Definitive Jux: Where Are They Now?

A look at what the key artists from the Definitive Jux record label are doing now.

For a certain group of fans and listeners, the name Definitive Jux is synonymous with underground hip-hop in the early 2000s. Whether fervently beloved or derided as a haven for nerd rap, Definitive Jux served as a home for experimental, often exceedingly dark rap music that pushed a number of unlikely semi-stars who embodied the brazen dream inscribed on the inside of seminal rap group Company Flow's debut album: "Independent as Fuck." In 2010, the label ceased to function as a tradition record company, shifting largely to a promotional function for the projects of its founder, El-P, and some of its former artists.  Some three years on from the final days of underground hip-hop's bastion of independent spirit, we take a look at life after Jux for the label's key players.

1.

2. El-P

Last Definitive Jux release: I'll Sleep When You're Dead

Year released: 2007

Since announcing the closure of his branchild in 2010, Definitive Jux founder El-P has been busy, entering a creative renaissance that rivals his time as a member of seminal underground group Company Flow. After five years of relative quiet in the wake of his 2007 solo album I'll Sleep When You're Dead (relative quiet meaning two excellent megamixes packed with remixes and original production), El-P returned with a firestorm 2012, releasing his heavily acclaimed third solo album Cancer for Cure and producing the entirety of Killer Mike's equally fawned-over R.A.P. Music. To make good on the seeds planted in their prolific 2012, El-P and Mike joined forces again this year as Run the Jewels to create one of the year's most visceral, exciting rap records thus far, a sign that even in his third decade as a rapper and producer the former label-head has no intention of losing his spark.

What's El-P up to now?

3. Aesop Rock

Last Definitive Jux release: None Shall Pass

Year released: 2007

As one of Definitive Jux's early tentpole signings, Aesop Rock became the label's veritable poster boy, its highest selling artist and a consistent critical darling. After 2007's None Shall Pass, Aesop took a four year hiatus from rapping–a window which saw the closing of Definitive Jux as a record label in 2010. After years of honing his production across various solo LPs, Aesop produced Murs and Slug's Felt 3 in 2009. He did not return to the mic until 2011 when he and former Def Jukie Rob Sonic joined forces with DJ Big Wiz to form Hail Mary Mallon and released Are You Gonna Eat That. In 2012, Aesop delivered his first solo album in five years, the gloomy, fittingly titled Skelethon. In 2013, Aesop continued his prolific streak alongside Kimya Dawson as half of the Uncluded on Hokey Flight. Aesop currently lives in San Francisco after relocating from New York in the mid-2000s.

What's Aesop Rock up to now?

4. RJD2

Last Definitive Jux release: Since We Last Spoke

Year released: 2004

Of the core Jukies associated with the label's early days, RJD2 was one of the earliest to strike out on his own. After leaving Def Jux in 2006 to focus on expanding his sound (his first album on XL Recordings, The Third Hand, was a striking and oft-maligned departure from the sound that won him diehard fanbase), RJ would go on to release a number of collaborative albums with emcees, notably 2006's Magnificent City with Aceyalone (which spawned the Mad Men theme song), 2007's Things Go Better With RJ and Al, his second full length album with Blueprint as the duo Soul Position, and his work with Aaron Livingston as Icebird. He also founded his own record label, RJ's Electrical Connections in 2009, and dropped a fourth solo album, The Colossus, in 2010. He still tours regularly and releases new music, such as the '70s horror film soundtrack-inspired side project We Are the Doorways under the pseudonym The Insane Warrior.

What's RJD2 up to now? 

5. Cannibal Ox

Last Definitive Jux release: Cold Vein

Year released: 2001

Cannibal Ox. To paraphrase Kanye West: "When they talk about Def Jux, do their name get brought up?" While the label's early days conjure a cast of four or five core characters, perhaps none loom as large as Cannibal Ox, the duo of Vast Aire and Vordul Mega whose only album on Definitive Jux, Cold Vein, remains one of (if not the) most beloved releases in the label's all-too-brief history. Murmurs of a follow-up LP bubbled up in the mid-2000s, but the duo remained on hiatus until the announcement of a reunion tour in late 2012 and a sophomore album to follow. While several promotional songs were released in advance of the album in spring 2013, a disappointing Kickstarter campaign that saw the group failing to raise the targeted $30,000 may have put their return album on the shelf indefinitely.

