Prelude To A Legacy 5.01.09: MURS
Posted by Fred Richani on 05.01.2009
MURS for President....of hip-hop?! Click here to read why MURS should be hip-hop's goodwill ambassador amidst violence and rap beefs.
Nick Carter is an incredibly talent individual. Wait, hold on a second….I am not talking about Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys. Anybody related to Aaron Carter does not deserve a column dedicated to them; let alone somebody that was a member of a boy band, unless their name is the 2009 version of Michael Jackson in his prime—Justin Timberlake.
Enough of that!
The Nick Carter I am talking about can be considered one of the best rappers on the west coast scene, if not in entire game today. That Nick Carter hails from Los Angeles, California and is professionally known as MURS (pseudonym for Making Underground Raw Shit). MURS has being doing his thing since 1993. Now he is different from other rappers for a few reasons.
For starters, the man does not rely on pseudo-gangsta lyrics to get his points across. MURS also raps about things most people can relate to—a normal, everyday life. After doing his thing as a young kid in the Mid-City, MURS self-released an album with long-time high school buddies and rappers Eligh and Scarub in 1993, collectively known as 3 Melancholy Gypsies. After working as 3MG for a brief time, they were incorporated with another friend's rap group as the Log Cabin. Not soon after that, they all went their separate ways to pursue solo careers, but kept in contact for potential collaborations.
This break-up led to MURS continuing his independent and unsigned grind, until finally signing with Veritech Records in 1997. In that same year, he released his debut solo album titled F'Real. The artists featured on MURS' debut were the likes of Aesop and The Grouch, two rappers he would go on to collaborate greatly with. F'Real received good to solid reviews, with the general consensus being that MURS came off hungry and hard, but could relax and spit rhymes about life as he knows it. Needless to say, the kid had potential and there was definitely room for improvement.
MURS put out his second album Good Music in 1999 that got slightly better reviews than its predecessor and was not one, but two discs in total. Also around that time, MURS was in full swing as a member of The Living Legends—a crew composed of eight hip-hop artists based in California: MURS, Sunspot Jonz, Aesop, Luckyiam.PSC, The Grouch, Eligh, Bicasso, and Scarub, who collectively, have sold almost 400,000 records independently.
The exposure MURS got from non-stop touring with The Living Legends, as well as improving with every album, led Nick Carter to signing with famous independent label Definitive Jux around 2002. His two previous albums Murs Rules The World and Murs Is My Best Friend were release via LLCrew, however, Def Jux would prove to provide MURS more exposure as he continued to grow as an artist.
His Definitive Jux debut was released in 2003, titled The End of the Beginning and is hailed as one of his best albums. It also made an impact on the independent albums charts, peaking at number 27. It was around this time he met up with independent producer and Little Brother member 9th Wonder. They ended up collaborating with each other for the independently popular MURS 3:16: 9th Edition (a play on WWE superstar Steve Austin's catchphrase "Austin 3:16"), with MURS handling the vocals, while 9th Wonder took care of the sample-based, yet stellar production. It is also a reference to MUR's birthday of March 16 and contains his most well-known hit "H-U-S-T-L-E", featuring WWE superstar John Cena (along with Chingo Bling and E-40 on the remix).
After favorable reviews by such publications as The Source and XXL Magazine, MURS took some time to collaborate with The Living Legends, 3MG, and Slug of Atmosphere. His next solo album Murray's Revenge, ended up being regarded as his best album to date, with once again, having 9th Wonder as the lone producer.
After Murray's Revenge sold more copies than his other albums, MURS signed on with Warner Bros. Records—his first major label contract. The title for his major label debut became MURS For President.
Why?
It is because MURS wants to be hip-hop's goodwill ambassador. He is not all about hoes, drug use, and being harder than a statue on the streets. The only thing that has change about MURS is his ability that has gradually improved and his hairstyles. Prior to his Warner Bros. Records debut, he released yet ANOTHER album with 9th Wonder, titled Sweet Lord (also critically acclaimed I may add). Same old, same old...right? Not exactly. You see, MURS has a huge Internet fan base and decided to give back to them by making Sweet Lord one-hundred-percent free. Thanks, MURS!
In September 2008, MURS For President was finally released. Despite not going Gold or Platinum, the album did peak at number 45 on the Billboard Top 200 charts, which is MURS' highest ranking to date. And while the album showcased a more mainstream side of MURS, it utilized his versatility with great artists like will.i.am and Snoop Dogg.
So that brings me to my next question: What will MURS legacy be?
Well, to keep things simple, it will be defined by hard work, non-stop touring, collaborations, and the ability to tell a story about everyday life WITHOUT necessarily having to sensationalize it. MURS may not be the face of hip-hop, but that sure as hell won't stop him from trying.
