The Witzard

BLKrKRT LP 2 by BLKrKRT (Blacker Karat) "I'm a lover of the Avant-Garde , Abstract, and Electronic [music.] My work is about the subjective nature of human experience through art, it's effects on the human psyche, and the efforts to create elegant, yet basic shapes, usually utilizing a post- Internet methodology. I like cutting up things and re-purposing them. I love to collaborate, especially via The Internet . I am a product of remix culture. I love to use samples, clip art, and font. I adore collage. Currently, I am actively pursuing an adventure in fashion design," Fort Worth, Texas -based Instrumental Hip-Hop producer BLKrKRT (Phil Ford) wrote within his about.me profile. I actually met BLKrKRT through my frequent collaborator and friend Darko The Super , who released Ford's The Witzard-premiered Okinato Black on his U DONT DESERVE THIS BEAUTIFUL ART imprint. Darko actually flipped Okinato Black 's "3,000 Words" into "God, F**...

Just about two months ago, my friend and frequent collaborator Darko The Super sent me an early Ruff Draft of his upcoming Rock sample-based album, Apocalyptic Bastard. I must say, it's a surprisingly accessible and dare I say, commercial album from the charismatic rapper-producer who released a whopping 10 full-length albums throughout the course of 2016. Apocalyptic Bastard contains samples and interpolations culled from the likes of Twisted Sister, Loverboy, Tears for Fears, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Slaves, They Might Be Giants, Steve Miller Band, Men Without Hats, Wheatus, and Comfort Food, in addition to countless others, and originals from All These Fingers and BLKrKRT; to the best of my knowledge, since December, it's been sent around to De La Soul producer Prince Paul, The Fabulous Downey Brothers, Wheatus, and Zilla Rocca. It seems a bit odd to say, looking back now, but over the course of the past 4-6 months since I first met Darko The Super—despite cou...

Precious Metals, Heavy Gems II by BLKrKRT I've been corresponding with frequent Darko The Super collaborator and Fort Worth, Texas -based Instrumental Hip-Hop producer Phil "BLKr KRT" Ford through Twitter Direct Message , Facebook Messenger, and Gmail for a few months now. I was lucky enough to premier BLKrKRT 's 40th U DONT DESERVE THIS BEAUTIFUL ART -released project, Okinato Black right here at The Witzard . Okinato Black is amongst BLKrKRT 's final 3-4 projects scheduled to be released before he plans to retire from beat-making all together and pursue a potential career in fashion design later this year. Today, I'm happy to be premiering Phil Ford 's whopping 41st project, Precious Metals, Heavy Gems II (PMHG II) , which is meant to serve as a warm-up collection of "line drawings/illustrations" or quick improvised sketches showing his progression between Okinato Black and his forthcoming BLKrKRT LP II . PMHG II is a quasi-sequel to ...

"I chose my favorites and most important songs. Made sure I added most of the ones I do at shows. I made the [2016] mix because I believe strongly in what I do, and know most of the people I send these albums out to, don't listen. I wanted to recap my year of releases, to prove to whoever listens and to myself, how hard I work," @DarkoTheSuper detailed within a recent statement sent to The Witzard . Like the title "2016 Sucked, But Darko Released 10 Albums & That's Pretty Cool" suggests, Darko The Super did in fact, manage to release a whopping 10 albums over the course of the past 12 months: starting with February 2016's CREEPAZOID! , The Hell Hole Store with fellow rapper-producer ialive , Stomachaches & Heartbreaks , All These Fingers -produced Carve a Happy Face On My Tombstone, We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free , Take Me to Your Computer, Your Mouth Is Bigger Than Your Entire Brain , a collection ...

Okinato Black by BLKrKRT " Okinato Black is a reference to Yasuke , or Sakanouye no [Tamuramaro] , the legendary African Shogun of early Japanese civilization. He was known to be the paragon of military virtues and regarded as one of the most distinguished Black warriors of antiquity, yet still, he is largely unknown. The project is a response to the resurgence of Chamber Rap beats, popularized by Wu-Tang [Clan] , the proliferation of Experimental Hip-Hop producers using the legendary Roland SP-404 , and my own fascination with the anime Samurai Champloo . The intention was to never limit the source or genre of samples, but through the usage, obtain a cohesion in sound," Texas -based Experimental Hip-Hop producer Phil Ford aka BLKrKRT (Blacker Karat) wrote within a recent emailed statement. Ford has fittingly self-described his unique sound as "Post-Dilla Hip-Hop Instrumental" and lists J Dilla , Madlib, KAN KICK , No I.D. Public Enemy , Prefuse 73, S1, a...