Undergods creating underground magic

• By RACHEL JONES
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: Nov 9, 2009

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In the underground world of hip-hop, the purity and passion of the artist establish credibility and longevity. Two longtime commanders in that underground army -- Keith Murray and Canibus -- have each created nationally known albums and worked with everyone in the rap realm from LL Cool J to the Lost Boyz to Busta Rhymes and R. Kelly.

The “beautifullest vocabulist” Keith Murray and “lyrical sharpshooter” Canibus have collaborated on a new project, The Undergods. Although they have worked together on records in the past, this is the first time they have put their original rhymes together to create something of their very own.

“We have known each other since 1992,” said Canibus. “Murray and I just happened to be in the same place and on the same side of the cyclone when it was spinning around, so we teamed up. We used both our momentums to move forward a project that would have an impact on hip hop.”

“We developed a friendship over the years, but our careers took us two different directions,” Murray added. “Our mutual friend then put us on the same record, which gave us the idea to finish what we wanted to do then. It made me want to do the things I wanted to do lyrically with Canibus.”

With over a dozen albums released in the past 15 years, both Murray and Canibus have established themselves individually as creative masters of the spoken word. It might seem difficult to work so closely together after their individual successes, but coming together as The Undergods has been an easy collaboration because both their passions lie within the music.

“The truth is all the artists no matter who they are, no matter where they are, no matter what their favorite element of hip hop is, whether it’s emceeing or spoken word poetry or making beats, we all have a common denominator, and that’s making the music collectively,” said Murray. “We’re not different in terms of what our goal is for hip-hop, we just don’t have the same influences.”

Canibus and Murray’s goal in creating The Undergods was to produce a unique album with skillful, original music that is true to the roots of hip-hop.

The Undergods seven-track EP was released Sept. 29 and is just the beginning for the duo. They will be releasing a full-length album called “The Undergods: In God We Trust, Crush Mics to Dust,” which will be out in the first quarter of next year.

“The EP is just a prelude to the album,” said Canibus. “It’s got 14 tracks and it’s the Undergods Keith Murray and Canibus together for the collaboration of the year. The album goes from song to song to song and is very meaningful. We want people to look inside themselves and see how they’re an undergod.”

“The album is a message out there that anyone who rocks hard and goes hard and speaks from the heart is an undergod too,” Murray added. “The album is bigger than just beats and Canibus and Keith Murray. We’re inviting the entire hip hop conglomerate -- anybody who has ever said the word hip-hop -- to a collected celebration of expression.”

Combining the best of their culture and hip-hop is what has made them stand out as prominent underground performers. Despite the lack of pop media play, Canibus and Murray have always focused on their lyrics and beats – the heart of what has made them so successful.

“When we started making hip hop music there wasn’t this mainstream vs. underground,” said Canibus. “Being in the pop world to me just has the difference of being signed to a major record label that is going to spend millions of dollars to get you popular. We rap and make albums because we love it.”

“A record deal was a record deal and it didn’t matter what label you were on, unless it came down to your label mates, like if you wanted to play for a certain team,” Murray said. “Mainstream infers for now, like what is going on right now. Underground infers forever.”