The Witzard

First time we ever saw/heard was at a Greedhead Records showcase at a Das Racist concert held at Union Transfer in Philly around 2012-13. Prior to Das Racist 's headlining set, attendees were treated to sets from signees to Himanshu "Heems" K. Suri 's now-defunct imprint, Greedhead : SAFE , LE1F, Lakutis , and Weekend Money. Das Racist 's set, from what would be their final tour, was pretty great, as expected... but the opening acts were equally phenomenal! Weekend Money (W$ ) were hands down, our personal favorite! Honestly, I don't think NE$$ & Baghdaddy had even released their debut EP, Naked City , at the time. Since, W$ self-released their full-length, Freddie Merkury (2014) and have been teasing a proper follow-up ever since. It has been referred to as both The Death of Pablo , 8-Ball Emoji, and The Emperor Wears New Clothes during various stages of completion between 2014-20. While a number of singles from said third Weekend Money project ...

The Witzard previously deemed Júníus Meyvant as " Iceland 's Answer to Aloe Blacc -helmed Soul-Funk Revival" and his debut, Floating Harmonies , even topped The Witzard 's Best of 2016 Countdown: A Genre-defying List of 30 Albums, EP's & Mixtapes Worth Re-visiting (or Ch-checking Out) Before 2017 year-end list. At the time, I compared Meyvant's style to, and I quote myself, "an Icelandic Rod Stewart backed by a Mark Ronson -produced rendition of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles or even something to the effect of critically-acclaimed Stones Throw New-Wop crooner, Mayer Hawthorne ." Floating Harmonies was nothing short of phenomenal and now, Júníus Meyvant has returned with his proper follow-up, across the boarders. Since, the release of his critically-acclaimed debut, Meyvant has quietly unleashed a number of bonus tracks, left-overs, and B-sides including: "Mr. Minister Great," "Honey Babe, Don't Be Late," an...

"I got body, no matter what I wear." "Got Body" VIDEO IN BIO! Directed by Julian Branciforte . Celebrate your difference, your individuality, your heritage, your family, your love, your hair, your ancestors, your growth, your skin, your organs, your fat, your bones! We really don't need to look, act, or be the same. It is a distraction. Celebrate life and the changes that come with it. Surround yourself with love!" @lionbabe recently wrote within an exuberant, self-empowering statement accompanying their latest Begin single, "Got Body." LION BABE consists of sultry songstress, dancer, and H&M & Pantene model Jillian Hervey and multi-instrumentalist and record producer Lucas "Astro Raw" Goodman . "Hervey dances in the streets, record stores, and subway train cars, while Goodman purchases and makes a beat on what appears to be a Roland SP-404 sampler; the duo eventually meets up with friends for a chill session,...

“We went out to LA with [Action Bronson] last month—me, him, Alchemist , and Sean [Mahon] recorded an entire EP of material under the name Jericho . Jericho may be a project that we drop, that’s really under-the-table, no one knows about that yet. Jericho may just be like a multi-genre, no label EP that may cross genres from Hip-Hop to Electro to 80's Pop . We may bridge the gap with that actually, because some of the stuff we recorded for that, one of the songs sounds like a late 80's Smokey Robinson record and sh*t. And then, there’s some Surf Rock on there that sounds like The Beach Boys and Bronson’s rhyming on it," Party Supplies multi-instrumentalist Justin Nealis revealed to HipHopDX way back in January 2014. Nealis, at the time, proclaimed that he aspired to be "like The Black Keys ; they blew up in Rock and had a few Rock records out and then, they went on and used that leverage to call up Raekwon on that BlakRoc sh*t." Party Supplies ...

" Westman Islands singer-songwriter Júníus Meyvant [Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson] has recently caused big waves in Scandinavia after being the star of the Icelandic Music Awards -winning Best Newcomer and Best Song , as well as being nominated for Best Male Singer and Best Song this year," read the opening of Mystic Sons' "Neon Experience" -accompanying press release. While his music has already been compared to the works of "Wake Me Up" Funkateer Aloe Blacc , Ben Howard, Lucy Rose , Benjamin Francis Leftwich, and Graffiti6 , I would personally liken Meyvant's unique throwback sound to that of an Icelandic Rod Stewart backed by a Mark Ronson -produced rendition of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles or even something to the effect of critically-acclaimed Stones Throw New-Wop crooner, Mayer Hawthorne . Ahead of his forthcoming July LP, Floating Harmonies , Júníus Meyvant has honed in on a trademark sound that's been described as a rath...

"When we heard that [Run The Jewels] were fans and down to get on this beat, I was super excited... but cautiously so. I knew this was the type of beat that they could just eat for breakfast; but I was hoping that the whole thing wouldn't come off sounding too retro. I was at Emile Haynie 's house when the email with the mix came through and so, we stopped what we were doing to throw it up on the speakers," 1/3 of self-described "three-headed band with one man name" Andrew Wyatt recently wrote in an email sent to The FADER . Miike Snow is a world-renown Swedish-American Indie/Synthpop band consisting of Wyatt along with Christian Karlsson & Pontus Winnberg , who together function as songwriting and production duo Bloodshy & Avant ; they've collectively produced chart-topping hits for everyone from Matchbox 20 frontman Rob Thomas to Britney Spears (including "Toxic" and "Piece of Me" ). Although, Hip-Hop isn't ...

