The Witzard

"I wrote Ears & Eyes to The World to be a mirror that I could hold up and use to self-analyze, self-critique, and self-reflect. I wanted to share this process with others. I'm not here to judge or condemn when I speak of issues, I'm also, asking, "what part do I play in this situation?" as well. I hope that when people listen, they will truly open their ears and eyes can see what's going on in their communities and see what change they can affect. I think, if everyone does one thing on a consistent basis to help, then, we can leave the world in better shape than we found it. All the beats were produced by M Slago, who I have known for years and I have collaborated [with] previously. His sound is amazing and captivating. M Slago's beats allow me to express emotions I was unaware of. There is a certain rhythm in his beats that draw you and make you speak from a deeper place in your soul. I'm very thankful to work with such a producer, who has a...

"I'm Height Keech. I'm a rapper from Baltimore, MD . I grew up being the guy in the crew that didn't know how to make the beats I heard in my head... Now, I feel like I've found my own voice as a producer and I'm off to the races. These are some of the records [whose] production has inspired me, through the years." - Height Keech (Shark Tank) Dan's House by Shark Tank I. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) "A lot has been said about this album, so let me zero in on my favorite track: "Night of The Living Baseheads." The main sample is like a Jack-In-The-Box opening every two seconds. The change-up leading into the second verse feels like a transmission from another planet. Every little piece is perfectly executed, yet it feels like you’re on an insane train that could go off the rails at any second. It used to be way more labor-intensive to do all these weird one-off changes and flourishes; the ...

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...

After what even most die-hard Shins fans would consider a pretty lackluster album attempt, frontman James Mercer has reunited with producer-buddy Danger Mouse aka Brian Burton to write and record a new Broken Bells album, After The Disco . Broken Bells (1) was essentially Mercer's "solo" debut and once again, he's comfortably playing the Run-D.M.C. to Danger Mouse 's Rick Rubin ; who seems to play best with others, ie: Gnarls Barkley , Gorillaz, The Black Keys , Beck, Portugal. The Man , etc. Lead single "Holding On for Life," which was previously included within an album teaser, has been self-described by Burton as a mix between late 1980-90's Dr. Dre or Ice Cube and Bee Gees -style falsetto. After The Disco will become available this upcoming January 14th and will feature micro-appearances from Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes) on horns, Daniel Lupi -orchestrated string arrangements, man-made drum machine fills by Brian Burton himself, and...

Not unlike it's infamous 1988 predecessor, "Film The Police" is an urgent call to arms... a call to the young people of the nation to right common injustices. Essentially, it's an anti-violent protest song against often overlooked senseless instances of police-citizen brutality. In recent years, police brutality has become a far-reaching worldwide problem; One which has remained null in the United States , until this recent ring of "Occupy [insert city]" protests. Since many Millennials (1980-2000) were far too young to recall the dramatic events surrounding the release of N.W.A. 's "Fuck The Police," they [we] have now developed an updated message to match the current state of the nation: "Film The Police." It's a quite simple concept... if you see police brutality taking place, keep your distance, whip out your cell phone, and document that shit! The time is now to take action and MAKE HISTORY, my friends! ["Film The P...