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...

Following the recent announcement of his sophomore album, Get On The Otherside, Helsinki-born artist Bobby Oroza shares a new single and accompanying video, "Sweet Agony." The 12-track album will feature the new single, closely following the quasi-title track, "The Otherside," and the string of singles released last year, including "Make Me Believe," " I Got Love," and "Loving Body." The visual for "Sweet Agony," which Bobby directed and edited himself, plays out like a nightmarish audition tape where he casts himself as a vampire with aspirations of being a performer, singing the soulful ballad to a group of unimpressed talent agents. The song itself mirrors that vulnerability, addressing the tug at the heart that comes with longing for someone dear, and acknowledges the sweet side of such intense emotions. Having conquered "The Otherside," Bobby Oroza returns to cast another spell of Dreamboat Soul and achingl...

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...

Nite Owl's Theme (feat. Ai-Que & Reef The Lost Cauze) by Rolled Gold I'm not entirely sure what's the best aspect about Philly -bred producer Harry Metz AKA Rolled Gold : that his name is an allusion to delicious pretzel company Rold Gold , his logo is an upside down cigar-smoking pretzel, or that he makes infectious Jazzy Blues/Soul -inflected Hip-Hop beats. While remaining largely silent throughout 2017, Rolled Gold has returned to dominate 2018 with his unique hard as nails sour dough brand of Hip-Hop . Barely two months into 2018, Harry Metz recently told The Witzard about a slew of beat-twisting projects he currently has in store for this year; already having properly re-released an abridged version of his 2016 SALTY EP re-titled SALTY (3P) and effectively, trimming it back to a concise 3-track collection. Now, not even a full week later, Rolled Gold has already re-surfaced to unleash a vocal-assisted version of his 2016 single, "Nite Owl's Them...

"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 , ...

"I've spent enough time thinking about [making songs for radio] with The Black Keys , not that we ever wrote songs just for radio. I just don't want to ever think about that stuff again. With The Arcs , we were just trying to make music that loves up to the kinds of standards that we love: old soul records, Captain Beefheart , newer Hip-Hop records. The songs are really experimental, but not over your head," Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach recently told Rolling Stone . Auerbach unleashed The Arcs' debut boxing-inspired single, "Stay In My Corner," back on May 2nd to coincide with Mayweather & Pacquiao 's monumental prize fight; in addition to all-female Brooklyn mariachi band Mariachi Flor de Toloache , The Arcs additionally showcases the musical talents of long-time studio buddies Leon Michels , Richard Swift, Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon , and Kenny Vaughan . Initially billed as a Dan Auerbach "solo" album, the newly-assemb...