Why?
Landing in the lesser-traveled intersection of rap and indie rock, Why? began as a solo moniker for rapper/songwriter Yoni Wolf but soon grew into a full band. Under Wolf's guidance, Why? crafted heady, literary albums that returned to themes of family, mortality, and neurotic responses to everyday life. The band reached a new level of critical acclaim and fan support with their much-lauded 2008 master stroke Alopecia.
Bay Area rapper Yoni Wolf began performing as Why? sometime in the late '90s. A highly collaborative artist, Wolf was involved with the scene that would give birth to the Anticon label, and he was involved with Hymie's Basement, Clouddead, and other projects while he was beginning to work as Why? After releasing 1999's Part Time People Cage... or Part Time Key? and 2003's Oaklandazulasylum, he enlisted older brother Josiah Wolf, Doug McDiarmid, and Matt Meldon (all playing multiple instruments) and transitioned Why? from a solo project to a full band in 2004. The first full-length release from the band came with 2005's Elephant Eyelash, a hip-hop record heavy on melody, synthesizers, and jangly guitars. The band toured and recorded constantly in this time, releasing EPs and singles between proper albums and staying on the road for months at a time.
In 2008, the band's second full-band album, Alopecia, arrived and became Why?'s first to hit the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. Featuring Mark Erickson along with Fog's Andrew Broder, Eskimo Snow arrived in 2009 and also landed on the independent albums chart. The title for their next effort, 2012's Mumps, Etc., was inspired by contracting the disease while in Europe, along with other "on tour" calamities. In 2013, the conceptual Golden Tickets EP materialized; the seven-song collection of personalized tracks was crafted by Wolf for seven individual Why? fans he'd Internet-stalked over the course of several months.
For the group's fifth studio album, Why? moved to Joyful Noise, which had released the 2016 debut of Wolf's duo with rapper Serengeti, Yoni & Geti. Co-produced by Wolf and his brother Josiah, a frequent music collaborator, Moh Lhean was released in 2017. It was the first fully home-recorded Why? LP since the project's debut. Now stationed in Cincinnati, Ohio, Wolf regrouped quickly for their sixth album, 2019's AOKOHIO. The album was a deeply nostalgic statement, collecting short songs into six larger movements. The band embarked on tour in support of AOKOHIO and also tours where they'd play Alopecia front to back.
© Marcy Donelson & David Jeffries /TiVo
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Rabbit Hole in a Little Town, Vol. 2
Alternative & Indie - Released by 5891742 Records DK on 22 Oct 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Proactive Evolution
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 13 Jan 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Do you know that place?
Jazz - Released by 4465389 Records DK on 12 Oct 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I can't do it
Rock - Released by 4465389 Records DK on 20 Oct 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paginas en blanco
Pop - Released by 4465389 Records DK on 20 Oct 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
One Mississippi
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 15 Feb 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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By Torpedo or Crohn's (DNTEL Remix)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 12 Jul 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Split EP!
Alternative & Indie - Released by Waterlines on 6 Aug 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Easy (Baths Remix)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 11 Jan 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Hanukkah Blessings
Ambient/New Age - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 26 Nov 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
This Ole King
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 16 Dec 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
midas (feat. Malovitch, jawsefin & KATA)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by 6075695 Records DK on 26 Feb 2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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kasper (feat. MOB! & Malovitch)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by 6075695 Records DK on 20 Nov 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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