The Witzard

Nate Patrin Author Photo (CREDIT: Craig VanDerSchaegen) "So, I put together a [playlist] that comprises my favorite moments of Hip-Hop & Punk intersecting, intentionally or otherwise, from the old school to the current moment. It ranges from Downtown NYC Crossover efforts to sample flips to all-out collabos, and spans a broad range of both genres—so, it's more of a historical overview, than a cohesive snapshot of a particular sound. That said, I f**k with each and every one of these songs, 100%." With The Quickness #7: Nate Patrin's Adidas In The Pit/Punk Meets Hip-Hop Playlist 01. The Clash - "This Is Radio Clash" Samples: J. Bodewalt Lampe - "Mysterioso Pizzicato" 02. ESG - "UFO" Sampled By: The Notorious B.I.G. J Dilla, Big Daddy Kane, MF DOOM, Q-Tip, Public Enemy, Nine Inch Nails, and more 03. Liquid Liquid - "Cavern" Sampled By: Grand Master Melle Mel, Guru, Doug E. Fresh, The Notorious B.I.G. 2 Live Cr...

Jason "EDID" McKenzie is a Minneapolis -bred/ Brooklyn -based "Outsider Hip-Hop, Indie & Far Left-field" artist, who, by his own admission, "[makes] all the beats and [raps] all the raps." Since about 2004, ECID has established working relationships with like-minded Experimental Hip-Hop artists, such as Awol One , Eyedea, Kristoff Krane , Louise Dorley FKA Louis Logic, and milo ; over the years, ECID has been part of a number of groups including Living Stereo , Jordan Miché & David Mars Accompanied By ECID, Saturday Morning Soundtrack , Sector 7G, and most recently, TOYFRiEND with Louis Dorley . As many of you may well remembers, we, actually, covered TOYFRiEND 's debut 2017 Indie Pop/Hip-Hop EP, foolHearty with custom artwork designed by @unibrowduck . Just about six months after foolHearty , ECID returned with HowToFakeYourOwnDeath (HTFYOD) his first album solo since 2015's 2-pronged release, PHEROMONE HEAVY/Pheromone Coma: PHE...

Fresh off an extensive Fall US tour with Nine Inch Nails & The Jesus & Mary Chain in support of Black Moth Super Rainbow 's latest effort, Panic Blooms , multi-instrumentalist and producer Thomas "Tom" Fec AKA TOBACCO has returned with Malibu Ken ; both a collaborative effort and newly-formed rapper/producer group with long-time touring mate and world-renown emcee Aesop Rock . TOBACCO & Aesop Rock , actually, first worked together on "Dirt" from Fec's 2008 anticon CD/DVD F*cked Up Friends . Later that same year, Aes & Tom "worked together" again on a mash-up/remix project called The Hood Internet vs. Tobacco & Aesop Rock "featuring" Breeze Brewin , Cage, Mr. Lif , The Mountain Goats' frontman John Darnielle, Zaid Maxwell , Camp Lo, Rob Sonic , and El-P. The Hood Internet 's Aaron Brink & Steve Reidell implemented a similar style on 2010's The Hood Internet X TOBACCO X Felt , remixing tracks fr...

Bar for bar, Homeboy Sandman is easily, one of the most talented and somehow still, criminally under-rated emcees in all of Hip-Hop ! I've personally been a Sandman fan since his 2012 Stones Throw debut, First of a Living Breed and since, he's worked with the likes of Blu , Jonwayne, Paul White , Jake One, L'Orange , 2 Hungry Bros. RJD2 , Mono En Stereo FKA El RTNC, 88-Keys , and maybe, most notably, Aesop Rock ; between 2015-17, Aesop & Sand infested the masses with Lice , Lice 2: Still Buggin' and Triple Fat Lice to wide-spread critical and fan acclaim. While we're still waiting for a proper Lice full-length, Homeboy Sandman has teamed up with kindred spirit, Brooklyn -based DJ, producer, and emcee, Edan , for a brand spankin' new collaborative effort. Edan is arguably, one of the greatest and most eclectic artists in all of Hip-Hop and while he hasn't released a proper album since 2005's Beauty & The Beat , he's been moderately a...

