The Witzard

Honestly, at this point in time, Run The Jewels (RTJ) should require absolutely no introduction... but, just to be safe, here's a brief/obligatory introduction: RTJ consists of rapper/producer and Definitive "Def" Jux co-founder El-P and emcee and OutKast affiliate Killer Mike . Legend has it, El & Mike first met on the set of Mr. Muthaf**kin' eXquire's "The Last Huzzah" (Remix) music video shoot. Soon after, [adult swim] Senior Vice President/Creative Director Jason DeMarco—then, at Williams Street Records—connected Killer Mike with El-P , who would produce his phenomenal 2012 album, R.A.P. Music. Mike , additionally, appeared alongside El on his own 2012 Fat Possum Records album, Cancer 4 Cure, on stand-out track, "Tougher Colder Killer." R.A.P. Music & Cancer 4 Cure were released weeks apart, so fast friends Killer Mike & El-P decided to tour together behind their then-new albums. After the widespread success of said tou...

"Thank God I can finally say publicly HERE'S A ZACK DE LA ROCHA SONG I PRODUCED... and shout out to my friends @nickhook and [Matt Sweeney] . They are both playing on the jam, as well... the [Zack de la Rocha] the album is happening. 2017... and that's all the info I'm authorized to give out... and yes, this is new material made this year and yes, there is more where that came from," @therealelp revealed on Twitter early Thursday morning, concerning one-time(?) Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha 's first solo single in over a decade. "Been keeping my mouth shut about my work with Zack since January when we did it. It hurt. Now, I'll commence keeping my mouth shut about the rest," an exuberant El-P gushingly continued. Aside from his short-lived 2008-11 group formed with The Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore and The Locust keyboardist and organ player Joey Karam , which produced a single 5-track One Day As a Lion EP , d...

"I got the idea for the video after I ruptured a disc in my back and needed emergency surgery. As someone who often goes under the knife, I've always been a bit overwhelmed by the process, paperwork, approvals and costs. Luckily, I have insurance, but it got me thinking about all the people in this country who can't afford medical treatment. I read an article recently that said there are over 40 million uninsured people living in The States , which is insane," former Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave bassist Tim Commerford lamented in a press release accompanying his latest blood-curdling music video, "Voodoo Juju." Commerford assembled his politically-charged musical outlet, Future User , sometime during 2013 following the disbandment of his post- Rage super-group, Audioslave ; Timmy C , multi-instrumentalist Jordan Tarlow , and drummer Jon Knox have previously attempted to self-describe Future User 's unique genre-blending sound as "P...

"Last year, a mysterious rapper named Your Old Droog came out of nowhere with a self-titled mixtape. He sounded so much like Illmatic -era Nas that people thought it really was Nas , rapping under a Clockwork Orange -inspired pseudonym. Well, no, as it turns out, Your Old Droog is just some white guy from Coney Island ," Stereogum "Hip-Hop Head In Chief" Tom Breihan wrote in a recently penned Your Old Droog -centric piece. Following a whirl-wind year, which showcased two 2014-issued releases, Your Old Droog [LP] , critically-acclaimed Your Old Droog EP , and a handful of non-album singles, Your Old Droog unleashed an 11-track Rock -themed KINISON EP late Wednesday afternoon. It's littered with inventive Rock "N" Roll samples ranging from Johnny Cash to the Beastie Boys ("Pass The Mic") and at least 40+ cleverly inter-woven references including Sam Kinison , Pornos for Pyros, Rage Against The Machine , and Sonic Youth (track titles)...

"for those who spent tuesday in a coma or in the wilderness [here's] RUN THE JEWELS "BLOCKBUSTER NIGHT PART 1," @therealelp Tweeted Wednesday afternoon; he's of course referring to the 100 second snippet he and partner-in-crime Killer Mike let loose within the last 36-48 hours. Run The Jewels have been hard at work on the follow-up to their critically-acclaimed self-titled debut, reportedly even recording tracks with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Rage Against The Machine frontman Zach de la Rocha . The forthcoming album, tentatively titled "Run The Jewels 2," is seemingly nearing completion according to El-P 's stream of recent Twitter updates; "RTJ2 is one day away from being fully mixed... one song from having #RTJ2 mixed. That's 4 albums in 2 years for those keeping count. f*ck with me." While it's only about a 1:40-long snippet, Killer Mike & El-P still managed to deliver three verses-worth of sharp-tong...

