The Witzard

Actor/Director Kevin Smith (SOURCE: The Last Blockbuster) The Last Blockbuster is a fun, nostalgic look back at the era of video rentals and the story of how one small town video store managed to outlast a corporate giant. Featuring interviews with comedians and celebrities with ties to Blockbuster: Adam Brody (The O.C. Jennifer's Body,) Ione Skye (Say Anything, Wayne's World,) Doug Benson (Getting Doug with High, The LEGO Batman Movie,) Paul Scheer (The League, Veep,) and director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Jay & Silent Bob) with narration by Lauren Lapkus (The Wrong Missy, Orange Is The New Black.) Filmmakers Taylor Morden & Zeke Kamm follow the manager of the worlds sole remaining Blockbuster in Bend, OR, Sandi Harding, as she reflects on the store's vibrant past and navigates the difficult task of keeping a video rental store open in the era of streaming. Taking us through the history and subsequent rise and fall of the franchise, the documentary reveals the real ...

A couple months ago, Eminem surprise released his tenth studio album, Kamikaze , overnight between Thursday, August 30th into the early morning hours of Friday, August 31st with no prior announcement whatsoever. Kamikaze first caught my attention because of its front and back album artwork, an obvious homage to the Beastie Boys' genre-shaping 1986 debut, License to Ill , complete with cleverly scrawled "TIKCU5" and "FU-2" fighter jet tags. An obvious rebuttal to Eminem 's widely-loathed and seemingly half-a$$ed 2017 album, Revival , Kamikaze , however, made headlines for homophobic slurs on Justin Vernon -assisted "Fall" allegedly, aimed towards controversial rapper/producer Tyler, The Creator . While, yes, this is unfortunate Em is still using such homophobic slurs in 2018, honestly, is anyone really all that surprised? Not that it makes it right, but Eminem has, unfortunately, been using racial, homophobic, misogynistic, and hateful speec...

Death By Misadventure by Conway X Sonnyjim Conway is a Buffalo -bred emcee, Wrestle-Rap enthusiast, and one half of Hall N' Nash with his rapping brother Westside Gunn . Last year, both Conway FKA Conway The Machine & Westside Gunn and their Griselda Records (GxFR) imprint/roster signed an exclusive deal with Eminem 's Shady Records/Universal Music Group . Following a string of critically-acclaimed releases and Wrestle/Rap -inflected guest appearances, Westside Gunn & Conway have temporarily "split" to issue a number of solo and collaborative releases: most recently, Westside Gunn 's March-released, Mr. Green -produced FLYGOD Is God... All The Time EP and Conway 's just-released, SONNYJIM -helmed Death By Misadventure EP . SONNYJIM is, of course, a UK -based emcee and producer whose name you may very well recognize from his recent collaborative outing with Chicago sharp-spitter Vic Spencer , Spencer FOR HIGHER . " Death By Misadventur...

Let me just preface this week's slightly abridged edition of The Witzard's Week In Rap by first explaining that while I could be covering Kanye 's "newly updated, remixed, and remastered version" of haphazardly-assembled steaming pile of s*it The Life of Pablo , I'm not even going to be giving his second of what could likely end up being umpteenth mixes, recently dubbed a "continuous process" by Def Jam , the sheer satisfaction of even buying into and covering it; however, with that said, his Sampha -assisted "Saint Pablo" (formerly titled "Closest Thing to Einstein" ) from his second of three rumored in-the-works albums, Turbo Grafx 16 , is likely as strong, lyrically verbose, and dare I say, self-reflective as Kanye 's sounded since Jay Z -helmed Watch The Throne or even 808's & Heartbreak . For what it's worth, a couple contenders for "honorable mentions" released sporadically throughout the week s...

