Today, L.A. rapper Murs released Fornever, the fourth installment in an ongoing collaboration with acclaimed producer 9th Wonder. However, my recent conversation with the L.A. rapper touched on a lot of subjects, from his split with Warner Bros., which issued his 2008 album Murs for President; and his new website, mursworld.com; to his annual daylong festival Paid Dues Festival, which took place last April 3. He also took time to address critics who claim that Murs and his business partner, Guerilla Union -- which also organizes the annual Rock the Bells festival -- haven't included enough women in their events.
With so many topics to discuss, there wasn't much time left to talk about Fornever. But Murs managed to get into that, too.
Rhapsody: So what's happened with the Warner Bros. deal since your last solo album, Murs for President, was released?
Murs: Our relationship dissolved, and they were gracious enough to allow me to leave before my contract was up. It took about six months of me lobbying and asking very nicely to be let go. They made promises that they couldn't keep, and that they didn't feel comfortable keeping. I was cool with that, I respected their decision, but I also told them that I would like to go back and do what I was doing. I had a lot to learn from them, and they had a lot to learn from me. In the end, I ended up learning a lot, and they ended up not.
Rhapsody: You've put out several albums over the past decade, and in the past two or three years you've put out retail albums [Murs for President] as well as internet albums [Sweet Lord]. Where does your work ethic come from, and how do you balance that with being an artist?
Murs: I think I get the drive from my mother and my grandfather. They're entrepreneurs that have been in the dry-cleaning business for fifty years. They work 12-hour days, 18-hour days six days a week. They're crazy. And I'm possessed.
I have a podcast that I make sure goes up weekly. A lot of rappers who have podcasts, they can't even do them every week. I make sure I have a podcast every Tuesday, every Wednesday or whatever. I make sure I design all my merch. I make sure the festival gets done. I pick each artist, and I call each artist. I set up the backstage areas. I micro-manage, and I have too many ideas and it's getting to the point where I don't know if it's beneficial to me, beneficial to my art. But I've built this career so far, and I've decided that, fuck it. I like performing with my band, I like the electro shit and if people can't catch on, that's fine. But I honestly feel that there's not another artist as prolific, as dynamic, and as diverse as I am.
The new website is mursworld.com. I have everything you need. I'm leaning towards the ICP [Insane Clown Posse]/Tech N9ne model, like, this can be your whole world. So tune in. I'm just like a radio station: I'm going to keep putting out content, and try to develop a direct-to-fan relationship without all the BS hype and marketing and all that other nonsense.
Rhapsody: Paid Dues has evolved over the years. It started out as a one-day festival with mostly "backpack" artists, and then you guys did a tour in 2007]. Now it's turned into a broader vision of independent music, as opposed to just "backpack" indie music.
Murs: [When we started Paid Dues,] the original goal was to have Def Jux, Rhymesayers, Living Legends and Rap-A-Lot, like, all types of independent hip-hop. So Devin the Dude, UGK, and Geto Boys were the first three acts; then Company Flow, Aesop Rock, and Mr. Lif; Brother Ali, Atmosphere, and Eyedea & Abilities; then the Living Legends crew, the Grouch and 3 Melancholy Gypsies. That was the original bill I built. We just didn't know how to get Rap-A-Lot involved.
So my goal has always been to encompass everything, and we hope to get E-40 and Bun B involved next year as we continue to grow. But there's definitely a backlash to it.
I also plan to make it a weekend thing and incorporate more graffiti and deejaying and B-boying, because, especially with iTunes, these kids have everything on their iPod. The next generation isn't as segregated as we were. They listen to Murs, Crookers, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday and Mac Dre. It's just music to them. And they watch America's Best Dance Crew. They're into limited edition Futura paintings.
For the people who are used to the old, segregated version of hip-hop, it makes them uncomfortable and they lash out. But Paid Dues has always been about the younger kids.
Rhapsody: I think the one criticism that has resounded over the years is that neither Paid Dues nor Rock the Bells has featured many women in their line-ups.
Murs: This year, we have Dessa from Doomtree, who's a female artist; Hopie Spitshard, who is a female artist; and Angela Yee, who is a female radio personality. I don't know how much more PC I can be.
