The Witzard

Trenton, NJ -based rapper Raymond "Ray" Strife recently reached out to me, via email after seeing my write-up on JE DOUBLE F 's HUMAN RITES teaser single, "JAGGED EDGE." I believe I actually got in touch with Jeff due in part to (or maybe even because of) my recent work with fellow East Coast emcees Height Keech and Darko The Super affiliates, STATIC BROTHERS . Ray Strife & JE DOUBLE F are both founding members of Trenton -bred Rap crew DKFG , which additionally includes Kahlil Ali , RayRayBeats, Luis , Roebus One, Wade Wilson , Cody Jones, Dready Mercury , Ill-Omega, and Cornelius The Third . " Raymond Strife used to play in Punk bands, until the iPod was invented and replaced musicians. Strife isn't actually his last name. Reads lots of comic books, but gets laid more than most nerds who read lots of comic books," Ray Strife 's rather brief, yet fitting Bandcamp description details; included within for FREE or Name-Your-Pri...

"Fast, chaotic songs with no frills. Heavy touring schedule and DIY ethics; if Danzig met DOOM , you'd have JE DOUBLE F ," reads a fragmented chunk of a recent press release I received from Atlantic City, NJ -based Punk rapper JE DOUBLE F . Jeff Richie has previously worked with Pittsburgh emcee Cody Jones (formerly Stillborn Identity ), fronts a Nihilist New Wave/Punk band called TUFF TURF , and was recently cited by Static Brothers' Riff Quantum & DJ DM as a primary source of influence on their latest OBSTETRIC TRASH EP . Richie readily cites his own greatest sources of influence as Glenn Danzig , Bruce Campbell, Larry David , and Bruce Springsteen . "'JAGGED EDGE" is mainly influenced by the current political and social climate in the United States . People make a choice and then complain about the result, as if someone made that decision for them. "Personal responsibility" is considered a bad term and young people seem to love ...

"'The Last Working Dinosaur" is the first single by Cody Jones (formerly Stillborn Identity ) from his upcoming project, Out with The Old, In With The New. Follow Your Heart & You’ll End Up Alone . Cody had been listening to a lot of Serengeti , at the time and was drawn to the idea of his writing not being confined by events and thoughts that were literally true. The theme of the track is inspired by his working relationship with his dad, who he saw doing everything a very "old school" way at Northgate Auto Body , the garage he [has] owned and worked in for the last 30 years," Cody Jones wrote within a recent press release. I first met Cody Jones (then still Stillborn Identity ) through beatsmith John "Jumbled" Bachman , like many Baltimore and Philly area rappers and producers I've worked with over the course of the last year or so; "should've stayed in school—maybe been a journalist or blogger, but now I'm runnin...