The Witzard

As many of you may know, this past Friday was Bandcamp Friday, wherein Bandcamp decide to waive their artist fees, graciously giving artists 100% of their profits accrued over a 24-hour period. My wife and I had a baby appointment on Friday, but I posted a comprehensive Twitter THREAD containing noteworthy new releases. Plus, I personally supported nine different artists spending $40 in total on Friday alone. This was the second time Bandcamp has done such Bandcamp Fridays events amidst these uncertain time and I hear, there are already plans to do another one in June. So, even though this month's Bandcamp Friday has already passed, your favorite Indie/underground artists could still use you support! We've decided to run a couple features spotlighting some of our favorite artists, albums, EP's, mixtapes, genres, etc. right here on The Witzard! We're calling it Best of Bandcamp and this inaugural edition will spotlight Bandcamp-only beat tapes released in recent weeks...

Airic "Tranzformer" Estala is a San Diego -based producer, emcee, beat-maker, and Punk Rock/Experimental artist born in raised in El Centro, California . Estala has previously collaborated with Blu , J57, Blame One , Guilty Simpson, Frank-N-Dank , ILL BILL, Rick Gonzalez , Planet Asia, Johaz , CashUs King FKA Co$$, Koncept , and more. Tranzformer is affiliated with producer J57 's newly-launched FiveSe7en Collective (@FiveSe7enCollective,) New York -based record label and digital distributor Soulspazm Records (@Soulspazm,) and his own label imprint, Dirty Dome Records (@dirty_dome_records_.) Since launching his Bandcamp page around 2013, Tranzformer has self-released a staggering 29 projects, be they beat tapes, albums, mixtapes, singles, or EP's. For the purposes of The Witzard 's introductory feature on Tranzformer & Dirty Dome Records, I would, however, like to primarily focus on Tranz 's currently released and as-yet-unreleased body of work w...

" Dilla spent the better part of 2002 working on an album for MCA that featured his rapping over contributions from other producers with whom he had connected and whose music he respected. At the time, he was known primarily for his beats, yet reviled for his [emceeing] by mist anyone not from his hometown of Detroit . The project was to be an intentional freak of the industry," Chicago writer and film-maker Ronnie Reese wrote within his liner notes accompanying Stones Throw 's 2007 expanded re-issue of Ruff Draft EP . J Dilla 's ultimately scrapped and indefinitely shelved '02 MCA Album , or "Pay Jay," as it's long been referred, was recorded between his widely underrated BBE solo debut Welcome 2 Detroit and adventurous stylistic shift that materialized across Ruff Draft EP during his relocation from Detroit to LA . " Dilla had agreed to a one-year contract on MCA with an option for a second, provided he produced two accepted releas...

"The Throwaway" was either lifted off an old mid-90's Beat CD or DAT, which might've come from J Dilla 's hometown storage locker that Jeff Bubeck infamously stumbled upon last April. After a little bit of Internet-fueled confusion, Dilla's personal effects were rightfully returned to his mother, Maureen "Ma Dukes" Yancey - This including: nearly 8,000 vinyl LP's, pieces of mail, Slum Village paperwork, hand-written notes, and a gaggle of cassette/Beat CD-R's, etc. "The Throwaway" is out first audio-file snippet from Delicious Vinyl 's upcoming Frank Nitt -orchestrated Yancey Boys album, "The Lost Scrolls" (2013). It's the fifth posthumous J Dilla release... right behind The Shining , Jay Love Japan EP, Jay Stay Paid , and Rebirth of Detroit. Frank Nitt and J Dilla 's little brother, Illa J , decided to cruise around LA and visit some of Dilla's favoutite sun-soaked landmarks, which Josh Polon e...

Back in 2004, Raphael Saadiq opened his studio doors to Spacek (band) to produce an album for one of his sub-labels. The album was supposed to be called "Pookie Blue Room" and feature 10 songs produced by both Steve & Morgan [Spacek] with Raphael singing on all of them and featuring guest appearances by Common, Q-Tip, Ledisi , Steve Spacek , and Sir [Fonzworth] Bentley . Anyhow, the album was never completed and therefore, never released. As one of the executive producer of this album, I have been sitting on those tracks for years now... sharing my fav with you now. - Mathieu Schreyer (executive producer)