Power to the the People

Thes One: Well, man, we are really, really excited. We’ve been fortunate to go to a lot of places in the last ten years to do shows but this is one trip that we never really expected. There are a couple of markets we really [want] to go out and rock for but we never thought it would be possible – and China is one of them. I think it also means a lot to us because it kind of legitimizes us even more to the people around us who never used to take we what we were doing really serious. Even when we would tour Europe and stuff it didn’t really hit some people until they were like “You’re going to China? To Rap? Damn.” It’s a good feeling to be able to take what we started in a bedroom in LA in 1995 to this level. It feels really good and we are really excited.

tbj: What can a Chinese audience who might never have heard your music before expect from your upcoming show?

TO: Well, we’re known for bringing a funky good time to the stage, like Parliament-Funkadelic. A lot of it is unplanned, we just go out there, try to feel out the crowd and do whatever it takes to freak them out and give them a real party. We are more MCs than we are rappers; I mean we go out there and rock them and get the party started, as opposed to walking back and forth on stage really slowly with towels on our heads, rapping and cussing at the crowd and the soundman. The audience is going to get MCing, scratching, beat-boxing, dancing, the whole package from just two dudes. It’ll be funky and fun, and we like to think that you don’t have to like our records or even hip-hop to have a good time at a People Under the Stairs show. We are FUN DMC.

tbj: For those who are familiar, can you give us a few hints on what might be on the set list? Mostly new stuff from Fun DMC, or stuff from the Om years, too? Will you be taking requests?

TO: Haha, we always take requests. It’s one thing people can kind of expect, and people are always yelling out cuts. But you know, we have some songs people just want to always here. There’s six albums worth of material but you know we do stuff like SF Knights, Acid Raindrops, Tuxedo Rap. Stuff like that. Whatever they want, we’ll rock them. We’re gonna take it to the stage in China.

tbj: How's life under the new label? Is there a reason why you left Om Records after working with them for the bulk of the beginning years?

TO: The new label is cool you know. It’s nice to be on a hip-hop label with other artists like Large Professor. But the label doesn’t really change what we do. We are in charge of all the music and then we just turn in what we make and they put it out. We are still in charge of the whole process, for better or for worse. Om was cool but you know we had done our time. There were serious accounting problems and we were hitting a point where we needed a change. We needed to step out and get a lot of stuff off of our chests, which was what Stepfather was about. All in all we’re still on our journey. There’s still a lot more to come.

tbj: Fun DMC. What is this album about? Is it harkening back to a certain period of hip hop?

TO: Fun DMC is basically an album that captures a BBQ in south central LA from start to finish, like from 5pm to like 4am. And with every BBQ or party there is an arc to the night, you know it winds up, people start drinking, then it winds down and gets somber, then you go to sleep. And that’s how the album progresses, or at least how we see it moving. On another side, I think it does go back to an era where hip-hop was in part about having fun, partying and escaping all the bullshit that surrounds you. And you know, 2008 was a rough year in the US. The shit really hit the fan and with all of the stress of the election, it would have been easy to drop an album talking about the economy and politics, etc. We really wanted to give people an escape from all that. The album is just a reminder that sometimes you can put your chin up and just dumb out and have a good time. There’s no shame in the funk.

tbj: Dominoes, BBQin', getting high (on music, of course) – is your music all about just having fun, or is there something deeper to it?

TO: Well, it is in part about having fun but we drop a lot of important information in our music, we’re just not beating people over the head with it. The letters to the old school or 43 labels I like or LA9x songs are all filled with important historical information but we try to present it in a non-preachy teachy way, you know? There’s even a lot of profound shit on Fun DMC but you have to be checking for it. “Critical Condition” addresses some really important issues in hip-hop to us right now – for instance I’ve had it with all these rappers talking coke-selling and murder. It’s not happening. These dudes aren’t killing people and fortunately have never killed people. And if they have that’s not a God damn thing to be proud of. Crack still kills people, destroys communities and families. I don’t want to listen to a dude lie about how much crack he’s selling. It’s not entertaining to us. Especially when you have to deal with the effects, whether in your family or your community. So yeah, we got issues in the music, but nothing we wouldn’t talk about while drinking, BBQing and playing dominoes.

tbj: How/why do these things recall LA for you? What else to you is quintessentially “LA” or “California”?

TO: Well the BBQ is like a cultural thing for all of us in LA. It’s like a campfire. People come together around it and tell stories, pass along heritage. And we eat. It’s really an important part of the community and is a lot more than just about cooking food. Aside from that, there’s nothing more LA than Mexican Food. And I know that sounds weird but if you’ve tried to eat Mexican food anywhere else you know what I mean. Mexican food is better in LA than it is in Mexico. Plus we got NWA, 40s, the Lakers, surfing, the home of skateboarding, Low Riders and Hollywood. There’s a lot of original culture here. It really is a beautiful place and we’re proud to rep it and be a part of the hip-hop scene here.

tbj: What differentiates the LA hip-hop scene from others? Who else in the LA scene should folks worldwide – like in China – be on the lookout for?

TO: It’s tough to say. The LA scene isn’t really what it used to be like when we were coming up. But aside from that I think it’s different because LA is so spread out. In New York you have the boroughs, here we have different areas people rep. Aside from us, I don’t’ know if there are they many groups left from LA people should be looking out for. A lot of the people coming out of LA weren’t raised in LA so they don’t have the same flavor. A lot of people are moving here trying to make a name for themselves and the scene is made up mostly of people from other places. It’s sucked a lot of the flavor out of the music from LA at the very least.

tbj: Who are some of your musical influences?

TO: Ah man, too many to list. Peter Brown, James Brown, P Funk, Prince, so many people. It’s unfair to try and make a list. We both dig on all types of music. It would probably surprise a lot of people if they were hip to what we check for. We are just music fans. We love music. It’s not all about just hip-hop.

tbj: What was it like shooting “The Wiz” in Sydney? Why Sydney? Why "The Wiz" for the first video?

TO: It was crazy. Helicopters, scuba divers filming. It was crazy. Sydney and Australia deserved it though. They have been really good to us over the years. Maybe if China looks out for us we can get something dedicated going for y’all! We’ll see.

tbj: PUTS orchestrated a fake leak of its 2006 album, Stepfather. What was the purpose of this, and have you tried anything similar for Fun DMC?
TO: We were just funnin’. Just messin’ with cats. People want to illegally download, they get the illegal version – with us singing country music. For Fun DMC we did a free mixtape called “Funner Than Leather” which is really dope. It can be downloaded at www.piecelock70.com/funnerthanleather.

tbj: What’s good and bad about being your own DJ/producer?

TO: We’re tired.

tbj: What’s more difficult, finding a rhythm together or freestyling individually?

TO: If you carry your weight individually than everything falls together on the one. We free our mind and let the funk guide us. We connect.

tbj: What's the story behind the name of the group?

TO: It’s definitely not from the movie. It was 1995. It just kind of worked for what we did and kind of explained how we were in relation to the other groups and crews in LA. We just kept to ourselves and stayed on the low. Our focus was always on the music, not the politics or networking. We just didn’t care. All we cared about was the music. We are the people under the stairs.

An amended version of this interview appeared in the February issue of the Beijinger. Download PUTS’ free mixtape at www.piecelock70.com/funnerthanleather

People Under the Stairs stop off at Yugong Yishan

(6404 2711) on Feb 21. 9pm. RMB 80, RMB 50 (advance).