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DJ Muggs Talks Soul Assassins 3: Death Valley on Sway In The Morning | SWAY'S UNIVERSE
Oct 19, 2023
DJ Muggs is a legendary producer and songwriter famously known for his work with the iconic hip hop group, Cypress Hill. Earlier this year, he released the third installment of his incredible album series titled, Soul Assassins 3: Death Valley. Recently, DJ Muggs stopped by Sway In The Morning to give us a deeper insight into his latest release and to talk about his experience in the music industry. In this blog post, we’ll be discussing the highlights of his interview, the making of Soul Assassins and how DJ Muggs keeps his creativity flowing.
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DJ Muggs Talks Soul Assassins 3: Death Valley on Sway In The Morning | SWAY'S UNIVERSE
https://youtu.be/y6bG1esiRAU
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0:00
it it's only right that I think certain
0:02
people exist you know visit certain
0:04
spaces I don't think every space
0:06
deserves everybody I think some of the
0:08
spaces got to get their weight up before
0:11
they sit and talk to certain individuals
0:12
who have been the architect of sound
0:16
eras been the architect of successful
0:19
groups been the architect of taking
0:21
successful people and remixing their
0:24
songs to make them even more successful
0:27
for the sole purpose of the culture of
0:30
expanding the culture creating careers
0:32
creating economy I say that now because
0:35
when we first started we didn't think of
0:36
it like that but we are we are the
0:39
masters of our own universe so if you
0:42
put this man at the nucleus of his
0:44
Universe you know how many how many
0:47
vertigos yes how many lives he's
0:50
impacted how many planets how many
0:52
planets he's he's created and the stars
0:54
and the moons connect come on that's
0:56
what it is you don't believe me ask
0:58
funkk dubious give that a big round of
1:00
applause ask House of Pain give that a
1:03
round of applause ask Daddy Freddy give
1:05
that a round of applause you know you
1:07
know ask tricky ask jizza they'll speak
1:10
to it ask you too ask Janet Jackson
1:13
they'll speak to it ask CEO ask Method
1:17
Man he'll speak to it ask Rock Mariano
1:20
he'll speak to it oh that's my guy ask
1:22
Rome streets he'll speak to it okay
1:25
they'll all speak to his greatness and
1:27
his Brilliance a planet Asia will speak
1:30
to it axway and keing Tech and DJ
1:34
Revolution we will speak to it because
1:37
we supported this man from day one I
1:39
want to welcome him back to the show
1:41
this is my brother he's a icon as we
1:43
celebrate 50 years of hipop give it up
1:46
for the soul assassin himself the one
1:48
and only DJ thank you brother thank you
1:52
brother thank you very much that was
1:53
really
1:55
nice we've been doing this for a long
1:58
time was nice long time yeah know what I
2:00
need to do Heather put yeah there you go
2:03
okay thank you m tell want to make sure
2:04
I don't look sloppy no somebody got to
2:07
make sure you don't look sloppy right
2:08
just a extra set of eyes on you yeah
2:10
mugs you you your energy right now
2:12
reminds me of the 90s dude like it's
2:14
like you just you you got that Vigor you
2:16
got that excitement right now where are
2:18
you right now man we having a good time
2:20
we enjoying everything we doing man we
2:21
staying healthy man positive mindsets
2:23
you know what I mean waking up with a
2:25
purpose just to keep pushing stay
2:27
creative you know what I mean keep keep
2:29
letting letting these kids know like man
2:31
age has Age Ain't Nothing age ain't
2:34
nothing you know we get better and
2:35
better and creativity doesn't have a
2:36
time limit on it so you know I'm just
2:38
I'm in my Prime right now I feel you in
2:40
your Prime my Prime it's interesting man
2:43
that's DJ mugs right with first first
2:45
project came 783 was your first project
2:47
783 88 1988 Cooling and Cali W Cooling
2:51
and Cali um colors first go record and
2:54
colors colors from IC tea ice tea the
2:58
movie the movie colors Colors oh yeah
3:01
colors colors I am a nightmare stalking
3:08
psychop you know I going repost that he
3:11
got to man but I just want to put the
3:13
grav you know the the the gravitas on
3:16
your illustrious career and as it keeps
3:19
going we're celebrating Soul assassin's
3:21
3 Death Valley right um one of the songs
3:24
on your project features the one and
3:27
only CEO from Goody Mob uhhuh right the
3:30
