DX: Being an Angelino, you got to work with two west coast legends on the album. Take me through working with Snoop and Quik. What did that mean to you? What advice did they give you as you worked on this project?
Murs: Snoop wasn’t even supposed to be on the record. We kind of share the same management, but not really. We have some mutual people in our camps….One day, my manager called me like “Guess what Dogg sent from Europe?” I was like, “Holy shit! He did his verse?” Then he’s like, "He wants you to add a third verse and he’ll come down and be in the room with you, talk to you, chill with you while you do the third verse so the song feels right." I was like, "Wow." It’s like a stamp of approval. Before that, he shouted me out in a couple of raps and shouted me out on Power 106. He was aware of what I was doing and people have been making him aware, because slowly, I have been making an impact in the black community and in the hood. In the gangster rap scene, people see what I’m doing. They respect me because I’m not trying to be them. Just like the OG’s in my neighborhood always respected me for just being me. I had to get down a couple of times, but once motherfuckers knew I would fight and [that I] wasn’t no punk, they was like, "Let little cuzz do his thing. That’s weird cuzz. Let him go."

DX: That’s what they said? "Weird Cuzz?"
Murs: "That’s Weird Cuzz! Oh, that’s just him. That’s the homie but he just does what he does!" I think anybody that’s really real, regardless if you’re a real gangster or a real Neo-Nazi, it doesn’t even matter. Real recognize real. I know that’s a lame ass comparison. But…

DX: Cliché? Yeah, but I get you. What about Quik?
Murs: Quik was more like everyday, man. He was just coming back into music. He had his own path. He had been out for awhile. He wanted to come back as an advisor. He mixed Ego Trippin’ [click to read], Dogg’s record and my record at the same time. So, it was like to me, the "West Coast Underground King" and the "King of the West Coast period," you know? And almost like the Godfather of modern rap. He’s mixing both of those records in the same room at the same time. So, I was hearing Snoop’s record and I was hearing my record and, mixing wise, they sound the same now. This was just a blessing. Everyday, just watching him operate and having him talk to me and comment on my music. He was never like, "You could do this better," which I know he probably could say that and hopefully he does say that to me eventually. But, he was like, "This is good. I like this." It’s just life shit. Like, my awareness is rising. So, now, when I’m going out the house, people are screaming at me and I don’t know how to deal with that. I’ve always been a nerd. I went from nobody wanting to talk to me at all, just being a loner to now, people want to take pictures and talk to me every chance they get. Which is weird, it kind of freaks me out but Quik dealt with a lot, especially on the west coast with all the gang politics and everything. He has had a lot of advice for me. And even money wise, relationship wise, I just ask him anything.

DX: So, he was kind of like a mentor?
Murs: Yeah, definitely

DX: There is definitely a west coast vibe on this album in terms of beat selection. Was that conscious since it was your debut or was it just a natural thing?
Murs: I don’t think I have ever found a producer that really complements my…when I talk, people can tell I’m super west coast. You can listen to other west coast rappers and you can’t tell where they’re from. They’re just good rappers. But, me, you can tell where I’m from and a lot of people here respect me for that like, "You really represent L.A." I’m a dope west coast rapper. It wasn’t conscious but when I set out to do this record, I knew I’d finally get to pick beats that I feel represent me. A lot of the producers on this record share some of the same experiences. We may not be the same people, but we all grew up here.

DX: In terms of lyrics, though-you took a risk. On your major label debut, you dropped that “Science” straight out the gate. Why?
Murs: I feel like this is my chance to say something to black kids. Especially with what’s going on in the projects, and also they just repealed the crack cocaine law. I’ve always wanted to tell the story, a little bit just mention the real Rick Ross, for what he’s done. And also, I speak to a lot of white kids. I know my fans are white. Instead of talking directly to black kids, I tell them what they need to know about us instead of telling black people what they already know or telling my white fans stories they can’t learn anything from. A lot of white kids, and a lot of black kids just don’t know where Hip Hop came from, and they don’t know that racism still exists. Or they think the complete opposite and they think that black people who are intelligent and want revolution hate them, which is not true. So, I felt like I had a lot to say. I had finished the record before working with Scoop [Deville]. And my publicist was kind of like, "All the stuff you come in here and we talk about and build about, I don’t hear any of that on the record." I was like, “Word?” Then Scoop showed up, and I loved all of his beats like this kid’s amazing and then we sat down and talked and he was super cool. So, I was like, fuck it. Then, I heard that “Science” beat and it reminded me of some Rakim shit where you could just be real monotone and just...Ya know? Continued on page 3 »