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"We were probably one of the first groups in indie Hip-Hop to be like, 'Alright, we’re gonna do a 50/50 split, we gonna own the masters, or fuck off.' And Rawkus were the ones that, when we held our terms up, they were still there."
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In our minds, we had cracked the code, we had found out how to get money while doing the music we wanted to do and not kissing anyone’s ass, and not having to deal with anyone and not having to fucking play the game." "We went with Rawkus, because Rawkus was willing to give us the type of deal that we wanted. "So, we started meeting with people," he continued. "Rawkus had been putting records out, they had tried some rock records, they had tried some dance records, they tried a couple of Hip-Hop records." "When the Rawkus thing happened, Rawkus didn’t have any real identity," El-P explained. They'd landed on Rawkus because of what they'd already been able to do on their own with the Funcrusher EP. One of the things that we made sure was we were being ourselves."īeing themselves had always paid off. Basically, it was just us trying to say the most fucked up shit that we could say, but that we still meant. "We saw the humor in uncomfortable situations. "Co Flow wasn’t really about having a bad time, Co Flow to us was about having a good time being bad," El-P told Red Bull Music Academy in 2012.

It's the story of a scared little kid and a young man he became, retrospectively angry that he couldn't defend his mother. Having recounted a parent who liked to drink and took out his pain on the woman in his life, El-P lays the experience bare. "Last Good Sleep" is one of the album's most personal moments, as El-P examines his own contempt for his abusive stepfather. “Population Control” sits at the opposite end of the spectrum, as the group tosses conspiracy theories over thick, dark production that only allows for the lyrics to fire through the murky haze. "Blind" is one of the album's most attention-grabbing tracks, like a moment for the casual to catch up to the sonic density of the rest of the album. is almost defiantly inaccessible by pop standards, but that doesn't mean the group has no capacity for infectious, head-nodding tracks. The album's lo-fi, no frills production and centering of lyricism flew in stark contrast to the R&B-flavored hits that were becoming the rage and Company Flow helped cement Rawkus Records as a hotbed for non-commercial underground rap.įirst single “8 Steps to Perfection," highlights Juss and P's lyrical bonafides, as their verbosity shines over the swirling synth backdrop and menacing bassline. The buzz from that project landed them on Rawkus Records and set the stage for the group's full-length debut. Len formed Company Flow as teens in 1993, before Jus joined and the now-trio dropped their debut EP Funcrusher. They were children of The Stretch and Bobbito Show on 89.9 FM El-P and Mr. Len” Smythe, were a trio out of the NYC underground who had a love for classic rap lyricism and a "no bullshit" sonic approach. Rappers Justin “Bigg Jus” Ingleton and Jaime “El-P" Meline, along with DJ/producer Leonard “Mr. I used to go over to whoever's house - El-P, Kaos, whoever and make beats until I got my own sampler." They were friends of mine and taught me how to use their samplers. Producing came about because of Anttrx and Enuff Styles. I found myself wanting to do what he did so I tried and tried. "It was dedicated to me and I listened to it all the time. "I got into DJ'ing from an old 8track tape my father made a couple of days before I was born," Company Flow's Mr.
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The jazzy, cerebral aesthetics of just a few years earlier seemed like a bygone era, as the rap game became obsessed with floss and gloss.Īnd it was into that climate that Funcrusher Plus emerged. But for many, the Shiny Suit party was a major turnoff. Music videos were multimillion dollar affairs and rap hits had taken over the pop charts. On the one hand, rap music's mainstream was bigger than ever: albums by superstars like The Notorious B.I.G., Missy Elliott and Wyclef were selling by the boatload. No doubt, 1997 was a year where Hip-Hop seemed to be at a significant crossroads.
