Snoop called him a west coast pioneer, the underground calls him a legend, his parents called him Nicholas Carter, but to hip hop fans around the scene, he is simply MURS, an acronym he currently claims to mean Making the Universe Recognize and Submit.
MURS, 41, is a veteran of the scene, having released 11 albums, with another already in the can, ready for release later this year. His current Over The Odyssey Tour is nearly a month old at this point, rolling through Brooklyn’s Elsewhere this past Saturday Night.
The crowd was slightly over one hundred strong, packed into the intimate Zone One stage, and was witness to MURS’ unique brand of conscious hip hop, sharing personal stories and songs of his divorce, the death of his stillborn child, the adoption of one child, and finally the healthy birth of another one a year ago.
MURS spent over an hour dancing, partying, rhyming and bringing the audience through his discography, playing parts of 24 tracks from all over his history.
The theme of being open and sharing beyond what the current mainstream hip hop soundtrack allows was continued throughout the night, with opening act Locksmith sharing a 30 minute set of personal rhymes, including tackling the subject of sexual abuse with his song “Hardest Song Ever”
The overarching message of the evening was that hip hop is a place for peace, love, and unity, and from opening New York act TRØN & DVD to DJ Eps mixing the greats like Dre with modern tracks by Lil Nas X inbetween sets, to tour opener Cojo, the love radiating through every bump and rhyme.
The Over The Odyssey Tour with MURS, Locksmith, DJ Eps, and Cojo continues until May 19, with information available at MURSraps.com.
