It's more than frequent when underground hip-hop artists you expect to

become something big sink back into being unnoticed and inevitably

disappear.

For Murs, it's only the end of his beginning as an ignored

artist. That is why he has decided to title his new album "The End of the

Beginning" and represent the hip-hop scene stronger than ever.

If you haven't heard of him yet, Murs is from the Living Legends family,

one of the most prominent underground crews from the Los Angeles hip-hop

scene. He's been MCing long enough to pay his dues, and now he's teamed up

with Def Jux, whom some say may be the strongest record label supporting the

underground scene, and shining like this is only the introduction of what's

to come.

I was a little skeptical to pick this album up at first because his debut

solo, "Good Music" was such a disappointment. Yeah, I know it's bogus, but I

burned his new album only to be impressed enough to pick it up on vinyl.

I'm the pickiest when it comes to underground hip-hop, but this album blew my

mind like I haven't heard in years. This is one of those type of full lengths that

you can pop in your CD player and play all the way through on repeat for hours.

With backing from the hottest underground producers such as Blockhead,

El-p, RJD2, Ant, and even the legendary Shock G, Murs flexes wit, style,

intelligent topics, wordplay and every element possible to prove he is more

than just another no-name rapper. There were no momentum-killing

interludes, ignorant statements or cliché junk. It was just Murs venting

over beats and speaking clearly enough for anyone to understand, whether

they're a fan or not.

On "Transitions of a Rider," he represents skateboarding as a part of the hip-hop

culture that most MCs don't touch on. Murs seems to be a very diverse person but he doesn't come off that way in his rap style. Rather, he just speaks of them and people agree. With an album like this, which only comes after long blocks of dry periods, it restores my inspiration to keep supporting this culture. This is the first 10 rating I've put on an album since I've been writing reviews, so it's definitely worth at least checking it out.