The Witzard

Ikant Noh (@IkantNoh) is a rather mysterious beat-maker, producer, and musician based out of Scotland, UK . Just this past weekend, as a matter of fact, @IkantNoh started Following me on Twitter , I saw that he had recently posted an Instrumental Hip-Hop beat, and had some interaction with The Witzard regular @Charles_Edison . While this is Ikant Noh 's first foray into Hip-Hop , he's been a long-time musician; having previously created and released Indie Rock and Electro/Synth-Pop style music, but has "now landed in the world of Hip-Hop ." Ikant Noh says he has drawn musical inspiration and influence from Kendrick Lamar , JAY-Z, and Eazy-E , as well as beat tapes from NIKK BLVKK, Kuartz, Tōfu-kozō Records from France , and kick a dope verse! from Russia . "I really think the genre of Instrumental Hip-Hop and beats is all about the "small guys" and I try to spend as much time finding new stuff as I do making my own," Ikant Noh explaine...

"'Made for Me" was actually one of the last tracks I added to the EP I hope to release later this year. I remember walking into the studio and hearing Mikhail (my producer) messing around with two different cuts of the same sample. One was very down-tempo and in the pocket, while the other felt lively with a real bounce to it. We went back-and-forth, debating which of the two we rocked with the most, but couldn't justify separating the sounds," Canadian rapper, producer, and song-writer David Versis wrote within a recent email. Upon first hearing his latest single, "Made for Me," I wrote a quick, semi-tongue-in-cheek "review" on Twitter which read: "'Made for Me" sounds like John Mayer meets Drake and it's actually pretty awesome!" Versis is a GRAMMY -nominated producer, who contributed to Wiz Khalifia 's 2014 album, Blacc Hollywood and produced Yo Gotti & T.I. 's collaborative single, "King ...

"Following the release of their debut album YES LAWD! in October, Nxworries makes their TV debut with a live performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night. The duo [performed] their song, "What More Can I Say?" off of YES LAWD! backed by a string quartet arranged by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson . The performance can be viewed online on NBC 's website now," reads a fragmented chuck of a Wednesday morning press release I received from Duncan Will at Orienteer (formerly Liberal Arts and Life or Death PR ). Anderson.Paak & Knxwledge made their collective late night TV debut on a special Valentine's Day episode of The Tonight Show alongside Ice Cube 's Fist Fight co-star Charlie Day and socialite Kendall Jenner . I have to admit, "What More Can I Say?" was entirely unlike anything I had ever previously seen on late night TV; playing out more like a live-shot music video than your run-of-the-mill pre-recorded late nig...

"Meet Sudan Archives , a 22-year-old self-taught violinist/vocalist who writes, plays, and produces her own music. In this live performance video, she flips Kendrick Lamar ’s “King Kunta” with just her voice, a violin, and a loop pedal. She'll be performing at Stones Throw Superfest in Los Angeles , November 5th," Stones Throw Records wrote on their Facebook page Thursday afternoon. Their latest signee, formerly know as Sudan Moon , "began playing the violin at age eight in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio , where she also played in various school and church choirs. Her [2014] debut EP, GOLDENCITY , was self-produced on an iPad in her parent’s basement." Now, just two short years later, Sudan Archives is currently preparing to release her proper self-titled "debut" album, which it appears as though, was completed long before she recently signed a deal with Stones Throw . "While classically-trained, Sudan finds inspiration from the various...

"The Alpacas are Nick Harper, Greg Lee, Brett Garner & Brent Lee: a four-piece Rock "N" Roll band from Barrie, Ontario. The Alpacas aim to write honest, hooky, and heavy tunes that strike a balance between raw and refined. The Alpacas' live show is loud and quiet, fast and slow, tidy and unkempt—but above all, The Alpacas look to create some good time vibes and entertain an audience," reads a fragmented chunk of Canadian Pop-Punks The Alpacas' on-site Willow Music band bio. "Born in the Year of The Horse, Greg Lee can sing like a bird and scream like a wildcat from Northern Ontario. Brett was naturally gifted with the calloused fingers of a sea-faring gentleman. His leathery paws give him the ability to produce very low frequencies on the bass guitar. Nick's timing is impeccable, he’s never been late his entire life. Some drummers practice to metronomes, but metronomes practice to Nick Harper’s drumming. At the tender age of 11, Brent Lee lost...

