***K-OTIX Universal Japan Tour 2001 Limited Edition Tee. In doo doo brown.***
“7 MCs” was the standout on Spontaneity back in 1997, and a favorite at our live shows. Everywhere we went, people would ask us to reveal the identities of the people that we were (allegedly) dissing. It was around this time that we started writing the follow up, “7 MCs Part II”.
Dee Jay Big Wiz introduced The Are to the world-renowned Dj Cash Money. We humbly asked him to work with us on a track, and he graciously obliged with an amazing performance on “Do You Wanna Be An MC?” (Shout out to DJ Cozmos, who also laid down some excellent cuts on the demo version of the song.) The song was indicative of the vibe we were on at the time: being ultra-critical of the trends and habits of the music industry. It presented the harsh reality of being an indie artist in the mid to late 90s. Almost all of it still applies today. 7MCs Part II was the b-side, also with a reprise.
Once again, we pressed up the vinyl out of pocket, along with a limited run of t-shirts. We took the promo route and gave the shirts and records away to DJs. Back then music conventions were everywhere, so we’d trudge around with a heavy-ass box of records, seeking out DJs to hand them to. Vinyl was a huge deal back then. It literally meant between them not playing or playing your record. And you always had to give them doubles. This was 1998.
In 1999 we made the convention circuit again, this time promoting “Questions” – yet ANOTHER scathing commentary against the music industry. We pressed up a few hundred of these and pounded the pavement again. This time, our efforts caught the eye of (BUDS Distribution? If I remember correctly), and they pressed up additional copies for nationwide distribution. The hard work was starting to pay off. This led to another single distribution deal, and eventually Bronx Science.
Still debating about whether or not I feel like talking about Bronx Science…