It's pretty damn awesome that Kanye & Joaquin Phoenix even hang out, let alone co-produced a track for Pusha T together; "King Push" is most likely culled from Phoenix's I'm Still Here era (2009-10), when he may or may not have quit acting to become a Hip-Hop producer/rapper. Pusha T previously lamented to Pitchfork back in August, "as soon as I heard it, I was like, 'Listen. I hope you're not playing this for me just to show me how good this beat is [Kanye] !'" It's a surprisingly Boom-Bap -rooted, Clipse -ready rattling beat, which it seems is now being pushed slightly ahead of My Name Is My Name 's previous semi-questionable Chris Brown -featuring "Sweet Salvation" single. Taking some much needed time off from Kanye 's recent "I Don't Like" ranting spree(s), G.O.O.D. Music & DONDA unleashed "King Push'" companion music video mid-Friday afternoon. Directed by Nathanie...

It's pretty damn AMAZING that Dope Body are prepping their sixth EP-LP release, considering the sheer fact that the band was initially assembled for a one-off gig @ Baltimore 's Natural History museum (2008). Drag City will unleash Saturday 7" tomorrow, March 19th; It's positioned to out-sell Justin Timberlake 's return to form, The 20/20 Experience ha. Serving as a quasi-follow-up to last year's Natural History , "Leather Head" was plucked straight off Saturday (Side A) . Four horsemen Andrew Laumann, David Jacober, Zachary "Zeke" Utz , and new bassist John Jones star in "Leather Head"'s stark black-and-white music video. Director Sheena Callage did her best to harness the band's righteous Black Flag meets Rage Against The Machine Hardcore/Noise-Rock vibe. Callage managed to create a very simple, yet highly effective treatment: Dope Body rockin' out in an empty performance space inter-spliced with face-mo...

Rock "N" Roll is an expressive art form: Whether it makes you want to passionately sing, dance, play, or even write. Blak & Blu is such a BIG, comprehensive album that'll undoubtedly get a lot of coverage. Sometimes I tend to stray away from potential "big ticket" pieces of that level. But fuck it - Blak & Blu is such a great collection that it honesty deserves every damn ounce of coverage it's getting! While a handful of critics have already started raggin' on Gary Clark Jr. for supposedly "selling out," abandoning his Austin Blues Rock roots, and making an eclectic [slightly "commercial"] album ... I feel like it's a pretty smart move right outta the gates; This way Clark won't get labelled a one-trick, guitar-playing pony. Plus, if he played grandiose guitar solos on nearly every track, people would call him a dick anyways. "Bright Lights" is a guitar feedback-soaked middle finger aimed @ Clark...

That horrible Timbaland -produced " Dance album" aside, Chris Cornell has really worked with a wide array of talented friends-musicians over the years; Whether it be Audioslave (Rage), Maynard James Keenan , Eddie Vedder Temple of The Dog , "Alice Mudgarden," Rick Rubin , or his Seattle -based Grunge band... Soundgarden . While they originally formed back in 1984-1997, Soundgarden re-formed in 2010 along with the simultaneous rise/demise of both Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave . Back in the day, Soundgarden released a string of successful Alternative Rock hits, Superunknown will soon celebrate it's 20th anniversary [2014], and they definitely managed to forever change the face of Modern Rock music. But frankly, having an original song attached to a $200 million opening weekend film, The Avengers , is an entirely different animal! "Live to Rise" is Soundgarden 's first new track in roughly 15 years, since Down on The Upside ; Graft...

Summertime by The Skins When I first heard The Skins' "Summertime," I thought it sounded vaguely like Rage Against The Machine as told through the aggressive, long-forgotten voice of Led Zeppelin 's orphaned "children." Formed @ Brooklyn 's own [Paul Green] School of Rock , The Skins consists of 3 siblings: Bayli (18), Kaya (16), and Reef Mckeithan (13), along with friends Daisy Spencer (18) and Russell Chell (19) on guitar. Indeed talented far beyond their lack of collective years, The Skins started up-keeping a pretty rigorous Manhattan/Brooklyn area touring schedule @ some point during Summer 2011. The band's premier release, an untitled 3-track EP was unleashed to the masses back on Jan. 1st; Ben Rice lent his recording & mixing talents, while Dale Becker went in and mastered everything after the fact, with semi-cryptic album art provided by Aya Brown . The Skins EP is rounded out by "Getting Down" and "Ocean...