Whenever you find yourself in a circle of stoners, be sure to utter this legendary line: ‘When the stress burns my brain just like acid raindrops/ Mary Jane is the only thing that makes the pain stop.’ If you’re hanging with the night crowd you’re guaranteed a round of nostalgic smiles and sleepy nods of approval ‘mdash; all in tribute to the Los Angeles underground’s chiefs of state, People Under The Stairs.
Producer/emcees Thes One and Double K met in 1995 at the height of the G-Funk era. Their true-school collab started with an impromptu beat session at Martin’s Records, which led to the debut of The Next Step, a score of jazz rhythms and raw bass to the duo’s bottomless pit of slick wordplay.
After intense grassroots promotion, PUTS finally saw the commercial release of Step in 1998, at which point it began gathering critical acclaim from all corners. The pair then signed to San Francisco’s Om Records, where they completed 2000’s sophomore effort Question in the Form of an Answer. A short two years later, O.S.T. ballooned their fan base with on-the-low single ‘Acid Raindrops,’ an ode to the theraputic wonders of Mary J.
To feed their growing fan base, PUTS released EP …Or Stay Tuned, a reflective collection of reworked older material that perhaps foreshadowed the four-year hiatus that followed. Fortunately, PUTS pulled themselves togther in 2006, back in the studio to record 20-track funk celebration Stepfather. Most recently, a decade after their debut, 2008’s Fun DMC ascertains full-circle evolution, spitting rhymes over video-game blips and riffing on ghetto barbecues.
Solo players in their game, these two value consistency over currency. Each album in their vault capitalizes on a distinctly percussion-heavy Saturday-morning-cartoon vibe ‘mdash; masterfully harkening back to the golden-oldie crews of yore. Whether it’s their beat-machine skills on tracks like ‘Blowin’ Wax’ ‘mdash; a staple snare and hat beneath rippled bass ‘mdash; or their lyrical odes to the ordinary (‘Working as a waiter, ’til midnight or even later/ At least they’re getting tipped/ See the cook is getting gypped/ Fuck a minimum wage he’s just another immigrant’), the duo has whittled their hobby to a sharp discipline. Bring your $5 bills, your baked comrades and your dancing kicks this Saturday ‘mdash; the Loft hasn’t seen a party like this before.
People Under the Stairs will perform live with Ugly Duckling at the Loft on May 30.