Pennsylvania native Witness (John Parr) was busy creating a distinct blend of Hip Hop as a sophomore in high school while the rest of us were just trying to get through gym class. Inspired by golden age rap records and an exploding indie hip hop scene, he quickly adopted a DIY ethic, booking several coast-to-coast tours with shows in forty five states, selling three thousand copies of hand-pressed albums and signing to Japanese indie label Rockwell Product Shop all before he was legally allowed to buy a drink.
Since then, the twenty-something songwriter has found a voice in a sea of static emcees; approaching subject matter ranging from subtle social commentary and slice-of-life narrative to heart-rending, poetic accounts of lost love and depression. The mixture of his signature smokey delivery and almost entirely self-produced instrumentals have been described by Philadelphia weekly papers as falling "somewhere between DJ Shadow, Atmosphere and the hazy basement of a jazz club." With an energetic live show, Witness has shared stages with names from Sage Francis, Jared Paul and Emancipator to Phantogram and Spinto Band.
After relocating to Minneapolis and subsequently relocating to his bedroom for the majority of the nearly Siberian winter, he penned The Everafter LP, the conclusion to a trilogy of EPs he began nearly five years before. Mixed and mastered by Minnesotan engineers responsible for some of the most important indie Hip Hop albums of the last decade, The Everafter LP has become his strongest effort thus far. Though still unsigned domestically, Witness has gathered a continually expanding fan base that is eagerly anticipating his official full length debut.
