A constant collaborator, indie rapper Murs remains strongly individual

Los Angeles rapper Murs never sought to be different as an angle or platform to get his music heard. His moniker is an acronym that translates to Making Underground Raw Shit or Making the Universe Recognize and Submit. Now in his thirties, Murs is still out to make raw music, but with a grown man’s wisdom.

Murs’ latest album, Love and Rockets Vol. 1: The Transformation, was released in October 2011, but he’s just now beginning to work on Vol. 2. In the following interview, Murs speaks more about the Paid Dues festival as well as his slate of upcoming projects, including a collaboration EP with Fresno-based rapper Fashawn.

What I’ve enjoyed about the Paid Dues Festival you throw, is that there never seems to be exclusion or allegiance to a certain sub-genre of hip-hop. You have no problem inviting Mac Miller and Dipset, along with Boot Camp Clique and Brother Ali–people who probably would never share a bill together. What’s your mindset in curating?
It’s started with me trying to get all my friends together. I was the guy that was friends with Aesop and El-P and down with the Legends. We all knew of each other, but I was the one who’d sleep at their houses and know everyone’s wives and girlfriends and kids. That kind of stuff. So I was able to bring everybody together.

In the same groove, I did a song with Kendrick Lamar–like before Dr. Dre knew who he was. So I was in with those guys. I was at the first Odd Future Christmas show. My former assistant is now their road manager. I have a genuine connection to so many people. Growing up I realized that people aren’t all that different. I seem to be in the center of this web. Five years before the Based God was born, Lil’ B was coming to my shows at Berkeley.

I don’t have any borders in my life. So the festival has always been a reflection of me bringing my friends together.

Living Legends just rocked Paid Dues together. You guys still make music together. Not a lot of groups can say that about their careers over the passage of time. What keeps everything tight knit amongst the crew?
I don’t know, man. Everybody is who they are. We’re a group of eight individuals. The name and the crew existed, and we didn’t even think about making a record together until Almost Famous in 2001. We’d been living together and touring together for years and never even thought about it. Then, it was three or four years before we thought about making another one.

As much as people say it, it was never Wu-Tang Clan or Odd Future or Hieroglyphics. It was something different. It works for us, but the individuality for other crews may not work.

Love and Rockets Vol. I is obviously part of a series. How is Vol. 2: The Emancipation coming along?
It’s not on a deadline. I think about it every day, write little notes for it, but I don’t think it will come out until like Paid Dues [Festival] 2013.

Will it be produced by Ski Beatz again?
Umm, probably not. It could always change. I know certain things about it I’m not ready to reveal yet. It was never intended to be Murs and Ski Beatz Present Love and Rockets. There will be another book with it. I can say that. It may be an electro record for all I know. It may be a symphony. I don’t know who I might meet next. I don’t want people read this article and say, “Aww, he said it was going to be Araabmuzik producing soft jazz shit.” I don’t want that down the line.

What are you looking at releasing before that? I saw on your wiki page that you’ve got an EP in the works with Fashawn.
We’ll hopefully have that done by the summer. These two producers, K-Salaam and Beatnick, we’d talked about doing something together for a while. My solo albums, up until my last one didn’t seem to be working out, so we’d been trying to find away to work together because I’m a big fan of their music. They suggested collaboration with someone, threw out possible members of The Lox and went through all these musicians and connections we both have.

Then, he brought up Fashawn, and Fash is a kid I’ve seen around and talked to, had him on Paid Dues, but we didn’t ever vibe or kick it. I’m a fan of Fash though, like I have his album [Boy Meets World] and the Grizzly City mixtapes. But it seemed like it might make sense as an outsider option. Randomly, Fash’s manager called me just asking for advice and just update on business. I told her it was crazy she called me. But I had to ask if Fashawn was even a fan of mine. I didn’t want to assume anything.