What's Cannibal Ox up to now?

6. Mr. Lif

Last Definitive Jux release: Mo Mega

Year released: 2006

One of Def Jux's earliest signings, Mr. Lif's signature monotone and incisive brand of politically and socially aware rap–a perspective often expressed over blistering El-P beats–helped mold the label's early apocalyptic vision. As a solo artist and member of the Perceptionists (a trio featuring Lif, Akrobatik, and DJ Fakts One), Lif was one of the most prolific Jukies during the label's early 2000s heyday. After releasing 2006's Mo Mega, his second full length on Definitive Jux, Lif decided to release his third album, I Heard It Today, via label Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises, citing certain pressures with Jux for unhappiness with Mo Mega as the reasoning for the jump. Lif has remained active, spending this summer touring as a member of an expanded Thievery Corporation. The Perceptionists also remain active, with a reunion EP on the horizon.

What's Mr. Lif up to now?

7. C-Rayz Walz

Last Definitive Jux release: Year of the Beast

Year released: 2005

As a fixture of New York's underground hip-hop scene, C-Rayz Walz built a name for himself in the early 2000s on the strength of his imaginative lyrics and impressive, stream of consciousness freestyles. After collaborating with the Definitive Jux crew for a few years, Walz officially joined the label for 2003's Ravipops (The Substance). After three albums in three years, Walz left Jux to pursue releasing his music through a variety of other independent labels, as well as via self-distribution. In 2012, he joined Cannibal Ox for the east coast leg of their reunion tour. He continues to release music with regularity via his Bandcamp page.

What's C-Rayz Walz up to now?

8. Cage

Last Definitive Jux release: Depart From Me

Year released: 2009

As a member of the Weatherman, Cage was long affiliated with Definitive Jux label head El-P. Cage officially joined the label after its creative and commercial peak, releasing his sophomore album Hell's Winter in 2005 and following it up with the rock-oriented Depart From Me in 2009. His website still sports a Definitive Jux logo, suggesting at least three years of inactivity. In the period since Def Jux stopped operating as a label, it appears that Cage has gone independent in the last few years, releasing music via Bandcamp under the stagename he's being developing for almost two decades and the alias Sam Hill.

What's Cage up to now?

9. Murs

Last Definitive Jux release: Murs 3:16

Year released: 2004

A stalwart of underground hip-hop as a member of Los Angeles' longstanding Living Legends crew, Murs' tenure with Definitive Jux came briefly and at the tail end of the label's peak period. In 2003, Murs made his Def Jux debut with The End of the Beginning... In 2004 he followed up with Murs 3:16, his collaboration with then Little Brother producer 9th Wonder. The project would become one of Def Jux's highest sellers, a beloved, focused set that saw both artists at full force. After his short run Def Jux, Murs would go on to sign a deal with Warner Brothers–an arrangement that would only produce one album. Murs has remained as busy as any artist in hip-hop, touring and promoting as a part of the Paid Dues concert series in addition to releasing a steady stream of new music, most recently The Final Adventure, his fifth and last collaborative album with 9th Wonder.

What's Murs up to now?

10. Camu Tao (deceased)

11. Company Flow

12. Despot

Last Definitive Jux release: "Crap Artists"

Year released: 2006

A long time friend and collaborator of Definitive Jux labelhead El-P, Despot never actually released an album on the label. A number of his singles found there way onto Jux compilations and releases; to date, he has yet to release a full length body of work, but has remained busy collaborating with Das Racist, Mr. MFN eXquire, El-P and others.

What's Despot up to now?

13. Del The Funky Homosapien

Last Definitive Jux release: Eleventh Hour

Year released: 2008

After an eight year hiatus following his 2000 solo album Both Sides of the Brain, legendary Oakland rapper Del the Funky Homosapien teamed with Definitive Jux to released Eleventh Hour. Del's tenure as a Jukie proved shortlived, with Eleventh Hour representing the entirety of his DJX output. Del continues to tour extensively and has proven prolific since his quiet period in the early to mid 2000s, independently releasing nineteen albums, mixtapes, and odds-and-ends compilations since 2008.

