MURS

As befits a rapper whose name either stands for “Making Underground Raw Shit” or “Making the Universe Recognize and Submit,” the California-based MURS consistently refuses to let genre, convention, or the galaxy stand between him and a good song. (He’s even in a punk band, The Invincibles.) His beats are fat and orchestral, and his collaborations are just as epic. No matter who MURS raps with, though, it’s always clear who’s in control. On 2010’s Fornever, his fourth collaborative album with producer 9th Wonder, the duo sticks to familiar territory like the complexities of romance, but manages to sound as invigorated as ever. As always, it helps that, behind his boastful wordplay, MURS comes off as a human being with genuine feelings. A new collaborative album with Ski Beatz, Love & Rockets, Vol. 1: The Transformation, is out now. 

Updated 10/19/2011