Just mere hours after somewhat cryptically Tweeting, "BLUE CHIPS & BLUE CHIPS 2... RARE CHANDELIERS ON VINYL?" Action Bronson (aka Mr. BAKLAVA) premiered the first episode of his latest non-musical endeavor, F#ck, That's Delicious ; VICE 's newly-established online food network, Munchies has partnered up with the gourmet chef turned-rapper for a monthly updated web-series "dealing with the often rapped about dining habits of our favorite rapper, Action Bronson ." It was seemingly filmed during Bronson's string of New Zealand , South African, and Australian dates in support of Eminem 's recently wrapped Rapture Tour . What they've managed to capture within is Action Bronson 's New York homecoming from a world-wide tour that initially started back in January; while on his jet-setting journey (further detailed across Adventure Time ), he dove off the top of a giant sail boat/yacht, got seasick while amidst a gourmet dinner, jumped int...

Action Bronson is currently hard at work recording his long-awaited major label debut for VICE Records , which is only a fragmented section of a huge multi-media company that's presently involved in world news, music, fashion, network TV, and now foodie culture. The offspring of an Albanian immigrant and Jewish New Yorker , Bronson was a former New York -area gourmet chef before he started rapping just about six years ago. Now, Action Bronson has teamed back up with newly-formed VICE MUNCHIES for what's poised to be a quasi-follow-up to their ill-fated series, VICE Eats ; F*ck, That's Delicious will debut online this May and intends to "capture Action's culinary adventures on his on-going world tour." MUNCHIES uploaded an all-too-brief trailer early Monday morning and judging by said trailer, episode 1 will likely highlight dining spots he discovered while on Eminem 's recent Rapture Tour through New Zealand , Australia, and South Africa . While it...

Rare Chandeliers sample mastermind and former Eminem in-house producer The Alchemist has already released two full-length projects so far this year and is gearing up to unleash a third; The Good Book is the unofficial follow-up to critically-acclimated Lord Steppington and Albert Einstein . Get On Down currently has The Good Book available for pre-order in a number of Bible -inspired formats, ahead of it's planned April 11th wide-release. Alchemist further described The Good Book as a "double album audio collage [where] I did one side and my bro Budgie did the other." They've prepared two exclusive physical versions, 1000 Bible -like packages with a 2-CD stash spot and 50 deluxe editions complete with a MicroG G-Pen and a copy of the BAU All Is Fair album. Along with the proper album announcement, BAU Music released a second single from The Alchemist 's side of the project, "With My Soul" assisted by buddies Action Bronson, A$ton Matthew...

Former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page Tweeted "on this day, Biggie Smalls " along with a web-link Friday morning; He's pieced together what kinda sounds like a semi-unfinished mash-up between "Hypnotize" and "Ramble On" that's been dubbed "Ramblize." 90's Hip-Hop heads might recall that this isn't exactly Page's first forre into Hip-Hop , as he previously re-recorded parts of "Kashmir" for Godzilla break-out hit, "Come with Me" with none other than Puff Daddy [included below]. "Ramblize" somehow teeters that fine line, where if it sucked (which it doesn't), it'd still be pretty cool simply because of the sheer fact that Jimmy Page remixed a Biggie track! From what I understand, Page recently uploaded a similar Snoop Dogg/Led Zeppelin mash-up of "Drop It Like It's Hot" (credited to Led Dogg ). Lest we forget, Led Zepplin 's now-deceased mondo-drummer Joh...

Download Mixtape Just in time for All Hallow's Eve , Yelawolf & DJ Paul unleashed a 5-track FreEP, Black Fall late Wednesday night. The former Three 6 Mafia producer crafted some pretty sinister-sounding beats using primarily Rock & Metal samples; so far, I've heard Metallica , Pink Floyd, Muse , Michael Jackson, and Black Sabbath (Dio) . I never really used to like Yelawolf 's hillbilly-tinged brand of Southern Hip-Hop , until I heard his genre-blending collaboration with singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran , The Slumdon Bridge EP . It's a truly timeless Alt. Hip-Hop EP that I would've gladly paid good money for and I guess Travis Barker & Eminem 's separate Yelawolf co-signs didn't hurt either. Leaked pre-release single "Light Switch" expertly manages to sample English Prog-Rock band Muse 's radio-friendly hit "Uprising," while elsewhere, "Thriller" and Pink Floyd are sampled on one track. Yelawolf &...

