The Witzard

"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...

Jonwayne must've tracked down a copy of that bare bones Nirvana - "In Bloom" (a capella) mp3 when it leaked way back in 2008. I'm pretty sure that Jonwayne chopped up and remixed Kurt Cobain 's POWERFUL, echoing vocals into a broading Boom-Bap track, which has now been cleverly re-titled "In Spite." Wayne quietly uploaded the track to Soundcloud just a few days ago under the musical moniker, "Digital Diamonds" and fellow rapper-producer Scoop DeVille is the other 1/2 of his new Rap Band . All of the new track's assorted, miscellaneous parts are essentially built and anchored together around Cobain's skeletal vocal performance. "In Spite" somehow manages to inter-weave Kurt's heart-felt wail right against Jonwayne/ Scoop DeVille 's rhymes, effortlessly blending in like a deep-rooted hook. I wonder what Digital Diamonds have in store for us next... a mixtape? Joint album? They've gotta be up to something, ...

Born in 1987, I really can't say that I remember the events surrounding the tragic deaths of Biggie , Kurt Cobain , and 2Pac . But I do recall that these people meant a lot to many adoring fans and that everyone was really sad. Over the course of the past 15-18 years since, I've grown to know and love the music of 2Pac & Biggie . The older I get, the more I grow to appreciate Nirvana (Nevermind) and now I [fully] understand Kurt 's vast artistic vision. I must say though, that I'm a bigger Foo Fighters fan, hands down! In no way would I ever "knock" Nirvana 's legacy... maybe simply because of age, Foo Fighters is the band that I've grown to know, love, and favor instead. We all know that lead Foo , Dave Grohl used to be Nirvana 's drummer and prior to that, he ripped it up along with legendary DC Hardcore band, Scream . I can honestly say that I vividly remember watching the "Big Me" video on MTV way back when (1995), and have...

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a sucker for a good, solid cover (band's take on another's original composition); A "good cover," in my eyes, displays equal parts respect, admiration, and creativity all @ once. "Come As You Are" is the latest addition to my desktop mp3 download file... recorded in a single take by Porcelain Raft [Mauro Remiddi] in London , the day before he laid down "Amateur's Feeling" - lead track from Fountain's Head EP . Seemingly recorded and released in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Nirvana 's Grunge staple LP, Nevermind (1991). Remiddi takes the liberty of gutting and re-arranging the track's trademark instrumentation, adding in his own Italian -bred brand of SWAGGER. Having already independantly reelased a set of 4-6 EP's, Mauro Remiddi is currently hard @ work on Porcelain Raft 's debut long-player for Secretly Canadian .