The Witzard

We've been rockin' with DJ Ragz & Unown ever since they released a scrumptious, mouth-watering collection of beats called Pasta & Wings on San Diego-based Common Good Records in 2018. DJ Ragz is a world-class DJ and turntablist hailing from Virginia. While he's well-known for his battle appearances (DMC, Scribble Jam, Scion, Coast 2 Coast, etc.) he's also known as a member of the Hip-Hop group Jazz Addixx and as the co-creator of break record series, The Bare Bones. Ragz was most recently part of Man Bites Dog Records' 2019 yuletide Hip-Hop comp. Happy Holidays. Unown is a DC-based producer, engineer, and DJ currently traveling the world and rocking stages on the MPC as part of Oddisee's band, Good Compny. Also known as a member of Jazz Addixx, when Unown's not jet-setting across the world, he's either holed up in the studio working on tracks or DJ'ing around DC/Philly. Unown & DJ Ragz's next sonic platter, Burgers & Sliders, was...

The Grand Scheme are a Los Angeles-based "SOUL POWER" band, who, according to their Facebook About (Me) section, make "Soul for your mouth." Self-described "World Travelers & Explorers," The Grand Scheme have functioned as the backing band for American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, and emcee Aloe Blacc FKA Nathan Yell. The Grand Scheme have been backing Blacc ever since his career-securing break-out with 2010 single, "I Need A Dollar," if not longer. The Grand Scheme 's current line-up consists of drummer Te'Amir "Yohannes" Sweeney , bassist Joseph "Joe" Gonzales , trumpeter Chris Bautista , guitarist/producer/musical director Joel Van Dijk , saxophonist Randal "Randalio" Fisher , and keyboardists Peter Dyer & Farmer Greif . The Grand Scheme 's players have collectively contributed to recordings for artists as varied as Blu & Exile , Breakestra, The Velve...

Burgers & Sliders by DJ Ragz & Unown Coast-to-coast DJ super-duo Brian Ragonese & Richard Patterson have returned with their second food-themed collaborative project as DJ Ragz & Unown . Burgers & Sliders is, of course, the second all-you-can-eat instrumental follow-up to Unown & Ragz 's 2018 Common Good Records release, Pasta & Wings . "It's a take on the LA burger scene capturing a moment of time from the golden era of G-Funk Rap . We had a blast recording this project!" DJ Ragz writes on his YouTube channel, along with the juicy video for "Plump At All The Time$." Burgers & Sliders finds the duo back in their respective kitchens, with Unown handling the beat duties on his coveted MPC and DJ Ragz meticulously cutting up the meat of these beats on his turntables. DJ Ragz is a world-renown event DJ, instructor, seasoned studio musician, and producer in his own right, who was born and raised Roseville, California ...

Dirty Money Breaks (Vinyl / Producer Drum Kit) by Jake Najor Jake Najor is a world-renown drummer and frontman of newly-formed group, Jake Najor & The Moment of Truth . The GRAMMY -nominated drummer has played breaks for and performed alongside the likes of Redman , De La Soul, Big Daddy Kane , M.O.P. Percee P , The Beatnuts, SOUP (Jurassic 5) Raphael Saadiq, Jason Mraz , TV On The Radio, Joss Stone , Eamon with Connie Price & The Keystones, Kelis , Aloe Blacc, Kurtis Blow , Rebecca Jade & The Cold Fact, and Empire of The Sun . Jake Najor & The Moment of Truth was very recently established in San Diego, California and showcases the talents of Nick Costa on guitar, Tim Felton on keys, Matt Labarber on bass, and of course, frontman Jake Najor behind the drum kit. Jake Najor (@thenaj) & The Moment of Truth (@momentoftruthsd) are currently preparing their full-length debut, IN THE CUT , for a tentative release on The Redwoods Music this upcoming Fall . Howev...

Anymore, here at The Witzard , we generally, just cover Hip-Hop , Punk/Hardcore, and Indie Rock stylings, as well as an array of different genres and host a handful of columns and exploration pieces; although, The Witzard was, in fact, founded back in 2010 as a "Pop Culture" blog and over the years, we have covered different "streetwear" brands, music-related technologies, Banksy installations, and other various non-music-related coverage. Last week, J.D. at Common Good Records hit me up on Instagram (@ologistbbb) with a non-music, yet still, music-related story suggestion; he also, looped in @musicneedle_ , who he described as a guy who "makes some incredible 45 adapters that are in shapes of beat machines and classic gaming consoles." Following J.D. 's introduction, I soon reached out to @musicneedle_ , otherwise, known as German Moreno —a 25-year-old part-time electrician/part-time art gallery curator hailing from Pasadena, California . Mor...

Last we heard from Los Angeles -based Common Good Records , they were gearing up to release Drtysoap 's festive beat tape, MERRY CHRITHMITH and if you'll remember correctly, co-founder The Ologist AKA J.D. actually, sequenced and arranged Mitchell Kezin 's Mitchell's 'SOUL SISTA' Holiday Mix for The Witzard . Following the releases of Te'Amir Sweeney 's Tiger Breaks 7-inch and brother Tutu Sweeney 's "Party In The Ghetto" B/W "Walking Forward" J.D. 's When Crates Create imprint folded and quickly joined forces with Jason McGuiness ' LA -based Analog Burners to collectively, form Common Good Records . Now, Common Good Records are back with their first proper release of 2018: Unown & DJ Ragz 's Pasta & Wings , described as "a concept project with a 90's era Hip-Hop instrumental vibe that finds Unown handling the beat duties on the MPC and DJ Ragz cutting up on the turntables." Pasta ...

Let's just get right into it: it's that special time of year where everyone readily flaunts their holiday cheer for everyone to hear! Jingle Bell Rocks! director and Christmas record collector Mitchell Kezin (@mabooshi) curated an especially festive mix full of Alt. Christmas songs, Hanukkah hymns, and obscure holiday jams entitled Mitchell's 'SOUL SISTA' Holiday Mix for The Witzard . Thanks again to Mitchell for sharing his special brand of holiday cheer and a very special thanks goes out to The Ologiest AKA JD at Common Good Records —his old imprint, When Crates Create combined with Analog Burners . In addition to my personal 2017 holiday favorite, Jumbled's Christmas comp. Merry Christmess , there has been quite the influx of festive musical cheer spread by your favorite musicians, emcees, and producers just in time for your last-minute shopping and wrapping sessions. Now, without further ado, I'm proud to present to you: The Witzard 's 2017...