Last month, Stones Throw (@stonesthrow) mysteriously posted " @edanexists & @homeboysandman are working on some music together, which will debut at our SXSW showcase this Friday" on their Instagram page, which has since garnered 2,667+ Likes. As should be expect, for anyone interested in Indie/Underground Hip-Hop , a few of my writer friends and I went nuts on Rap Twitter . About for weeks have passed with no additional mention of Sandman & Edan 's rumored collaborative efforts from Stones Throw . Just this morning, on a whim, I decided to check Stones Throw 's home page and BAM! there it was: "Homeboy Sandman & Edan #NeverUseTheInternetAgain" —right there in the middle column of the front page. It seems as though no one (aside from RAW DRIVE ) had noticed or even checked Stones Throw 's site for the past 7 hours or so, this including myself! While on a roll about the downsides of The Internet , Sandman jokingly(?) rhymes: "Inter...

" LOVE HANDLES is a Hip-Hop instrumental beat tape from 2 Hungry Bros. producer Ben Boogz that boasts lo-fi production with an airy, eclectic mix of sounds and samples over percussion. Through out it's 23 tracks, there's much to take away from it that is ultimately, enjoyable; though, on a more critical note, a uniform style that can wear thin in the context of 23 consecutive tracks. Love Handles by Ben Boogz of 2 Hungry Bros We start off with the intro track, "Love Intro," which is a short beat with a vinyl crackling Soul chop of humming and "ahh's" over some Hip-Hop drums that give a light and care-free feel, which perfectly sets the stage for much of the feel of the project. Then, going into the track "Sang Pham," which with its dreamy sung "ahh's" being chopped and looped creates an expansion of the dreamy love feel that's been introduced. By the third track, "Love Handles," it hits more of a ch...

Just in case you've been living under a rock for the past few months or recently awoke from a coma—we're terribly sorry for 2017!—Beat-maker Bedrock (BMB) is a new, recurring column here at The Witzard; initially, the brainchild of Baltimore-based beatsmith John "Jumbled" Bachman, BMB simply asks beat-makers and aspiring producers to highlight 3-5 of their personal favorite albums, which, early on, helped shape their overall sound and style. I'm proud to present to you our first Beat-maker Bedrock column 2018 and 14th overall features a playlist selected and meticulously arranged by New York-based rapper-producer and We Are The Karma Kids founder Lt Headtrip—or just "Headtrip" for production work. Following his critically-acclaimed 2017 album, Comedy of The Filtbeast , Lt Headtrip teamed up with The GreenHouse Studio/Backwoodz Studioz producer and engineer to curate LNYCHPIN; described on Bandcamp as "a full-length collaborative album featuring 16 ...

Matt Horowitz: Let's do a little Nardwuar-type intro... who are you?!!!??! Ben Boogz: Have you ever heard of my production duo, The 2 Hungry Bros? I'm Ben Boogz of The 2 Hungry Bros. MH: Yessir, I have! I'm actually talking with Deep about another project for my site. BB: From The Lower East Side (The L.E.S.) Manhattan NYC. MH: You guys have worked with Homeboy Sandman since day one, right? BB: Yes, that's correct. We have worked with Sand for some time. MH: What was the first project 2 Hungry Bros. worked on with Sandman? BB: He first was featured on our second compilation album called Table Manners (2008). Then, the first 2 tracks we did were the "iTunes Song" and the "2 Hungry Bros. Outro" on Actual Factual Pterodactyl (2008). Also, on The Good Sun (2010) we produced "The Essence " and "The Carpenter," the song that got him signed to Stones Throw. MH: Really!? And that very track, "The Carpenter," i...

