The Witzard

"Me & my friend @quellechrist got one for @mellomusicgroup compilation called Bushido. Animation by Quelle [Chris] 🔮" Alchemist (@alanthechemist) posted on Instagram Wednesday afternoon. Alchemist has been on quite a roll lately, having produced the entirety of billy woods & E L U C I D's latest beloved album, Haram, as Armand Hammer and his own Carry The Fire EP this year. Last year alone, The Alchemist released full-length projects with Boldy James, Freddie Gibbs, and Conway The Machine, as well as his own The Food Villain and A Doctor, A Painter & An Alchemist Walk Into A Bar all on his own ALC Records . While they have yet to release a full-length project together (but fingers crossed!) it appears as though Quelle Chris & The Alchemist have been friends or, at least, acquaintances since about 2013. Alchemist appears on Quelle Chris-produced "PRX" alongside Guilty Simpson from 2013 album, Ghost At The Finish Line. Being You Is Great,...

"Homeboy Sandman's favorite song is "Knocks Me Off My Feet" by Stevie Wonder. His second favorite song is "I Know You, I Live You" by Chaka Khan. His favorite Michael Jackson song is "Lady In My Life." He prefers [A Tribe Called Quest's] Low End Theory to Midnight Marauders, but adores both," details Sandman's Bandcamp page. Homeboy Sandman's two most recent albums—Dusty produced by long-time collaborator Mono En Stereo (formerly rthentic RTNC) and Don't Feed The Monster entirely produced by Quelle Chris—were released by Mello Music Group. Prior to those aforementioned 2019-20 releases, Sandman had long been signed to Stones Throw Records, who issued his albums First of A Living Breed, Hallways, Kindness for Weakness, and Veins between 2012-17. Stones Throw additionally released a handful of Homeboy Sandman EP's including Chimera, Subject: Matter, All That I Hold Dear, Kool Herc: Fertile Crescent, White Sands, hi...

"My kitchen got more ZZ Top records in it than yours... Link to 5+ minutes of elite rhyming by my brother @yourolddroog in The Bio..." Edan (@edanexists) posted on his Instagram page yesterday afternoon. "Witch In The Kitchen" (Episode 1) is just the latest collaboration from reclusive, yet extremely prolific rapper/producer/DJ Edan and Brooklyn -bred Ukrainian-American emcee Your Old Droog . Edan previously produced/co-produced four tracks on Droog 's 2017 major label debut, PACKS for FatBeats . Edan , also, played guitar on the RTNC -produced title track from Your Old Droog & Wiki 's 2017 collaborative EP, What Happened To Fire? While the original track was produced by recent Bun B collaborator Statik Selektah , there's video online of Your Old Droog, Wiki & Edan rehearsing "Vigilantes" together before a June 2017 Red Bull Sound Select Presents performance at The Knitting Factory . However, it appears as though "Wi...

Ben Boogz, along with his production partner Deep, has been a long-time collaborator and affiliate of Stones Throw emcee, Homeboy Sandman. I can remember, long before Sandman ever signed with Stones Throw, hearing 2 Hungry Bros.-produced "The Carpenter" from his 2010 album, The Good Sun; I was still getting my feet wet with Hip-Hop and deciding what I did and didn't like, but I can distinctly remember having my mind blown by Homeboy Sandman's seemingly effortless rhymes weaving through 2HB's Jazzy, horn-accented beat. Fast-forward a few years to 2017: Ben Boogz of 2 Hungry Bros. produced "Pizza & Burgers" from Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman's third collaborative EP for Stones Throw/Rhymesayers, TRIPLE FAT LICE. Somehow, I was lucky enough to effectively link up with Ben Boogz and conduct an impromptu 16-question interview on "Pizza & Burgers," via Facebook Messenger AKA a FB DM Q&A. Ben has since released a Valentine'...

Bar for bar, Homeboy Sandman is easily, one of the most talented and somehow still, criminally under-rated emcees in all of Hip-Hop ! I've personally been a Sandman fan since his 2012 Stones Throw debut, First of a Living Breed and since, he's worked with the likes of Blu , Jonwayne, Paul White , Jake One, L'Orange , 2 Hungry Bros. RJD2 , Mono En Stereo FKA El RTNC, 88-Keys , and maybe, most notably, Aesop Rock ; between 2015-17, Aesop & Sand infested the masses with Lice , Lice 2: Still Buggin' and Triple Fat Lice to wide-spread critical and fan acclaim. While we're still waiting for a proper Lice full-length, Homeboy Sandman has teamed up with kindred spirit, Brooklyn -based DJ, producer, and emcee, Edan , for a brand spankin' new collaborative effort. Edan is arguably, one of the greatest and most eclectic artists in all of Hip-Hop and while he hasn't released a proper album since 2005's Beauty & The Beat , he's been moderately a...