Have you recorded any songs yet for the project?
We recorded a song that was completely funny. We have a lot of similarities. He goes through the same things I go through. I’m associated with the backpack crowd like Aesop Rock and Atmosphere. He’s associated with The Alchemist and Evidence. But, we’re in a middle ground together of rapping about inner city and at-risk youth–but we’re both non-traditional with it. Things are naturally coming together. We’ve got way more in common ground than I expected.

K-Salaam and Beatnick have this really mid-to-late ‘90s sound they’re giving us. It’s sounding like, what I hope will be the West Coast version of [Only Built 4] Cuban Linx [Raekwon’s solo debut]. That’s ambitious, but you set the bar high to shoot for the stars and land on the moon, type thing. It will be for people who genuinely love Raekwon and Ghostface and Tha Dogg Pound.

Have you and Fashawn had the opportunity to record together or is it a project that’s emailed back and forth?
Every time we’re both in L.A. we’ll hang out for four or five hours. We got the name of the album, while hanging out with Maseo of De La Soul. Maseo basically named the record.

As long as there’s an understanding or friendship between the two it works. I used to think that we have to be sitting there and looking at each other. But, the more I’d talk to people like DJ Quik and hear about how he recorded All Eyez on Me, people can tell if there’s a true connection or if it’s forced.

Have there been projects you’ve turned down from a lack of connection?
Definitely. I wouldn’t name those projects though. There’s people I’m good friends with, but we haven’t made good music together. Brother Ali and me are the best of friends, but we’ve never made a song together. We’ve toured together. That’s my homie. That’s my brother. We’ve just never recorded a song together. It’s never even come up.

There are people I’ve tried to record stuff with and we both just let it sit there and nothing happened with it.

Have you considered updating the MURS acronym?
No. I’m not doing anymore. No more of that shit.

Boy Meeting World, Making Great Music

At 21 years old, rapper Fashawn has the maturity and foresight of men many moons his elder. The Fresno native grew up fast and, using hip-hop as a tool, persevered as one of the genre’s youngest and most promising talents. With his debut album, the aptly titled Boy Meets World, Fashawn paints a candid picture of life as an adolescent coming into his own, making sense of relationships and the experiences that are transforming him into the artist we hear through our speakers. He writes from an autobiographical point of view, and it shows with his ability to evoke a broad range of human emotions through his stories. As the listener you see his vision, and feel his joy and pain.

Fresh off a tour with Ghostface Killah, Fashawn along with producer Exile is back on the road for the annual How the Grouch Stole Christmas showcase, which features the Living Legend and show founder The Grouch and Oakland’s shining star Mistah FAB. It’s an amazing lineup unmatched by any tour of note this year, so take advantage of everything each artist has to offer and enjoy a good hip-hop show.
 
It’s been a big year for you with your debut dropping, and then The Antidote mixtape with Alchemist. How much of it was planned? And were you surprised by how successful this year was for you?
I would say that most of it wasn’t planned. The stuff with Alchemist, that wasn’t planned at all. That came up from just me hanging with Evidence, and at the time he took me on the Rock the Bells tour. I had the chance to stay at Alchemist’s crib, and from that we started building in the studio and making records. That came out by accident you could say. Just me hanging with Evidence and going to Europe and all that, this time last year I wouldn’t have pictured this. As far as Boy Meets World, we’ve been planning that for a while now. We started recording this album in like early 2008, and we got the label situation around February and we’ve just been going hard ever since.

You mentioned that the album has been planned for a while. Has the Boy Meets World title and concept always been the vision?
Yeah, I said to myself a while ago that if I were to drop an official debut album, that’s how I want to start things off. I think it was a perfect time. I turned 21 the day before my album dropped, and it was just the right time for everything. I had the concept in my head before I even went across the world and saw all these places.

There are points on the album where you talk about how you’ve been rhyming since you were 9.
Yeah, just having fun. I didn’t really start writing rhymes until I was 12. I’ve been in the studio since I was 12 and dropped my first mixtape then.