"We’ve always had this really jammy, high-energy live show compared to some of our records. We all love to dance. We didn’t want to take away from the emotion or the core feeling of what our band is all about—which I don’t even think we could take out if we wanted, because it is who we are—but we wanted to bump the speed up and have a little bit more fun," Warpaint vocalist and guitarist Emily Kokal explained within a statement concerning their self-titled album follow-up, Heads Up . Since releasing critically-acclaimed Warpaint (2014), Jenny Lee Lindberg quietly released a 2015 solo album right on! , as jennylee ; Theresa Wayman issued material as BOSS on producer Mr. Dan 's Speedy Wunderground imprint; drummer Stella Mozgawa played on Kurt Vile 's 2015 efforts, b'lieve i'm goin down... and Spotify Sessions EP ; Kokal worked alongside NIN affiliate Saul Williams on his politically-charged "Burundi," as well as "Wishing Song" ...

It all started about two months ago now, when I received a rather intriguing cold sent email from James Barker at London-based PR company Mystic Sons, which read, "First Listen – New Album from Australia's [Answer to] Bon Iver – Hayden Calnin, Cut Love Pt. 1;" described as a "fantastic artist" whose debut single, "Cut Love," at the time, already garnered 40,000 digi-spins at Hype Machine and had received stylistic comparisons to the likes of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), M83, Dawn Golden, Beach House, and whom, I, myself, immediately likened to Electro-Soul crooner James Blake. "'Cut Love Pt. 1" the album is a testament to Hayden's creative abilities, demonstrating that each track can resemble a new chapter. It is experimental to say the least, but an experiment that certainly works. It's exhilarating, truthful, and vicariously touching," Mystic Sons befittingly wrote within their initial emailed press release. Leading up to Cu...

Freddie Gibbs , to the best of my knowledge, has never released a proper mixtape in the typical fashion of Hip-Hop culture; a cohesive collection of re-appropriated beats borrowed from popular artists and "freestyled" over, which are given away for FREE or next to nothing. However, it would appear as though that very notion might change soon enough, as Rappcats/Madlib Invazion have unveiled plans to release a limited run silk-screened 12-inch containing "Cocaine Parties In LA" and its sparse instrumental on Side B. Gibbs previously unleashed a cocaine-laden remix of Kanye & Kendrick Lamar 's Madlib -produced G.O.O.D. Fridays (Vol. 2) submission and eventual The Life of Pablo bonus track, "No More Parties In LA." It's reportedly a track left on the cutting room floor, for whatever reasons, during the recording of Kanye 's sprawling 2010 album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , just one composition from six CD-R's-worth of hazy...

"You see, all these performances on these late night shows – I got a chamber of material from the album that I was in love [with] where sample clearances or something as simple as a deadline kept it off the album. But I think probably close to ten songs that I'm in love with that I'll still play and still perform that didn’t make the cut," Kendrick Lamar told 2dopeboyz during a GRAMMY.com interview following his recent five- GRAMMY win; almost immediately after which Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James Tweeted, "Yo @dangerookipawaa after that @kendricklamar Grammy performance, you have to release those untitled tracks asap!!! What's up? Talk to me," directed at TDE CEO Anthony "Top Dwg" Tiffith . While I must admit, I'm not much of a sports fan, I've become a supporter of James' off-court endeavors in recent months: first, his side-splitting supporting role in Trainwreck alongside Amy Schumer and Bill Hader and now...

