“Murs, one of a kind/So there’s nobody like me/and I guess that’s the reason, why nobody likes me”—Murs, “Got Damned”

Murs is better than your favorite rapper. The 32-year-old born Nick Carter (his moniker alternately stands for “making underground raw shit,” “making the universe recognize and submit,” and “most underground rap sucks”) has been the face of West Coast independent hip-hop since he released his first single (as part of the group the 3MGs) back in 1993. Murs has been a part of every significant independent hip-hop label that matters (Def Jux, Rhymesayers, you name it) as well as legendary groups (Living Legends, Felt – a duo with Slug from Atmosphere, among others); he can hold the stage with everyone from “undie” rappers like Aesop Rock to overground gangsta stars like Snoop Dogg and Xzibit, make genre-defying tracks with the likes of Ed Banger’s Busy P and dubstep producers Chase and Status, and namecheck indie bands like Vampire Weekend alongside the likes of DJ Quik as influences. He’s best known as a solo artist, however: over the course of his past ten (!) solo albums, the prolific lyricist has earned a rep as one of the greatest MCs working today. Murs is like a cross between Tupac, Tracy Morgan, Too Short and Spike Lee: he’s full of gutbusting profane humor, wildly personal confessions, social consciousness, and a provocative take on male-female relations – often in the same song.

Right now is a big time for Murs. On April 3rd, he hosts the fifth edition of Paid Dues, the acclaimed one-day festival he founded to celebrate the best of independent rap past and present (indeed, no major-label artists are allowed). This year’s lineup is unparalleled, spanning heavy-hitting headliners (Ice Cube, Raekwon, The Dogg Pound), adventurous Southern rhyme styleers (Jay Electronica, Curren$y), top Midwestern mic killers (Tech N9ne, Doomtree), indie stalwarts (Necro, People Under The Stairs, R.A. The Rugged Man), classic California underground talent (Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Psycho Realm, Freestyle Fellowship) and wild cards (hot producer Jake One performing with ex-Roc-A-Fella Philly-based MC Freeway). Soon after, on April 13th Murs releases his latest solo album, Fornever – actually his fourth collaboration with the great, soulful producer 9th Wonder (Little Brother, Beyoncé, Nas, Jay-Z), who has been responsible for landmark Murs releases like Murray’s Revenge and Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition. Fornever is actually Murs’ best album yet: it finds him boring deep into his L.A. roots, featuring guest spots from the likes of major West Coast talent Kurupt, Suga Free, and Sick Jacken, and features his most blazing, assured, funny, trenchant verses yet. This is just the beginning of Murs World Order circa 2010, as Kspace found out in a candid conversation.

Kspace: Paid Dues has been in existence for half a decade. How did you start it in the first place – what was the original concept, and how has it evolved since then?

Murs: Six years ago, I had made my first film, Walk Like A Man, and needed to make the 25,000 back it cost to make. Soon after, Chang Weisberg, the founder of Rock The Bells, gave me a call: I pitched him an independent music tour, like Warped but for independent hip-hop. He was like, “We’re gonna be partners, and I’m going teach you how to do it from the ground up.” I’ve definitely learned the business with Paid Dues in a deep way. The first year was really dramatic – we had to change venues three days before the show because of a riot at a punk-rock concert at the original venue.  We’d sold 2,000 tickets, so everyone had us by the nuts! Original ideas was to combine all independent scenes – Rhymesayers, Def Jux, Rap-A-Lot, Living Legends; I wanted a place where UGK, Devin The Dude, Grouch, Atmosphere, Mr Lif and Aesop Rock could coexist. Of course, we had no connection to the South, so the only Southern rapper we had that first year was Chingo Bling from Houston. Since then, it’s evolved into something bigger than the scene; some people are with it, and some people are not – If Atmosphere’s not a part of it, it’s not underground hip-hop for some people. But to me, indie rap started with Ruthless Records and Eazy E! And Ice Cube doesn’t do everything: that he respected what we’ve built enough to do it means a lot. Kurupt, too, said he needed to do it, and I love that. Even though I started it, this is actually my first time on the Paid Dues bill as a solo performer – all the other years, I was on a major label!

