The Witzard

"we wrote it after our homie died. al made a beat tape wit' every beat named after mark . i came to his house and wrote to the first one he played. it sat on a hard drive 'til now," @yomilo AKA milo AKA scallops hotel AKA Rory Ferreira wrote in response to a Tweet inquiring about REDWALL 's "AGONY." As milo referenced within his Tweeted statement, the track's actually, titled "AGONY (for Mark) (II)" and is credited to "REDWALL," which consists of milo and Alexander Kollman of The Dilla Gents AKA Safari Al AKA s.al . milo die-hards will know, Safari Al , actually, appeared on "Super Happy Sunshine Fun Club" from milo 's first mixtape, I wish my brother Rob was here , released on Hellfyre Club in 2011. "AGONY" is, of course, the second release from REDWALL following their 2014 single-track EP, (Boyle) and Piles , which featured contributions from Ruby Yacht associates and frequent collab...

It's really no secret, at this point in time, that Future Islands frontman Samuel T. Herring moonlights as Socrates & Locke Ernstfrost -referencing greenhorn emcee Hemlock Ernst . "17 years in-the-making, Hemlock Ernst finally got pressed to wax. Thanks to @madlib and @nowagain for making my childhood dreams real," read an impassioned @futureislands Tweet posted on the heels of Sam Herring 's official Madlib -produced debut EP, Trouble Knows Me ; although, he professes he's been rapping since the 9th grade (around 1998), Hemlock Ernst 's first recorded appearance "on wax" was as recently as 2010 on Rapdragons' Baltimore -minded "Gotta Go." He's since rhymed alongside The Alchemist & Oh No (Gangrene) , Scallops Hotel, Curse ov Dialect , Milo, Busdriver , Cavanaugh, Open Mike Eagle , Scoop DeVille, Fat Tony 's Charge It to The Game , and most recently critically-acclaimed artists, BADBADNOTGOOD & Clams Casino ...

For his latest single, "Ego Death" LA -based rapper-producer Busdriver has essentially assembled an all-star team of Underground Hip-Hop MVP's; Busdriver, Aesop Rock & Danny Brown spit hot fire in succession over the course of Stones Throw affiliate Jeremiah Jae 's nearly 6-minute neck-snapping beat. While hailing from three separate corners of the Underground Hip-Hop spectrum, the three veteran emcees surprisingly mesh very well together (I believe Busdriver & Aesop have rapped together before). "Yeah, no... I understand what you're saying. But is is sexier than torture?" opens Jae's slightly off-kilter beat, which features multi-layered lines like: "And downtime is never met with an overjoyed grin / cause sleep and death have always been conjoined twins," "He shoots the whores, truly stupid troubadours," and Danny Brown 's fairly sound assertion that he's the "Rap Marilyn Manson." It's ...

Sharp-tongued Los Angeles by-way-of Chicago emcee Open Mike Eagle has been self-described as an underground "Art-Rap" hero; recently having signed a purported three-album deal with Indie Hip-Hop imprint Mello Music Group . Noisey premiered the second single from Eagle's upcoming fourth album, Dark Comedy , which is currently set for a June 10th release, Tuesday afternoon. "Dark Comedy Morning Show" was supposedly the second to last song recorded for the new album... "It took me a long time to write because I kept wanting to sing this Stereolab song on it that was way out of my range," Open Mike Eagle revealed on Twitter. "Dark Comedy Morning Show" was seemingly influenced by Open Mike Eagle 's recent stint with traveling comedian Paul F. Tompkins and additionally features production work/vocal accompaniment from rising multi-instrumentalist Toy Light . Sonically, it's very emotive of 90's Indie Pop , something not t...

"New singles off Dorner vs. Tookie by Hellfyre Club are up [at Soundcloud ]. There's "Qualifiers" with Open Mike Eagle ; Then "Manchester" with Milo , myself, and Nocando ; and today, "Elephant In The Pressroom" with Mike Eagle, myself, and our special guest, Jeremiah [Jae] on the beat and guest verse" read an impromptu Hellfyre Club web-update, via busdriverr 's Instagram feed. "Elephant In The Pressroom" is rumored to be included as a bonus track on Hellfyre Club 's upcoming label-wide compilation (November 5th) and it's almost like an über-relevant Hip-Hop track; making clever lyrical mention of Breaking Bad , Kendrick Lamar, human train-wreck Miley Cyrus , Mike Tyson, and somehow flawlessly compares game-changer "Control" to Pokemon . It's almost like Hellfyre's call-to-arms because big ticket "mainstream" rappers should really be terribly afraid of these guys! Founded by ...