This year at SXSW I tried to check out a couple of female artists. I met with Invincible out of Detroit who has a great album out called Shapeshifters. So I'm well aware of the female movement. Psalm One is someone I've been trying to incorporate for years. Jean Grae has been on [the bill] in the past.
I don't know about Rock the Bells. I don't know what it's like to be a female MC. But I definitely hear what people are saying, and to me I've addressed it this year. And I'll continue to address it.
Rhapsody: Let's talk about your new album, Fornever.
Murs: Yeah, it's a great record. It's more West Coast than any record we've ever done. It was recorded in Inglewood, California. I got to bring through a lot of artists such as Kurupt, Suga Free, Verbs, and [Sick Jacken from] the Psycho Realm, people that mean something to me and mean something to my city. Finally, after three albums, I'm able to get [Ninth] on my home court and let my city influence him for once. We have a tremendous co-producer, E. Jones, who works with 9th Wonder. Also there's some live instrumentation, so everything's a little more funky and live and musically full this time. And I had guests from my hometown fill in. [9th Wonder] said he wanted to make 3:16: The 9th Edition on steroids, and I think that's what it is.
Rhapsody: There's one song on the album, "Vikki Veil," where you talk about dating a porn star. Is that a true story?
Murs: Oh, it's a true story a few times over, my friend. There are three that I've dated, and it's a merging of all three, and a couple of stripper stories. But I'm married now. That's my wife's least favorite song.
Rhapsody: Any names you can throw out?
Murs: Oh yeah, Roxy Reynolds, Jenna Foxx, and the other one I'll keep quiet because she doesn't work in the business anymore.
I wanted to do a song that's not glamorous. It's just very real-life about what it's like. Even porn stars want to be loved and get married one day. That's what all women want, and don't ever think that's not what they want. But they want it on their terms. I'm like, look, it's cute, it's fun, but it's just as much of a headache as your girlfriend or your wife. The moral of that story is that you're not missing out on anything.
Rhapsody: It seems that, whether you've made something specific about L.A., or are just simply doing your music, you've always repped L.A. as a broader vision than the gangsta rap most think it is.
Murs: I think Fornever is another step in that direction. I've wanted to do an L.A. record my whole life, and I never thought it would end up being produced by 9th Wonder, but it sounds like L.A. Except for the song "Asian Girl," which comes out of f*cking nowhere. But other than that, it feels like an L.A. record. It's unapologetically West Coast, and it's unapologetically hip-hop at the same time, like very traditional backpack hip-hop samples and dope lyrics.
Murs: Our relationship dissolved, and they were gracious enough to allow me to leave before my contract was up. It took about six months of me lobbying and asking very nicely to be let go. They made promises that they couldn't keep, and that they didn't feel comfortable keeping. I was cool with that, I respected their decision, but I also told them that I would like to go back and do what I was doing. I had a lot to learn from them, and they had a lot to learn from me. In the end, I ended up learning a lot, and they ended up not.
Rhapsody: You've put out several albums over the past decade, and in the past two or three years you've put out retail albums [Murs for President] as well as internet albums [Sweet Lord]. Where does your work ethic come from, and how do you balance that with being an artist?
Murs: I think I get the drive from my mother and my grandfather. They're entrepreneurs that have been in the dry-cleaning business for fifty years. They work 12-hour days, 18-hour days six days a week. They're crazy. And I'm possessed.
I have a podcast that I make sure goes up weekly. A lot of rappers who have podcasts, they can't even do them every week. I make sure I have a podcast every Tuesday, every Wednesday or whatever. I make sure I design all my merch. I make sure the festival gets done. I pick each artist, and I call each artist. I set up the backstage areas. I micro-manage, and I have too many ideas and it's getting to the point where I don't know if it's beneficial to me, beneficial to my art. But I've built this career so far, and I've decided that, fuck it. I like performing with my band, I like the electro shit and if people can't catch on, that's fine. But I honestly feel that there's not another artist as prolific, as dynamic, and as diverse as I am.
The new website is mursworld.com. I have everything you need. I'm leaning towards the ICP [Insane Clown Posse]/Tech N9ne model, like, this can be your whole world. So tune in. I'm just like a radio station: I'm going to keep putting out content, and try to develop a direct-to-fan relationship without all the BS hype and marketing and all that other nonsense.
