Muggs Albums (6)
'Muggs Presents the Soul Assassins, Intermission'
Release Date 6/23/2009
Tracks 15
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Pain Language'
Release Date 9/15/2008
Tracks 16
Label Gold Dust Media
See Album Tracklist and Review
'The Legend of the Mask and the Assassin'
Release Date 9/11/2007
Tracks 16
Label Universal Latino
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What The Critics Say
Release two years after his excellent Grandmasters collaboration with Wu-Tang's GZA, DJ Muggs' 2007 album with the lesser-known Sick Jacken finds the Cypress Hill DJ on a serious roll. Jacken is a member of the Psycho Realm crew and also a free spirit with a troubled soul who's always willing to face controversy or challenge authority. Muggs' dusty beats and eerie productions fit the man's style perfectly, and offer their own commentary as disembodied voices sampled from conspiracy theory documentaries and other revolutionary sources whisper through the murky soundscapes. The album's key track, "God's Banker," is a dangerous tale of corruption in the Vatican that makes the Papal State sound as ominous and sinister as Area 51. On the cut, Jacken offers "The Pope heard about a rise in the cop's interest/And how a thing like that could take a business off hinges/Man, the worst is the witness stand/Before it gets to this, you jump on the hit list plan" as if Rome were Compton, and without flinching. The low-rider slide of "El Barrio" offers sweet but temporary relief from the bleakness while the fuzz punch beat of "Unorthodox Blocks" should please the Cypress fans. The rest of the album is best suited for creeping reapers or fallen angels, and while it's not what you'd call approachable, this is without a doubt a unique, inspired, and often unsettling triumph. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'Grandmasters: Instrumentals'
Release Date 4/18/2006
Tracks 12
Label Angeles
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The reasons for releasing an instrumental album are always a little uncertain. Is it for remix purposes (is everyone hoping for his very own The Grey Album)? To help aspiring rappers practice their delivery? To show off the skills of the producer, which are often overlooked in favor of those of the MCs? For DJ Muggs Grandmasters: Instrumentals, the latter option is most probable, because Muggs is one of the few producers whose work is worthy of an instrumental-only version. He's a master -- no pun intended -- at creating intense, dark beats that rely less on drums and more on guitars, bass, and keys, both sampled and live. It's a pulsing, lurking snake of an album, and it's very much alive, even without the vitality of GZA's lyrics. Muggs keeps most of the vocal clips in the record, so the chess instructions, the musings on hip-hop, the voice samples, are all included, which, although the individual tracks do get a little repetitive within themselves, give the songs a little more direction than "pure" instrumentals would. Because Muggs and GZA work so well together, many of the same ideas that the rapper introduced on the original version can also be felt in the music: the confidence, the intelligence, the violence, and it holds itself up quite well as a record. Like most instrumental-version albums, that of Grandmasters is the kind of a thing that works better in the background (but only for those who want to forgo the fluffy or lighter things and set a dramatic, animated, and sinister mood) as opposed to, well, the foreground. But that's simply because of its strong hypnotic tendencies, and not because the skill of DJ Muggs shouldn't actually be listened to and appreciated. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Considering that Cypress Hill's DJ Muggs and Wu-Tang MC GZA have been collaborating since 1997, when Muggs was releasing his first Soul Assassins record, it makes a lot of sense that the two of them got together to create a full-length record. DJ Muggs gave GZA a copy of 15 of his beats, and two months later they met up in L.A. to record Grandmasters. Of course, the attention of the record is focused on GZA's rhymes, as it should be, but Muggs, the skilled producer that he is, makes his presence felt without being blatant about it, and provides a very good, dramatic backdrop for the rapper. Grandmasters refers both to chess and hip-hop, the two main topics of the record. The song titles allude to situations encountered in a chess game (many of which are briefly described in interludes by Russian-accented speakers), but GZA and the other rappers featured on the record (Wu-Tang associates RZA, Raekwon, Masta Killa, Prodigal Sunn, and Cypress Hill's Sen Dog) use the titles as interpretations of life. As if this weren't obvious enough, GZA himself explains that his love of chess is due to "the great high" he gets from "the movement...war, capturing, thinking, strategy, planning. It's music, it's hip-hop, it's sports, it's life, it's reality." It's a kind of concept album, with the two "grandmasters" of the game explaining the rules to everyone else. Structurally, the record starts out aggressively and strong, with songs like "Exploitation of Mistakes" (with GZA giving an almost news-report delivery) and "General Principles" introducing the ground rules and common errors. As the album moves along, the songs smooth out a little; the initial anxiety has turned into deliberation and strategy. In "Queen's Gambit," GZA, with some ingenuous use of NFL metaphors, seduces -- or perhaps is seduced by -- the most powerful player on the board. The end becomes apparent in the dramatic, synthesized-string-driven "Unprotected Pieces," about the "very unforgiving environment" of the rap music industry. "Illusory Protection" exposes the lack of talent in many MCs ("most of them be swinging wild and then drop the bat") and the final blow seems inevitable. But GZA is too smart to have things end so easily. Chess, life, and hip-hop are much more complicated than that. The closer, "Smothered Mate," isn't celebrating a win. It's about pain and torture and people who "Draw pistols to resolve issues/It give them a sense of closure to expose the brain tissue." This is no victory song; this is violent reality. Grandmasters is a brilliantly executed and complex record that effectively shows off the skills of the participants, and is definitely not something that should be taken as a game. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Assembling an intimate set of collaborators from the rock community, Muggs breaks from his usual hip-hop projects and takes a second stab at electronica on Dust. His first attempt was with 1999's Juxtapose, an uneven pairing with Tricky that was dominated by the British rapper's paranoid, druggy sound. Dust is more focused, with Muggs delivering a frequently brilliant collection of dense yet lovely soundscapes. The producer crafts each track with meticulous detail, mixing electronic beats, live instruments, and bizarre samples into epic down-tempo pop. Most impressive is "Rain," a majestic ballad that blends a shuffling beat, orchestral strings, acoustic guitars, and the fragile voice of Buckcherry's Josh Todd into a melancholy gem. "Tears" is a far more menacing highlight, boasting a tense mixture of ghostly female vocals and pounding dance beats. A collaboration with Greg Dulli results in "Cloudy Days," a gritty drug ballad that recalls the menacing soul of the Afghan Whigs' 1965; while the throbbing "Morta" is a seductive, slow burning vamp revolving around moody orchestral flourishes and a lazy tribal drumbeat. "Far Away" finishes the record with a sweeping dream pop coda, slowly devolving from a haze of chiming guitars and buried vocals into a blend of lush synths and chanting. The album's subtle build from bleak electronica to ethereal alternative rock is a stunning accomplishment; his productions haven't maintained this kind of flow since the first Soul Assassins disc. Muggs has made a phenomenal journey back into trip-hop, delivering a brooding masterpiece of cinematic beats and late-night atmosphere. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