name of the song is what's it called uh
3:33
uh uh J Joker wild Joker wild Joker Is
3:36
Wild in it CeeLo is uh rapping from the
3:42
POV very well too might I add over a
3:45
beat that seemed like it was custom made
3:46
for him as if he was a cholo absolutely
3:50
CEO loves the West Coast culture man and
3:53
and and and the whole cholo culture and
3:55
everything so I had digitized about 300
3:58
Beats from the '90s all these cassettes
4:00
and I was I put one on Instagram one
4:02
night and CE hit me immediately yo I
4:04
need that like all right man I shout out
4:06
to him came back with this song He's
4:08
like mugs I need you to have open mind
4:10
right now on this one right here I'm
4:11
coming from a POV of cholo goes I love
4:13
that culture man I I love them brothers
4:15
I respect them brothers what you think
4:16
of this you think they going to like
4:18
this they going to love this [ __ ] right
4:19
here man yeah and people heard it and
4:21
they loved it loved it because cholo
4:23
culture is something that doesn't get a
4:25
lot of exposure and has been cultur
4:27
appropriated plenty of times yeah and
4:30
the thing about what you were able to do
4:33
um and this might be something Nuance to
4:35
the West Coast is Cypress Hills music
4:37
Funk Dub's music different people you
4:40
that you uh produced was also like a
4:43
olive branch because it kept black and
4:46
brown people in communities it was it
4:49
was kind of like it unified communities
4:51
through music would you agree to that
4:52
right absolutely can you speak to the
4:54
time and era at that time and and how
4:56
you witnessed that like well we came
4:59
from was you know in the 80s and the 90s
5:01
growing up in Southgate right there it
5:02
was we was growing up like that with
5:04
blacks and Browns and everything there
5:06
was a lot of beef going on at the same
5:07
time but the music Def definitely
5:08
brought a lot of people together you
5:10
know definitely brought a lot of people
5:12
together um you know a lot of La [ __ ]
5:14
comes a lot of the prison [ __ ] flows
5:16
over into the streets in La you know
5:17
what I'm saying so it's a lot of
5:19
politics that go on out there but but
5:21
with us and my crew and my people every
5:23
it's all been love with everybody we
5:24
bring everybody together man and you
5:26
know we still do you still do I think
5:28
too if that's why I always say you had
5:30
to be there kind of like California it
5:32
was really different was California
5:34
different yeah it wasn't social media it
5:35
wasn't all these things to kind of give
5:37
you an Insight okay so that's what I was
5:39
going to ask mugs if you don't mind
5:40
sharing Me growing up here on the East
5:42
Coast like explain for maybe people
5:44
that's listening now what is cholo
5:47
culture cuz I I wouldn't have known like
5:49
I I don't what you say people took from
5:51
it uh CeeLo said he was interested in it
5:54
appreciated it in what ways like what
5:56
are some of the things that maybe we
5:57
don't we wouldn't know CEO loves the the
6:00
the the the the whole style from the
6:01
from the way they dress from the way
6:03
they talk from the car culture the low
6:05
rider culture you know what I mean we're
6:06
in the baggy khakis the white t-shirts
6:09
the ballheads the ls you know what I
6:11
mean and I think a lot of times in the
6:13
Hood the blacks and Browns they borrow
6:14
from each other in in the fashion you
6:16
know what I'm saying it goes back and
6:17
forth cuz a lot of places like in Watts
6:19
every people live together when the
6:20
borders you know I might be Mexican on
6:22
this side and black on this side but on
6:23
the on right on the borders everybody's
6:25
living together yeah la is mad
6:27
segregated it's so segregated in the 80s
6:30
they had to bust different kids of
6:31
different parts of towns you know like
6:34
they I I know Ice Cube and um and I
6:37
think dubc and JD got bust to Taft High
6:40
School from South Central LA they bust
6:42
him to White neighborhoods deep in the
6:43
valley you know what I mean just so they
6:45
can kind of like mix La up a little bit
6:47
cuz it's so spread out and segregated
6:49
you know out here out here everybody
6:51
lives on top of each other you know what
6:52
I mean it's right here you got to be in
6:53
a zip code your ZIP code determines
6:55
which public school you go to a high
6:57
school yeah so you may have passed Taff
7:01
because Taff is like four or five blocks
7:03
down from where King Teek and I live so
7:05
