Following EPMD’s temporary breakup and dissolving of the Hit Squad in 1993, MC/producer Erick Sermon set forth on his solo career and formed his triumvirate Def Squad crew with Redman and then-upstart Keith Murray. The latter MC turned Heads made a strong first impression with his home run-hitting clean-up verse on “Hostile,” the second single from Sermon’s 1993 debut solo album No Pressure.

Keith Murray brought an unorthodox style to the New York City Hip-Hop scene with his signature raspy vocal sneer, deep vocabulary that echoed ’80s Rap legend T La Rock, and a penchant for adding unexpected suffixes to slang words in his layered rhyme cadences. With Sermon’s trademark Funk-laden and low-end bass production, Murray’s gold-selling debut album The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World boasted singles including the title track and “Get Lifted.” With guest appearances by Sermon and Redman, the Jive Records album peaked at #34 on the Top 200, received a four-mic rating in The Source, and helped steamroll Def Squad’s tour de force during the ’90s.

Erick Sermon Raises More Than $60,000 & Will Release His 8th Solo Album

Murray was just fresh out of high school during the production phase of The Most Beautifullest Thing... At the same time, the self-dubbed Lyrical Lexicon was marred by legal woes from multiple police arrests. In a recent interview with WHO?MAG TV, Keith Murray stresses that he truly got “busy off of basic instinct” during the creative process of his seminal album.

“It was surreal because I was, like, doing it off instinct, not really making preparation for it because I came from school, jail, school, and the streets,” Murray says.

Keith Murray Drops His Best Song in 10 Years With Help From Erick Sermon (Audio)

He continues, “So, all through that time I had these rhymes and the style I was developing. And Erick Sermon chopped it up and put it into the beats for me. It was very unconscious the way I did it. I still can’t even remember the days in the studio, and building it because it was like bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.”

After 25 years in the industry, solo works, a Def Squad LP, and a collaborative album with Canibus, Murray has come full circle. He reveals in the interview that he’s currently in the studio with Sermon to bring forth the sequel to his debut album.

Redman Details The Violent Split of Hit Squad & The Origins of Def Squad (Video)

“I’m working on my freestyle series with DJ Gumba,” he details of the recent series that has been covered on Ambrosia For Heads. “So, that will warm up for my album, which Erick Sermon just gave me a new playlist. So, I’m writing that out right now, The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World Part 2.” One year ago, Keith and Sermon gave Heads a potential sampling of their quarter-century chemistry in the form of “No Exceptions.”

At this time, there is no said album release date. Notably, Keith’s Def Squad partner Redman is working on another ’90s LP sequel, Muddy Waters 2. This month, Erick Sermon secured crowd-funding for his eighth solo album, Go. The EPMD legend raised more than $60,000 from fan support.

Redman, Keith Murray & Erick Sermon Have a Hip Hop Awards Cypher

Late last year, Redman also let fans know that he is ready to do a Def Squad sophomore LP.

Watch more WHO?MAG TV on the WHO?MAG Multimedia channel on Apple TV, Roku, their free mobile app for all cellphones.