The Witzard

Despite, or maybe even because of, the fact that critically-acclaimed Queens emcee Despot has yet to release his oft-delayed, nearly 10 years in-the-making debut, We're All Excited , he's somehow still able to "rub shoulders" and get a casual Sunday brunch with industry heavyweights like Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig and 21-22 Jump Street leading man, Jonah Hill . Fresh on the heels of his recent Evan "E*VAX" Mast -produced lead single lifted from his seemingly soon forthcoming album, Despot has unleashed his "first" proper music video for "House of Bricks;" although, he's previously appeared on film alongside Mr. Muthaf**kin' eXquire , Das Racist, Vampire Weekend , a pre- Run The Jewels El-P & Killer Mike , Sky Ferreira, Chromeo , and Santigold. "Me and Evan [Mast] have been talking about this album since I met him, so we have hypothetically been working on this album for close to 10 years... Most of th...

"Local man who never does anything quietly releases single on a Sunday afternoon," @despotroast half-jokingly Tweeted this past Sunday afternoon, but truth is: 33-year-old rhyming Queens native Alec Reinstein was initially signed to El-P 's now-dissolved label Def Jux from 2004-10 and has been actively working, scrapping, and repeatedly re-working his "debut" album, either titled We're All Excited , Hooray for Me , or Jerry , ever since to no avail. Despot has almost made an intern "career" out of recording nearly flawless guest verses for his friends, having recorded with everyone from Vampire Weekend to Meyhem Lauren . His latest single, "House of Bricks," which totals just about less than five overall releases, was produced by RATATAT multi-instrumentalist Evan "E*VAX" Mast and seems to date back to about August 2012 in it's earliest incarnation; Despot performed the track, then titled "House Made of Br...

"HERE'S MY NEW JOINT, "ACTIN' CRAZY" PRODUCED BY @OVO40 [& @ProducedbyOmen ]. ENJOY.... MR. WONDERFUL MARCH 24th MOTHAF**CCKKKKKKA!!" F**k, That's Delicious super-star, Action Bronson exuberantly Tweeted Wednesday upon the release of his latest single, which almost instantaneously received a co-sign from Hip-Hop aficionado and 21-23 Jump Street leading man, Jonah Hill . It's the second and possibly lead single from Bronson's long-rumored Atlantic/VICE Records debut, Mr. Wonderful . Although a rough tracklist was previously "leaked" by Bronson himself through a stream of haphazard Tweets, VICE unveiled the album's official 13-song tracklist through a press release shared Thursday morning. Mr. Wonderful boasts top-notch production work from Mark Ronson , Drake affiliate Noah "40" Shebib, Party Supplies , 88-Keys, and Alchemist , along with all-star features from Chance The Rapper , Meyhem Lauren, Chauncey Sh...

Even though I've been an avid Stones Throw record collector for about 10 or so years now, I still managed to learn a lot of interesting facts and tidbits from their Kickstarter -funded, Jonah Hill -approved documentary, Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton . For example: Aloe Blacc 's HBO -backed "I Need a Dollar" nearly saved the label, Peanut Butter Wolf was childhood friends with Stones Throw employees Jeff Jank and Steve Helmer (aka Baron Zen), Kanye and Roots bandleader ?uestlove are fervent supporters of the prolific label, the years following J Dilla 's untimely death are generally regarded as Stones Throw 's "post-Hip-Hop" phase, etc. It's funny because while I'm pretty familiar with Stones Throw 's ever-growing label roster, I noticed a few names through out Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton that even I didn't recognize; Royal Kush , extraterrestrial songstress Diva , and righteous Punk band The Cliftons in particular. This past Tues...

This Is The End , the movie formerly known as The End of The World/The Apocalypse , is quickly nearing it's June 12th nation-wide release. First time directors, Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg just unveiled it's second Red Band trailer this past Monday, which follows one that was released on "the dawn of the apocalypse" (just in case). Thinly veiled behind a Pineapple Express 2 / Sony -backed April Fool's prank, This Is The End 's new trailer naturally reveals a lot more of the film's plot than it's predecessor; Mishka Bloglin laments that "the movie plays out an end of the world scenario at a party hosted by James Franco -- including everyone who's ever been in a Judd Apatow comedy," plus Rihanna , Emma Watson, Mindy Kaling , Martin Starr (Bill) from Freaks & Geeks , and maybe even a semi-misplaced Backstreet Boys cameo ha. Franco's RAGER is soon interrupted by the impending apocalypse, pesky Earth quakes, etc... as soo...

Actor-turned-musician Jamie Foxx described a track he recently produced during a Django Unchained/Success Secrets interview as "more or less, an Ennio Morricore Spaghetti Western theme, except with Rick Ross rapping on it." Tom Breihan's article was published in Men's Health last month and now the track in question, "100 Black Coffins," was finally released to the masses late Friday afternoon. It's a pretty interesting juxtaposition overall because for a good chunk of his bars, Ross raps from the perspective of Foxx's character - Django , a la ODB 's CLASSIC delivery on "Ghetto Superstar;" Django Unchained follows the story of a freed slave who ends up morphing into a ruthless bounty hunter @ the hand of Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) and seeks out revenge and his long-lost love, Broomhilda. Quentin Tarantino additionally cast Leonardo DiCaprio , Samuel L. Jackson, Jonah Hill , Kerry Washington, and Don Johnson [Miam...