"Guess who's REALLY back? #VMAs ," Eminem Tweeted along with a KAWS -designed logo before the start of the 30th annual MTV VMA's ; while " Miley Cyrus was still TWERKIN,'" Justin Timberlake reunited with N'SYNC , Kanye performed under a lynching tree, Lady GaGa showed off her new-found fat ass, and Katy Perry closed out the show from a boxing ring/stage under the Brooklyn Bridge ... Eminem revealed news that he's prepping The Marshall Mathers LP 2 for a November 5th release (Shady Aftermath) . Eager and unknowing fans were treated to 2 Beats By Dre/Eminem commercials throughout the live broadcast, 15 and 30-second teasers between 9-11pm. Included within the #NewBeatsStudio commercials was a track preview presumably titled, "Berzerk," which is set for a wide release this upcoming Tuesday, August 27th. It seems as though Eminem has resurrected his angst-filled bleach blonde Slim Shady alter-ego, who's been largely in...

Whether or not it's actually factual, Tyler, The Creator Tweeted: "LISTENING TO LIL B WITH KING KRULE . GAY HUMOR WITH EMINEM . "HOE CAKES" BY MF DOOM LIVE. ALL IN LIKE 72 HOURS. MY LIFE IS SO NASTY!" Saturday evening. It's also worth noting that Odd Future 's semi-mysterious feliciathegoat Instagram handle posted a candid shot of Tyler, Earl & King Krule along with the caption, "OUT GETTING RIBS. GO GET KRULE'S NEW ALBUM, [6 Feet Beneath The Moon] ." 19-year-old King Krule 's just-released album definitely seems to have Tyler, The Creator 's approval; Archy Marshall 's debut album under the "King Krule" moniker was quietly unleashed on his birthday, August 24th, although he's released various projects under a few different now-retired monikers... Zoo Kid , Edgar The Beatmaker, and DJ JD Sports . True Panther/XL Recordings unveiled 2 teaser singles earlier this month, "Easy, Easy" and ...

While he's arguably years past his heyday, Marshall "Eminem" Mathers really set the stage for white-bred rappers and seems to have inspired a whole new generation's-worth of angry young white men: Atmosphere , Macklemore, RiFF RAFF , Asher Roth , Mac Miller, Action Bronson , etc. Mac Miller just never really seemed interesting enough for me to wanna check out. But it looks like he's starting to align himself with a slew of genuinely skilled rappers/producers that includes Earl Sweatshirt , Ab-Soul, Freddie Gibbs , Hodgy Beats, ScHoolboy Q , Thundercat, Pharrell , and executive producer Diplo. Mac Miller 's become a lot more interesting since he started releasing material under his assorted Larry Fisherman , Larry Dollaz, and Larry Lovestein & The Velvet Revival aliases, too. We're talkin' about beautiful Bright Eyes and Elliott Smith covers, hard-hitting Hip-Hop beats, a 5-track Jazz EP, and an instrumental mixtape called Run-on Sentences (...

Almost effortlessly cruisin' down the same nautical, boatshoed lane as Yacht Rock pioneers like Christopher Cross , Steely Dan, Beach Boys , and Hall & Oates, The Alchemist quietly released one long 12-minute track [EP] appropriately dubbed "YACHT ROCK (Side A-B)" late Wednesday afternoon. It's pretty much the perfect soundtrack for throwing back a few boat-side brews, which might've been partially inspired by The Alchemist 's fruitful shades/readers partnership with 9FIVE Eyewear ; Hypebeast eloquently describes the glasses as " 9FIVE Watson frames [with] a custom black and grey pattern added to the outer portions with red leather wrapped around the temple tips. The sunglasses variant receives polarized black lenses, while the reader model features clear CR-39 lenses." Now, while that all sounds pretty TIGHT, $150's a little steep for 2 pairs of glasses, a fancy striped box, and a RARE 7-inch record... So, The Alchemist has libera...

