The Witzard

"I was re-watching old Mad Men episodes and I heard Don Draper say "we're the creatives—just the least important most important thing there is." And I immediately went into the studio and freestyled the first verse over that beat 'cause I was so inspired by that line... to give you more insight, I'm not a freestyle type of recording artist; usually, all of my stuff is written, then re-written, then edited, and then finalized when I record it. I picked out that beat from Small [Professor] is his apartment during a snow storm. He pitched it first to a very [well-known] rapper, who passed on it, and I snatched it up immediately," South Philly -based emcee and @RapBooklets curator Zilla Rocca wrote within a recent emailed conversation. Rocca and the self-proclaimed " smallest professor that you've seen thus far" have been friends and collaborators since 2008 and South Philly neighbors for the past 4-5 years; they're previously relea...

"This is a loosie joint that I put together this month (sort of celebrating my birthday) with Weirdo Rock God-head R. Stevie Moore on the hook; to that effect, I produced an Avalanches -inspired instrumental and we're spitting rhymes that lament and celebrate being grown-up Rap dudes," rapper-producer Raj Haldar , better known as Lushlife , recently told me within an email concerning his latest Soundcloud release, "Earl Sweatshirt, Give Me a Hug." "I actually knew R. Stevie Moore when I was a kid—he worked at the record store where I would go every day and spend my lunch money on records. Never really knew he was like a lo-fi God or later, would be huge inspiration to dudes like Ariel Pink . We got to talking a while back and decided to flip this joint together," Lushlife tellingly continued. Haldar then recruited fellow Philly -bred emcee, Anything I Touch, I Bruise master-remixer, recent Rap Booklets curator, and part-time Passion of The W...