Rhapsody: Paid Dues has evolved over the years. It started out as a one-day festival with mostly "backpack" artists, and then you guys did a tour in 2007]. Now it's turned into a broader vision of independent music, as opposed to just "backpack" indie music.
Murs: [When we started Paid Dues,] the original goal was to have Def Jux, Rhymesayers, Living Legends and Rap-A-Lot, like, all types of independent hip-hop. So Devin the Dude, UGK, and Geto Boys were the first three acts; then Company Flow, Aesop Rock, and Mr. Lif; Brother Ali, Atmosphere, and Eyedea & Abilities; then the Living Legends crew, the Grouch and 3 Melancholy Gypsies. That was the original bill I built. We just didn't know how to get Rap-A-Lot involved.
So my goal has always been to encompass everything, and we hope to get E-40 and Bun B involved next year as we continue to grow. But there's definitely a backlash to it.
I also plan to make it a weekend thing and incorporate more graffiti and deejaying and B-boying, because, especially with iTunes, these kids have everything on their iPod. The next generation isn't as segregated as we were. They listen to Murs, Crookers, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday and Mac Dre. It's just music to them. And they watch America's Best Dance Crew. They're into limited edition Futura paintings.
For the people who are used to the old, segregated version of hip-hop, it makes them uncomfortable and they lash out. But Paid Dues has always been about the younger kids.
Rhapsody: I think the one criticism that has resounded over the years is that neither Paid Dues nor Rock the Bells has featured many women in their line-ups.
Murs: This year, we have Dessa from Doomtree, who's a female artist; Hopie Spitshard, who is a female artist; and Angela Yee, who is a female radio personality. I don't know how much more PC I can be.
This year at SXSW I tried to check out a couple of female artists. I met with Invincible out of Detroit who has a great album out called Shapeshifters. So I'm well aware of the female movement. Psalm One is someone I've been trying to incorporate for years. Jean Grae has been on [the bill] in the past.
I don't know about Rock the Bells. I don't know what it's like to be a female MC. But I definitely hear what people are saying, and to me I've addressed it this year. And I'll continue to address it.
Rhapsody: Let's talk about your new album, Fornever.
Murs: Yeah, it's a great record. It's more West Coast than any record we've ever done. It was recorded in Inglewood, California. I got to bring through a lot of artists such as Kurupt, Suga Free, Verbs, and [Sick Jacken from] the Psycho Realm, people that mean something to me and mean something to my city. Finally, after three albums, I'm able to get [Ninth] on my home court and let my city influence him for once. We have a tremendous co-producer, E. Jones, who works with 9th Wonder. Also there's some live instrumentation, so everything's a little more funky and live and musically full this time. And I had guests from my hometown fill in. [9th Wonder] said he wanted to make 3:16: The 9th Edition on steroids, and I think that's what it is.
Rhapsody: There's one song on the album, "Vikki Veil," where you talk about dating a porn star. Is that a true story?
Murs: Oh, it's a true story a few times over, my friend. There are three that I've dated, and it's a merging of all three, and a couple of stripper stories. But I'm married now. That's my wife's least favorite song.
Rhapsody: Any names you can throw out?
Murs: Oh yeah, Roxy Reynolds, Jenna Foxx, and the other one I'll keep quiet because she doesn't work in the business anymore.
I wanted to do a song that's not glamorous. It's just very real-life about what it's like. Even porn stars want to be loved and get married one day. That's what all women want, and don't ever think that's not what they want. But they want it on their terms. I'm like, look, it's cute, it's fun, but it's just as much of a headache as your girlfriend or your wife. The moral of that story is that you're not missing out on anything.
Rhapsody: It seems that, whether you've made something specific about L.A., or are just simply doing your music, you've always repped L.A. as a broader vision than the gangsta rap most think it is.
Murs: I think Fornever is another step in that direction. I've wanted to do an L.A. record my whole life, and I never thought it would end up being produced by 9th Wonder, but it sounds like L.A. Except for the song "Asian Girl," which comes out of f*cking nowhere. But other than that, it feels like an L.A. record. It's unapologetically West Coast, and it's unapologetically hip-hop at the same time, like very traditional backpack hip-hop samples and dope lyrics.
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.
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