I always wonder how iceq got to the
7:07
valley got to the valley yeah and that's
7:09
how it happened so you you you had 300
7:12
beats on cassette tapes from the '90s
7:15
yeah just beats I never used on dats and
7:17
um cassettes and I just had them all in
7:20
said dats digital audio tape if you know
7:23
you know I had them in bags and storage
7:26
and I cleaned out the storage cuz that
7:27
[ __ ] was expensive they raised it to
7:29
like almost 500 a month and I did the
7:30
math for like 10 years I was like oh
7:32
hell no let me get that [ __ ] out of
7:33
there right now so I digitized them and
7:36
there's some heat on that [ __ ] yeah some
7:38
heat and you know CEO I sent I put that
7:40
one on Instagram one night and CEO was
7:42
like yo send me that right now let's
7:44
play that CEO song man we going to come
7:46
back DJ mugs is here man shout out CE
7:49
green solar is three Death Valley is out
7:53
now uh This song is called Joker's wow
7:56
uh CeeLo came on this and and I swear
7:58
CeeLo May have one of the illest
8:00
freestyles ever on the wakeup show wow
8:02
and when you hear him when CeeLo really
8:04
gets a chance to exercise his skill set
8:06
is you'll hear on this check it out
8:09
Joker wild that's Souls ass the soul
8:11
Assassins 3 Death Valley mugs is here
8:14
former construction worker oh you know
8:16
we work I work construction in high
8:19
school man yeah we work man former
8:22
construction worker hard work never goes
8:24
out of style I hear that absolutely why
8:26
do you make music do you make it for
8:28
respect do you make it to prove
8:30
something why why do you make I just
8:31
love it man I just love it there's
8:33
something in me that that I just don't
8:35
feel complete if I just ain't making
8:36
music a couple days a week you know what
8:38
I mean uhhuh and at this point man it's
8:40
like I I just like to find new talent
8:42
and and expose them to the public you
8:44
know like okay like look man this is
8:46
what's going out and keep keep what we
8:47
do and what we love keep this [ __ ]
8:49
growing man you know what keep inspiring
8:52
you were very um instrumental Ina in the
8:54
west coast rap trajectory um becoming
8:57
really prominent in the early 90s
9:00
um and and it it was different for
9:02
people you hear people who didn't really
9:04
understand it it just kind of hit the
9:05
ground running you know and and a lot of
9:07
the subject matter that Ice Cube and
9:09
folks talked about back then was
9:11
considered shocking um when you evaluate
9:14
and you look you look back at that time
9:16
what do you think West Coast rap's
9:18
significance has been in this culture
9:22
man just bringing a unique perspective
9:24
man like look what we do over here and
9:26
look how we do it and just spreading
9:29
this this this this La thing I think a
9:31
lot of this La culture in the streets
9:34
have like infiltrated a lot of this even
9:36
the East Coast Brothers dress and the
9:38
way brothers act you know what I mean I
9:40
mean early on New York was a big big big
9:42
influence on the west coast but as times
9:44
went on even even the gang [ __ ] from
9:47
through through the music you know what
9:48
I mean it kind of infiltrated the East
9:49
Coast do you think it's been a detriment
9:53
um cuz some will argue that the West
9:55
Coast style of rap um um triggered a
9:58
downfall in and how we think because the
10:00
music business focus if if the way you
10:04
think is the way you think that's the
10:05
choice you made and if and if that's
10:07
what you chose to do that's on you you
10:08
know what I mean and if you want to be a
10:10
sheep that's on you the West Coast did
10:12
what it did because that's that's what
10:13
we did you know what I mean and if it
10:16
wasn't a downfall in the music not at
10:18
all man we brought this [ __ ] to the
10:19
world man okay DJ mugs is here Soul
10:22
assassin three word mugs when you think
10:25
about all the decades that you've been
10:27
able to penetrate stay relevant and you
10:29
know sway started off by complimenting
10:32
your energy and we all feel it we all
10:35
feel the light that you have within you
10:37
what are some things in this new Prime
10:39
state of your career that you're doing
10:42
that you didn't do at the beginning of
10:44
your career and also maybe some things
10:46
that you've stopped doing that you used
10:47
to do in the beginning of your career
10:49
right now we um we we deep in Hollywood
10:52
right now so we scoring films I got a
10:54
movie coming out this Friday called
