The Witzard

It is now widely known that Tuxedo is a Nu-Funk/R&B duo consisting of one-time Stones Throw crooner Mayer Hawthorne and super-producer Jake One ; however, at one point in time, surrounding the release of their 2013 Tuxedo EP , Tuexedo 's members' identities were largely shrouded in mystery. I personally believe, that Tuxedo's nom de plume was, initially, a bit of a lighthearted tongue-in-cheek jab at Justin Timberlake's similarly-titled/sounding "Suit & Tie" single with JAY-Z. Tuxedo have since released three full-length albums: Tuxedo , Tuxedo II, and most recently, III AKA Tuxedo III , as well as a slew of Funk-tastic remixes, stand-alone singles, and Yuletide nuggets. For their latest single from III , "Toast 2 Us," Mayer Hawthorne & Jake One have enlisted frequent Stones Throw collaborator and multi-talented director / photographer / editor / creative / VFX artist Ross Harris . Tuxedo & Ross Harris previously collaborated ...

"Around the beginning of 2016, Ernest [Greene AKA Washed Out ] and his management got in touch and sent me a handful of songs to listen to from his forthcoming album, Mister Mellow with the intention of me choosing one to make a video for. I'd really enjoyed his previous albums, so I was definitely into the idea of working on something for him. A bit of time passed and in that time, Ernest decided he wanted me to work on a particular track which turned out to be "Time Off." That was cool with me, as I really loved the laid-back vibe and the YouTube sample of a kid letting the world know that you need to take time off now and again... and sometimes, that involves smoking a huge joint. Ernest gave me a little direction, starting with what work he liked of mine and what kinda vibe he felt the video needed. In fact, he [was] quite specific about the importance of slowing down the pace, as the previous song was quite lively and the one after, too was pretty upbea...

"I guess you were involved in the initial kick-start for the particular project. On my Instagram , I make a lot of random little moving image sketches and one of them, I ended up using a Jonwayne beat from a beat tape called Here You Go that he made for House Shoes' [Street Corner Music.] I think you left a comment on the post and cc'ed Jon , at the time and he dropped me a line to tell me about his new album," animator and director RUFFMERCY wrote within a recent email. I seriously had absolutely NO IDEA I was even remotely "involved" within the "creation" of Jonwayne 's latest RUFFMERCY -directed video, until a few short hours ago. "He thought the sketch I had made for that beat could be a great starting point for the skit/track "LIVE from The F**k You" he had on the album Rap Album Two . We had a little [conversation] on [Instagram] about the aesthetic and a possible idea of half-type, half-something; Jon himself sugg...

While my recent Best Albums, EP's & Mixtapes of 2016 List didn't include any type of "Honorable Mentions" section, if it had, it would have likely included the likes of De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Blink-182, Nxworries, and J-Zone (for Fish-n-Grits). Aftermath crooner Anderson.Paak and beat-maker Knxwledge's full-length debut as Nxworreis, YES LAWD! It's equal parts The Roots, D'Angelo, J Dilla, and Drake; a perfect mix of Hip-Hop and modern day R&B, easily one of Stones Throw's absolute strongest, most cohesive releases in years. I really haven't given Nxworries' YES LAWD! a whole lot of coverage here at The Witzard (aside from the early singles) and have really just been waiting for the perfect opportunity to write about Anderson.Paak & Knxwledge again... until this past Thursday afternoon, when I heard about Nxworries' "SIDEPIECE" music video filmed at Stones Throw "in the dungeon" by director Ross ...

" Happy Holidays , everyone. All the best Christmas songs were written by Jews , and Chanukah songs suck. This is my favorite Christmas tune, sung over the Vincent Guaraldi instrumental," New-Wop crooner Andrew Mayer "Hawthorne" Cohen wrote in a particularly tongue-in-cheek gentile-slamming 2010 mini- Stones Throw press release accompanying his sparse "Christmas Time Is Here" Peanuts -assisted cover. Just a few mere years later, Hawthorne and his Disco-Funkateer partner-in-crime, Jake-One quietly unveiled their first slice of post- Tuxedo Funk EP era material; a jittery groove-soaked rendition of Paul McCartney & Wings' 1979 Synth-Rock yuletide favorite, "Wonderful Christmastime." Now, just days ahead of the soon forthcoming 2015-16 holiday season, Tuxedo have unwrapped a completely original, retro-futuristic holiday standard titled "Holiday Love." It appears exclusively within Amazon Music 's recent holi...

"We have filmed a new video for our cover of The Clash 's "Magnificent Dance" with director Ross Harris . It is currently in England being animated and should air sometime in the next month or so," Lion -master Dan Ubick wrote in an emailed conversation about a month ago. "I am excited, as we've attempted a couple videos for other songs, and they didn't pan out. Even Ross' rough cut looks amazing because he brought great energy, ideas, and professionalism to the set. Super psyched to see how [our] tribute to Joe Strummer & The Clash turns out," Ubick enthusiastically continued. The Lions let loose their Stones Throw -pressed second album, Soul Riot back in February and it quickly became one of my favorite albums of 2015 right alongside MR. WONDERFUL , Detroit's Son, Uptown Special , and recent addition Yours, Dreamily . Not too far off from their first album, This Generation , Soul Riot is a well-executed R&B -leaning, h...

" THE LIONS "In The Dungeon" unplugged performing "WHEN IT RAINS" off the brand new record Soul Riot on Stones Throw Records . Thanks a ton to Ross Harris and Stanley "Babylon Burning" Gonzales for direction and sound," The Lions exuberantly wrote on their Facebook page Thursday afternoon upon the release of their first unofficial video release behind third album, Soul Riot . "Our first attempt at a proper video for "When It Rains" didn't turn out how we'd hoped, but we are actively searching for directors and have a couple in mind... We did do an unplugged performance that came out great though," Lions ringleader Dan Ubick said in a brief follow-up email preceding our recent second interview conducted for this very site, The Witzard ; alluding to a filmed and since scrapped proper "When It Rains" video treatment, as well as what's seemingly amounted to the just-released The Lions in the dung...

" Tuxedo [first] emerged last year with three tracks of smooth, synth-heavy Disco-Funk , and accompanied by no information whatsoever about the group except a greeting – " Tuxedo is here! Stay classy," Stones Throw wrote in an unannounced Tuxedo -centric post Wednesday afternoon (the former label home of New-Wop crooner Mayer Hawthorne ). The 2-pieces' former download-able Tuxedo Funk EP featured vocal effects that sound suspiciously similar to those of Hawthorne, atop rumored Funk -drenched production work crafted by veteran beatsmith, Jake-One . Mayer Hawthorne 's quick milli-second cameo as a valet within Tuxedo 's latest "Do It" video, would seemingly add a little "fuel to the fire." While it's far from solid full-proof confirmation, I recently discovered a Nissan Murano commercial within the depths of YouTube , which features usual suspects Mayer Hawthorne & Jake-One , billed as Tuxedo , performing "So Good" ...