Murs is ready to unveil his major label debut. After making a name for himself in the indie rap circuit, the Los Angeles-based rapper is now attacking the mainstream world with Murs for President, his debut on Warner. For any independent act, this may seem like a daunting task, but Murs sees nothing but good in the transition. Recently, HipHopDX caught up with Murs to speak on his new album, what fans can expect and more on his future projects with Slug [click to read] and 9th Wonder [click to read]. Plus, he shed light on why he is ready to “shame” all mainstream emcees.
According to Murs, a lot of time and effort has been put into making this record for different reasons. When asked what his approach was, he replied with two different takes on his intentions.
“I make three albums a year. I wrote 60 songs for this record, you know. This is just the 14 best of ’em. I’m not concerned with ratings or first week or all the numbers. I just wanted to make a good positive record and write some good songs just to showcase my skill, of course, cause this is rap but also just to contribute to the Hip Hop legacy and the overall oral tradition of music,” he said.
“And yeah, part of me does want to kill the mainstream because all these dudes suck. None of them are a better rapper than me. None of them are a better live performer than me. Hands down. I will shame anyone on any major label, on my label, on any label. That’s how I feel. I represent the independent circuit, where we really rap and we really perform. I compete against Brother Ali [click to read], Atmosphere. Those are my peers. Those are the people that I consider to be great rappers in the modern age. All these people on major labels are full of shit, as far as I’m concerned.”
The first single, “Can It Be,” is already out, which was kind of an unexpected move.
“What’s out now is ‘Can It Be,’ and I didn’t expect that to be a single or really to do a video. So, I think we’re doing a video for that and after that is ‘Lookin’ Fly’ which should be a pretty big scale video and a big scale push.”
Those who cop the album’s special edition are also in for something extra.
“The first 10,000 records on this album will have a DVD. We shot a 30 minute short film. Anybody that gets the special edition will get that.”
“It’s a comedy about me running to be the president of Hip Hop,” he added. “It takes off from the intro. I have some adversaries. There this character called ‘The Niggama’ who kind of represents the gangster rap and then the corporate world is represented by this white candidate. It’s just us having debates. You know, they try to assassinate me and the government creates a clone. It’s a crazy movie, man! It’s funny.”
Murs also added that the next Murs/9th Wonder project is in the works and has a title but that it’d be too early to say what that title could be. Also, expect more from Felt before that, and some new projects including one with Terrace Martin, who contributed to Murs for President, as well.
Murs isn’t just running for president on the album, he is also taking part in the current presidential election. He will be attending this year’s Democratic National Convention, set to take place from August 23 through August 29 in Denver, Colorado. He will be on the field, interviewing young fans, politicians and supporters. He will also give a couple of speeches and perform at an after party hosted by Will.I.Am (who also co-produced a track on his new album).
Murs For President, which features guest spots from Snoop Dogg, production from Scoop Deville and 9th Wonder and mixing from DJ Quik, is set to be released September 30.