10:56
Divinity Steven soberg film um
10:59
comes out on Friday with Steven dorf
11:01
star congratulations we scored that and
11:04
another film Death Valley which is a
11:06
soulless ass movie I did with um Jason
11:08
goldwatch that's coming out you know
11:10
what I mean so we just expanding it and
11:13
and and always trying to um stay a
11:14
little bit uncomfortable and and and try
11:16
new things you know start playing piano
11:18
and you know get up wake up every
11:20
morning and work out you know hit the
11:22
sauna hit the ice bath you know what I
11:25
mean and you doing ice bath keep keep
11:26
reading keep learning another thing I
11:28
tell fools it's like you work hard to
11:31
make money man study your money study
11:33
your money study your money it ain't
11:35
gonna just grow by itself and don't give
11:37
it to some accountant some SE student
11:39
accountant and and let him be
11:40
responsible for it you know what I'm
11:42
saying and then get mad get mad later
11:43
cuz [ __ ] didn't go right is that from
11:45
experience yeah absolutely I tell these
11:47
brothers that you ain't going to let
11:48
nobody make your Beats why you going to
11:49
let this man take charge of your money
11:51
for you you know what I'm saying the
11:54
beat is your student either SE student
11:58
just get a book out man just start
12:00
simple you know what I mean start simple
12:01
and um and and go from there and just
12:03
keep studying and learning and make that
12:05
[ __ ] grow and work for you you know what
12:07
I mean DJ mugs doing ice dips not ice
12:11
dips what the hell ice B ice B my
12:16
bad ice dips
12:19
man what did that do prolong life or it
12:22
um it break it it get gets rid of the
12:24
inflammation okay know what I mean
12:26
around body inflamation in your body yes
12:28
definitely
12:29
just turns you on boy you get out of
12:31
that [ __ ] you feel you feel alive that's
12:32
for damn sure energy booster y but it's
12:35
also something like if you could do that
12:36
boy anything that happens to you during
12:38
that day you ready for it you're ready
12:39
for it ain't nothing ain't nothing like
12:41
going to fase you brother you know what
12:43
I'm saying after something like that
12:44
it's just about staying a little
12:45
uncomfortable and and just preparing
12:47
yourself for anything man I'm about to
12:48
ice dip today at equinox stop ice
12:50
dipping okay DB go ahead put his foot in
12:54
and go hell I did it mugs I want to ask
12:57
about um insane in the brain because you
12:58
know some people might argue that it's
13:00
probably one of cypr cell's biggest if
13:01
not the biggest record that they came
13:02
out with which you produced and the song
13:04
is built around several samples right
13:06
like drum breaks uh different elements
13:07
to build the song so what would you say
13:09
to somebody aspiring artist or producer
13:11
who if you have an opportunity where you
13:13
might not make a whole lot of money on
13:14
it but it's going to do a lot for your
13:16
career um and making that you know sort
13:19
of decision of like it's better for me
13:20
even if I'm not going to come out of
13:21
this you know financially winning you
13:23
mean it's financially winning from that
13:25
particular song from that song where CU
13:27
you know you got to pay so many samples
13:28
and but what it's going to do it's going
13:29
to you're going to get shows it's going
13:31
to put a lot of eyes on you you're going
13:32
to get a chance to come up to sway now
13:34
cuz you got to hit records you know what
13:35
I mean and then then it's like you have
13:37
a platform now to launch off of and
13:38
that's like do do it again it's worth it
13:41
it's worth it 100% DJ mugs and said Mike
13:44
m you want to jump in yeah M I'm really
13:47
enjoying the conversation about the
13:49
Chulo
13:50
culture cholo sorry cholo culture I love
13:54
how you even say fool I mean that's such
13:55
a la West Coast kind of vibe to you what
13:58
is the relationship like now between
14:00
like Mexicans and blacks like
14:01
incompetence themselves since Los anges
14:03
I mean it's it's it it differs from
14:05
block to block and neighborhood to
14:06
neighborhood and person to person you
14:08
know I couldn't like overall
14:09
everything's cool right now overall you
14:11
know what I mean but still it changes
14:13
from has been historical like for those
14:15
are familiar with there's been times
14:16
where the streets get hot man there's
14:18
just there's there's beef and
14:19
