Souls Of Mischief

Hiero members Tajai, Phesto, Opio and A-Plus discuss their latest LP “There Is Only Now” with Rap Genius. Section Bookmarks —————————- 1. “K-NOW intro” – 0:14 2. On working with Ali Shaheed Muhammed – 1:56 3. Making a concept album – 3:16 4. Influence of “The Warriors” – 5:03 5. 1994 – 5:50 6. The album’s premise – 8:23 7. “Anything Can Happen” – 16:05 8. “Ghetto Superhero” – 21:02 9. Collaboration – 24:04 10. “Synopsis” & “Meeting of the Minds” – 28:47 11. Making hand-crafted music – 32:53 12. “Time Stopped” & “Womack’s Lament” – 33:52 13. More on “Time Stopped” – 44:10

In an interview with VladTV, Cali legends Souls of Mischief explained the importance of mainstream rappers partaking in the battle rap world and more. Prior to the cancellation of the Fredro Starr vs. Keith Murray battle, the Heiro group says they would have put their money on Murray to take the title. “I think Fredro Starr got a lot of energy,” Opio said. “So he can bring a lot of drama. I wouldn’t sleep on him at all. I don’t think Keith Murray is sleeping. We all lyricists-vocabulary words- I think Keith Murray [has] that.” They also said they’re looking forward to the much talked about battle between Cassidy and Dizaster. When it comes to partaking in the sport, they would be down to battle rap but key aspects like money, and respect to their contribution to hip hop would have to be acknowledged. “I figure i would have more to lose,” A-Plus said. “i don’t have to battle. I still got my fans and I can go perform and go to studio to make songs. If somebody takes me out I’m looking bad.”

Bay Area legends Souls of Mischief recently dropped their 6th studio Album, “There is Only Now,” and chopped it up with VladTV about the writing process, featured guests and the true, disturbing story their new song “Time Stopped” is based upon. When it came to “There is Only Now,” the crew wanted the album to feel like “golden era” hip-hop, drawing from the best ’90s hip-hop producers in combination with the classic musical stylings of artists like Curtis Mayfield and Isaac Hayes. The album also features guest verses from Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes, which most fans may feel to be unexpected. However, they’ve all had a lot of love and respect for each other over the years and are all examples of classic artists who influenced the culture in the ’90s, yet are still relevant today. The group also goes on to tell the true and disturbing story that their song “Time Stopped” is based upon, involving a masked gunman threatening their lives.

Oakland’s own Souls of Mischief sat down with VladTV and shared their thoughts on the recent killing of unarmed teen, Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO by police, and discussed the general pattern of police brutality against African-Americans in the United States. They compared the recent Mike Brown killing to that of Oakland victim Oscar Grant, saying in both cases police obviously used excessive force, however they weren’t shocked by the news, as this is just the latest in a string of killings by police of unarmed black men. They even mention the fact that 2Pac was beaten by cops in Oakland, and that they themselves have been harassed by police, however due to modern technology the country can now witness the incidents and aftermath on a larger scale. Check out their full take on the issue above.