Interview: MURS

Murs (Los Angeles)
Published in The Pulse of The Twin Cities
by Kandis Knight

It was another chilly Saturday in the Twin Towns, and according to my watch, the doors for the RJD2 and Prince Po concert at the Triple Rock were soon to open, I felt torn. I knew it was going to be a sold out show.

I promised my friends that we would all go down to the show together. But I knew I could make it up to them by the end of the night, I had something spicy brewing. My interview for this week was a once-in-a-lifetime spontaneous type of occurrence and I didn’t get to really tell them what I was up to. I just went with the flow because it was a blessing.


7:45 p.m.

I found myself frantically rushing around my house getting ready to go to the studio for what would soon become one of my favorite interviews of all time. I almost cried when I burned a hole in the skirt I was going to wear and tripped over my cat three times.

Maybe it was the universe trying to remind me to slow down and it ain’t April any more. I didn’t let it get me too frazzled, hey, I thought, I was just going with the flow. As I applied makeup and did my hair, the call I was expecting came in. “Hello,” I said.“Hello ma’am,” said a charming voice on the other line.

“We can do the interview at the studio.”

“What time?” I gulped.

“Now,” he chuckled.

Exactly what I didn’t want him to say. But I was still anxious to meet him especially after we had talked a little online. I frantically put everything into overdrive. But I had to chill out when I got outside. It was getting rather frigid to say the least. When we finally arrived, things were hot and steamy at Joe Mabbot’s Hideaway Studio snuggled in a warehouse near the mighty Mississippi river.

On a night when most of us are getting ready to go out and check out a show or getting our drink on, the Rhymesayers were getting busy doing the things that keep them on top of the game. As I pulled up to the studio, a dark mysterious car, resembling the batmobile approached; the way the lights were shining down on the warehouse made me feel like we were in a comic strip scene. A mysterious silhouette emerged from the shadows. It was Ant with his game face on.

8:14 p.m.

As soon as we opened the studio door, we were greeted by a black dog being pursued by a gentleman who was bent over and looking down with the concern of a very loving owner. “Taffy, come here Taffy, Taffy I love you, I love you Taffy.” Wow I thought, watching this man tenderly petting Taffy. I never saw a black man so into his dog. Then he stood up, wiped his hands off and greeted me.

“Hello, I’m MURS.” Yes, it was him, Definitive Jux’s all-star and superhero to many, the rapper from the Living Legends crew who guested on roughly 20 albums (all of them hugely influential in the rap underground) until finally releasing his own solo record, The Beginning of the End, in 2003.

We shake, our eyes finally meet and I laugh. I guess I wasn’t prepared for such an on-the-spot welcome. But, as I soon learned, it’s hard to know what to expect because MURS is pure comedy. “Come on in,” said MURS. I follow, thinking what a charming introduction, despite the fact that somehow my hands now smell like Miss Taffy.

8:21 p.m.

“Hello Kandis, come on into the smoking room,” said Slug.

I smiled. MURS followed. We eventually decided I would write the story from the position of an observer and I would let them continue working. MURS and Slug are in the studio working on the follow-up to their 2002 collaborative EP, Felt, dubbed a “tribute to Cristina Ricci” and an indie-rap classic. My larger plan is to hopefully tag along to KFAI where MURS and Slug are going to be on RSE Radio with Prince Po and then hopefully we can all go down to the RJD2 show at the Triple Rock. I cross my fingers. Once things are settled, Slug, whose work ethic never seems to slacken, heads right back into the booth. “8,7,6,5,4, and 3 and 2 and 1 and when I’m on the mic the women cum, down with A.N.T., MURS and your not and I got more rhymes than California got cops.” He’s relentless.

8:30 p.m.

I look to my left, and MURS is there smiling and talking shit about sports. Slug is in the booth laying shit down. To my right is Ant calmly bobbing his head, surveying. Joe is busy on the computer.