[ __ ] is Warren you know what I
14:21
mean but right now overall LA's La is
14:23
cool right now amen what have been some
14:25
of your tactics like when you were
14:26
mentioning earlier you've always been
14:28
the one that's like love that's what
14:29
we're going to put in the centor
14:31
sometimes that can be difficult yeah
14:32
when you come to the studio though you
14:33
know everybody that that's on this music
14:35
stuff when you come to the lab you know
14:37
we here to work man we here to work and
14:39
it's like check your ego at the door cuz
14:40
it might get hurt up in this
14:41
[ __ ] you know what I mean and
14:43
and just come just come in man and
14:45
everybody knows what they're doing you
14:46
know there's still some Knuckleheads out
14:48
there like they're always going to be
14:49
Knuckleheads out there you know what I
14:50
mean but but we we keep the
14:51
[ __ ] away from us now don't
14:53
[ __ ] us I'm sorry I got fired up mugs
14:55
got me fired up we don't [ __ ] with them
14:57
but you ever have like a incident at the
14:59
studio that got crazy nah not in La
15:02
nothing everybody comes with respect
15:04
yeah there it is Cypress Hill come on DJ
15:06
mugs hey mugs man I um first of all
15:10
congratulations on all that you've
15:13
accomplished and still continue to do
15:15
for this culture yes sir uh you're one
15:17
of those people that I want to make sure
15:19
it's talked about often your legacy is
15:22
in a DNA of a whole lot of successful
15:24
careers and it should be acknowledged um
15:27
and so I want to say I appreciate you
15:29
all that you done we I'm very fortunate
15:31
that we've had the opportunity to do
15:32
this [ __ ] together parallel right you
15:34
know from the times cypess Hill 783 was
15:37
one of the first groups we would play on
15:38
the Wake Up Show just because of the way
15:41
you uh the way you produced that song
15:43
that that sample you had um Cooling and
15:46
Cali sample was that was [ __ ] dope
15:49
right yeah cooling the gang sample that
15:51
was the cool in the gang sample okay and
15:53
so since then you've been totally
15:54
consistent to 2023 and he still got
15:57
projects still got him still got him
15:59
give it up for the one and only DJ
16:03
mug mugs at one point Cuban and be real
16:08
were
16:10
Rivals and now they're Brothers they
16:12
were brothers to Rivals to back the
16:14
brothers again and you got him on a
16:17
track on this album right yeah yeah on
16:19
this track um be real MC ran MC ran
16:21
Cypress Hill um NWA Cypress Hill joint
16:24
yeah basically dump on them dump on them
16:26
yeah did did ren be real and Ice Cube
16:29
were they in the studio at the same time
16:30
nah nah it was hard to you know
16:32
everybody was different parts of the
16:34
world you know and it was just trying to
16:36
catch up and get it done was a was a
16:37
thing but we got it done got it done
16:39
right it done Ren what you say people
16:41
don't speak enough about MC Ren man
16:43
Ren's one of the illst ever I love Ren I
16:46
love Ren to death yeah yeah Lynn was
16:48
super lyrical at a time when the West
16:50
Coast didn't get credit well not enough
16:52
credit for having super lyrical when
16:54
they started getting lyrical I think the
16:56
first cat out of La that was lyrical to
16:58
me was king T King first heard King give
17:00
it up for King absolutely give it up for
17:02
King absolutely that's real that was
17:04
when I heard shout out to King when I
17:06
heard the paybacks payback a mother that
17:07
first single I was like who the hell is
17:09
this [ __ ] right here yo that's
17:11
crazy and then from his lineage you get
17:13
exhibit you get the alcoholics and all
17:16
those all of that right and then Cube
17:18
just [ __ ] took it [ __ ] to another
17:20
level cub and ren you know what I mean
17:21
death sertificate America's Most Wanted
17:24
all those different some of the greatest
17:25
albums ever made right there them two
17:27
records yeah yeah man my man mugs DJ
17:30
mugs give it up for mugs yes sir we
17:31
going in this uh interview with dumo we
17:33
got off offset coming up next from Migos
17:36
if you want to talk with offset he got a
17:38
new project 888 742 3345 mugs thank you
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brother than you my brother every time
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man every
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[Music]
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time
#Arts & Entertainment