History
While attending high school in Mid-City Los Angeles, group members Thes One and Double K were independently sampling music, creating beat tapes, and DJing local events. Thes One attended Loyola High, and Double K attended Hamilton High and was a part of the Log Cabin Crew, a hip hop collective that also included fellow Hamilton High students Murs, Eligh and Scarub (of Living Legends). They met while looking for sample material in a record store and were impressed by each other's work, forming a friendship. [3]
The group decided to use the name "People Under the Stairs" because they felt it represented their music aesthetic; during a time when most other hip hop artists were forming large crews or collectives, they wanted to stay out of the spotlight and concentrate on the music, only coming out from "under the stairs" to perform before they went back again. [4] The group's name does not originate from the 1991 Wes Craven film The People Under the Stairs , as they were not aware of it when conceiving the group. [4]
In 1998, while Thes One was attending the University of Southern California, People Under the Stairs used Thes One's student loan funds to create, package and release their first 12-inch single, entitled The Next Step II. Nearly 500 copies were pressed, and the record sold well. [5] They would go on to release their first album, The Next Step , in 1998. The album was recorded on an 8-track ADAT digital recorder, mostly at Thes One's home in Los Angeles, and was engineered entirely by Thes One and Double K. This album failed to make an impact in the Los Angeles hip hop scene, [6] [7] though the group found a larger fan base in Europe, embarking on a tour in August 1999. They signed to Om Records, a music label generally known at the time for electronic music and club music, for a four-album deal. [5] The European leg of the tour, though it began as an Om Records tour, evolved into a solo act for People Under the Stairs.
Their sophomore album, Question in the Form of an Answer , was released in June 2000. Like The Next Step, the album was self-recorded and used an eclectic and diverse range of beats rooted in jazz and psychedelic rock, as well as filtering techniques learned from studying analog sound equipment. The album was supported by singles "Youth Explosion", "The Cat" and "We'll Be There". People Under the Stairs embarked on a second world tour to support the record, including performances at the 2000 Glastonbury Festival and Essential Music Festival, alongside Biz Markie, Ice-T, Gerry "Jeru" Mulligan, Masta Ace and De La Soul. [8] During this tour, the group released their first compilation album, American Men Vol. 1 , sold at concert venues, while Om Records also re-released The Next Step in 2001.
The group enjoyed a degree of success in the Los Angeles hip hop scene, including Thes One's participation in a beat battle against fellow Los Angeles recording artist will.i.am on April 25, 2002. Their third album, O.S.T. , was released in June 2002. The album was again produced in Thes One's home by the duo and released on Om records. O.S.T. proved to be more complex than the group's first albums; the track "Montego Slay" used over 20 minuscule sections of music from Jamaican tourist souvenir records. The group also used live instrumentation for the first time on a release, enlisting Headnodic (of the Crown City Rockers and The Mighty Underdogs) to play electric bass. People Under the Stairs supported the release of O.S.T. by playing at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, [9] as well as the US Cali-Comm hip hop tour with Del the Funky Homosapien, KutMasta Kurt, Planet Asia, and the Lifesavas. [10]
The group's final album released under Om Records was 2003 ...Or Stay Tuned , though it was originally marketed and labeled as an EP release, due to contractual issues. The group would later reclassify the record a full-length release.
2004–2006: Side projects and Stepfather
In 2004, the group concluded their contract with Om Records. Thes One began work on a number of side projects, including co-founding Tres Records with Chikara Kurahashi from Giant Panda, and two 12-inch singles on the label, Noonen (an ode to the 1980 comedy film Caddyshack ) and Doin' It (with Raashan Ahmad of Crown City Rockers). In May 2004, he coordinated the Bloquera project, a trip to southernmost Baja California to record an EP with members of Giant Panda and shoot a video on Super 8; he also produced and mixed Fly School Reunion , the debut album of Giant Panda.
