Purchase the Kill Devil Hills album from itunes or Best Buys and email a photo of you receipt to KHDbonus@fatbeats.com to redeem a free poster and sticker pack. All details below click on image!
HHG: You’ve done so much work, from Cypress, to your solo projects, to other artists albums. What keeps you going year by year on a creative basis?
Muggs: I’m still inspired man. To be honest, I still love music and I’m still inspired…but now, where I’m at, I don’t like making beats. So for me to be inspired now, I need to sit down and work with an artist on a project, like this record with Ill Bill, like the record with GZA. I get inspired to do projects, not really to do beats anymore…it’s kinda boring. But to do an album, to see a project from beginning to end, I’m still into it man. I like painting pictures, I’m an artist, you know what I mean? I don’t think I’ve even reached my peak yet to what my full potential is, you know what I mean? I still think I’m a work in progress.
HHG: In terms of working with Bill, is that an idea you guys had – to actually do a full album? Or did you guys do a track, like This Is Who I Am off Bill’s Hour Of Reprisal album, and you were like, we’ve got some chemistry, let’s keep this thing going.
Muggs: No, we definitely talked about doing a full album. Then, once we sat down and started working on it, we sat in the studio for like 10 days and it didn’t feel like 10 days. It didn’t even feel like we were working man. We came out of the studio after 10 days, with 12 songs, and just hung out and talked and had the basketball game on in the background…we smoked some weed and just chilled and the album was done man. That’s what it’s supposed to be man – an exchange of energy, an exchange of ideas, just sittin’ back and enjoying yourself man, you know? That’s exactly what the record was. When I gotta call the manager and book studio time and muthafuckaz don’t show up and it’s all this corporate shit…that ain’t what I got into this game for. I got in this shit to sit back and, you know, paint pictures I feel like painting.
HHG: I love hearing that passion and enthusiasm in your voice…
Muggs: Right…
A Raptalk exclusive interview with Ill Bill & DJ Muggs! These two legendary musical figures have come together for a collaborative album, “Kill Devil Hills” being released on Tuesday, August 31st.
A very interesting and unique project, we get a lot of in-depth information from both Muggs & Bill who were both happy to join us for the interview.
We discuss the albums title, “Cult Assassin” first single, Fatbeats Records, interesting cover art and more.
With a track on the album titled “Illuminati 666”, do Muggs & Bill believe in the illuminati? We ask them!
And much more below…
Raptalk.net: We’re right here with Ill Bill & DJ Muggs. This is a Raptalk exclusive. The collaboration album between you two “Kill Devil Hills” drops August 24th. Explain that title to us, because that is very unique.
Ill Bill: That’s a real place in North Carolina called kill devil hills. It’s actually the birth place of aviation. The Wright brothers actually took flight and built the first airplane in kill devil hills North Carolina. It’s just a crazy name. There are a bunch of different reasons [for the album’s title]. I don’t really wanna’ break it down too much. I want y’all to get the album and see for yourself. But I see you like that name. It’s crazy right?
Raptalk.Net: It’s crazy. I can definitely see some deeper meaning to that.
Ill Bill: Yeah, there are a bunch of different reasons. We can talk about that for an hour.
Raptalk.Net: No doubt. On the first single, the first track off the album, “Cult Assassin.” Talk to us about that record.
Ill Bill: “Cult Assassin” is the theme song for the whole album. If this were a movie, that’s the song that would play during the opening credits. It just jumped out as the one. It’s the first song on the album so I felt that should be the first song y’all should hear. I and Muggs dropped that one for y’all.
Raptalk.Net: And without getting into too much of the politics of course, why Fatbeats Records as the label to release this project?
Ill Bill: I’ve been working with Fatbeats for a long time. I’ve established a good relationship with them. I and Muggs decided that we wanted to rock with Fatbeats for this record. It’s not too complicated; they’re people we’ve been working with for a minute. They presented something [an offer] cool and I and Muggs decided to rock with us.
Raptalk.net: Cool. Muggs, are you with us?
DJ Muggs: Right here man.
Raptalk.Net: We had Bill explain the title to us, so I want you now to explain the cover art, because it looks pretty cool too.
DJ Muggs: It’s an owl on the front. An owl can see things that we can’t see. You know owls can see things in the dark. It’s also a symbol for the illuminati. An owl represents a lot of different logical and spiritual meanings. We thought it best represent what this record is about, being that this record does have a lot of those same meanings.
Shout out to AustinSurreal for this ultra rare Cypress
Download – Cypress Hill live at The Underground Houston, TX April 10, 1992
Download – Matt Sonzala Interview with Cypress Hill – April 10, 1992 at the Underground in Houston, TX
After collaborative cult gems with GZA (Grandmasters), Sick Jacken (Legend of the Mask and the Assassin) and Planet Asia (Pain Language), DJ Muggs has somehow managed to raise the bar in his Vs. series with Kill Devil Hills, the latest installment that matches up the Cypress Hill producer with Brooklyn emcee and Non-Phixion front-man Ill Bill.
The thing that’s most striking after the first listen is how natural the album feels. The earlier trifecta of Vs. albums weren’t lacking much, but they really did feel like versus albums; a top notch emcee and producer dropping their signature styles into the pot and harnessing the collision. That formula makes one kind of appeal, whereas Kill Devil Hills feels a bit closer to the first round of Wu-Tang Clan solo albums, not so much in a musical sense but rather by how comfortable it comes across. Kill Devil Hills is an album that sounds like it was recorded by artists who have a few years as an actual duo under their belts. Listening to the first track “Cult Assassin,” one can’t help but reminisce how right it all sounded when B-Real’s (also appearing on KDH) voice flowed over Muggs production for the first time on “Pigs.”
Just finished up with dj primer at headquarters radio show up at serious radio an ran in the brother reakwon . Earlier today we did a in store at fat beats records that the homie rza came thru to support kill devil hill – back to the hotel now to get some rest for new your rock the bells tomorrow
