Where Are They Now?: The Shining Stars of Rawkus Records [PHOTOS]

Established in 1996 by Bryan Brater and Jarret Meyer, Rawkus Records was once the prime outlet for underground Hip-Hop during a time when shiny suits, jewelry and large marketing budgets ran rampant in the music biz. No shots, of course.

Many of your favorite rapper’s favorite rappers jumpstarted their careers with Rawkus. Besides a steady stream of fresh 12″ singles, the label also dropped a string of classic album including Mos Def’s Black On Both Sides, the Soundbombing compilation series, Company Flow’s Funcrusher Plus, and Black Star’s Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, racking up a few plaques in the process.

Sadly, all good things eventually come to an end and when Rawkus fell from the rank’s of Hip-Hop’s elite around 2004, it left some quality artist seeking new homes in the industry. Some ascended to higher plateaus, some continued to make music that represents Hip-Hop’s golden age, and others seemingly fell off the face of the earth. We tracked out of of the best for Where Are They Now?: The Shining Stars of Rawkus Records.

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Photo: Rawkus

Pharoahe Monch

First at bat is Pharoahe Monch, a South Jamaica, Queens MC known for his lyrical prowess, prolific rhymes and multisyllabic flow. While Monch only released the critically acclaimed Internal Affairs under the Rawkus imprint, that very same album just so happened to produce “Simon Says.” Unfortunately, its Godzilla samples has made finding a legit copy of the album pricey. Since leaving Rawkus, Phaoroahe Monch has slow-cooked two more quality projects, the most recent being the damn good W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), which produced “Black Hand Side” featuring Styles P. and Phonte.

Hi-Tek

A great portion Rawkus’ success can be attributed to its core of in-house producers. That’s where Cincinnati beatsmith and dj Hi-Tek proved his worth. Providing the soundscape and occasional bars as one half of Reflection Eternal with Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek’s influence on Rawkus can be felt 0n numerous projects, including Train of Thought and Soundbombing Vol. 2 standout “1-9-9-9.” In 2001, Tek, by then one of the last Mohicans from the label’s golden years, went on to release the first of a trilogy of well-produced compilation albums titled, Hi-Teknology.

Post-Rawkus, the “Music For Life” producer has become one of Hip-Hop’s most underrated talents with notable production credits like The Game’s “Runnin’,” 50 Cent’s “Ryder Music,” and Snoop Dogg’s (not quite ready to accept Snoop Lion) “No Thang On Me,” and more recently Smoke DZA’s “The Early Days of George.” He also linked up with Talib Kweli to create Reflection Eternal’s second album, Revolutions per Minute in 2010.

Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli has come a long way since his first appearance on Cincinnati group Mood’s first album, Doom. Little to the Brooklyn MC’s knowledge, his sessions with Mood would introduce him to Hi-Tek and the two would eventually become Reflection Eternal, one of Rawkus’ premier acts. As people say, the rest was history.

Kweli was one of the most productive members of the Rawkus crew, releasing solo projects, Quality and The Beautiful Struggle, and two collaborative projects; one with the aforementioned Reflection Eternal and another under the Black Star moniker with Mos Def. Fast forward to 2012, where the “Never Been In Love Before” MC stands as one of the most respected lyricists in Hip-Hop. With four albums and an additional Reflection Eternal project under his belt, Talib Kweli is prepping for the October release of his fifth solo album, Prisoner Of Conscious.

The Last Emperor

True Rawkus heads will remember The Last Emperor. As reported by the Village Voice, Mos Def once said, “some cats might say Jay-Z or Last Emperor,” in a discussion with DMX, Canibus, John Forte, and Big Pun about the “greatest MC of all time.” Last Emp, a late edition to the Rawkus family, was a bard in the truest sense of the word known for painting vivid pictures of life’s complicated scenarios on wax. Tracks like And 1 Mixtape Vol. 2 standout, “Do You Remember” show and proves Last Emp’s storytelling talents. His first album, Music, Magic, Myth, released in 2003. Since then, the Philly MC, and Aftermath Records album, has released numerous independent albums and has toured the U.S. and abroad with Pharaoh Monch, Brother Ali, the Gorillaz, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah and U-God.