London -based music producer Mark Ronson simply has NO BOUNDS; we're talking about the fearless genre-blending visionary who single-handedly spearheaded Amy Winehouse & The Dap-Kings' 21st century Doo-Wop revival, or revamped "New-Wop" sound, produced Lily Allen 's early Reggae/Dancehall -indebted hits, and has since worked with everyone from Duran Duran to Billy Joel -sampling Rap -singer Action Bronson . Ronson's own New-Wop -indebted Uptown Special is quite easily one of the year's greatest mainstream success stories and arguably, an "underground sleeper," due in part to the assistance of Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker and Miike Snow multi-instrumentalist Andrew Wyatt . Mark Ronson recently decided to re-team with buddies Parker and Wyatt for the first time since recording Uptown Special , along with guitarist Kirin J. Callinan and Jay Bratten on Moog synthesizer, to record a live in-studio cover of Queens of The Stone Age ...

While he isn't preoccupied melding together the sultry melodies of Rod Stewart and Miguel for an A$AP Rocky track or recruiting his sharp-tongued Albanian-Jewish buddy Action Bronson for a widely unreleased "Uptown Funk!" remix, super-producer Mark Ronson somehow managed to record and release one of the most downright Funky , yet commercially accessible albums of 2014-15; Uptown Special has already yielded one undeniable world-wide mega-hit with Ronson's infectious Bruno Mars -assisted "Uptown Funk," but now they're attempting to score similar chart success with it's proper B-side, "Feel Right." "PARTY PEOPLE, I'M VERY PROUD TO PRESENT THE VIDEO [FOR] "FEEL RIGHT" FT. @ItsMystikal DIR. BY @brunomars & @cameronduddy !!" @MarkRonson exuberantly Tweeted this past Monday afternoon. Although they make a quick cameo appearance towards the end, "Feel Right" solely features mini- Mystikal look-a...

"With bluesy organs, descending basslines, and one of the slowest, hardest-swaggering beats we've heard in a good while, "Everyday" calls upon [Rod] Stewart 's classic number "In a Broken Dream," re-contextualizing it as a tale of modern ennui (read: boredom )," as okayplayer effectively describes A$AP Rocky 's latest At.Long.Last.A$AP (ALLA) single, "Everyday;" recorded with a very unlikely cast of magnificent characters... Rod Stewart , Miguel, "Uptown Funk" super-producer Mark Ronson , and co-producer Emile Haynie. When it comes to ridiculous left-field collaborations, "Everyday" falls somewhere in between The Fat Boys' utterly awesome Beach Boys -backed "Wipe Out" and Kid Cudi 's surprisingly smooth Michael Bolton & King Chip -assisted "Afterwards (Bring Yo' Friends)." Ronson ingeniously managed to convince R&B crooner Miguel to passionately sing: "Everyd...

Although he's been effectively dominating the mixtape scene with fully fleshed out "street albums" like Blue Chips 1-2 , Dr. Lecter, Well Done , Rare Chandeliers, and Bon Appetit... Bitch since about 2008, Action Bronson has finally gotten around to liberating his long-rumored major label "debut," MR. WONDERFUL , which came out nation-wide Monday. Ahead of his 13-track album, VICE Records let loose a zany, Tom Gould -directed Spın̈al Tap -esque mock-umentary , which portrayed Bronson something to the effect of "The Great Leader," Kim Jong-Un ; coinciding with yesterday's multi-formatted MR. WONDERFUL roll-out, Action Bronson partnered with the good people at the YouTube Music Awards to present the video for his Chance The Rapper -assisted Mark Ronson -produced track, "Baby Blue." It's just one of two Dap-Kings -indebted Ronson-produced tracks included within the album, the second of which showcases a Jazz-Rock sample lifted...

"It's still hard to believe I found an out-take [with] my original band @CHICorg #IllBeThere ," @nilerodgers exuberantly Tweeted late Saturday night; Rodgers, who's essentially the sole founding member of Disco-Funk originators, Chic (now, somewhat confusingly billed as "CHIC featuring Nile Rodgers" ), has been pain-stakingly compiling a collection of recently unearthed 1970-80's era Chic tracks along with contemporary producers like Avicii , David Guetta, and The Martinez Brothers . Chic 's newly-surfaced material, tentatively titled It's About Time , seems to have been oddly enough reverse "influenced" by modern-day Disco-Funk acts like Chromeo , Dâm-Funk, Tuxedo , Mark Ronson & The Dap-Kings, and even quite ironically, buddies Daft Punk & Pharrell , who were all very likely initially influenced by Chic 's genre-shaping output in the first place. " ["I'll Be There"] is a moving concept for me abo...