Kspace: Each year, the lineup of Paid Dues has painted a picture of what’s happening in hip-hop, building bridges between various scenes – old school, commercial, underground, backpack, horror, Dirty South. What does this year’s edition say about hip-hop today?

Murs: I think it’s saying there’s a lot of activity in terms of West Coast hip hop is what its saying. And that I love rappers from New Orleans: Curren$y and Jay Electronica are really happening right now. And the face that you thought was indie hip-hop is changing, and that face might be a little bit darker than you thought. Raekwon’s album was a game changer this year – it was too powerful to ignore: for him to sell 70,000 albums first week blew me away. Tech N9ne is a new face have to respect – he made it on 106th and Park this year. Jay Electronica is huge off one song, which is something you might typically say that about a ringtone rapper like Souljah Boy, but rarely an independent artist. A lot of the people on the bill have  gone from major to indie, too: Del was one of the first to do that, but there’s also Freeway, too; Del was actually at the forefront of online marketing with hieroglyphics.com. Having Freestyle Fellowship there is heavy for me – I don’t know if kids realize how important they are, but to OGs it’s really important: I hope they continue to claim what’s rightfully theirs. Doomtree brings the Rhymesayers-affiliated Midwestern element in there, representing the next generation of backpack MCs. We’ve also got the female element covered with Nessa from Doomtree and Hopie Spitshard, and my connection to Living Legends is there in Afro Classics.

Kspace: What’s next for Paid Dues?

Murs: I wanted to do a dubstep room, but it didn’t happen. I would like to incorporate more dubstep, some drum-and-bass type shit, graffiti, b-boying, djing, add some battles. Skateboarding will be in there, too: I’m working on that with guy who does a thing called the Hood Games. And Paid Dues needs to turn from a one-day event into a weekend festival, into a traveling tour. I found out it’s not a true festival unless it’s multiple days – until then it’s just a concert.

Kspace: Let’s talk about your new album, Fornever. To me it’s your best album – in fact, it sounds like the California G-funk album you always wanted to make.

Murs: I think it finally is – except for one of my favorite songs, which is “Asian Girl,” it’s as close as I’m going to get to it, in the best way. I think in a way 9th came to me instead of me coming to him. It’s all about the drums – they’re not clean current Dre drums: I told the guy who mixed it, dirty everything up so that it feels like Dr. Dre 2001, but with RZA and Premier beats. It’s not hook heavy – there’s a lot of rapping. A lot of West Coast songs are about sing-songy choruses, but Fornever is what it is: real minimal, a lot of 24-bar verses. I’m keeping this one for me. The whole thing reminds me of a Dr Dre b-side like “Drinking Tanqueray,” a twelve-minute song where Kurupt, Rage and Daz all rap forever without a chorus. Having all those great West Coast MCs made it complete – it was like having your friends come by and introducing them to your other friends
When Kurupt came through it was over the top exciting. Suga Free was a bit much for a good Christian family man like 9th, though. Ultimately, though, I wanted to give East Coasters everything they love about West Coast rap on this album.

Kspace: On Fornever, you cover Common’s “I Used To Love H.E.R.,” which is a song that when it came out was a big statement about what was going on in hip-hop at the time. As well, it also had a controversial West Coast beef angle. Why cover that now?

Murs: I’ve been waiting years to do that song – to set the record straight. I didn’t want to update the West Coast element. My comment on hip-hop right now is that, in a way, there’s still a problem. People see hip-hop as a job: it’s okay to make money off your art, but people don’t love it like I love it – I love it through the good and the bad. I mean, Nas tried to kill hip hop! Hip-hop is dead? What? You don’t say that about someone you love! Hiphop can be about skinny jeans and “808s and Heartbreak” as long as you’re doing it to be dope. I don’t think Common in 1994 saw himself starring in Terminator movies. I wonder if he feels any less hip-hop today, because that’s what he was criticizing Cube for then. I mean, everything has changed. Lil Wayne is very innovative, yet he sells millions. Kid Cudi now has his own tv show on HBO! Slum Village had a car commercial!
You can say they’re commercial rappers, but they’ve all been in commercials! But that doesn’t mean what they do is not hip-hop.

