Beneath all the aggressive posturing, DJ Muggs (born Lawrence Muggerud ) is a world acclaimed, veteran producer. Through decades of work, he’s carved out signature sonics not unlike Tim Burton’s visual aesthetic; dark, strange, unwavering — except with slithery soul loops and acclaimed MCs.
Itinerant and steady, he’s sold millions as part of Cypress Hill in addition to working with Wu-Tang, Dr. Dre, Wyclef, and MC Eight, among others, on his shadowy Soul Assassins series.
“I’ve been almost nomadic,” he says, explaining his openness towards collaboration. “Hearing all kinds of MCs over my songs are thrilling. It pushes me.”
His famously dark, (Temple of) booming beats have earned him huge radio hits — for instance, Ice Cube’s charting single, “Check Yo Self” and House of Pain’s bouncy pub anthem, “Jump Around,” respectively.
He works in a studio adorned with gold and platinum records yet his discography shows no diminution; he still works with major and minor MCs across rap different spectrums. Below are everyday records you’d find playing at Muggs’ house, records that profoundly impactful on his own work.
Public Enemy It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (Def Jam) 1988
This fucking record is a wall of sound! It’s a tidal wave of noise. I had never heard anything like it before. From the music, to all the things I learned about Black culture and history, this record is very important. Huey P. Newton and Malcolm X are things I learned from PE. The education I got from this record was huge. Chuck was in your face and so smart and so hard. Meanwhile, Flava brought the comedic factor just enough so the record wouldn’t be overbearing. The breaks in that record are a thousand miles per hour and rolls over everything in my opinion.
Rage Against The Machine Evil Empire (Epic) 1996
This is around the time where a lot of rockers were beginning to be inspired by rap. But these dudes were coming out like Public Enemy heavily inspired them! Zach definitely took a page out of Chuck D’s playbook [laughs]. All the noise, all the sounds, all the aggressiveness, all of this plus a touch of Black Sabbath? Plus, these dudes are real activists too. I love these dudes. The power they came forth with was great on this record. There hasn’t’ been any other rap/rock groups like them since. They’re like the last of the Mohicans [laughs].
Led Zeppelin Houses Of Holy (Atlantic) 1973
This one has “Over the Hills And Far Away” and “ The Song Remains The Same”, which are just genius tracks. I remember listening to this album when I was in fourth grade. And not a lot of music ages well. But the musicianship, the lyrics, the vibe and the energy is what got to me. I love these dudes and the overall scenery they portrayed. Led Zeppelin were always kind of dark and mysterious, which is a vibe I try to covey in my own records. A lot of those Cypress Hill records are due to Led Zeppelin.
Wu-tang Clan Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Loud) 1993
It had this “fuck you” attitude about it; fuck the industry, we’re doing our thing and this is what hip-hop is. They went against all the rules and proved that hip-hop truly is an art form. If you make good art, people will recognize it. You won’t have to go about things sideways or put up with bullshit. I mean, you never heard nine emcees on a record that were all dope. They made you feel like you were there in their neighborhood just sitting there. They literally made you feel the hood — from the street corners to the gum on the bottom of their shoes. Shit was raw.
The Beatles The Beatles (The White Album) (Apple) 1968
I heard a lot about the Beatles of course, but it was literally about seven-years ago where I took a month off and watched all those documentaries about them. I re-listened to all their records a hundred times over. I mean, as a kid I was more into Led Zeppelin. But I was hooked after learning about what they did in the studio — the way they fucked with the reel-to-reel and their early sampling techniques amaze me. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Yer Blues” are my favorites. Motherfuckers today still can’t make records that sound as good.
Run DMC King Of Rock (Profile) 1985
The way they used rock was inspiring. A lot of kids think that rap and rock met during ’90s when all these bands had DJs, and all these singers started rapping. A lot of things began to get mixed in that era, but everything started with RUN DMC. It definitely brought a lot of rock heads into hip-hop and vice versa. It was gangsta and rock & roll. They brought a new life to hip-hop when hip-hop was still new itself. I mean, how much more cutting edge can you be? I’ll never forget this record and how it introduced rap and rock, as one, to my ears.
Portishead Dummy (Go!) 1994
I think this was interesting because a lot of UK rap wasn’t exactly popping off at the time. Which is one of the reasons why I like the UK because those motherfuckers will just go and invent sub-genres [of music] when they’re bored with what’s out there. All the original production is amazing and was just super dark, jazzy, and smoked out. I love this record. I love the dark beats and the sad, smart vocals. This literally stayed in my CD player for like two years straight.
Ultramagnetic MCs Critical Beatdown (Next Plateau) 1988
That shit was inspiring because it was very unorthodox. I mean, they had rhymes that didn’t rhyme! Their sound was way far ahead of their time. The deep voice of Ced Gee and the high voice of Kool Keith made everything fit. They were talking about space and futuristic stuff back way back when. What was it, ’88? Keith is such an innovator. A lot of motherfuckers either loved Ultramag when they came out, or hated them. I always loved them because I was always open to shit from the left. I still love this record to this day.
Pink Floyd The Wall (Harvest) 1979
Man, the story they told is simply amazing. I mean, the lyrics and how psychologically everything was written is astounding. The record was like a play you could sit and watch. It had so many moments, so many ups and downs, and how they pieced everything together was perfect. People were bugging when De La [Soul] made a cohesive, thematic album, but Pink Floyd did it way before! The imagery and storyline is one of the most cohesive works ever! To top things off, Pink Floyd were all weird and experimental too. I could go on and on about this one. This album’s just the shit.
Bob Marley Legend (Island) 1984
This isn’t a rare record or anything, but it’s just good music. Every time you put Bob on, the sun comes out. It’s just filled with great life lessons. He’s a special man with a higher energy and you can just feel it. Bob’s got more than enough soul to put on a record. He provokes thought too. I have Bob Marley’s music on in my house all the time because I want my daughter to hear that shit. Nothing makes me happier than to see my little daughter walking around and singing some Bob Marley. It’s a beautiful thing.
Let’s shift and talk about your production work. Do you have a favorite Cypress Hill album?
The first one for sure — it’s what gave us our career and was a product of our life’s work up until that point.
How did House Of Pain’s “Jump Around” happen?
I originally did that song for Funkdoobiest. I already had everything in place before Everlast even got there; the chorus, the theme, everything was already put together. I just needed some verses. After he kicked some rhymes for me, I noticed a small part of the verse that was really dope. So I asked him to write the entire song like that. It took about two months for him to even get a record deal after that. But he did, and the response was crazy! We didn’t’ even expect a tenth of what occurred.
Of all the emcees you’ve worked with, whom have you meshed with real well?
Honestly, GZA was an inspiration to work with. The way he tells stories and puts his words together amazes me. Some motherfuckers rap and you’re like ‘OK that was good.’ Then, some dudes rap and you’re like ‘How the fuck did he think of that?’ KRS is another one of those dudes. Being able to go into the studio and work with brothers like that is a privilege.
What is it about old soul and classic rock records that has made them such valuable samples and tools for you through the years?
The sound and way they’re recorded always made me gravitate towards those old soul, old funk, old rock, and even old blues records. I was like five or six and my mom would play Motown all around the house. My uncle, my mom’s younger brother who lived with us, was into rock so I grew up with a lot of rock music too. The grit and soul in that music is something you just feel. Man, I’ll never stop using those records.
