Having not only released two solo projects in 2002 with Murs Is My Best Friend and Varsity Blues (both of which have already been covered on here), but also a collaborative album with Slug of Atmosphere, Nicholas Carter, who we all know and love as Murs, came into 2003 with, to his enormous glee, the first record deal of his career thus far. Underground MC El-P had started up his independent empire Definitive Jux in 2001 (or around then), and Murs was one of the first acts to sign up, around the same time as Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox, RJD2 and others. Murs saw this as a sign that he was finally coming out of the beginning portion of his career, and decided to base the concept of his next full length LP off of this exact idea, hence the title - ....The End of the Beginning. This record had the most anticipation around it of any Murs albums up to this point, and the double lead single "God's Work"/"Def Cover" only served to further build hype around this project. I mean, the guy created some fantastic work with no help from anyone, so who knows what he might be capable of in the hands of a legendary producer such as El-P?
Well, it seems quite a lot, as this is one of Murs' most revered projects, with many calling it an underground classic. Murs would go on to release some highly praised collaborative albums with 9th Wonder in the upcoming years, but in terms of his solo work this is widely regarded as the best, and I for one am very, very excited about this one. The project doesn't have too many features, but those that do show up include El-P, Aesop Rock, Shock G and Murs' group 3 Melancholy Gypsys, and these are all guys that I'm excited to hear collaborate with our host. As for production, behind the boards we have El-P, Belief (who did a song on Varsity Blues if you remember), the aforementioned RJD2, Ant, Mum's the Word and Oh No. That's a stacked list, and at 18 tracks long, this is the second longest Murs album so far (after Good Music, which barely beats it by... 10 tracks? What?), meaning he has plenty of time to prove himself across the runtime. I've already heard one of these songs, that being the single "God's Work", and to say that song was great would be an understatement - it's possibly the best song I've heard from the guy. Otherwise, however, I'm going in completely blind, and let me make it clear now that my expectations for this thing are pretty high - hey, it might even be better than Good Music! Imagine that! Murs is an incredibly charismatic and engaging MC, and with great ideas and production, I have the belief that he could have the potential to make a timeless classic here. So let's hope this goes well, shall we? On with it, then.
1. You & I (prod. Tate the Example)
Well, shit... I was not expecting that. Remember "Like What" from the Murs Rules the World album, where Murs tried to do a fast flow and failed miserably? Well, it seems he's been practicing, because his flows here are pretty lightning quick, and yet they sound nothing short of brilliant. On this song, Murs assures his long time fans that, even though he's a bit more famous now, he still cares only about them, and isn't it for the money or the fame, and that's a nice sentiment if ever I've heard one. Tate the Example (yes, that is a strange name) provides an energetic and bass-heavy beat for Murs to flow over which also sounds fantastic, and the hook just brings straight up energy to the table. This wasn't exactly what I expected, but perhaps it was the element of surprise that made me love this so damn much.
2. Dibbs Did This Shit (Interlude) (prod. Mr. Dibbs)
I haven't mentioned this yet, but this is the first Murs album I'm listening to with the CD, and let me tell you that the packaging for this is straight up dope. This whole booklet is nice as hell, even if the cover itself isn't one of his best. Please pick this CD up if you like the album - it'll be worth it. Anyway, the "(Interlude)" part of this title is only in the booklet and not the back cover, but we'll go with that anyway. All credit on this one goes to Mr. Dibbs, who provides some eerie cuts of vocal samples over some phenomenally haunting production for a couple of minutes - and hey, maybe having an interlude at track 2 is a good sign - anyone else read my review for Mobb Deep's The Infamous? I was a massive fan of this.
3. What Do You Know ? (prod. Belief)
It seems leaving a space between the final word and the question mark is common in hip-hop - I remember something similar to that on Common's debut album. Anyway, I believe this is one of the most streamed songs on here, so let's see if it deserves that accolade. And my God, it does. Belief's piano-driven production is triumphant and worthy of being played in the whip, and Murs proves on here why he's one of the most underrated rappers of all time. Sure, he doesn't come with crazy wordplay or rhyme schemes, but everything he spits is just so real and relatable, and that's the case here, with the verses being some of my favourite I've ever heard from him. I also thought the line "opinions are like rap careers, everybody's got one" was pretty damn hilarious, and the third verse was very interestingly written. I can sense that this one's going to get replayed a hell of a lot - it's truly brilliant.
4. The Scuffle (prod. Oh No)
One thing I do like is how there's not too many features on here - more time for Murs to shine. On this one, Oh No provides an incredibly atmospheric and off-kilter instrumental that is exactly the type of shit I like when it comes to underground hip-hop, and Murs gets back to his early days content - that's right, dissin' them whack-ass MCs. Thankfully, he does it in such an entertaining, clever and humorous way that it doesn't sound salty - it just sounds dope as hell. Also - "since your rhymes are as fly as a fucking emu". I mean, just read that line. Yeah, this song was truly excellent, and further increases my excitement for Oh No's other contribution later on.