“This is great,” I think to myself, life is good and I’m surrounded by some extremely great energy here. MURS can’t help but bust a few good jokes every time the music stops. His energy level will never taper off for the duration of the night. It must be his vegan diet and new drug and alcohol free way of life.

Murs is truly high off life. His energy practically makes the room buzz.

“Sean Daley is in the house!” he screams. I’m slowly getting used to MURS’ sudden unexplained outbursts—it’s obvious he likes to stir shit up. I wonder if our Minnesota-ness makes him antsy. Despite his jokes, MURS is still paying careful attention to what’s going on with the music. He exchanges tips and speaks up when Slug is having a problem with a verse.

“You played with the word beaver last time when you said it and maybe that’s what’s setting your buzzing off,” says MURS. “I’m feeling you MURS,” replies Slug, and he proceeds to nail the verse.“That was it right there,” says Ant authoritatively.

Music magic I think, this shit sounds dope!Watching these two interact is like watching two brothers, of course Slug is the older, more “refined” veteran and MURS is the hyper “fun loving” younger (regardless of their actual respective ages). Their synergy in the studio is amazing and tonight I have heard two tracks that are definitely going to break some ground.

10:30 p.m.

We arrived at KFAI. Rhymesayer’s Radio was blazing (KFAI 90.3 F.M. Saturday’s from 9 p.m.-11:00 p.m.). Prince Po was just getting ready to hit the booth. Everyone was in the zone to say the least. Prince Po hit the mic ferociously, his freestyles were raw and his veteran confidence was interesting to witness in such an up close and personal setting. Everyone just stood there bobbing our heads in unison looking on. Kevin was keeping the tables hot and Siddiq was holding down the hosting and fundraising side of things.

As soon as Slug and MURS hit the booth RSE Radio was instantly transformed into “The Slug and MURS show.” The two wildly charismatic emcees easily fell into their roles as radio show personalities. I don’t think there’s anything they can’t do and rapping may just be the beginning of it. By the end of the night I decided MURS would make a great comedian because he kept everyone laughing every chance he got.

He let me know that 2005 may mark his acting debut so that means his career can take off in more than one direction. Once we left the studio, MURS realized he left his Pizza Luce brownie behind. We waited close to 10 minutes for someone to bring it down. Sweets are really important to this guy.

11:30 p.m.

We arrived at the Triple Rock and were greeted witha capacity crowd for progressive turntable maestro RJD2’s headlining gig. People were being turned away and didn’t look very happy about it. The place was so crowded it was hard to even find a good place to stand. MURS opted to go for a more incognito look. He donned a skull cap, a mesh hat and a hoodie. The Living Legends logo on the back of his jacket probably made some people curious but he didn’t get asked too many questions.

The guys from Hanger 18 were selling T-shirts but I didn’t bring enough money to buy one, I was pissed. All at once it was like a trance fell over everyone. RJD2 was going on. I forgot about MURS and the interview (no disrespect). I forgot about my friends. For a moment I forgot about where I was, we all just sort of kicked back and enjoyed the ride.

When we left the show it was very late. I left my car two blocks away in the Radio K parking lot so it was nice of MURS to walk us to our cars even though it was so cold outside. We agreed to meet for breakfast to wrap things up. I was still processing everything he had to say.

DAY 2

As soon as we entered Bryant Lake Bowl, MURS heard the sound of pins crashing, he looked over my shoulder and said, “Only in Minnesota do you see white people bowling this early in the morning!”

I think he liked the concept.Over breakfast we were finally able to talk. “I’m about as street as [the indie rap] underground gets and Slug is about as Emo as it gets so we are the last two people you’d think would be doing an album together.”

MURS humbly admits he plays the role of student when he gets in the studio with Slug and Ant. “They teach me so much, I’m not the best rapper and hopefully I teach them something too. Probably not though, because they’re really good at what they do. The first album I did with Slug I learned a lot and I recorded stuff with Ant and I learned a lot from him also.”