As rap supergroup Slaughterhouse - Joe Budden, Crooked I, Joell Ortiz , and Royce da 5'9" - pres. their second studio album for late Summer release. Here's a remix of their recent single, "Hammer Dance" put together by El-P . He turns it into a raucous, scratch-laden party-starter, conjuring the maximalist feel of late 80's/early 90's Rap and Dance music. It's awesome! ... Welcome To: OUR HOUSE is out 8/28 on Shady Records . Read our recent interview with El-P on the subject of file-sharing here . - Corban Goble (Stereogum)

While they might sound like an unlikely pairing on paper, Ed Sheeran & Yelawolf actually have a whole lot more in common than you could ever even imagine. Surely "BIG" on their respective shores (England/Alabama), The Slumdon Bridge EP just might push these 2 up-and-comers into uncharted waters on either side of "The Pond." These new-found musical buddies wrote, recorded, and re-mixed 4 tracks over the course of 10 hours-worth of stashed studio time. A genuine mutual admiration really seems to exist between multi-instrumentalist and Redneck rapper . Early favourites from the painfully brief Slumdon Bridge EP include: "London Bridge" and "You Don't Know (For F*ck's Sake)." The best term that I can possibly begin to find to describe The Slumdon Bridge EP is "Alternative Hip-Hop;" Here, we have 4 home-grown, Down Country acoustic Hip-Hop jams - properly laced and flourished by Yelawolf 's very distinctively acce...

Whether you love or hate his music... one can @ least acknowledge the fact that Rob "Vanilla Ice" Van Winkle has been one of Pop Culture 's most consistent figure-heads for the bulk of the last 20-some odd years. Now, we all know and love "Ice Ice Baby" and... well, yeah, that's really it. Onlookers from both sides of the coin can most likely relate a story of great joy and/or disdain to Vanilla Ice 's 1990 break-out single. if nothing else, Van Winkle seems to be a driven, hard-working entertainer, who has ultimately re-invented himself time and time again. Vanilla Ice was essentially one of the first white rappers to break into the mainstream market, along with the Beastie Boys , of course. "Ice Ice Baby" is based around a sampled chunk quite notoriously pulled from Queen + David Bowie 's cross-over hit, "Under Pressure" (1981). Vanilla Ice has always teetered the fine line between irony and reality. naturally, Ice and hi...

Hip-Hop "Beef" is essentially a long-forgotten art form/promotional exercise. Infamous beefs of the per-Internet Golden Boom-Bap Era (1980-90's) include: 2pac-Biggie , Nas-Jay-Z , "The Bridge Wars," LL Cool J-Kool Moe Dee , and "The Roxanne Saga." A carefully designed marketing tool, beef is usually kick-started when one rapper does/says something that the other doesn't exactly agree with. Beefs are usually all in good fun and most times, end in a truce... One exception however, is the tragic deaths of former friends, 2pac & Biggie . Recent Internet -based beefs have included: Kanye-50 Cent , Nicki Minaj-Lil Kim , [The] Game -everyone, Eminem-Canibus (Mariah Carey) . In what may very well be the first size-able Hip-Hop beef of 2012, Common released a diss track aimed @ Drake just yesterday afternoon. Common-Drake 's feud stems back to Nov. 2011 when Common released "Sweet." The third single from The Dreamer/The Believer n...

"I'm On Everything" is the newest track unveiled from Eminem and Royce da 5'9" (Slaughterhouse) - Collectively known as "Bad Meets Evil." The Detroit natives/recently reconciled friends were originally active from 1998-2002... and essentially re-grouped when Slaughterhouse recently signed to Marshalls' Shady Records . June 14's Hell: The Sequel EP will be the first legitimate release from the "Motor City" team, as they had previously only appeared together on featured tracks in their first incarnation. The second track released from the collection, "I'm On Everything" appears to be a homage to The Hangover [2] 's hard-partying ways. It features production from Mr. Porter (D12's very own Kon Artis ) and a sampled bit/"hook" from stand-up comedian, Mike Epps - "Black Doug." Be on the look-out for the Syndrome -directed "Fast Lane" music video, which will reportedly be unlea...