Murs
The Vibe, Friday, March 19 Definitive Jux recording artist and longtime member of the Living Legends crew, Murs has instigated quite a buzz for himself by way of collaboration with 9th Wonder of Little Brother. With Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition less than a week away from commercial release, anticipation reached a fevered pitch at the Vibe as Murs stepped to the stage following a raucous set by fellow Legends the Grouch & Eligh. Decked out in an MC letterman’s jacket, the pensive Californian eased into a soulfully glorious 9th Wonder production with a trio of controversial verses from “And This Is For …” Addressing stereotypes cast on young black men such as himself, Murs declared that, “Contrary to what the legendary BIG had to say, you don’t have to sell drugs or make the NBA.” Shifting focus toward “any white boy who thinks he knows my struggle because he listens to Pac and his adrenaline doubles,” Murs pinpointed the differences between black and white rap fans by acknowledging, “You can be down, but let’s act grown up ’cause we ain’t the same color when police show up.” Sticking with the theme he continued, “I feel I should have the scans that white rappers have,” going so far as to pull an Atmosphere CD out of his pocket to make his comparisons perfectly clear. The irony of Slug actually being in the house to give his nod of approval, compounded by a primarily white audience that seemed all too eager to be admonished, approached that of an overlapping cluster-fuck. Thoroughly dismayed by the preferential treatment that white artists receive within the music industry, Murs abruptly departed from the stage as soon as he concluded, “It’s the exact same way they did rock, but I refuse to watch the same thing happen to hip-hop.”This article appears in March 26 • 2004.