Its no secret that People Under the Stairs like to party, therefore it should come as no surprise that they dedicated an entire album to their favourite pastime. Fun DMC is a theme album set during a backyard cookout, and while it would be easy to label the album as simply a party record, there are other elements at hand that make it work on many different levels. Tracks such as "California try to not only go beyond the Hollywood image of L.A. but also the gangster image thats often offered up as an alternative. "Ste. For Peter part 1 is about real life for Thes One; its a straightforward rhyme about raising his new son along with his wife, which works to also deconstruct what an MC is supposed to rap about. "Critical Condition gets to the heart of the album by hammering home the idea that just because a group have fun it doesnt make their music any less hard. The track contains a sleeper line about the state of the music: "A lot of fans got bored and left, and I dont even blame you, which many can relate to. Fun DMC also has a Toronto connection, as native son Odell is featured on "People Riddum.
Why name the album Fun DMC?
Thes One: Its just who we are; it is one of the ways we described ourselves when we were backstage and we decided to use it to name our album. It was important for us to have a record in our catalogue that was like this. In terms of our legacy, its the party record and it is not focused on anything in particular. [With tracks like] "Party Enemy, we wanted to let people know that we know what we are doing; it was intentional and a play on words too.
It would seem the trend would be to be more political in this election year.
There are a lot of guys getting political and they are preaching to the choir. We are very political, so much so that I dont want to rap about it. People are lacking time away. It is much harder to make a party record in these times.
How was recording this album different from past albums?
A lot of it was recorded in South Central at 52nd and Vermont at a BBQ. All of the sounds are recorded on location at different times. The album happens over the arc of a party; it starts at six and ends in the early morning. We wanted to record L.A., the fabric of the city, instead of yelling "L.A. on every track. We are repping the L.A. that people dont know, not the major label image
(Gold Dust Media)Why name the album Fun DMC?
Thes One: Its just who we are; it is one of the ways we described ourselves when we were backstage and we decided to use it to name our album. It was important for us to have a record in our catalogue that was like this. In terms of our legacy, its the party record and it is not focused on anything in particular. [With tracks like] "Party Enemy, we wanted to let people know that we know what we are doing; it was intentional and a play on words too.
It would seem the trend would be to be more political in this election year.
There are a lot of guys getting political and they are preaching to the choir. We are very political, so much so that I dont want to rap about it. People are lacking time away. It is much harder to make a party record in these times.
How was recording this album different from past albums?
A lot of it was recorded in South Central at 52nd and Vermont at a BBQ. All of the sounds are recorded on location at different times. The album happens over the arc of a party; it starts at six and ends in the early morning. We wanted to record L.A., the fabric of the city, instead of yelling "L.A. on every track. We are repping the L.A. that people dont know, not the major label image