MURS (October 2008) | Interview By: Lil Jay

It's been a little bit over a week since we've seen rapper Murs drop his most anticipated and talked about album yet, "Murs For President". Dubcnn reached out to the Mid City L.A. native to exchange a few words about the current talk of the town.

Of course we get into the whole major vs. independent talk, since a lot of his long time fans questioned the outcome of his major label debut. But as Murs told Dubcnn in a loyal statement: "Everytime I get on TV and the radio, I try to mention people in the independent scene and I try to tell people where I come from and make sure I represent for all my independent brothers." To read more about this and other subjets, check out the exclusive interview that we conducted with Murs.

As ever, you can read and listen to this exclusive interview and we urge you to leave feedback on our forums or email them to liljay@dubcnn.com.

 

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Interview was done by phone in October 2008

Questions Asked By : Lil Jay

Murs Gave Dubcnn.com A Shoutout! Click Here

Full Interview In Audio: Here

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Dubcnn: Being an artist to go the traditional independent way for all these years, what would have been a point that would have kept you from signing with a major?

Murs: It would have been good money to stay independent, because there's more money being independent.


Dubcnn: I guess you can really feel the push coming from the label, and not only because the album didn't even get pushed back like most albums nowadays.

Murs: Yeah definitely, I was really thankful about that. There's a lot of support from the label, much support. They got a lot of money, so they do whatever they can. Actually, the support of a major label, I really don't understand it just yet. I'll be able to tell you in a couple of years from now. It's my first time being on a major label, but everybody there is behind it and I guess they're aware of who I am and they know what I'm doing. They said they like the record, so thats all I can hope for. I mean it's still the first week, so I don't really know what major label support means just yet.


Dubcnn: What was the biggest challenge from step one to now?

Murs: I guess the biggest challenge may have been chosing which songs need to go on the record, trying to figure out which I should use and which not. That was the hardest part, cause we had 60 songs and you can only put like 80 minutes on a cd.


Dubcnn: Obviously you're now able to reach a larger audience than before. Is that why you're going a little more into the political direction now that you have the platform?

Murs: Exactly. But it's also a really serious time in the world right now. So I think it's everbody's responsibility, and you can kinda hear it in T.I.'s music and a little bit in Kanye's music, but mostly on T.I.'s new record. People are talking about uplifting and surviving the struggle, cause America's in a recession headed for a depression. Those are the times that make you wanna talk about something different and not always rap about what I feel is going on in my life. So it was that, and the fact that I knew that I had the chance to have more people hear me, so I better say something important.


Dubcnn: Do you think you've grown again as an artist during the recording process?

Murs: Yeah, definitely. I feel like I grow with every album. Just by listening to rappers and other music you're influenced, or by working with different producers. There's always something you learn. If you're not becoming a better rapper after each album then there's really no point in putting out records.


Dubcnn: How was the chemistry between you and DJ Quik?

Murs: It was really good. We didn't really make music together, he just mixed the record. But he was really a positive influence with a lot of information. He's just a positive guy that has so much to share. He's a symbol of how you can grow and do it however you want in the music industry and still survive and be a major factor in the game.


Dubcnn: Hip Hop heads have been requesting to bring lyricism back to the rap game. How much did you incorporate that into the new album?

Murs: I don't wanna say that I really tried to do that, cause that's what I am. I wouldn't say it was a conscious effort, it is who I am. For me, I don't really have to try because it's something that I do. So I wasn't really necessarily trying, but to me, I'm a real lyricist and songwriter. Yeah, I guess I tried to write the best songs I can. Everytime, even if there's a million great songwriters in Hip Hop, I'd still continue to write great songs. But the fact that there is not, I guess I stand out.

But what I do try to do is when I get on TV and the radio, I try to mention people in the independent scene and try to tell people where I come from and make sure I represent for all my independent brothers. Like, I'll always have "Paid Dues" and I'll always support the independent Hip Hop scene cause that's where I come from. I'm very much still a part of it and I still have a lot of fans over there. All my new fans I haven't involved, but all my old fans are still involved. I tour with independent Hip Hop, so I'm always gonna be involved.


Dubcnn: Do you have the feeling that some of your fans expected another Murs & 9th Wonder type of album?

Murs: I don't think my fans expected that, cause everyone knew that I was working with different producers. If they wanted that, I don't know. Maybe some of them wanted, but we put out the Murs and 9th Wonder "Sweet Lord" record so they kinda got what they wanted already. If it's Warner Brothers, my fans or my mother, anybody telling to do something I don't wanna do, always since I was a kid I always do what I wanna do. And I don't think the music comes out good when you do something you don't wanna do. So if the fans start requesting me to do something I don't wanna do then I still wouldn't do it.


Dubcnn: Was that a reason why you put out "Sweet Lord" not too long ago, knowing that you're gonna come with something different on "Murs For President"?

Murs: No, it was already done and it was finished before "Murs For President" and I just didn't wanna release it after "Murs For President". I kinda wanted to keep it in the order, so I wanted people to hear it before they heard "Murs For President".


Dubcnn: The song "Sooo Comfortable" with Kokane has a typical West Coast vibe and we rarely hear you rap on those type of beats. How comfortable were you making that song?

Murs: I was very comfortable, I think I was born to make songs like that. I think a lot of producers on the West Coast just don't fuck with me. They don't try to reach out. Once 9th Wonder started to fuck with me, that's when I started getting calls from like Khalil, Madlib, just people I've been trying to work with for a while. But a lot of the West Coast kids I know are really about business, because the music business is really vital in Los Angeles, so they're about money. So when people heard I had a budget, then they wanted to fuck with me. But before then people were just like 'Oh yeah, we should hook up and do something' or they wouldn't even speak to me.

But once I signed to Warner that opened me up to a whole new world, because people who I work with like Terrace Martin, this is how he makes his living, this is how he operates. So I had to have money in order to mess with them. Not saying that he didn't wanna mess with me, but messing with me he could lose money when he could be making money. But yeah, it was a really comfortable feel. I was just like that this was one of the things that Warner Brothers opened me up, they're support opened me up to be able to work with some West Coast producers. And to get the studio, cause when we usually record in basements and shit, you can't take a whole choir in there, or a piano and drums. So someone like Terrace needs all that stuff to work, and a lot of equipment. So he has to be comfortable in order to create big sounding records like "Time Is Now" or "Part Of Me". And people like Latoiya Williams, Snoop and Kokane they all wanna be paid.

In the independent game we just do favors. I never paid anybody to be on my record up until now. And 9th and me just split everything like brothers. And if you do a verse you just do a verse, and I owe you a verse. If I get on your shit, you just owe me a favor later on. We're working favors, cause it's more of a brother relationship. But in the major mainstream industry it's the music business for real.


Dubcnn: So what kind of feedback for "Murs For President" is gonna put a smile on your face?

Murs: A grammy and 13 million records sold. That's what's gonna put a smile on my face. Only that. Why not? Why play for small stakes? Gotta play for the big time!