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NEWS : STORIES
Before he struck out on his own, Yukmouth made his rather unconventional name in the rap world as half of the Luniz -- the Oakland, Calif.-based hip-hop duo who hit it big in 1995 with the single, "I Got 5 On It." That track -- an ode to smoking
According to Yukmouth (born Jerold Ellis), it was that success that led him to split with his partner-in-rhyme Knumskull and record Thugged Out: The Albulation -- a two-CD solo set that is due in stores Feb. 23. "[Our label, Noo Trybe,] wanted us to be like Kris Kross," Yukmouth, 23, said. "They wanted us to follow up 'I Got 5 On It' (RealAudio excerpt) with another hit for the radio, and we tried. But the reason that 'I Got 5 On It' was a hit was because it came from the street. "I'm not about pop hits," he continued. "I write rhymes from the street." Representatives for Noo Trybe had no comment on Yukmouth's allegations. As Yukmouth recalled it, the pressure he felt from Noo Trybe when the Luniz recorded their sophomore effort, 1997's Lunitik Muzik, was the impetus to strike out on his own and concentrate on the reality raps he liked best. "A lot of Lunitik Muzik was corn-puff s---, and a lot of the good stuff we did didn't make it on the album," Yukmouth said. "I love 'I Got 5 On It' [from the duo's 1995 debut, Operation Stackola], and I'm glad that it totally changed my life. I make music for thugs, though, so I had to step away from the Luniz and go at this myself." While working on material for Thugged Out, Yukmouth found a home at Noo Trybe's sister label, Rap-A-Lot Records. He said that he didn't intend for Thugged Out to be a double-CD set, but when the time came to put the album together, he simply had too much good material to put aside. The 28 selections on Thugged Out: The Albulation range from the Southern-fried funk of "Sad Millionaire" to the bass-heavy "Mackin' vs. Pimpin'." (The word "albulation" is Yukmouth's own coinage combining the words "album" and "compilation," he said.) "Stallion" features rappers MC Ren and Tech 9 joining Yukmouth in disseminating sex tips for girls. Also on the sexually explicit tip is "Menage A Trois" (RealAudio excerpt), a song featuring Rap-A-Lot labelmate Tela. It celebrates the virtues of a threesome by re-working the chorus to "Can We" -- a song by the all-female R&B trio S.W.V. -- with lyrics such as "Can we get freaky tonight?/ I want you and your girl to come by." "That song is off the hinges," Tela said of "Menage A Trois." "There's nothing like seeing two women together, so it was pretty easy to write to. I was pretty tripped out when I heard the hook, though. I guess S.W.V. liked it though, because we got permission to use it." "This is the '90s. People aren't having normal sex any more," Yukmouth said. "I can only write what I know. There hasn't been a really good rap song about threesomes, so I had to write it." Yukmouth also uses Thugged Out to deal with some more serious subjects. On "Sacrifice My Life" (RealAudio excerpt), he raps about his sorrow over the death of his mother in a house fire and the passing of his father from AIDS-related complications -- before either of them could see him have success in the music industry. "Father Like Son" (RealAudio excerpt) is an open letter to Yukmouth's 3-year-old boy, passing on street knowledge in case the unthinkable happens. "If I pass like my father passed," Yukmouth explained, "I want my son to know how to hustle and survive. It's like me talking to my son, giving him rules to live by." "Still Ballin'," recorded with rappers the Outlawz, is dedicated to the memory of slain gangsta-rapper Tupac Shakur. "Of all the artists out there, Pac is someone everyone considers sacred," Yukmouth said. "I've got to give it up for Pac. Any nigga that's thugging owes it all to Pac." With his solo album under wraps, Yukmouth said he already is setting his sights on the future. He's formed a label called Smoke-A-Lot with the intention of putting out albums by rappers, rock bands and reggae artists. "I'm working all angles," Yukmouth revealed. "I listen to all music -- Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Anita Baker. I ride to all that and want to put all that kind of music out there. "It's going to be the biggest thing alive -- just like my album," he said.
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