In 2005, People Under the Stairs signed a deal with a smaller, local Los Angeles label, Basement Records, for domestic release of their next album, with overseas distribution by Tres Records. Just before the release of the album, the group grew annoyed by internet music piracy and peer-to-peer file sharing. In a move that was equal parts a precautionary measure and a joke aimed at over-eager fans, People Under the Stairs decided to leak a fake version of the album onto the internet in the month preceding the album's release in 2006. When the real album was released in April, Stepfather debuted at #32 on the Billboard Heatseaker Chart and #35 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart, [11] and the album was met with widespread positive reviews and received more coverage than the group's previous efforts. [12] [13] [14] The group made an effort to expand beyond sample-based hip.hop, using a broader, less-jazzy sound palate and inviting George Clinton to perform on an album interlude.
They toured the US through spring 2006, taking along the rock-rap group Gym Class Heroes as their opening act. In the summer and fall of 2006, the group embarked on another world tour, visiting Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Europe. For the Europe leg of the tour, they were accompanied by Giant Panda.
2007–2010: Fun DMC, The Om Years, and Carried Away
Following the release of Stepfather, Thes One released his debut solo album, Lifestyle Marketing , on Tres Records. The album was well received in the hip hop community. [15] [16] Double K also released a solo instrumental track, "Face to Face", on a split single with Los Angeles producer Olde Soul. In 2008, the group worked with director Matt Bird to film a video for "The Wiz", a song about their experiences touring in Australia, while on location in Bondi Beach. This was the group's first music video. [17] Om Records released a retrospective album, The Om Years , including a bonus CD of B-sides and rarities.
People Under the Stairs finished recording in fall 2008 and released their new album, FUN DMC , in September. Like the previous album, FUN DMC was released under an independent record label, Gold Dust Media, receiving positive reviews and debuting at #6 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. [18] The name of the album is an homage to the group Run-DMC; the album itself is a concept album involving the daily life of someone living and enjoying themselves in the Los Angeles neighborhoods where they grew up. They brought recording equipment to a South Central house party and barbecue, and used the ambient noise from the party to supplement the "daytime" songs on the new album. [19]
Following a nationwide tour of the US in support of the album, People Under the Stairs celebrated their 10-year anniversary with a sold-out show at the historic El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. The performance was released on DVD the following year. The group would return to Om Records for their next record, Carried Away , which debuted at #5 on the iTunes hip hop charts and at #23 on the Billboard Heatseeker Charts. [20]
2011–2012: Highlighter, 12 Step Program and The Gettin' off Stage
Unsatisfied with their past record labels, Thes One made the decision after Carried Away to take complete control of the production process for the group's albums, releasing all new material under a new business entity, Piecelock 70. Thes One constructed a new recording facility in downtown Los Angeles. [21] Piecelock 70 released all subsequent People Under the Stairs albums, as well as material by other artists, including Headnodic, DJ Day and Doc Delay. Thes One made the decision to run Piecelock 70 under a worker cooperative business model, allowing associate artists to retain complete control over their output while sharing resources and using the label's facilities. [22]
On June 17, 2011, People Under the Stairs joined a large and eclectic group of musicians, including Girl Talk, Big Boi, Pretty Lights, Mac Miller, and Empire of the Sun, to kick off the inaugural Governor's Ball Music Festival in NYC. [23] While on stage at the show, they announced their subsequent album, Highlighter , released on September 30, 2011. This was the first album on the new Piecelock 70 label, Like Stepfather, the album was one of the more experimental releases for the group, employing alternate time-signatures, live instrumentation, and a string section. The album was received positively. [22] [24]
In 2012, People Under the Stairs were invited by fellow Los Angeles hip hop musician (and highschool friend) Murs to play at a concert series in support of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. [25]
In January 2014, Thes One announced that People Under the Stairs' ninth full-length album would be titled 12 Step Program (also promoted as 12SP). [26] In April, the group released the music video for the lead single "1 Up Til Sun Up". [27] The album debuted at #56 on the iTunes charts, #7 on the iTunes rap charts, [28] #11 on the Billboard Heatseeker charts, and #33 on the Billboard R&B/Rap Album charts. [29] In 2015, the group revealed their tenth album would be a three-part EP comprising six songs each, titled The Gettin' Off Stage, which was released in November 2015.
2019–2021: Sincerely, The P, disbandment, and death of Double K
In February 2019, People Under the Stairs released their final album Sincerely, The P. [30] Thes One revealed on social media this would be their final album, marking 21 years in the music industry.