5. The Night Before... (prod. Jlzzm High Definition)
The one thing this album is missing so far is storytelling, so, looking at the title, hopefully this song will give us some of that. And it did! Murs tells of three different instances when he almost got shot - once for simply stepping out of his car in a tense area, once for holding a phone in the presence of a gang-moderating patrol, and once trying to get revenge on some guys who shot at his boy. The whole song paints a picture of how tense and paranoid gang life must be, and it makes me feel lucky to have never had to experience that type of shit. Murs' three verses on here were incredibly engaging, and the production from Jizzm (seriously, what's up with these names?) was admirable. I absolutely loved this.
6. Transitionz Az A Ridah (prod. Patchworks)
This song's name appears to interpolate the title of a 2Pac cut - see if you can guess which one. However, Murs doesn't dedicate this song to the "Ridahs" that 2Pac does - he instead dedicates this song to skateboarders. "I first started skating back in 1986, and I still can't land a motherfucking kickflip" - shit, I relate to that. I actually did attempt skateboarding for about half a year, but I got pretty board (get it? No? Fuck's sake) by the end - it seems Murs loves it, though, so that's great. Anyway, this song's concept was silly, but I must say that it was executed well, with lots of hilarious lines throughout, and the percussion-heavy beat was entertaining too. Nice stuff.
7. Happy Pillz (feat. Aesop Rock) (prod. Blockhead)
Murs recruits fellow Def Jux signee Aesop Rock for a cut dedicated to their love for the drugs, and it's absolutely brilliant. Aesop Rock sounds kind of batshit crazy throughout this track, coming with some fantastic lyrics, and Murs is predictably fun and charismatic too. The chemistry for these two is off the charts on here - did anyone ever consider that they should have done a collaborative album? Also, Blockhead's beat is funky and gets the head noddin' with ease, even though the MCs keep comparing it to porn music for some reason. Unfortunately, this song is tied together by a whack ass hook that's easily the worst on here, and sounds like two drunk old men singing on a dark evening whilst being dragged home from the pub by their fuming wives - I guess that was probably the point, though. Other than that, however, this was easily one of my favourites so far.
8. Risky Business (feat. Humpty Hump & Shock G.) (prod. Shock G.)
9. The Dance (feat. El-P) (prod. El-P)
One of my most anticipated songs on this record - I've been listening to some of El-P's work recently, and it's truly masterful. Also, that "A Day Like No Other Remix" song has grown to one of my favourite freestyles ever. Anyway, on with this one. This track right here has some of that incredibly experimental and weird production that El-P is known for, and it's actually really good, growing on me throughout the track. Unfortunately, I wouldn't say that this is really suited to Murs at all. I mean, he sounds okay on here, but the speedy flows just don't allow him to express himself in the best way, and El-P ends up sounding a lot better than him on this track, even though I personally prefer Murs as a whole. Still, this one was pretty great anyway - anyone else feel a resemblance to Jay-Z's "Is That Yo Bitch", or is that just me?
10. God's Work (prod. Belief)
11. Def Cover (prod. El-P)
Released as the B-Side to the "God's Work" single, and the only other song on here (besides his feature) to get production from the E-L-dash-Producto, as he likes to call himself. El's beat on here is all sorts of grimy, as if he bought it straight from the clown peeking out of the drain entrance, and Murs flows over it a hell of a lot better than what he did on "The Dance". The majority of this track is basically just bigging himself up, and also taking a random shot at Common's Electric Circus era golf pants, but since this type of subject matter has only really been approached once before here, it's exciting, rather than trite or repetitive. This might well be the hardest and most bangin' song yet. Was that the same "I can feel it" sample from Redman's "Whateva Man" I heard towards the start?
12. Please Leave (prod. Oh No)
That chorus is on some Ol' Dirty Bastard shit, anyone else see that? Anyway, this is another song with three separate verses that tie into the same theme - someone needs to get the fuck out. In the first verse it's an attractive woman he started dating but got sick of quickly, and to be honest I was feeling iffy about the song at that point, thinking he would spend the whole song on that topic. Thankfully, however, he heavily improved the track with the next two brilliant verses - he got to talking about a friend who's staying at his apartment and fuckin' everything up, and then finally an MC who used to be dope, but his new music's trash and he needs to stop. If the song had come out nowadays, he may have been referring to Kanye West, or Busta Rhymes, but I ponder on who he was talking about back in 2003. Here are some guesses:
Juvenile: he had some "classics" in the late '90s (specifically 400 Degreez), but most people agree his post-2000 work is oversaturated and dull.
Ice Cube: his War & Peace volumes are hated on, and they were recent-ish at that time.
Raekwon: Dope as hell in the mid '90s, but you won't find a Wu superstan who actually likes The Lex Diamond Story.
Those are just some guesses, anyway. And yeah, this song was dope as hell - nice beat and hook to go with the phenomenal verses.
13. Sore Losers (prod. RJD2)
Wow, Murs is mad. On this track, Murs aggressively dares any MC to step to him, and even though the lyrics themselves sound more like mixtape content than an actual album cut, Murs' delivery really sells me on this one. RJD2's intense electronic beat also elevated this one up to the next level. This is a short track, and I don't have too much to say on it, but rest assured it's pretty bloody dope.