Art Hip-Hop enthusiast and criminally under-rated California -by-way-of- Chicago emcee Open Mike Eagle has recently linked up with Beats, Frames & Life and producer, Alwayz Prolific (Taco Neck) to release "Qualiifiers." A Hellfyre Club member and Busdriver affiliate, Eagle set up a make-shift stage/studio in a 24-hour laundromat and Giovanni Solis just so happened to film it. okayplayer quite appropriately describes Beats, Frames & Life 's video series The Show as "where they take artists they fux with and have them perform in the most random places." It's great because you can genuinely tell that no one's in on the joke; a bunch of people washing and folding their clothes were just treated to an impromptu Open Mike Eagle & Alwayz Prolific mini-show! "Qualifiers" is simply down and dirty Hip-Hop @ it's best, part of which includes ferocious bars like: "Sick days, I got two left / So, I take five, Dave Brubec...

Hey, are you ready to get in "the holiday spirit," but you're growing tired of those same played out Christmas songs that seem to be on constant loop @ every super-market and department store/mall!? If that sounds anything like your annual winter-time scenario, then I'd recommend checking out Sufjan Stevens' latest release, CHOPPED & SCROOGED . Now, I spin all sorts of crazy X-mas albums -- Punk Rock , Steel Drum, Big Band [Swing] , Tijuana Christmas , James Brown , etc... But this well-executed 9-track Hip-Hop mixtape even pleasantly surprised me! Stevens even managed to recruit a bunch of his musically-inclined friends and Asthmatic Kitty labelmates to remix select cuts from his second 5-volume Christmas compilation, Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas (Vol. 6-10) . The collection's stand-out tracks easily include contributions from Das Racist Heems , kitty pryde/Fol Chen , and Busdriver/Son Lux (Looper) . Falsely billed as as posthumous ...

I wonder if German film director, one-time Killers collaborator, and accidental Hipster cult hero Werner Herzog is even remotely familiar with American Hip-Hop !? Los Angeles -based Indie rappers Busdriver, Open Mike Eagle & Nocando have assembled a loose posse to record a track called "Werner Herzog," which appears on Busdriver 's recent ARGUMENTS WITH DREAMS EP . It's basically Flash Bang Grenada plus Open Mike Eagle , a pairing that director Diana Dalsasso went on to simply describe as, "3 of LA 's best underground rappers that also just so happen to be the best of friends." "Werner Herzog" pretty much features some of the most clever, witty, quick punchlines I've heard in a long time! Prime example: "I got a bunch of girls pregnant cause I sell diapers ... I eat Fair Trade cheese and fart fairness." Diana Dalsasso and Nonstop Record creative partner, Karina Soriano [producer] somehow manage to meld Busdr...

"A Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing (AROEE) is the culmination and logical progression of all the various aesthetics and approaches I have cultivated over the years. This album is at times sarcastic, belligerent, serious, poetic, and abstract. I rap about rappers, I rap about the empire, I rap about capitalism, labor, alienation and the environment. I offer critiques , I offer solutions. Sonically, this album bounces between classic Hip-Hop, Electronica & Experimental Dance, traditional song formats and tracks that barely resemble songs. When I think about the artists that inspire me, I look to Pete Seeger, Chuck D, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor ; Musicians who never let the immediate needs of the market dictate what they created..." "Like many that came before it, this album holds dear the Situationist notion that art is only doing its job when it's challenging the status quo. Unlike much music that has emerged under the banner of Occupy, t...

(1.) The album flows so smoothly and the beat selection is damn-near immaculate! How did you go about picking which tracks to include and sequence them? I tried to pick tracks that fit the theme of global revolution best, and went with those. I ended up cutting all the songs about more personal sh*t . I tried to sequence it more thematically as opposed to aesthetically. (2.) How exactly would you describe the overall sound (genre-wise) of A Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing? It's Rap music. I've been calling it "Critical Theory Rap." Some people have called the production "glassy," I don't know what that means. * THE WITZARD EDIT: "This album is the culmination of a lot of shit, I hope you enjoy it... It's funny, it's poppy, it's not poppy, it's belligerent, it's personal, it's militant, it's everywhere." (Kickstarter Update #18) (3.) I'm not the most political person whatsoever... But ho...