On January 30, 2021, Double K died, with the cause of death being alcohol poisoning. [31] Artists such as Chuck D, Questlove, RJD2, Open Mike Eagle, and Immortal Technique paid tribute to Double K through social media. [32]
Musical style and influences
Before the inception of People Under the Stairs, the group's members attended many West Coast hip hop shows in Lost Angeles. In numerous interviews, the group has cited many of these groups as influences, including Freestyle Fellowship, The Pharcyde, Jurassic 5, and The Beatnuts. The group paid direct homage to A Tribe Called Quest on the song "Check the Vibe" on 2009's Carried Away . Other cited influences include DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Public Enemy, and West Coast gangsta rap such as DJ Quik and Eazy-E.
For the most part, the group avoided sociopolitical or activist themes, gangster rap, battle rap, and material wealth. Instead, they focused on personal experiences and enjoyment, including life in (and pride for) Los Angeles, video gaming, barbecues and food, recreational drug use, and relaxing. A small portion of songs have dealt with more serious themes. People Under the Stairs drew on a wide array of record samples to create their work, including jazz, funk, rock, and spoken word. Thes One made an extensive study of the history of electronic instrumentation, eventually giving college lectures on the subject. [33]
Raising Hell is the third studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on May 15, 1986, by Profile Records. The album was produced by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Raising Hell is notable for being the first Platinum and multi-Platinum hip hop record. The album was first certified Platinum on July 15, 1986, before it was certified as 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 24, 1987. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most important albums in the history of hip hop music and culture.
The Pharcyde is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani, Slimkid3, Bootie Brown, and Fatlip. DJ Mark Luv was the group's first disc jockey (DJ), followed by producer J-Swift. The group is perhaps best known for the hit singles "Drop", "Passin' Me By" and "Runnin'", as well as their first album, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (1992). The group continues to tour and record, both collaboratively and in solo projects—the most recent being Hardson's collaborative EP with DJ Nu-Mark released in 2014 on Delicious Vinyl.
UGK was an American hip hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas, formed in 1987, by Chad "Pimp C" Butler and Bernard "Bun B" Freeman. They released their first major-label album, Too Hard to Swallow, in 1992, followed by several other albums charting on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, including the self-titled Underground Kingz album, which contained their single "International Players Anthem " and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, in August 2007. The duo has also been featured on hit singles by several other artists, such as "Big Pimpin'" by Jay-Z and "Sippin' on Some Syrup" by Three 6 Mafia. Pimp C founded UGK Records in late 2005. On December 4, 2007, Pimp C died in his West Hollywood, California hotel room.
The Next Step is the debut studio album by People Under the Stairs, released on March 24, 1998. The duo was responsible for nearly every aspect of the album's production and initial release. Quick sales of the album and its sole single, "The Next Step II", also helped to get the group noticed by the label Om Records, with whom the group produced four other albums and found greater success.
Question in the Form of an Answer is the second studio album by the People Under the Stairs. Recorded following their first world tour, the album was their first release on Om Records. The release spawned three singles, each selling their entire first pressing run of 15,000 copies, and a second world tour.
Damien Beebe, known professionally as DJ Day is a DJ, producer and musician from Palm Springs, California. He formed the Innernational Crew with DJ Rip One in 1995, and had subsequent appearances with Innernational on Return of the DJ III & Laid in Full. He has worked with Stones Throw recording artists Aloe Blacc and Clutchy Hopkins, as well as remixes for Quantic, Alice Russell, People Under The Stairs and more.
Antoine Roundtree, better known by his stage name Skee-Lo, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 1995 song "I Wish", which became a hit in several countries and reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Om Records is an American record label, established in 1995, which releases electronic music, dance music and hip hop. The label was founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Chris Smith. Om Records releases both artist albums and compilations, including the Om Lounge and Mushroom Jazz series. Om's roster of artists includes Groove Armada, Underworld, Dirty Vegas, Bassnectar, Indiana Taurus, J Boogie, People Under The Stairs, Samantha James, Amp Live, Greenskeepers, Hot Toddy, and Wagon Cookin. Past artists have included Kaskade, Wolfgang Gartner, Ladybug Mecca, and Juan Atkins.
