MURS on MURS | Feature

Editor's Note: MURS performs Thursday, Nov. 3 at The Waiting Room Lounge with Tabi Bonney, Ski Beatz, McKenzie Eddy, Dash and Sean O'Connell. The 9 p.m. show costs $13. Learn more here.

by Steven Ashford

Nick Carter, aka MURS, may have the most extensive resumé in modern hip-hop. He's put out seven solo records in 14 years, including his most recent, Love & Rockets, Volume 1: The Transformation, which dropped last month. And he's rapped on 20 albums in the last seven years, in crews such as the eight-man, Southern California super group Living Legends; arguably one of the most dynamic hip-hop duos with Slug from Atmosphere in Felt; and in the punk-rap hybrid The Invincibles, featuring members of punk rock group Whole Wheat Bread. He's worked under the most mainstream of labels — Warner Brothers – to some of the most underground, including indie hip-hop label Definitive Jux.

With his laid-back, but highly intelligent lyrics, intricate beats and sincere stage presence, MURS has dipped his talent wick into projects that span a wide range of interests and concentrations. But one constant has remained: He's a true pioneer of West Coast, So-Cal hip-hop. 

“I feel like I've left a big representation on what West Coast hip-hop is," MURS says in a phone interview from Chicago. "But I also look to what has come before me and what has succeeded me. For instance, I think that Eazy-E was someone that paved the way for West Coast hip-hop. Odd Future is doing their thing and representing West Coast hip-hop in a new aspect. Tha Alkaholiks have definitely left their mark.”

MURS says he tries to stay up with what's happening in hip-hop, largely through Paid Dues, the hip-hop festival he puts on every April in San Bernardino, Calif. 

"But I think that it's hard to stay on top of everything in the hip-hop world," he says. "It's just a little easier to stay up on what's going on in my backyard.”

Paid Dues started as a side stage at the Rock the Bells Festival, known for hosting one of the best annual hip-hop/rap lineups. The festival was responsible for reuniting the Wu-Tang Clan its first year. Paid Dues focuses more on the underground hip-hop scene.

“We've been paired up with Rock the Bells Festival since we started about seven years ago," MURS says. "… We have our own Paid Dues stage at Rock the Bells and it has since branched out and we've done it as a tour. Many of the artists on Paid Dues I have worked with or know personally.”

Despite his numerous collaborations, MURS' signature smooth, soulful sound seems most honed when under the watch of producer 9th Wonder.

“He [9th Wonder] has hooked up more music for me than any of my collaborators," he says. "It's really something that we both enjoy doing and we like to do it together. It fits together well and there seems to be a strong fan base for it.”

The Invincibles, which teamed MURS with punk rock band Whole Wheat Bread, marked a unique route for a hip-hop artist. Regardless of the dynamic change, the music was still strongly rooted in hip-hop.

"Growing up, I was primarily listening to 'black' music: hip-hop, R&B, a little jazz and some blues," he says. "I wasn't influenced on [punk rock] prior. Once I began to tour and see other types of live music, I think that was an influence on my own creative process. The influences to write this kind of music can come from anywhere, like when I'm writing music for myself. It can be from what I'm reading at the time, to where I'm traveling, etc.”

Then there was the collaboration with Ed Banger records founder and French electro producer Busy P, who has managed some of the world's largest electronic bands, such as Daft Punk and Justice. The track produced out of this meeting, “To Protect and Entertain,” is a heavy hitting, sound-surging dance party electro-beat overlaid with MURS' rhymes. 

“I got in touch with the Ed Banger crew through Warner Bros. I wanted to work with Justice, and P manages Justice, and they weren't available to do a record at the time because they were on tour, and P said that he really wanted to 'get MURS on my beats,' and I said, 'why not?' It was great and I hope that we can collaborate in the future. I value working with different artists. I think it benefits my craft to be able to work with different people.”

It's clear MURS has reached his success through hard work and perseverance. He says so himself, in fact, in the track “Varsity Blues pt 2”: They say I'm at my best when I'm the most stressed out / It's like I only see success when I'm wrestling with doubt.” 

“I would say that this stands true not only in my writing process but everything in life," MURS says. "It's human nature, and when we're in dire straits and we're operating at our most efficient levels, stress is what pushes us.”

Steven Ashford is an editorial intern at Hear Nebraska. He thinks MURS is tight, tight enough to write this story twice (save fail). Contact him at stevena@hearnebraska.org.