Mystik Journeymen,
who have just come off a 55 city tour with Tha Liks, are preparing to drop their
fourth album, Magic, on Outhouse/Revenge Entertainment. Corey Johnson
aka Sunspot Jonz and Tommy Woolfolk AKA PSC aim to inspire people to pursue
their dreams on this album. The album reflects their personal struggle and the
politics of the rap game.
"We’ve been doing this for so long,"
says Sunspot, "we can see through the b#######! It amazes me that to this
day people still ask us to do shows for free. How many sold out shows do we
have to perform until we get paid?"
Well, it appears that it won’t be long, if that
problem is still happening. The album features Me’shell N’Degeocello as well
as others. The group remains humble despite having to deal with industry politics,
and group member PSC sums the album up. "It’s what all of us artists have
to go through in the business. The struggles, all the people you meet and think
your friends and then they turn their back on you."
If you aren’t familiar with Mystik Journeymen,
it all started in 1993 when Johnson and Woolfolk met at a party in Oakland.
Later that year, after forming the group, the two decided to move in together
to a loft in Oakland and throw parties to showcase their music. Alongside local
pioneers like E-40 and Too Short, the group carved a permanent place for themselves
in the landscape of Bay Area hip-hop. Without any major label backing, the group
toured the world and created their own buzz. Critics continue hail their live
show, but more impressively, they are one of the few hip-hop acts today who
can sell out venues of 3000! In 1996 their debut studio album, 4001 was released.
Since then they continue to drop records (In 1998 they dropped World Wide,
in 2000 Black Sounds of Eternia ) and build a worldwide network of dedicated
fans.
Through the turbulent times of the music business Mystik Journeymen remain unscathed.
"It’s been the benefit of being totally indie from the start," says
Sunspot. "We only rely on ourselves so we aren’t beholden to a label or
effected by the industry woes."