyond his one massive hit. This following list is intended to educate, entertain and elucidate. No list of Shock G tracks would be complete without Digital Underground (D.U.)'s explosive two singles from their debut album, Sex Packets. Yes, these, obviously, are party tracks intended to get a$$es shaking, but listen to the lyrics and you'll quickly find surprising depth. The message is deceptively simple—don't let others dictate who you are or how you should feel. Fat, skinny, fake-nosed—all were welcome at a D.U. party. Without Shock G, the world may w...

"Ohh, what to do with childhood memories of frequenting overpriced boardwalk shops for gaudy sterling silver chains with dragons? You wait 12 years to flush them out in song form," newly-formed cousin-duo Jake D'Arc & Timmy Miller (Milky 22's) lamented within their Facebook band biography; a sentiment I can all too much relate to, having grown up frequenting "The Jersey Shore" summer after summer as a kid, much like D'Arc & Miller, who spent their summers down in beach-side town Ocean City, NJ along with brother/cousin Mike D'Arc . While on a brief hiatus from full-time band, Peanut Butter Lovesicle formed with D'Arc, Timmy Miller & Jake D'Arc managed to sporadically record some eight tracks in just one week's time at their Ocean City -based live-in studio space, The Ice Box ; five of those eight Summer 2014-recorded tracks have recently been collected, mixed, and mastered by Jake D'Arc & Mike Tarsia as their...

"Consider it a gift from us to you, who yearn for the Dilla -fide treats wherever, however you get them. So, grab yourself one of those delicious donut holes, put your feet up and bless the air to this certified heater from the gawd, every bit as sweet as the day itself," okayplayer's own "Voodoo & Old Donuts" -inspired wordsmith Michael Eric Gonik (@zogotsoul) transcribed within a National Donut Day -centric piece published prior to the weekend. Gonik is of course, referring to Biggie Smalls & J Dilla 's posthumously-released collaborative remix, "Kick In The Door," which until now, has never seen a fully untagged, full-length release; it's something of fabled Hip-Hop Holy Grail to 99.9% of digital "crate"-diggers and Dilla completists, like yours truly. Rumor has it that Biggie & J Dilla had initially intended to collaborate in the mid-90's on a Jay Dee -produced Busta Rhymes track tentatively titled "...

Sean Price is a former member of 90's Underground Rap crews, Heltah Skeltah/Boot Camp Clik (who supposedly worked on 2pac 's last project ). My old Shop Rite buddy, Jarrad Jenkins first turned me onto Sean Price around like 2005-06, who had only released Monkey Barz and Donkey Sean, Jr. [mixtape] @ that point. Price's third solo album, Mic Tyson has been in-the-works since 2009 and after numerous delays and pushed back dates, Duck Down finally unleashed the album back in October '12. Evidence & DJ Babu produced the latest video-single pulled from Mic Tyson 's 15-song tracklist, "BBQ Sauce." It does a pretty damn great job @ showcasing the Brownsville, BKLYN native's criminally under-rated sharp tongue, un-matched cadence, and witty rhyme schemes. Pharoahe Monch co-stars in it's companion Todd Angkasuwan -directed music video, which super-imposes Sean Mandela into a number of historical events, TV shows, school sports, etc: ...

1996 was quite the memorable for fans of both Hip-Hop and Pop Culture . Just ask the members of TOOTHPASTE , Kassa Overall & TECLA . The pair are currently readying a mixtape, aptly titled 1996 ; It's poised to be "AN ODE TO THE PAST AND AN ODE TO THE FUTURE" (Kassa Overall ) and will feature raps/hoops over beats culled from various 1996-bred hits... featuring New York 's finest up-and-comers: Big Baby Gandhi , DVS, Chaz Van Queen, Tavi , and K-Bob . TOOTHPASTE 's upcoming mixtape will most likely be composed of beats culled from landmark Hip-Hop albums that were originally released back in 1996: OutKast, Aaliyah, 2pac, Jay-Z, The Roots, Tribe , Busta Rhymes , De La Soul, Nas , and Lil Kim . I really enjoyed Kassa Overall 's latest commercial effort, Stargate . Skillfully apping over top of a size-able amount of current Pop Radio staples... a vein in which I figure 1996 will essentially mirror. From what I hear, TECLA is making some pretty note-wort...

Eventhough they're from Huntington Beach, CA, EdstanleY 's brand spankin' new 9-Track Demo CD somehow manages to effectively channel the sheer angst and passionate, DIY nature of "D.C. Hardcore" (1980's Punk) . I've personally known the guys for about a year now and it's been great to see them gradually progress and morph into what EdstanleY is today. Scott Gripe, Justin "Bobby" Brescia , and Dave Rees have been holed up in the studio these past few months; Steadily chipping away at what has now become this very LP-length demo [read: rough album]. Without giving too much away: EdstanleY Demo is the true audiofile embodiment of what this band really stands for... originality, sun-drenched Rock "N" Roll , peace, respect, and a good fucking time! Genre-wise, I'd say they fit somewhere between Nirvana and Metallica . Following a few days of repeated listenings, my personal [albeit early] favorites from the advance I rece...

"Rigamortis" essentially serves as one of the final movements of Section.80: Kendrick Lamar 's 2pac -inspired concept album, centered around the alarmingly high [substance] tolerance level of Reagan Era Youth . Serving as Track #12 of 16, "Rigamortis" marks that last leg of the album. More often than not, a segment that ends up being a bit lackluster - Nope, not here. In addition to fitting in with Section.80 's overall concept... I personally believe that Kendrick Lamar 's original composition almost signifies him metaphorically "murking" [murdering] the entirety of Rap game's meager competition. Filmed and directed by The ICU, "Rigamortis"' companion music video basically features Lamar walking through New York City streets, stepping over bodies, rapping... backed by a small The Roots -esque pick-up band/funeral procession. Read a few Top Dawg fan reviews and purchase a copy of Section.80 over @ Amazon . Kendrick L...