How did everything you’ve done up to Boy Meets World differ from what you had been doing?
On the mixptapes, it was just me going hard and just spitting the craziest rhymes I could think of. Just trying to find my voice and the direction I want to go. On Boy Meets World, I found my voice. The records on the mixtapes were just me spazzing out, but on the album you hear the concepts and all that. The songs were really produced; you know, Exile really did his thing and made sure everything was precise.

In terms of the music that Exile brought forth, what did he bring out of you? How do you think the direction of the album would have differed if it were a bunch of producers contributing a few beats?
I think if I were to have gotten like Alchemist and 9th Wonder joints on there, the vibe would have been a lot different. With Exile, we have certain chemistry and through the whole record you can feel that. It’s one story, kind of like a score to a movie. I don’t think I could have got that if I worked with a bunch of producers.

This is a very personal album, is there one song that you feel represents you best and why?
I would say “Boy Meets World,” which is like the 10-minute opus at the very end of the album. It’s really just explaining my story from day one to now, from being a young kid with dreams of rhyming to actually growing up and being a man and realizing those dreams. All the experiences I’ve had”¦ “Boy Meets World,” that sums me up right there.

Does all this seem surreal to you at this point? Or in your eyes is this reward for all your hard work?
Nah, it’s very surreal. I’m very lucky to have a great team around me that works really hard. I have a strong work ethic, but it’s a blessing to have the feedback we’re having. You can’t plan that feedback; that’s just something that falls into your lap.

Can you talk about some of pressures that come with the acclaim?
I guess just people calling your album a classic and asking for a second—that’s the only pressure. I don’t know; I’m just enjoying what I’m doing. I love going out every night and doing shows, and promoting my ideas and my music. I heard Lil Wayne say, “What’s life without pressure? Pressure can either make a diamond or shatter things to sand.” I feel like a diamond right now.

When you’re writing for the next album, do the accolades and people calling your debut a classic affect you or motivate you?
I’m already going in different direction creatively. I don’t know, I don’t think it affects me. I think I established myself and who I am with Boy Meets World, just bringing the audience into my life. By doing that with my first album, I feel like I can take my audience wherever I like from the club to the library.

One of my favorite songs on the album is “When She Calls.” The storytelling on that one is crazy, I was wondering if it is rooted in someone you know or is any of it autobiographical?
It’s not autobiographical. When you listen to it, you hear the story through the guy’s eyes, and the second verse is watching the story unfold through someone else’s eyes. And the third verse is what if it never happened. The story was inspired by a friend of mine who killed himself over a girl who didn’t even”¦ I just wanted to show how intense love can be. It was one of the hardest songs to write for the album, actually it was the last song I wrote and recorded. It was a story that people could relate to. It’s a dark subject, but these things happen all the time so I felt the need to talk about it.

To wrap it up, what’s next for Fashawn?
I’m working with a new mixtape with Green Lantern, which should be out soon. I’m constantly in the studio, always working.

Fashawn played the Empire Events Center on Dec. 12 as part of the How the Grouch Stole Christmas tour with The Grouch, Mistan FAB and Exile.

Phonte of Little Brother on the Lyrics and Concepts of Getback

When Little Brother introduced themselves to the hip-hop world in 2003 with The Listening they were met by an audience desperate for something that felt real. As cliché as the saying has become in rap terms, it couldn’t be more true. Hip-hop heads were searching for fresh young minds to bring light in the new millennium, and Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh and producer 9th Wonder fit the criteria with a Golden Era vibe void of the modern bullshit. The chopped samples pumped with soul, and lyrically Phonte and Pooh brought fourth a level of creativity that was bonded by an honest humor and dedicated spirit. They arrived right on time, and over the past five years have established themselves as the premier purveyors of dope hip-hop.

