The Witzard

Black Thought and Leon Michels of the El Michels Affair (CREDIT: Sesse Lind) When Leon Michels and his El Michels Affair (EMA) released their first record, Sounding Out The City, in 2005, it was hard to guess what was next for Michels and his then-introduced, now-patented "Cinematic Soul" sound. Now, four EMA studio albums and scores of tribute and remix projects later—all while producing for some of the biggest names in the industry—Michels has trademarked his sound with each project taking audiences somewhere new and pushing the boundaries even further. Michels has racked up both song-writing and production credits with JAY-Z/The Carters, Adele, Kid Cudi, Charles Bradley, Common, Rick Ross, Ludacris, Travi$ Scott, Mark Ronson, Norah Jones, Lizzo, and Mary J. Blige. The man is a river, not a lake, and this time he takes his golden touch into the realm of Hip-Hop laying down a musical bed for one of the greatest to ever rhyme into a microphone: Black Thought of The Legenda...

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, Live 2016 (SOURCE: Flea Market Funk) Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band (BRSB,) the mysterious steel pan outfit hailing from Hamburg, Germany, have amassed a cult following around the globe. With a slew of classic 7-inches and two critically-acclaimed full-length albums, they set a high bar for themselves, one they clearly intend on pushing even higher with this new offering. On their third album, aptly-titled Expansions, BRSB are back with more of the same, but more of the same with them is inherently different. Covering songs that span genres and range from mega-hits to deep album cuts, they make them their own with their unique approach to the traditional steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago. Part of the allure of a new record from Bacao is finding out what covers they chose. However, die-hard fans are, also, waiting to hear the original numbers, like the stellar album opener "Tough Victory." Its air-tight rhythm section, brass arrangements, and...

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band (BRSB) is a rather mysterious steel pan outfit hailing from Hamburg, Germany who have amassed a cult following around the globe. BRSB features Ben Greenslade-Stanton & Björn Wagner and anywhere from one to eight additional musicians. Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band's previous two efforts, 55 & The Serpent's Mouth , boasted a wide array of genre-spanning steel pan instrumental covers, including 50 Cent , John Holt, Mobb Deep, Dennis Coffey, Faith Evans, Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Dr. Dre. Mary J. Blige, Gang Starr, and Amerie. Now, BRSB have returned once more with the announcement of their third proper album, Expansions, due out later this summer on Big Crown Records. Expansions by Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band "On their third album, aptly titled Expansions, BRSB are back with more of the same, but more of the same with them is inherently different," explains Big Crown within a press statement. Again, covering songs that span genres a...

Never Thought by Renaldo Domino " Renaldo Domino , one of the unsung heroes of Chicago Soul , is joined by six Chicago music veterans to unleash a groove explosion," reads the About Me section on The Renaldo Domino Experience 's Facebook page. The Experience consists of Renaldo "Domino" Jones on vocals, Jason Larson on guitar, Kenn Goodman on keys, Ralph Baumel on bass, Joe Camarillo on drums, David E. Smith on saxophone, and Justin Amolsch on trumpet. Goodman & Smith previously appeared on "Lady (You Are My Woman)" B/W "Mercy On Me" from Pravda Records' 2017 7-inch as part of Renaldo Domino & The Imperial Sound . Renaldo Domino is a " Chicago Soul & Funk singer from "The Valley" around 49th & Forestville. He got his name because his voice was sweet like Domino Sugar ," according to Mr. Jones' Discogs page. Domino originally released, at least, six 7-inch singles on Smash Records,...

Hip-Hop recently celebrated its 45th "Birthday" this past Saturday, August 11th on the anniversary of DJ Kool Herc's now-infamous Back-to-School Jam at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue AKA The "Rec Room" in The Bronx. Hip-Hop has gone through many stylistic permutations in the 44 years since, inadvertently birthing multiple sub-genres including: Boom-Bap, Gangsta/Mafioso Rap, Electro-Rap, Trip-Hop, Noise Rap, Chopped & Screwed, Trap/Drill, Horrorcore, New Jack Swing, Backpack Rap, and more. However, one of my personal favorites sub-genres of Hip-Hop is Instrumental Hip-Hop—no, not Breakbeat or J Dilla's Beat CD '05-style beat tapes—think, something more along the lines of The Roots with self-played interpolated "samples," rather than sampling actual records, tapes, CD's, etc. Aside from The Legendary Roots Crew, one of my favorite Instrumental Hip-Hop groups is Truth & Soul/Big Crown Records co-founder Leon Michels' El Michels Affair, w...

Get Down b/w Cross My Heart by Sunny & The Sunliners Sunny & The Sunliners were a San Antonio -based Chicano Soul band fronted by Sunny Ozuna that were originally active from about 1964-81 or 1988. Sunny & The Sunliners consisted of members Jimmy Edward , Amos Johnson, Jr. Johnny Zaragosa , and of course, namesake Sunny Ozuna , as well as various members through the years. The Sunliners released countless albums and singles on labels and imprints such as Tear Drop , Crazy Cajun, Freddie Records , Scorpio Productions, Inc. Okeh Records , Three M Records, Black-Whale Records , London Records, Darla , and Ozuna & Zaragosa's own imprint, Key-Loc . Sunny & The Sunliners' plethora of Funk -oozing material touches on styles ranging from Tejano to Rock "N" Roll , Soul/Funk to Latin-American, Jazz to Pop , etc. over their nearly 20-year career. However, almost 30 years after their disbandment, Sunny & The Sunliners garnered a bit of a career r...

"The wait is over, Return to The 37th Chamber is El Michels Affair's (EMA's) highly anticipated follow-up to 2009's underground cult classic Enter: The 37th Chamber . Churning out classic records since then for the likes of Lee Fields, The Arcs, Chicano Batman, The Shacks, and tons more, it is clear that EMA's signature sound is stronger & sharper than ever. El Michels Affair will release Return to The 37th Chamber on April 14th, via Big Crown Records. This time, in addition to re-interpreting the Wu compositions for a live band, EMA pays homage to the production and sonic fog that makes a RZA beat so recognizable. Producer and bandleader Leon Michels recorded the album completely analog, sometimes hitting six generations of tape before it was ready for mixing, giving the Return to The 37th Chamber it’s own hazy sound. Adding to the unique fidelity, the record is laced with Psychedelic flourishes, "John Carpenter" synths, Heavy Metal guitars, tri...

"I don't know how y'all see it, but when it comes to the children... Wu-Tang is for the children! We teach the children! You know what I mean? Puffy is good, but WU-TANG IS THE BEST!" sharp-tongued Shaolin prince Ol' Dirty Bastard (ODB) once proclaimed during an impromptu 1998 GRAMMY's acceptance "speech" during Shawn Colvin & John Leventhal 's "Sunny Came Home" Song of The Year win. It also appears that Wu-Tang is for aging 40-something suburban Hip-Hop heads that can still hang; as is the case with El Michels Affair 's forthcoming Jazz/Funk/Soul -tinged Wu-Tang Clan covers collection, Return to The 37th Chamber —otherwise known as the pseudo-follow-up to their critically-acclaimed Enter: The 37th Chamber (2009). El Michels Affair is fronted by multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, founder of newly-formed Big Crown Records , and former alumni of Soul Fire , Misty/Daptone Records , and now-defunct Truth & Soul , ...