Kspace: Where are you lyrically on Fornever? There’s conscious tracks, confessional songs, ill lyrics about women… It’s all over the place, but in the best way.

Murs: I always do what the music tells me. I don’t go with a set plan. On the female tip, the black male has a complex relationshop with women, and hip-hop in general does even more so. Lately it’s been heavy on the side of misogyny, and I always try to counter that; at the same time, my records always document where I’m at in my head. On Sweet Lord and Murray’s Revenge, 9th and I were trying to make clean records, but I still cuss and say the n-word every day. And of my solo stuff, people just like albums like 3:16 more, and when we were making Fornever I was in that zone – smoking and drinking and fucking around. This past year, I started smoking again, I had a new SL 500 convertible, I was fucking around a lot with girls, and doing a lot of things people dream of. It was time to get back to being loose. Recording with 9th here in L.A. as opposed to North Carolina felt more comfortable. We weren’t around his mother: I was in my house and I could say what I wanted to say. We wanted to make 3:16 on steroids, talking about motherfuckers, bitches, niggas, and Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles; at the same time, I also wanted to show the conscious, Death Certificate side of West Coast rap in songs like “The Problem Is…” and “West Coast Cinderella.” People love it when I tell stories, so I did that – besides, I always get a story vibe from 9th’s music.
It has so much character, it doesn’t always need an obvious hook.

Kspace: The songs about women, like “Asian Girls” and “Vikki Veil,” are up there with your best, like “Freak These Tales.” I’m guessing they’re going to be equally as controversial, too.

Murs: 9th is out of his mind. He called me and was like, “I got this beat called ‘Asian Girl’!” I was like, “Are you shitting me? Are you serious?” He was, though – he wrote the hook and his rap. To me it doesn’t fit the record, but I like it: it definitely recalls the “Freak These Tales” It’s funny: 9th never saw no Asian girls in North Carolina – not until he came to L.A!    As for “Vikki Veil,” that’s “The Pain” meets “Freak These Tales”: it’s definitely autobiographical about what I went through in past year, when I was dating a few porn stars. It’s my wife’s least favorite song: she knows there’s some truth to it, so she doesn’t like to hear about it.

Kspace: You recently got married, indeed. How did it change your life?

Murs: Ask me in a year! Seriously, I was done. I always wanted to be married, anyway. Besides, I felt like if I waited until I was well over 30 to have a baby’s mom, get herpes or have an illegitimate child, I would be disrespecting my homeboys – it would just be stupid. Up to this point, I’ve lived a life no one has lived and been a glutton for punishment, but by last year I was skating on thin ice. Finally, though, I met the right person – I found someone that met a lot of the criteria. And at some point I was like, fuck it! I’m just going to do it!

Kspace: You mentioned Lil Wayne earlier, and I think in 2010 you might  verge on being as prolific as him, with all your projects. What’s up next?

Murs: I was trying to do ten albums this year, and put out a record the last week of every month, but Fornever was delayed two weeks, which screwed up my whole schedule. I did an album with this punk band Whole Wheat Bread, but the lead singer got shot, which halted the tour we were supposed to do. I’ve got an album called Melrose, which is more uptempo, ghetto electro shit, and a Werd2Murs album coming. I’ve also got a project called White Mandingos with members of Bad Brains and [famed journalist/Ego Trip founder] Sacha Jenkins: it’s going to be an epic concept record, like Tommy, but for the black punk rock/hip hop generation – afro-punk, if I can borrow the term. I hope to do a dubstep album, a collaboration album with Sic Jacken from Psycho Realm, and Varsity Blues 2, too. There won’t be any more Felt albums, though – we’re done. I honestly feel like motherfuckers are not putting out anything. People are dying to be entertained and I could put out a high volume of work and be received well. I’m also starting a new website, Mursworld.com, where people will be able to find everything. I have a podcast that goes up every week, Werd2murs, which I record usually every Sunday at my little brother’s tattoo shop. I’ve got a comic book called Merch-Girl, where I’m going to release a new song with every chapter. Yeah, I’ve got a lot of work coming out.