Murs (Feature)

Sustaining a 20+ year music career is something only a handful of artists achieve from their genesis. Even fewer are able to do so successfully across multiple iterations, groups, and record labels. When you couple those feats with an artist who put together one of the most iconic hip hop festivals and set a Guinness World Record for rapping for 24 hours non-stop, you’re left with one artist, in a lane entirely all their own: Murs. 

It’s difficult to adequately grasp and convey just how prolific, resonant, and diverse Murs’ career is to date. From a quick bird’s eye view, he co-founded the legendary indie hiphop supergroup Living Legends in 1996, is a member of 3 Melancholy Gypsies with high school classmates Scarub and Eligh, co-artist of the group Felt alongside Slug and Melorse with Terrace Martin, as well as the lead vocalist of the groups The White Mandingos and The Invincibles - and this doesn’t even encompass all of the various offshoots from many of these projects. 

He has been signed to major record labels (Warner Brothers) and stalwart indie hiphop labels (Def Jux, Rhymesayers, Strange Music). He put together the most insanely stacked hiphop festival, Paid Dues, for 8 years  running, which saw headliners like Wu-Tang, Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Odd Future, Nipsey Hussle, Scarface, Joey Badass, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mobb Deep, and…well, you get the idea.

Prolific. Resonant. Diverse. 

Despite such a storied career, Murs remains a bit of an enigma. Case in point: the official website to which his Facebook page points doesn’t exist, nor does his artist page on Definitive Jux (since the label shuttered years ago). This may partially be a byproduct of launching a career at the advent of the internet and before social media was a thing, but there’s no denying the influence the guy has had - and continues to have - across so many artistic avenues.

So it was an honor to attend a recent Sunday night show at Bellingham’s Wild Buffalo and see the man perform a set encompassing so much of his storied career. A career which, if his showmanship and performance that night are an indication, still has plenty left in the tank.

Keep up to date with Murs here and - in case that disappears - on Spotify.

Photos // Words by Alexander Hallett of Sattva Photo