"I gave that lil' cockroach life, and he blasted me / N****s made all those memes, and they laughed at me... He's got 11 GRAMMY nominations, y'all not equal / Maaaan, f__k these white people / My grandma died at 82, scrubbin' floors / and n****s still runnin' 'round beggin' for awards," Jay Electronica ferociously rhymed on "The Curse of Mayweather" Monday; nearly an entire verse-worth of disses aimed at his one-time "Control" collaborator, Kendrick Lamar . Although, President Obama 's favorite emcee didn't seem to let Electronica's claims faze him, as he ended up winning five of 11 GRAMMY awards that very same night. I think it's pretty safe to say Kendrick effectively stole the show with his jarring live performance of "The Blacker The Berry/Alright/Untitled III," which juxtaposed he and a spirited Jazz band amidst an all-too realistic prison backdrop and a bonfire-lit African tribe scenari...

"There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or fame... but if you just focus on the work and you don't let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you're going, you'll look back and know that it was you," Taylor Swift passionately proclaimed Monday night whilst accepting her Album of The Year GRAMMY ; an apparent rebuttal to long-time frenemy Kanye West's exceedingly distasteful claims that he "made that b*tch famous" and that "[he] and Taylor might still have sex," lines which he previously proclaimed to be Kim & Taylor -approved. Let me first, preface this by saying that I've been a Kanye fan ever since "Through The Wire" and The College Dropout , although, I don't exactly agree with his latest burst of social media over-activity and apparent mental breakdown ... relentlessly bashing poor Taylor Swift , begging Mark Zuc...

"Hey baby, you forgot your Ray Bans And my sheets still orange from your spray tan It was more than soft porn for the K-man She remember my Sprinter, said "I was in the grape van" Uhm, well cutie, I like your bougie booty Come Erykah Badu me, well, let's make a movie... No more parties in LA Please, baby, no more parties in LA" - Kanye & Kendrick Lamar Kanye West is without a doubt one of the most charismatic, unabashedly outspoken to a fault, and arguably creative artists in all of Hip-Hop and even all of music; in my eyes, West, the self-proclaimed "No. 1 Rockstar On The Planet," could easily be likened to Classic Rock monoliths Queen , who once performed "Bohemian Rhapsody" at Glastonbury . For purposes of this very analogy I'm trying yo set up, that would in turn, make President Obama 's favorite emcee, Kendrick Lamar , David Bowie in our "Under Pressure" -referencing equation. Lamar's To Pimp a...

Rock "N" Roll and quite arguably, music as a whole lost one of its most charismatic, uniquely individual, and beloved figureheads when David Jones aka The Thin White Duke aka Ziggy Stardust , otherwise known as the one and only David Bowie unexpectedly passed away early Sunday morning, January 10th, amongst the company of dear family and friends following an 18-month battle with cancer. I'm not even going to attempt to write a fully fleshed-out obituary to Bowie, hands down one of my all-time favorite performers since I was about 12, but I figured I would at least assemble a few of my thoughts and feelings into an all-too-brief hand-written tribute; a proper David Bowie obituary can be viewed over at Stereogum , which was written by Tom Breihan and served as a loose structural basis for this very piece. Throughout the course of his storied and ever-developing 52-year career, Bowie released some 28 genre-blending studio albums, produced one of the most critically-ac...

Now, I wouldn't exactly go ahead and bet my life on it, but I'm almost positive the first Hip-Hop album I ever bought with my own money was Will Smith's squeaky clean, parent-approved Big Willie Style (1997) and after that, I believe it was the slightly less embarrassing and arguably, far more genre-shaping Power In Numbers (2002) by recently reformed Los Angeles six-piece Jurassic 5. Hip-Hop, as you well know even if you just remotely follow this very publication, is by far one of my all-time favorite genres, along with Hardcore Punk and Indie Rock. Throughout the five or so years I've been single-handedly running The Witzard, I believe I've done a few of these Best of... or year-end lists (most recently, in 2013). While there were a handful of undoubtedly great Indie Rock, R&B, Punk, etc. albums released throughout the course of 2015, I've decided to compile a Hip-Hop-centric Top 10; with that said, here are a few cross-genre honorable mentions worth a s...