The Witzard

James Blake is a London -based First Wave Dubstep super-producer; one of the genre's originators, before it got all Americanized , club-ready, and alcohol-infused (ie: Skrillex ha). Blake has always kinda seemed like an on-looking Hip-Hop supporter/closet fan... he actually unleashed a series of white label 12" Harmonimix[es] prior to his self-titled debut: Lil' Wayne , Destiny's Child, Snoop Dogg , and handsome hermit D'Angelo. After working with master swordsman RZA on his second album Overgrown , James Blake recently recruited hyper-rhyming Chicago upstart, Chance The Rapper to help remix "Life Round Here." It's supposedly the "first of many songs with @jamesblake ," if Chance The Rapper 's righteous Twitter feed is to be believed; Blake told Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe Tuesday morning that the track was re-recorded post- SXSW and lamented that "[He] never really felt the track was finished; even when it went on the album...

James Blake 's music has always had an underlying, vaguely Hip-Hop feel to it; from his early Harmonimix tracks to his work with Grime rapper, Trim . But now, it seems like Blake is fully embracing his inner beatsmith on his upcoming sophomore album, Overgrown ... having worked with legendary Wu-Tang Clan emcee/producer RZA , sampling Big Boi for a bonus track , and most likely logging some studio time with Kendrick Lamar in the near future. James Blake recently linked up with former R&S Records manager, Dan Foat to form a new imprint, which has been dubbed 1-800-DINOSAUR . Overgrown hits shelves next week, April 8-9th and it will be their second (first major) release. James Blake lamented, "It was like sending it for mastering. It was like, 'Just see what comes back.' [RZA] really nailed it though. I mean, he's obviously a consummate professional. He also did it with such a level of intimacy and sensitivity that I got it back and I got shivers,...

James Blake is basically the "Iggy Pop" of imported First Wave Dubstep , before it got all sugar-coated and mainstream [corny]. While it's a little unclear as to when it was originally stripped down and mixed together, "Confidence Boost" is a James Blake Harmonimix of a track that was first released back on Soulfood, Vol. 2: Lyriks (2007). Blake has brutally remixed Grime emcee Trim 's hard-hitting composition into something completely different... Skrillex could definitely learn a few things! Although, Pitchfork went on to point out that this isn't just a mere remix, it's a newly-recorded, suped-up version. Let's just call it "Confidence Boost (2.0)," for argument's sake and man, this is a CRAZY/cool breed of Hip-Hop that's in a category all of it's own! James Blake is quite arguably the most Soulful white dude in contemporary music since Hall & Oates made their ever-lasting mark on Soft Rock back in the...

It's fairly safe to assume that by now, most of us have heard about D'Angelo 's well-received European "Comeback Tour" and impending, triumphant return after a 12-year self-imposed exile. This is your typical quick rise, great success... EPIC fall, drug problem, arrest(s), companion rumor mill, and long-awaited comeback story. I faintly can remember watching "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" on either MTV or The Box back in like 7-8th grade and not really knowing what to think. It was a suggestive music video which had potential to be pretty "scarring," but look how I turned out: Well-grounded and open-minded nonetheless ha. I can quite honestly say that D'Angelo was my first favourite R&B crooner ! Arguably the break-out "King of Dubstep" (2010-11), James Blake is roughly the same age as me and I bet he saw D'Angelo 's batch of Brown Sugar-Voodoo era music videos on British TV , too. Anyways, fast-forward to pre...

VICE loves to party. And so does Snoop Dogg . For its newest video series, "PARTY LEGENDS," VICE teamed up with the upcoming feature film, Project X , and rounded up its favorite celebrities with legendary party pasts; Asking them to tell us their most ridiculous party stories... then we animated them. Boom! In the first [episode] of VICE 's "PARTY LEGENDS," Snoop Dogg goes to the Playboy Mansion , hangs with some Bunnies , drinks from his Pimp Cup , and then SHIT HITS THE FAN. - Meka @ 2dopeboyz

Initially assumed to be a musical alias of James Blake , as a result of corresponding stylistic nuances... it has since been proven that Ifan Dafydd is in fact Blake's cousin/ex-flatmate [college buddy]. Ifan Dafydd's premier track is essentially Dubstep -drenched, sample-based Funky affair; "No Good" skillfully employs and re-purposes a sampled chuck lifted from Amy Winehouse 's Dap-Kings-assisted "You Know I'm No Good" (2007). In what seems to be an eerily [in]appropriate sheer coincidence, "No Good" was released to the masses in August 2011 - During the timeframe just after Winehouse's all too sudden death. But with that said, I think it's a fitting "tribute" and final bow , of sorts. In the day & age of mass over-exposure, Ifan Dafydd is a rarity. A true mystery of a man, the Wales -bred Dance producer is currently prepping his debut release for Push & Run , Treehouse EP (Jan. 30-31st). Dafydd's onl...