On July 19, Murs and 9th Wonder will release the seventh and final installment of their collaborative union, The Iliad Is Dead And The Odyssey Is Over. The project, which was announced back in January, is entirely produced by The Soul Council, the collective of 9th Wonder, Khrysis, Nottz, Eric G, AMP, Kash and E. Jones. The LP also features Rapsody.

“9th [Wonder] and I have been working together since ’03, and we’re like brothers at this point. This album is my first release post-Strange Music and post-a lot of other major life change,” Murs stated to AFH.  “I wanted to give it my all, so my wife was kind enough to hold down the fort for a few weeks while I immersed myself in the recording process. [We spent] 18 hours a day listening to beats and trying to craft the best material possible. The Iliad Is Dead And The Odyssey Is Over is the result. We definitely didn’t rush; as evidenced by the 41-city tour I just completed promoting an album that still isn’t out. I am tremendously proud of our work, and I’m looking forward to sharing with the world. As I begin the next chapter in this epic saga, I am blessed to call my career The Iliad Is Dead And The Odyssey Is Over. When 9th first said that was the title. I was like ‘Nah;’ but now I think it’s a perfect fit for this moment in time.” 9th adds, “Murs is my brother, and it’s always good working with family. I hope you all enjoy another Murs/9th Wonder adventure; this time with a twist.”

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Today (May 29), 9th and Murs premiere two Iliad tracks at Ambrosia For Heads. “Night Shift,” produced by Kash, chronicles the years of Murs’ commitment to his dream. “It was years before I started to get paid,” the founder of Paid Dues raps. “For the love of the culture, the culture of love / I was killing that stage, I was fielding my buzz / I wasn’t making sh*t that they would feel in the club / ‘Cause I wouldn’t talk about all the killing and drugs.” Growing up in the same area of Los Angeles as some legendary Gangsta Rap MCs, Murs made his own way, and stuck to a script that he authored. Twenty-five-plus years later, the artist and entrepreneur is one of Hip-Hop’s hardest working and most prolific voices. His grind and hustle provided a blueprint for so many others.

The 9th Wonder-produced “Ga$ Station Gucci Belt” is an eerie yet very descriptive cut pulling from hardships in Murs’ adolescence. Heads caught an excerpt of the song through an abbreviated Instagram video back in late March. “One verse’ll put ya eye out / F*ck around and find out,” he raps on the track. “Underground for years, it’s too deep for me to climb out / Tunnels in the catacomb / Running from a battered home / I told my step pops I would kill him if I had the chrome / Kept the door locked / Prayed to the warlocks / Right around the time Rodney King met the four cops / My psycho’ was so violent / I was screaming through the silence / Spray painting public property, unruly and defiant,” spits the MC who says that he buys the toys, clothes, and sneakers that he couldn’t in his youth. He emphatically closes: “Was a boy from the hood, still a ni**a from the streets / And I ain’t a conscious rapper; you can get your ass beat.” In recalling the pain, Murray explains how Hip-Hop was his personal salvation.

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With the release of the two singles, 9th Wonder and Murs have made the whole LP available for pre-order. This marks the pair’s first release since Brighter Daze, which released without warning on the final day of 2015.

Earlier this year, 9th Wonder and The Soul Council produced Smif-n-Wessun’s The All. In addition to a video conversation with General Steele and Tek currently available on AFH TV, stay tuned for our recent chat with Murs about The Iliad Is Dead And The Odyssey Is Over, and so much more. We are currently offering free 30-day trials.

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Murs Press Photograph by Edgar “Macksimo” Medina.