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They set the city on fire at the turn of the new century. You couldn't listen to radio or watch t.v. without Derrty ENT popping up at least once an hour. Hands down STL became known because of them, yes artist had been out before but no one was really checking for the city until Country Grammar popped. Right after the release of that multi-platinum cd The St. Lunatics dropped their debut album Free City. You know you couldn't deny the STL vibe when the beat of Midwest Swing pounded through your speakers. I can't front and say Diz Iz Da Life wasn't my anthem even though I was broke as hell. But that was The Lunatics drawing you into their life and it felt good bobbing my head to it. We sat down with Murphy Lee and Kyjuan, brothers from the group who are very much still on their grind. Sitting down with these 2 brothers we didn't know what to expect or knew what type of reaction we would get to our questions but it didn't take long before Murphy Lee and Kyjuan opened up and told a story that went much deeper than the "U C ME" and "Derrty Ent". While their fame has come from music and continue to be associated by a label it was evident that these Lunatics are much more than beats, rhymes and colorful attire.
suiteSTL: Are there any rumors about the "beef" in the St. Lunatics that you would like to clear up?
Kyjuan: there is no beef between us, we are a group but we also have solo careers. So when people don't see us together all the time they naturally assume we are beefing
Murphy Lee: We perform together and then the next day someone will say they didn't see so and so on stage. The problem is we don't explain those kinds of unanswered questions.
suiteSTL: We put up a poll on our site asking who was the hottest rapper from St. Louis and you won Murph. How does that make you feel to have that kind of support from your hometown.
Murphy Lee: It feels good because I never considered myself the tightest in St. Louis. I just get in the booth and do me. I'm glad my city is supporting me, now I need that kind of support worldwide.
suiteSTL: We love showing love to everyone from the city, our readers however have a love/hate relationship with Nelly. A lot of times they say he ain't for the city anymore. If someone said that to you how would you address it?
Kyjuan: I would say Why? why don't you like him? They really have no valid reason not to. They say they hate him but in the next breath he walk in the club and you trying to dap him out or the ladies are trying to say hi
Murphy Lee: It's always someone hating, but the haters are still outnumbered. They still say hi to him even when they hating on him.
suiteSTL: What's your favorite Lunatics song ever?
Kyjuan: Man that's hard to say I don't have a favorite for real. I love them all but the first song on the Free City album I love a lot and was just listening to it the other night before a show
Murphy Lee: That's like choosing your favorite child out of your kids. It's the art of it so it's a picture painting on all of them. Now one might have sold better than the other but one isn't better.
suiteSTL: Do you still feel like you have something to prove in the rap game?
Murphy Lee: Nothing at all to prove. For some this is a hustle, some do it for the love of music, and for others it is a career. I can't go back to working a 9-5. I was so much younger than them and they did everything for me. I am my own man now so I have to prove to myself that I can do this and it's time Murphy Lee to grow up and do THIS and I like growing. The only thing that I have to prove is that I'm Boss.
From explaining their reason of not eating meat "Live people shouldn't eat anything dead" Murphy Lee and Kyjuan both let us into their world behind the music. Lee went into detail with great passion about his lifestyle choices on being a vegetarian and let us in on a secret about an upcoming project to inform the world on why he lives the way he does. If you think we were in a room with Murphy Lee and didn't ask him for the exact release date of his much anticipated album then you are crazy. No matter how many times we asked or how slick we tried to be with the questions, he remained quiet on details only informing us that he's releasing a DVD with a free Album. Murph seemed to recognize the respect he has of the streets but never boasted about being considering the best by many of his fans. While Kyjuan may be the most Colorful person with his gear and personality, there was no confusion on what his role is and how much respect he had for his younger brother who he considers an industry best. And if you think all that Green is just a fad, then think again because this man has always had his own image and personality. After telling us that "Green wasn't he is favorite color but he was green's favorite person" all we could do was sit back smile, respect his style, sense of humor and a personality that makes you want to be his friend. Kyjuan also stays busy behind the scenes with many projects including the handheld HD video cam, which made us have think were we being recorded. When asked what do you want suiteSTL readers to know, Kyjuan quickly responded "I'm Human" which prompted laughter and a few jokes from Murphy Lee but we understand the answer. They stress while people may talk about them not being personable, or complaining that they don't know enough about them, Kyjuan wants nothing more than to convey they he is a regular guy. Well may not regular but he is human! When we threw the same question to Murph he was all smiles as he said "I'm Free" responding to his current label status which he refers to "an Independent Situation." Murphy Lee who had the calm voice during the entire interview only came to the edge of his sit when he cleared up the rumors of the Lunatics beefing and how he doesn't like people comparing him to others in the group. He even challenged that if we had 10 haters on the blog (you know who you are) and they hung out with them for a day they would change their opinion of the group and realize how down to earth they really are, including the groups biggest star, Nelly. We didn't need to spend a day with them to understand just how real they were because halfway through this interview the respect we already had for them as artist, grew into respect for the two as men.
The Lunatics long awaited album titled "CITY FREE" will drop this summer along with Murphy Lee's DVD (which will include a free CD). And from the music we've heard so far from the sampler from the St. Lunatics should kill all doubt and send the haters to the corner to recollect their thoughts.