In that time the group has taken their knocks, from being put through the major label ringer and back, but they refuse to stay down. Through four albums they have stayed committed to their original objective of delivering music with substance, and gotten stronger with each release. Their latest offering, appropriately titled Getback, is full of insight and conceptual gems, giving listeners something to think about as they’re bobbin their head. At press time the group was overseas touring in Europe, and only reachable by email, so instead of the typical interview we had Phonte explain the words and ideas that made Getback so poignantly powerful.

“Sirens” starts the album off, and sets the tone. It’s an amazing song, and you end saying, “Them ain’t videos/Nigga that’s psychological warfare/20 different variations of the same face/Designed to keep ya broke ass in the same place/Something else more it’s got to be/But I’m gonna end transmission cause they’re watching me.“ The concept isn’t something new, but I wanted to get you to elaborate on the idea.
Phonte: Whenever your mind is being exposed to the same shit over and over again, that’s a form of programming. Programming can either be a positive or negative thing. In the case of much of the entertainment that kids watch in the mainstream media, I personally find much of it to be negative. I’ve never been big on the phrase, ‘its just entertainment.’ Expose your mind to anything long enough, and eventually that’s what you’ll become.

The chorus on “Sirens” fits the mood perfectly, with Carlitta Durand singing, “They’re coming closer for you/And they wont stop until you believe/Watch out/Don’t sleep, beware.” How does that fit in with the above mentioned concepts?
Phonte: For the chorus, I just wanted it to sound like some super-paranoid; “Minority Report” style shit. The underlying theme is that all the bullshit we see in the mass media from videos to reality TV is just a diversion to keep you away from things that are really important. I’m not sayin to not watch reality TV, and not indulge in some mindless fun every once in a while, just realize that everything you see, read, and hear has some sort of agenda. Don’t sleep…and beware of what you feed your mind

One of my favorite verses on the album comes from “Can’t Win For Losing.” It’s the most honest verse I’ve heard in a minute. Can you expand on the lines, “Then I said I’d do it for the props/Til I realized that the props always seem to stop/When niggas can’t keep you all to they self/Take you home, and put you in they little box.”
Phonte: Over the years, I had come to the realization that many of our fans were fans of us because we were their own little personal secret, and that they like you for really selfish reasons. As long as you’re their best kept secret that no one else knows about, then all is well. The minute you try to achieve some sort of outside acclaim (i.e. a Lil’ Wayne collab), they’re ready to cry foul. That’s what that verse represented. Fuck ’em…I gotta keep doin me…

I don’t know if it’s an original or a piece of game passed on to you but can you further explain the line on “Breaking My Heart” where you say, “A woman’s life is love, a mans love is life.”
Phonte: Man, that’s actually some shit I got from talking with one of my old adviser type cats. It’s summa the realest shit he ever wrote (c) Pac…lol. Basically, I was just describing the fundamental difference between men and women.A woman will relocate and pack her whole life up for a man, and a man will pack up and leave his whole family behind for a better paying job. It’s just how life is.

Can you talk about the internal battles you have with your conscious, which you addressed on the introduction to “After The Party,” with the line, “Maybe I should tell what a famous rapper I am. Yeah, that will get her on my side…I am your conscious.”
Phonte: Every rapper is a star in his own mind, yet we still have our insecurities. We could sell a million records, have crazy money in the bank, and still be mad at the bitch who called us ugly in 2nd grade. That’s what the little monologue at the beginning of “After the Party” was about.

Last one, on “Dreams” you say, “Every now and then you gotta ask yourself/Do you really want to win or just look good losing.” What did you have in mind when you penned those lines?
Phonte: A lot of times people fight ‘the good fight’ without the intention of really winning. They just wanna lose, and look good in the process, and then afterwards say ‘well, we tried’. I guess John Kerry’s Presidential campaign could be a good example. It’s like, ‘nigga, please stand for SOMETHING!’ In life you either gotta go hard, or sit the fuck down. There’s really no in-betweens.