The Witzard

Dan Ubick has either played with, recorded with, backed up, or been sampled by everyone from Lily Allen to DJ Z-Trip. His own note-worthiest/most critically-acclaimed projects include Breakestra, Connie Price & The Keystones, The Lions, Rhythm Roots All-Stars, and most recently, The Mad Geezers & Night Owls. We've previously spoken with Dan Ubick AKA Constantine "Connie" Price on a number of occasions, over the years: once, in 2013 coinciding with the release of The Lions' This Generation on Stones Throw, again, in 2015 right around the time of The Lions' SOUL RIOT release, and just a year later, for Now-Again Records' 2016 re-issue of Connie Price & The Keystones' Wildflowers: The Expanded Edition. We were, also, fortunate enough to run an exclusive premiere for The Lions' music video for their cover of The Clash's "The Magnificent Dance" from their 1980 genre-eschewing 3-LP magnum opus, SANDINISTA! as well as various covera...

First and foremost, Happy Thanksgiving Day Weekend/Black Friday to all of our trusty readers out there and Happy Record Store Day Black Friday to my fellow crate diggers! Full disclosure: I'm pretty sure one of the first CD's I ever bought for my Walkman was Will Smith 's 1997 solo debut, Big Willie Style . Regardless, it was definitely one of my earliest brushes with Hip-Hop/Rap , which ultimately, changed my life! A few of my earliest favorite Hip-Hop albums I discovered on my own were Atmosphere 's Seven's Travels , Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill & Paul's Boutique, Wu-Tang Clan 's Enter: The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers,) and Jurassic 5's Power In Numbers. The latter has always had a special place in my Hip-Hop -loving heart and I would soon, go on to discover DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist 's heavily-bootlegged BRAINFREEZE , Chali 2na & Roc 'C's Ron Artiste' super-group, and Jurassic 5 's "last" album, Feedback , r...

"So, tomorrow, my first single in over a decade will be available everywhere. Throughout this layoff, there's been pain, self-sabotage, tears, missed opportunities, waiting, more waiting, distrust, frustration, salvation, hard work, love, setbacks, and finally, the blessing to make the album of my dream," LA -based "Ho-Wop" crooner Eamon wrote within a heart-felt Facebook post this past Thursday afternoon. "Be My Girl" is Eamon 's first single in over a decade, his first since "(How Could You) Bring Him Home?" from his 2006 sophomore album, Love & Pain . Many of you, much like myself, may remember Eamon from his break-out hit for Jive Records , "F**k It (I Don't Want You Back)" released back in 2006, which I believe was one of the first radio hits I had ever heard with a [bleeped out] curse word. "I'm back with a hunger like I haven't had since I was a 10-year-old kid singing with my father and the...

Full disclosure: Lions producer-guitarist and founding member Dan Ubick and I are friends, frequent collaborators, and mutual fans of each others' collected bodies of work (or at least, I would like to think so). With that said, it's really a no-brainer that nearly any given time Ubick and his number of creative outlets decide to unleash genre-blending music upon the unsuspecting world, I'm ecstatic to have the opportunity to write a piece centered around it; I've previously had the wonderful opportunity to interview Dan twice before, coinciding with the releases of The Lions' This Generation and Soul Riot, as well as having the coveted honor to premier their Ross Harris-directed Clash re-interpretation, "The Magnificent Dance." In addition to The Lions and former Stones Throw-signed Funk/Breakbeat group Breakestra, Ubick has been fortunate enough to work with everyone from Snoop Lion to storied emcee Big Daddy Kane and even formed his own The Beatles/S...

Guilty Simpson is a seasoned Motor City street-worn, hard as nails emcee, yet quite surprisingly, one of the most genuine, nicest artists I've ever encountered during my 5+ years running The Witzard . Simpson has quietly released a number of nearly flawless albums produced by Madlib , Oh No, Apollo Brown , an ill-fated and ultimately, scrapped album co-produced by J Dilla & Mr. Porter , a 6-song EP recorded with Small Professor, and most recently, my absolute favorite album of 2015, Detroit's Son helmed by Australian producer, Katalyst . I would almost personally attest, as a long-time Guilty Simpson fan and Stones Throw supporter, that his collective non-album material is arguably just as strong, if not even stronger, than his crop of full-length albums; throughout the course of his sprawling 25-year career, Guilty has unleashed acclaimed one-offs with the likes of the late great Dilla , who somehow managed to clear samples of James Brown and The Beatles, Jazz-mi...

"For a while now, Guilty Simpson has been working on a new album with Katalyst of Quakers, the 30+ member rap supergroup who came out on Stones Throw a couple years ago. Expect an album soon. Until then, here's one fresh from the lab – "Vanguard Organization,"' reads Stones Throw's latest press release uploaded earlier today; a mere uncanny, perfectly-timed coincidence, Stones Throw have unleashed Guilty Simpson's "Vanguard Organization," which he self-describes as "a throw-away cut [that] isn't on the album," as I've concurrently been piecing together an all-inclusive 15-question interview for this very site. The Detroit native whose actively preparing his second full-length for Stones Throw, DETROIT'S SON, candidly covers everything from his "lost" 2005 album recorded with J Dilla, being mentioned in the same sentence as Radiohead, the current status of OJ Simpson 2 and Random Axe 2, working with elusive emce...

"This new batch of tunes came straight from the heart on all fronts. With everything that's going on today we wanted to make an album that speaks to peoples emotions and frustrations while also giving them a chance to dance and release some stress," lamented Lions producer, guitarist, and master-mind Dan Ubick. His LA-based 12-member+ Reggae revival group, The Lions, are gearing up to unleash their third genre-blending album, Soul Riot on Stones Throw this upcoming February 10th. While I previously conducted an in-depth interview with Ubick a couple years back to coincide with This Generation, I couldn't resist the opportunity to publish yet another all-inclusive 12-part Q&A. The Lions' 2LP Soul Riot album is currently available for pre-order over at the Stones Throw Store weeks ahead of its proper release; I must admit, I've been spinnin' an advance copy for a week or so now, and it's definitely something worth picking up for seasoned and new-fo...