Not long after publishing my review of Henry Canyons' La Côte West EP on The Witzard a couple months ago, I was fortunate enough to speak with Henry on the phone; it was at this point, which we formulated a tentative roll-out plan to publish this very interview. Henry Canyons was kind enough to send em a private Soundcloud stream of his then-unreleased album, Cool Side of The Pillow ("Cool Side," for short) and needless to say, I haven't stopped listening to the album since. Cool Side of The Pillow has since been released on billy woods' imprint, Backwoodz Studioz and was received to wide-spread critical/fan acclaim across "Rap Twitter." I'll personally, go as far as to say, Henry Canyons and his long-time friend and producer Matt "Bones" Bowen cooked up a solid contender for 2018's Album of The Year. It's easily one of the most simple, easy-listening, yet complex albums I've heard in a long time. "Bones" effortlessl...

Last month, Stones Throw (@stonesthrow) mysteriously posted " @edanexists & @homeboysandman are working on some music together, which will debut at our SXSW showcase this Friday" on their Instagram page, which has since garnered 2,667+ Likes. As should be expect, for anyone interested in Indie/Underground Hip-Hop , a few of my writer friends and I went nuts on Rap Twitter . About for weeks have passed with no additional mention of Sandman & Edan 's rumored collaborative efforts from Stones Throw . Just this morning, on a whim, I decided to check Stones Throw 's home page and BAM! there it was: "Homeboy Sandman & Edan #NeverUseTheInternetAgain" —right there in the middle column of the front page. It seems as though no one (aside from RAW DRIVE ) had noticed or even checked Stones Throw 's site for the past 7 hours or so, this including myself! While on a roll about the downsides of The Internet , Sandman jokingly(?) rhymes: "Inter...

" LOVE HANDLES is a Hip-Hop instrumental beat tape from 2 Hungry Bros. producer Ben Boogz that boasts lo-fi production with an airy, eclectic mix of sounds and samples over percussion. Through out it's 23 tracks, there's much to take away from it that is ultimately, enjoyable; though, on a more critical note, a uniform style that can wear thin in the context of 23 consecutive tracks. Love Handles by Ben Boogz of 2 Hungry Bros We start off with the intro track, "Love Intro," which is a short beat with a vinyl crackling Soul chop of humming and "ahh's" over some Hip-Hop drums that give a light and care-free feel, which perfectly sets the stage for much of the feel of the project. Then, going into the track "Sang Pham," which with its dreamy sung "ahh's" being chopped and looped creates an expansion of the dreamy love feel that's been introduced. By the third track, "Love Handles," it hits more of a ch...

" Deep of 2 Hungry Bros. is often known as the crazy and ExperiMENTAL half of NYC 's Lower East Side production duo. Deep has produced beats for songs that feature artists such as: Tanya Morgan , Breez EvahFlowin', Reef Tha Lost Cauze , Homeboy Sandman, Fresh Daily , Cella Dwellas, Substantial , and many more. Deep often DJ's parties now, as well as radio show, Living Envious Styles , on Sunday afternoons from 2-4:00pm on 8BallRadio . He has released three instrumental albums on HiPNOTT Records : What You Leave Behind , Bushwick Beatfeed, and Family Recipe . He also expanded his beat tape empire into The West with 77 Rise Recordings' label dropping three sold out beat tapes, Depth Perception Vol. 1-2 . Volume 3 is set to drop this November. All of his albums can be found on all digital retailers and streaming services, as well as on Bandcamp ." Depth Perception Vol. 3 by Deep of 2 Hungry Bros I. DJ Shadow - Entroducing..... (1996) "So, I wr...

When we last spoke with Phoenix-based/Philly born and raised rapper, producer, wrestling super-fan, and former teacher Raheem Jarbo AKA Mega Ran, he was preparing to unleash his DJ DN3 & Fresh Kils-produced Biggie tribute, Notorious R.A.N: Ready to Live. Ran's since "[taken] on a rigorous touring schedule, [hosted] a wrestling podcast Mat Mania , and [made] high-profile appearances on WWE television" and "returns to release the introspective and enlightening album, EXTRA CREDIT." His latest collection, EXTRA CREDIT—which even I had absolutely NO IDEA about until about 2-3 weeks prior to its release—is effectively a "greatest hits" collection made up of equal parts new tracks, old tracks, and re-imagined versions. Anchored by a few RNDM left-overs, EXTRA CREDIT features production work from K-Murdock (mixing & mastering,) The Rockit Scientist, Charlie Mumbles, ECID, Kaito Kobayashi, RandomBeats & Middle East Modern, DIBIA$E, Wann Sklobi, Y...