@SharpCheddar856: Hey what's up, M Slago? How's it going? How did get involved with Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman's latest TRIPLE FAT LICE EP, man? I know you produced Sandman's All That I Hold Dear a few years back (phenomenal record, might I add!) @m_slago: Let me get to a laptop and I'll start answering questions to avoid (some) typos lol. SC: No worries, man! I'm gonna go jump in the shower, but I'll be back momentarily... just send whatever you think may be interesting and useful. Thanks! m_s: Much thanks on the [All That I Hold Dear] props. Homeboy Sandman and I met back in '09 and have been doing joints together, since The Good Sun . When Aesop Rock & Boy Sand were touring during the first Lice release, I met Aesop for the first time, here in Dallas, at their show. We talked lightly about future work and other things... and "Panacea" is the result. SC: Oh OK, nice! So, you're one of Homeboy Sandman's initial pr...

Triple Fat Lice by Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman Triple Fat Lice (Poem) By: Homeboy Sandman " Triple Fat Lice is similar to Die Hard with a Vengeance in that it is a part 3 that gets very busy. It's also like A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 3 [Dream Warriors] in that regard the dream warriors kicking Freddy ’s a$$ with all their special powers. Triple Fat Lice is not at all like Halloween III [Season of The Witch] that didn't even have Michael Myers in it and was about roaches or something I don’t even really know. It might have been a great Horror movie, in it's own right, but I was so appalled Michael Myers wasn't even in it. Triple Fat Lice is also nothing at all like Beverly Hills Cop III which to me was almost like sacrilege but no disrespect that’s just my own personal opinion. Even though Back to The Future Part III and Terminator 3 [Rise of The Machines] are not as sensational as Triple Fat Lice (something they share in common with ...

"After /r/jimmyjrg created those stems of MF DOOM, I knew I had to follow up SADEVILLAIN with a [sequel] and this is exactly what I've done. I've had nothing but free time on my hands and went right to work on this project. The amount of recognition of the first tape got was insane, it was incredibly overwhelming and I still thank everyone who has listened to it," Seanh AKA clerksfanboy AKA Snh AKA @TheSeanh2k11 recently wrote within an /r/MFDOOM Subreddit titled I Present to You... SADEVILLAIN II. I've spoken with Seanh a few times over the course of the past year since the release of SADEVILLAIN (2016) and last I knew, he was busy crafting some original beats for an Aesop Rock remix project, which became his recent Aesop Rock vs. Seanh EP. It appears as though Seanh quietly uploaded SADEVILLAIN's proper sequel, fittingly titled SADEVILLAIN II, Monday afternoon and seemingly wasn't picked up by an media outlets until @okayplayer Tweeted out: "Ol...

"Basically, since Uncle Crimson and I hang out often, one day he walked in the door and I was chopping up a sample; he literally just started rapping a verse he had just started writing and it sounded so perfect, we decided to just put together a short project. Then, I put one of my simple drum breaks on that sample, which became "Book of David." The rest of the project fell together very naturally and we recorded all the verses in one Saturday afternoon. Looking forward, since our chemistry is so great, our future work will hopefully come together just as naturally, but with live instrumentation replacing the samples," Harry Metz , otherwise known as Philly -based producer Rolled Gold , wrote within a recent emailed statement. Metz was of course, talking about his recently released The Great Fallback EP recorded with fellow Philadelphian Dante D. Hill aka sharp-tongued emcee Uncle Crimson . Rolled Gold further describes The Great Fallback as "a 5-song ...

" Boy Sand contacted me last week saying that Lice 2 [Still Buggin'] was dropping this week and my "Mud" track would be Track #4; he then swore me to secrecy. This will be the third song of mine released that Sand has blessed. I also did "Grand Pupa" from the 2014 Hallways album and "There It Is" from the 2015 Tour Tape . I've been sending him beats for about 6 or 7 years. I was first introduced to his music through the Good Son album, which is a classic. I was participating in a Best Albums of The Year list on Illmuzik.com and one member mentioned his name and that album in particular. I contacted him and he responded right back. Ever since then, we've communicated. I'm always grateful for the opportunity, because [Homeboy Sandman] actually does listen to all the beats you send to him. He really doesn't have to do that. Actually, when we first started corresponding, he would comment on every beat I sent and I ...

" Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman are back together once more, to deliver a new strain of Lice to fans worldwide. People of Earth , we are proud to announce our new FREE EP— Lice 2: Still Buggin' —available for download NOW, via Rhymesayers Entertainment and Stones Throw Records ... Now, go share Lice [2] with everyone you know," Homeboy Sandman & Aesop Rock wrote within a rather spur-of-the-moment joint statement to accompany their 2015 Lice EP follow-up, Lice 2: Still Buggin' yesterday morning; their latest "infestation" of Lice showcases production from the likes of Dan Hayden , Mondee , SoberMindedMusiC , Your Old Droog producer (El) RTNC , and Aesop Rock himself. Bristol -based producer Dan Hayden , who hand-crafted the beat for "Zilch," was recently profiled within Homeboy Sandman 's inaugural self-penned Bandcamp Daily column titled, Big Ups: Homeboy Sandman Picks His Favorite Hip-Hop Artists . "Kid has mad range....

"cats that wanna send beats, [my] email is homeboysandman@gmail.com . only send 2, as mp3 attachments. I'll only respond if I pick 1, but I'll listen," read a very recent open casting call from Stones Throw emcee @HomebpySandman dispatched to earnest beatsmiths world-wide. It seems as though the construction of Sandman 's latest release was conducted in a somewhat similar manner: "well, it [happened] just by itself. One day, I got an email from Homeboy Sandman , who asked if he could use this beat from my Chinoiseries album that I released in 2007. It's a really old beat I made over 10 years ago, so I wasn't too keen at first, but I decided to let him use it, since he's a real dope emcee and the result came out as a "Bus (A Rhyme)." He made a dope video that comes with it and that's that. Thanks," Arnaud Bernard (better known as Onra ) wrote within a Facebook message sent directly to The Witzard . I've been mulling ov...

" Fudge came together during several sessions in the summer and fall of 2015 at Nick Hook 's Green Point studio. Prefuse 73 [Guillermo Scott Herren] brought along a hard drive full of beats. [Michael] Christmas wrote to the instrumentals in the studio, and recorded the vocals the same day, as friends swung by to check it out; some of the drop-ins at the studio ended up joining in the recording, not least D.R.A.M. who brings lifted soul vocals on the album track "All Points South,'" Lex Records wrote within a comprehensive on-site Fudge press release earlier this past week. Although this is Herren's first full-length recorded alongside an emcee, he's previously worked with a number of revered Hip-Hop legends including, but not limited to Ghostface Killah , Jewel-runner El-P, Mos Def , Aesop Rock, fellow Lex label mate DOOM , GZA, Death Grips drummer Zach Hill , and RJD2; while Michael Christmas is "a 22-year-old Boston emcee, who has...

" Edan had the ill beat and was like, 'Yo, this sounds kinda like when people talk mad sh*t, you should speak on that.' I was like word. The onslaught of people talking mad copious amounts of sh*t is the ongoing barrage. That's what the video is about," Queens -bred emcee Homeboy Sandman recently revealed to The FADER , who premiered said video, "Talking (Bleep)." Sandman 's Edan -produced sh*t-talker lamenting creation stems from his upcoming Stones Throw album, Kindness for Weakness and is instantly evocative, to me at least, of The Peanuts' often used droning "WOOT WOOT WOOT" adult talking voice. Its companion Jay Brown -directed visual treatment is vaguely reminiscent of The Avengers: Age of Ultron meets let's say, Pierce Brosnan -helmed 1990's James Bond flick GoldenEye , but instead of your friendly neighborhood chiseled caped crusaders, starring sharp-tongued emcee Homeboy Sand-Man !!! For whatever reasons, it...