What's Del the Funky Homosapien up to now?

14. Danny!

Last Definitive Jux release: "Just Friends"

Year released: 2009

South Carolina's Danny! joined Definitive Jux in 2007, towards the end of the label's life. As the winner of mtvU's "Are You the Next Jukie?" competition, Danny! was set to "receive a digital EP deal, video premiere on mtvU, and a single/video collaboration with Mr. Lif and Definitive Jux Records." The result of his short-lived partnership with label was single "Just Friends," formerly a hidden track on his Danny is Dead EP. After parting ways with Definitive Jux in 2009, Danny! would release his oft-delayed, critically acclaimed full length album Where is Danny? via a digital distribution deal with Interscope. Danny!'s most recent album Payback was released by a recently revived Okayplayer Records in 2012.

What's Danny! up to now?

15. Masai Bey

Last Definitive Jux release: "Paper Mache"

Year released: 2002

With "Paper Mache," Masai Bey assembled one of Definitive Jux's earliest explosive salvos, a single included on the compilation that signalled the label's peak period, Definitive Jux Presents II. Produced by El-P, "Paper Mache" stomps on the faces of polite emcees and producers; it's the sound Jux was founded on, a peak into an apocalyptic future inspired by old school hip-hop aesthetics and concerns–namely, originality and murdering wack rappers. Bey never released a full length on Definitive Jux, but he continues to release music, though both his Facebook and Bandcamp accounts have remained inactive since 2012.

What's Masai Bey up to now?

16. Party Fun Action Committee

Last Definitive Jux release: Let's Get Serious

Year released: 2003

The brainchild of producer and longtime Aesop Rock collaborator Blockhead and rapper Jer, Party Fun Action Committee was a satirical side project. The duo's only album, Let's Get Serious, used its 16 tracks to make fun of every rap subgenre imaginable: Frat rap, nerd rap, R&B-influenced hip-hop, rap metal. Even genres beyond rap got hit with PFAC's sharp eye. PFAC returned briefly in 2009 for an promotional campaign for producer Yameen, but the duo has not released any music aside from their first and only album. Since Let's Get Serious, Blockhead has remained active, touring, releasing a series of excellent instrumental albums through Ninja Tune, blogging over at his site Phat Friend, and putting out a collaborative album with rapper (and Vordul Mega collaborator) billy woods this month.

What's Blockhead up to now?

17. Rob Sonic

Last Definitive Jux release: Sabotage Gigante

Year released: 2007

A Bronx native and frequent collaborator with Definitive Jux's El-P and Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic joined the label in 2003, releasing his debut solo album Telicatessen in 2004. Sonic released a second album, Sabotage Gigante, with Jux in 2007, moving on after the label's dissolution in 2010 to form the group Hail Mary Mallon with Aesop Rock and DJ Big Wiz. The trio released one album via Rhymesayers in 2011. Sonic his since been inactive, save for a pair of guest appearances on Aesop Rock's Skelethon in 2012.

What's Rob Sonic up to now?

18. The Mighty Underdogs

19. Yak Ballz

Last Definitive Jux release: "The Freakshow"

Year released: 2001

Rising as a battle rapper in New York city, Queens' Yak Ballz was a member of the Fondle 'Em Records crew that would largely bleed into Definitive Jux (or, at very least, remain affiliated with the Jukies). His single "The Freakshow" marked one of Jux's first vinyl single releases, one of the records that contributed to the early fervor surrounding the label. In 2012, Yak Ballz released the retro-futuristic full length album Gas Galaxy, 14 tracks that sound like they'd sit right at home on Definitive Jux were it still functional. Yak Ballz remains actively recording.

What's Yak Ballz up to now?

20. Hangar 18

Last Definitive Jux release: Sweep the Leg

Year released: 2007

After releasing two full length albums through Definitive Jux, Hangar 18–the trio consisting of Alaska, Windnbreeze, and DJ paWL–parted ways in Feburary 2009. Information on Hangar 18 and its members is scarce; according to Wikipedia: "Windnbreeze started a business with his fiance...paWL continues to write and direct commercials. Alaska has started another project with his friend/producer Kojo called 'Alaska and Kojo are: The Crack Epidemic.' Kojo is on the beats and Alaska is on vocals."

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