For someone as busy as MURS (he’s guested on more than 20 albums and is constantly in musical demand) the demands made by the music industry might seem overwhelming, but he’s managed to remain level headed in the midst of his daily chaos.

“I don’t know anything about the music industry,” he claimed. “I would be a poor model to follow. I just do what I want. I like money but there are some things I won’t do for money. Do what you feel. I can’t tell anybody anything about the music industry. It’s a hard life—how about that?”

I also found out MURS is a huge fan of Disney movies. “I bought ‘Aladinn,’ I got to buy ‘Mulan.’ I know all the songs by heart. I loved ‘The Little Mermaid.’ Do you know the words to that song?” He starts singing. In the future MURS would like to do a song with DJ Quick and other legendary West Coast rappers. For now he is focusing on wrapping up Felt 2 with Slug, his tour and getting back in the studio with 9th Wonder in North Carolina. Murs’ blog site on Myspace.com says he never goes home, and I believe it.

This man is truly devoted to his craft. If you don’t have a MURS CD in your collection make sure you fix that. His ties to the local scene are evident and his talent is worth way more than the cost of a CD. He’s got lyrics that will have your mind spinning for days!

2004 Client Roster: Dj Kool Akiem

by Kandis Knight

As the summer drags on and the city seems lifeless, I thought I’d catch up with someone who moved out of this city for some inspiration. Although the Micranots sadly are no more, we still got mad love for DJ Kool Akiem who is currently in ATL (Atlanta, Georgia).

This one I had to do out of love and respect ‘cause this brotha’ has paid his dues here and he has moved on. I know his thoughts expanded my horizons.

Kandis: What’s playing in your CD player right now?

Akiem: MM Food by MF DOOM. He got some of my favorite cuts on there. “Hold Hot Shit,” love that one.

Kandis: How long did it take to complete The Emperor and The Assassin?

Akiem: It was a long process, I started the pre-production in Brooklyn, then stayed in Minneapolis for a couple weeks to track the vocals then a I did all the post production, arrangement and interludes back in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and Atlanta. Originally I planned to mix it in New York, but that didn’t work out, so I went to Atlanta to mix. Really I would have liked to mix it in Minneapolis but that wasn’t going to work.

Kandis: How Does The Emperor and The Assassin differ from your other Micranots releases?

Akiem: I think it’s a lot more solid album, everything fits almost like a story. But at the same time there are more singles to choose from, it’s a little less esoteric then other albums.

Kandis: Are you from Minneapolis? If not where are you from?

Akiem: I grew up in San Diego, then my family moved to Minneapolis where I spent my teenage years. So Minneapolis is an important city for me, where I became an adult. Then I moved to Atlanta. I never really felt at home in Minneapolis. There was like a personal tension between myself and the whole city. Not to mention certain people or elements of the city. It was probably just shit I went through as a teenager. Still, it’s cold as hell and dominated by some liberal white culture shit. Things have changed a little. I still hate the MPD for too many reasons, individual pigs, too. So when I left, I felt like I was escaping. I still remember leaving the city limits in a packed up U-haul, like “damn I finally made it out that place.” When I got to Atlanta, even as an outsider I felt more at home. It’s nice and warm, the police didn’t bother me if I didn’t bother them and plenty of black people doing real well. The opposite of Minneapolis. At least that’s what it felt like at the time.

Kandis: How do you feel the city you were raised in affected you?

Akiem: That’s a hard question, DNA, or environment? Besides causing me to hate the snow and cold weather, possibly more than if we stayed in Cali, I think that coming up in Minneapolis has taught me about a particular mode of racism, that special liberal progressive racism that seems to control the city. It’s different than in the South, ATL, where the racism is separatist and disengaging, “I don’t like you, you don’t like me, do you want to do business? Yes. okay fine.”

