The Witzard

18-year-old 90's Hip-Hop revivalist and head PRO ERA wordsmith Joey Bada$$ recently described his still brief discography in 140 characters or less , " 1999 was the debut. Summer Knights [EP] was the "holdmedown" people. But B4.DA.$$ [full-length] will be the break-through!!!!!" While Bada$$ previously laced up a few Dilla beats on 1999 , "Two Lips" marks his first Yancey family-approved, non- Pirate Bay 'd instrumentals, which he promises is only the first of his upcoming posthumous J Dilla "collaborations." The fruits of their labors, "Two Lips" 7-inch (with optional Dilla -themed T-shirts or sweatshirt) will become widely available through Akomplice , Maureen "Ma Dukes" Yancey 's newly-formed record label/streetwear company, at 12 noon on November 29th. It's pretty amazing that even though "Two Lips" was essentially harvested from a vault-full of unused beat CD-R's, it still sound...

Pay Jay , quite arguably the "Holy Grail" of unreleased J Dilla material, briefly leaked online a few years ago; The infamous MCA -commissioned vocal album that Dilla recorded with friends-producers ?uestlove & Karriem Riggins , Nottz, Kanye , Pete Rock, Supa Dave West , Hi-Tek, and Bink! [Dawg] . From what I can remember, it featured a pre- "Takeover" Doors ("Five to One") sample flip, a Funky Vanity 6 "Drive Me Wild" cover, and just one previously released track - " Fuck The Police." Thankfully, Maureen "Ma Dukes" Yancey recently re-gained the rights to a storage locker full of old DAT and 2-inch tape masters, which were obviously used to re-mix/master the 11+ tracks. Pay Jay Productions plans to release The Diary sometime during 2013-14 and it's material represents the unknown period in-between J Dilla 's self-produced Rap albums, Welcome 2 Detroit and Ruff Draft EP (2001-02). Standout track ...

"The Throwaway" was either lifted off an old mid-90's Beat CD or DAT, which might've come from J Dilla 's hometown storage locker that Jeff Bubeck infamously stumbled upon last April. After a little bit of Internet-fueled confusion, Dilla's personal effects were rightfully returned to his mother, Maureen "Ma Dukes" Yancey - This including: nearly 8,000 vinyl LP's, pieces of mail, Slum Village paperwork, hand-written notes, and a gaggle of cassette/Beat CD-R's, etc. "The Throwaway" is out first audio-file snippet from Delicious Vinyl 's upcoming Frank Nitt -orchestrated Yancey Boys album, "The Lost Scrolls" (2013). It's the fifth posthumous J Dilla release... right behind The Shining , Jay Love Japan EP, Jay Stay Paid , and Rebirth of Detroit. Frank Nitt and J Dilla 's little brother, Illa J , decided to cruise around LA and visit some of Dilla's favoutite sun-soaked landmarks, which Josh Polon e...

Ma Dukes is prepping to release her son J Dilla 's long-awaited third posthumous album, Rebirth of Detroit this coming June 12th. Following Dilla 's sudden 2006 passing, 2 other incomplete records were eventually finished and released: The Shining (2006) and Jay Stay Paid (2009) at the hands of producers, Karriem Riggins/Pete Rock . Throughout his short career, J Dilla supposedly recorded troves of music that only his inner circle had ever heard; But now that his estate has gained back the rights to most of these "lost recordings," I'm hoping to see a few more proper releases like this fairly soon! Danny Brown , Guilty Simpson, Amp Fiddler , Illa J, Frank Nitt , Chuck Inglish, and Phat Kat are set to appear over 25 unreleased J Dilla donuts on Rebirth of Detroit . In preparation for the album, "Jay-Dee's Revenge" & "Birthright" will be issued as a limited edition 10-12" single on May 25th. So, don't forget: Rebirth of...

There are plenty of music collectors that claim to have "All Things Dilla." Maybe that's true, if there is such a thing. With that said, I can honestly say that I'm fortunate enough to be amongst this breed. And it's not because I am the most Internet-savvy or because I belong to some special group of music nerds that have the rarest shit. In fact, I only have possession of this rareness because I happened to be there when it all happened! And for whatever reason, call it divine intuition, I kept every cassette tape I was able to get my hands on. I tried to collect every beat-tape , remix, or freestyle possible. Even when we were just hanging out in Dilla 's basement in Conant Gardens , I'd often bring my hand held recorder and just tape us talking shit about any & everything. Dilla was never the type to hoard music. Very often he'd make mixtapes for us to listen to while we drove around in his sparkling green Beamer . Those leath...