Following an unexpected guest appearance on Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars' chart-topping smash single, "Uptown Funk" (Remix) last month, Action Bronson and Ronson have linked up once again to liberate the first of their two collaborations from MR. WONDERFUL , "Baby Blue;" a smooth horn-laden arrangement, almost reminiscent of Mark Ronson 's formative Dap-Kings -backed early work with Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen , which seems to have been lifted from songstress Natalie Prass' literally just-released Columbia Records single, "Birds of Prey." Although "Baby Blue" was initially premiered on now-retired BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe's show Monday afternoon, @ActionBronson unleashed a "BEHIND-THE-SCENES MAKING OF "BABY BLUE" IN LONDON WITH MY BROS @MarkRonson [and] @zanelowe " late Thursday afternoon amidst the latest East Coast -pummeling snowstorm, fittingly dubbed "Thor." Action Bronson ...

"WOOOOOOOOO, "UPTOWN FUNK" REMIX BLASTIN' OFF RIGHT NOW ON @HOT97 [WITH] MY BROTHER @MarkRonson ," @ActionBronson exuberantly Tweeted Thursday morning, not long after his Freako Rico -designed, Bloodsport -inspired MR. WONDERFU L cover artwork made its debuted across The Internet. "Uptown Funk" is quite arguably the most instantly recognizable track culled from Ronson's New Age Soul-Funk chart-topping "solo" album, Uptown Special ; in recent weeks, it's bombarded daytime/late night TV, countless movie trailers, numerous commercials, and radio waves nation-wide. Mark Ronson painstakingly decided to cut out "Uptown Funk"' s lush extended intro, which okayplayer reports took some eight hours to create, to properly retro-fit Action Bronson 's newly-appended replacement verse. While Ronson, Bronson, and Bruno Mars' genre-blending collaboration may seem like a head-scratcher to the average listener, it sh...

'"Did I do a perfect dive?" is such a popular debate (well, I'll give it a 9.3). I'm the hottest shit since B2K ... I got an old soul and young legs. I'm like a good horse," Action Bronson effortlessly rhymes on his latest Alchemist -produced non-album track, "Big League Chew," which premiered during the eighth episode of his MUNCHIES/VICE web-series, F*ck, That's Delicious (Roasted In Santa Monica ). "This is just another one they're gonna shoot down because it doesn't have a f*cking hook. It doesn't have anything that they're looking for, the radio... f*ck that, if this was '96, it would be hot," Bronson begrudgingly laments during the episode, which additionally features appearances from actor-turned-rapper Simon "Dirt Nasty" Rex , B-Real, Big Body Bes , and apparent FTD super-fan, Chef Mario Batali . @ActionBronson went on to further describe "Big League Chew" as a "CUSTOM-MA...

"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...

"It's our summer jam, so we figured we should put it out, cuz I am very bored of waiting to finish my album [before] releasing new music haha," Grimes (real name Claire Boucher ) said in a recent press release. Last winter, Boucher signed what some might call a mildly head-scratching management deal with Jay Z 's own Roc-Nation off-shoot company — alongside previous signees HAIM , M.I.A. Santigold , Mark Ronson, Shakira , Wale, and The Ting Tings . Grimes and her fellow Canadian comrade/frequent collaborator Blood Diamonds were reportedly commissioned by Roc-Nation to produce and original track for R&B super-star Rihanna . While it was ultimately rejected by the Roc-Nation team, Grimes & Blood Diamonds recently recorded their own version of the track, now re-titled "Go." Blood Diamonds' 2010-12 reminiscent Dubstep/Electro -leaning production work seems to have been influenced by Grimes' former Full Flex Express touring mates, ...

Quasi-retired British songstress and walking firecracker Lily Allen has finally made a triumphant return to music, in one of the least Punk Rock ways humanly possible; covering "Somewhere Only We Know" (Keane) for a super-early John Lewis Christmas web-ad. But somehow, it really works and Allen's airy vocals synch up well with the playful, old school-looking Bear & The Hare animation work. Since releasing her sophomore album, It's Not Me, It's You (2009), Lily Allen got herself a husband and 2 kids, stared acting a bit, launched a record label imprint, changed her name twice (Lily Rose Cooper), and recently appeared on Pink 's latest single, "True Love." "Somewhere Only We Know" is a pretty drastic shift from Allen's former potty-mouthed brand of Reggae -infused Indie Pop , which could very well echo her forthcoming third album. According to NME , Lily Allen recently lamented that "it's not an earnest "I...

The Police were a 1970-80's Reggae -tinged Classic Rock band, who would in turn inspire Hawaiian Blue-Eyed Soul singer, Bruno Mars some 35 years later; an influence that's especially noticeable on his latest single, "Locked Out of Heaven," which was recently remixed by zombie-slaying Dancehall king, Major Lazer . Between recording/releasing Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010) and it's proper follow-up Unorthodox Jukebox , Mars got slapped with coke possession and slowly started straying away from his "cookie-cutter" image. Sound-wise, Unorthodox Jukebox is a little more edgy and Experimental... cause Bruno Mars & The Smeezingtons [production team] linked up with a bunch of A-List producers: Jeff Bhasker , Mark Ronson, Benny Blanco , Supa Dups, and Paul Epworth . If we're excluding his stripclub anthem - "Money Make Her Smile" (Diplo), "Show Me" is quite arguably one of the album's most interesting tracks. It's...