While in Minneapolis it’s more engaged and complicated “Yes I like you people, of course we should do business, I’m sure you need my help right?” Then, If you’re not white in Minneapolis you get seen as being “other then normal,” like white is regular and anything else is “different.”

You go to other cities like NY and that feeling is hardly there, white isn’t the default. The “flesh” colored crayon isn’t necessarily pink other places. Then you have this thing where too many black people in one place is cause for alarm, it doesn’t matter what they’re doing, they could be campaigning for Bush and white people will still be all spooked (scared).

I still don’t get over the strangeness of being in a mall with nothing but black people, shopping, running all the stores, and what not. But then you have a white family, kids and everything come in and shop like nothing’s wrong. You know god-damned well they were not raised in Minneapolis, because they would have been running out the place and calling the police.

Kandis: Now since you’ve left, what are your hopes for the Twin Cities Hip-Hop Scene?

Akiem: Honestly I’m not too concerned with the Twin Cities Hip-Hop Scene, except for its relevance to my good friends. I mean, I’ve started to focus more on personal relations with people, rather than scenes. People outlast scenes and even movements these days.

Kandis: Why did the Micranots break up? Akiem: That would be a riddle, wrapped in a question, locked inside an enigma so to speak. I think it was more of one person quitting rather then a breakup. If I tried to answer why, I would invariably be incorrect in whatever answer I give. I have my interpretation, but I will leave that be. It’s just kind of a shame, and somewhat laughable to see a crew disintegrate on the official release date.

Kandis: Are you still down with RSE?

Akiem: I’m still down with RSE and I left Minneapolis like ten years ago, it’s too long ago to be missed. I don’t feel “home sick” or anything. ATL or even Brooklyn is more my home now. You know RSE ain’t only Minneapolis anymore, we got crews from other cities on RSE now.

Kandis: Were there any life-changing events for you in 2003?

Akiem: Probably going on the Seven’s Travels tour. I’ve toured before, but not 60 cities. The main skill I acquired from that was being able to get on the mic. I did all the back up vocals for the show, not something I ever did.

Kandis: What were your most memorable shows in the last year? What shows are you looking forward to in the immediate future?

Akiem: The most memorable was the very last Micranots show at the SXSW in Austin, Tex. last March. Even if fools weren’t even speaking [to each other within the group] we pulled off a really good performance for professional reasons. I played with Musab and MF DOOM that night. I’ve done some more shows with Musab, like opening for Ghostface. And I also went with DOOM on the Talib Kweli tour around the country. And I should be with DOOM on the “MM Food” tour with RSE.

Kandis: Do you have any shows booked? What are your plans for the summer 2004?

Akiem: I was going to go in the “And 1” basketball tour for Scion cars, but they ended up booking someone cheaper. Someone observed that they just wanted a DJ at their booth for visual reasons rather then for the commercial set I was going to give them. Shit, I would rather stay away from that corporate stuff anyway, but I do have to put money in my pocket still. So for the summer I will be taking care of a lot of family things, traveling and probably make it back up there soon.

Kandis: What do you think you have learned about the business that you’d wish others knew?

Akiem: That even small independent labels will try to fuck you over just like the majors. Its all a game.

Kandis: Who are some of your favorite national Hip-Hop artists and how have they influenced you?

Akiem: Marley, Premo, and the RZA. Marley for blending loops and song structure with scratches and shit. Premier for chopping shit up real good and rearranging shit. And the RZA for bringing out that rugged off beat shit, cutting tracks on and off in ill places.

Kandis: Any advice for Twin Cities artists?

Akiem: Not really specifically to the TC, but I’ve got a lot of advice. It’s more specific, and less general, you know, there’s no magic route into the music industry. I wont say “Hip-Hop industry.” Hip-Hop is a culture.

Kandis: What did you hope to achieve by moving out of the Twin Cities?

Akiem: I achieved them a long time ago, escape, renewal and building. For more information about our beloved DJ Kool Akiem, please visit his official website.