Company Flow

If Rawkus partially stood for going against the grain, no act exuded the “we don’t give a f-ck” attitude like Company Flow. Comprised of MC/producer El-P and DJ/producer Mr. Len, and MC/Producer Big Juss, the crew made waves with their 1997 classic debut Funcrusher Plus. After two years of pushing the album and touring, Big Juss decided to move on as a solo act, which didn’t stop El-Producto and Mr. Len from releasing the instrumental album Little Johnny from the Hospitul. Soon after, the group severed all ties with Rawkus, who they accused of neglecting them as artists and some financial funny business, and completely disassembled. In 2012, Company Flow as a group are still on ice, but frontman El-P is receiving much praise for his amazing solo album Cancer 4 Cure and his production on Killer Mike’s equally amazing R.A.P. Music.

Da Beatminerz

Mr. Walt & DJ Evil Dee, better known as Da Beatminerz, were no strangers to the game when they arrived at Rawkus. By then the Brooklyn production team already produced Black Moon’s bonafide classic album Enta Da Stage. With that on their resume and new member Baby Paul joined the ranks of Rawkus; soon after Da Beatminerz produced numerous tracks for label projects, including Black Star’s “Astronomy (8th Light)” and “Any Man” by Eminem and their debut album, Brace 4 Impak in 2001. In 2004, Da Beatminerz, which somehow expanded to a whopping five members, decided to condense the group back to the original two man wrecking crew of Mr. Walt & DJ Evil Dee. Da Beatminerz currently run their own internet radio station and are set to produce the entirety of Black Moon’s next LP, Dark Side Of The Moon.

Skillz (a.k.a. Mad Skillz)

The past few days, there’s one MC many of your favorite rappers hoped wouldn’t chime in on the recent ghostwriter discussions. Skillz, the man who’s allegedly penned a slew Hip-Hop chart toppers, was another late edition to the Rawkus family. With his subliminal track “Ghostwriter” putting fear in the hearts of industry tyrants, Skillz dropped his second LP, I Ain’t Mad No More, which to his dismay never released stateside. Skillz bounced back in 2002 with the first of many well known year end “Rap-Up” songs detailing the events of the prior 12 months, which gave his career a second wind. Not including his ghostwriting, of course. Today Skillz has his hands in many hats, currently focusing his writing talents on his last studio album, Thoughts Become Things, and producing short films.

Kidz In the Hall

Kidz In the Hall made their mark as Rawkus’ marquee act when the label reemerged with a new line of independent artists in 2006. With Double-O on the production and Naledge laying the rhymes, the Ivy League duo dropped School Was My Hustle to much praise. Many thought that the project would signal a comeback for Rawkus, but to no avail. The duo instead parted ways with the label, opting to go to Duck Down Records for their two following releases. The Kidz In the Hall remain amicable, as Naledge focuses on his solo career and his recently released mixtape, #GoNaledgeGo.

The High and Mighty

The High and Mighty grabbed Hip-Hop fans’ attention with their underground smash hit “B-Boy Document ’99.” I can still recall hearing the track for the first time as Skip 2 Ma Lou and Alimoe showed their mastery on the parque. Excuse the first person, just recalling another And 1 Mixtape experience. The track appeared on The High and Mighty’s debut LP, Home Field Advantage, featuring artists like Eminem, Kool Keith and fellow Rawkus artists Pharoahe Monch, Mos Def, and (Mad) Skillz. The duo eventually left Rawkus and soon after got into short term beef with Masta Ace and former frequent collaborator, Cage, later down the line. Not much can be said about the Philly tandem these days. They seemed to retire their pen and pad after their last album released in 2005. Someone put an APB out on these guys.

Yasiin Bey (b.k.a. Mos Def)

Mos Def is easily the most familiar face from the days of Rawkus Records, which can be attributed to an array of reasons. Despite what Drake says, Mos Def’s bread and butter was blending his top notch emceeing with smooth crooning. It was only logical for Rawkus to scoop up such a special talent. The Black Dante would go on to have great success with Rawkus, where he created the game changing Black Star album and numerous bar pushing solo efforts, namely Black On Both Sides. To this day, people still sing “Umi Says” with the utmost passion.

Mos Def also showed undying loyalty to Rawkus, choosing not to leave until his hand was forced by the label’s collapse in 2004. Now choosing to go by Yasiin Bey, the Brooklyn MC continues to display his lyrical prowess, word to G.O.O.D. Music and The Ecstatic. Outside of Hip-Hop, Bey has used his background in the arts to ascend to new plateaus, finding great success in Hollywood. At this point, to say anymore about the man would be down right gloating.