Stepfather is the fifth album by the People Under the Stairs. The album signified a departure from the group's previous, Golden age hip hop sound, and the album introduced a more widely varied array of sample sources. The album also spawned two singles, "Tuxedo Rap" and "Pass The 40".
Escape is the second studio album by American hip hop group Whodini, released on October 17, 1984, by Jive Records. The album was recorded at Battery Studios in London, where the group worked with producer Larry Smith after their management could not find them a producer. Whodini member Jalil Hutchins convinced Smith, his friend, to produce the album when Smith needed money after a friend's hospitalisation. Although the group originally intended to record more rock-oriented material for the album, its music has a predominantly synthesizer-based backing, with a rhythm and blues influence.
Christopher Cesar Portugal, best known as Thes One, was one half of hip hop duo People Under the Stairs, serving as a vocalist/MC, producer, engineer and business manager. He has produced and engineered 8 albums for People Under the Stairs that have sold in excess of 100,000 units in the U.S. alone since 2000, have appeared on the U.S. and International Billboard charts numerous times, as well as numerous remixes and singles for other artists across the globe with numerous appearances as guest vocalist. As a business manager, he has coordinated and managed 21+ successful world tours for People Under the Stairs and co-founded the independent artist-run Tres Records label. He also designs and builds recording studios and custom gear. His musical aliases include Lord Radio.
"Rock Box" is a song by the American hip hop group Run-DMC. The song was produced by Larry Smith and Russell Simmons and released by Profile Records in March 1984. Following the popularity of their previous two singles "Hard Times" (1983) and "It's Like That" (1983), Profile Records head suggested to the producers and group that they should attempt to record an album as they already had four songs ready, and releasing a few more would not hurt them. Despite speculating low sales from the label and the group not feeling that hip hop was a genre appropriate for a full-length album, they were given an advance to start recording. This led to Run-DMC members Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels going through their rhyme book to develop new songs, one of which would become "Rock Box".
Fun DMC is the sixth album by People Under the Stairs. The album was a concept album and, at the time of its release, the most widely reviewed and lauded of the group's catalog. In support of the album, PUTS released two singles, as well as the group's first music video for "The Wiz". For the release of the album, the group again chose an independent label, Gold Dust Media.
Carried Away is the seventh studio album by People Under the Stairs. The group chose to release the album on the independent label, Om Records, which they had last been on for 2003's ...Or Stay Tuned. The album is a mixture of the Golden age hip hop sound of their earlier Om releases, and a continuation of the more expansive sample-sourcing of their last two albums. Carried Away produced three singles and two music videos, and the album continued the tradition of a steady stream of positive reviews for the group.
O.S.T. is the third album by the People Under the Stairs. The album was again produced in Thes One's home entirely by the duo, and it was finally released in June 2002 on Om Records. The album produced three singles, including "Acid Raindrops", one of the group's most successful songs and a constant staple at live shows.
Highlighter is the eighth album by the People Under the Stairs, and the first one released on Thes One's artist-cooperative label, Piecelock 70. With the exception of an iTunes-only EP, the album was released without accompanying singles or music videos. In the months following the release of Highlighter, PUTS embarked on yet another tour in support of the album.
Lifestyle Marketing is the debut studio album by producer and musician Thes One. It is an instrumental concept album consisting almost entirely of samples taken from radio and television advertising jingles created by Herb Pilhofer of Sound 80 Incorporated.
12 Step Program is the ninth album by the People Under the Stairs. It is the second album entirely self-distributed using Thes One's artist-cooperative label, Piecelock 70, and it is also the group's shortest record to be marketed as a full-length album upon its release. 12 Step Program is also the group's first album since their second album, Question in the Form of an Answer, that uses only samples and no live instrumentation.
Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens New York City, formed in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip hop music and helped usher in the golden age of hip hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.
Michael Turner, best known as Double K, was an American rapper, producer and DJ. As one half of the hip hop duo People Under the Stairs, he appeared on 12 studio albums in addition to a number of singles, extended plays and compilations. He also released one instrumental solo album, Clinophobia (2017), under his moniker L.A. Mike.