14. BT$ (feat. Sunspot Jonz) (prod. Sunspot Jonz)
Don't worry... this song came out in 2003, so there shouldn't be any relation with this to the infamous K-Pop group who also happen to suck ass (not that that's uncommon in pop music). Anyway, this short but sweet cut featured a fun and light-hearted instrumental from Sunspot Jonz (who gets a feature credit on the back for some reason), over which Murs mules over his excessive spending habits, which happens to include Star Wars prequel memorabilia for some Godforsaken reason. Was Attack Of the Clones really good enough to warrant buying the action figures, Nick? Anyway, this song was pretty damned hilarious, and was another that I just enjoyed more and more as I went through it. Oh, and "BTS" stands for "Born To Shop", "Buy That Shit" and "Big Time Spenders". Do what you will with that information.
15. 18 w/a Bullet Remix (feat. Ant of Atmosphere) (prod. Ant)
I don't know where the original version of this track went, but according to the CD booklet this is a remix, and is another where the producer seems to get credit on the back cover as a feature. This track sounded a lot more mainstream than most of the other material on this album, right up to the sung hook from Sunspot Jonz, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it - Ant's production was groovy, and Murs' philosophical lyrics were very engaging: I especially liked the way he started each verse with the same basic sentiment, just a different attitude each time. No idea what the song has to do with the title, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
16. Brotherly Love (prod. Belief)
Belief provides his third and final beat of the evening, and while it's not as exciting and celebratory as that on "What Do You Know?", or as classic as that on "God's Work", it's angelic vibe still fits with the overall theme of this song, which means I can appreciate it more. While the first verse on here was merely alright, as Murs' lyrics were a little too sappy for my liking, the second verse was a hell of a lot better, as Murs questions the attitude of the gangstas and thugs that were running the streets at these times. That second verse really did elevate this song to a new level for me, and the final line of "so keep it gangsta in your CD changer, not your residence" is one of the most prophetic I've ever heard the man spit. I really like this one.
17. Got Damned? (prod. Ant)
Murs gets mad again on here, but this time (unlike on "Sore Losers") his passionate anger seems to have a more real life fuel to it - Murs is mad at the industry, and the fact that he isn't getting paid, and how difficult it is to get the hip-hop heads to accept you. Ant's beat on here is soulful, and contrasting with some of the earlier underground sounds on "The Scuffle" and "Def Cover", and Murs' bars are constantly intriguing - it's this type of song that makes me boggle at how Murs manages to be so unknown yet so incredible. I mean, just look at this line: "if I don't go gold, then my people say I flopped, but if I go triple platinum, I'm not hip-hop". It's fantastic. And that second verse, man... you really need to listen to this one. It's truly brilliant.
18. Done Deal (feat. 3MG) (prod. Mum's The Word)
Murs brings old friends back to the studio for this one - Eligh and Scarub of his 3 Melancholy Gypsys crew, and Mum's the Word on the beat, who if you remember worked on his previous three solo efforts quite heavily. Murs of course explains why he bought these guys together for this cut on here - it serves as a thanks to those that were there at the start, and who had a huge help in getting to this point. Mum's the Word provides a chilled out and airy instrumental that is honestly one of my favourites on the whole LP, and all of the rappers on here deliver some brilliant verses. Oh, and that hook might be the second best on the record, after "God's Work" of course. The song almost bought a tear to my eye for the reminiscent factor, but the fact that the group got together for an album two years after this shows that everything turned out OK. And with that, we're out. Thank you! Thank You!.... [*thunderous applause*]
Well, that was bloody great. ....The End Of the Beginning just edges out Good Music to become the best LP in the Murs catalogue thus far, and believe me that's no small feat. This album is a straight up classic, and if Murs wasn't such a little-known MC then this would be regarded as one of the best hip-hop records of the 2000s, I'm sure of it. Besides his weirdly forced sounding performance on "The Dance", every single Murs verse on here is stellar, and at its best this has some of the man's best performances ever. Give it some time, and I might have some of these verses up there as some of my favourites of all time. The amount of quotables on here is insane, the rhyme schemes and lyricism is great, and to top it off the themes and subject matters are just always so interesting. There's no tracks on here glorifying drugs or violence, or just being dull in general - every song has a unique feel and theme, and Murs really just taps into all of them to the best of his ability. And while there wasn't as much storytelling here as I may have liked, when it did happen it was always easy to follow, and sometimes even hilarious. And we've got to take a moment to shout out the production on here - while some of the beats towards the end felt a little generic (especially those on tracks 15-17 - they weren't bad, just not very unique), most of the production work on here was experimental, and carries that quintessential early 2000s underground sound that I absolutely love. Features all performed well, too - Shock G and Aesop Rock especially surprised me with some fantastic performances that makes me want to check out their solo stuff even more than before. Congratulations to everyone that worked on this - Murs really managed to make a masterpiece, and a classic underground record that I request people stop sleeping on right about.... now!
Expectations: Exceeded
Best Track: "God's Work"
Worst Track: "The Dance"
Other episodes in the Murs-athon to be found over here
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