December 6–13, 2001

music

Planet Arrakis

Philly’s little indie label sets its sights on the stars.

by Ainè Ardron-Doley

"Will we, will we, ever be famous/Put out the word/I refuse to stay nameless."
—Dept. of Rec.’s "Will We Ever Be Famous?"

It’s a warm Saturday afternoon in Philly — strangely gloomy and much too warm for late November. Packed into a booth at the Silk City Diner are Arrakis Records independent recording artists Briz, Dept. of Rec.’s Stape-Mega and Adam 12, and their label president/mastermind, PCP, a.k.a. Paul Muad’Dib. The table is cluttered with eggs, homefries, o.j., coffee, tea, oatmeal and a beer. Over the next few hours, the Arrakis crew explains a few things about the music business, independent hip-hop, the importance of live performance and their hot new music dropping this Tuesday.

To understand what Arrakis Records is pulling off in this big-business industry, you might have to rent the 1984, David Lynch-directed sci-fi flick Dune. In the movie, Arrakis is the desert planet that holds the secret spice necessary to control of the universe. Arrakis Records might not conquer the universe, but they’re battling to get a tasty piece of the pie, indie-style.

After spying each other at shows around the city, Briz and Dept. of Rec. made that all-important connection with Paul Muad’Dib. That was two years ago. Today the Arrakis crew is a tightly knit unit of show-throwing, 12-inch-recording MCs, producers and DJs. Packing a powerful punch as a full-service label, Arrakis publishes, copyrights, manages and promotes its artists. On any given day, Paul’s brand of artist development is in full effect: driving them around, lending money and cooking them a meal here or there.

As a vehicle to release BBR, his own group’s first demo tape, Paul founded the label in 1998. They’ve come a long way. "[Now] we’re in hip-hop stores worldwide," he explains.

Chiming in, Dept. of Rec. producer Stape-Mega adds, "Anywhere you can buy wax." Distributed through Boiling Point and Landspeed, Arrakis releases can be purchased locally at Armand (1108 Chestnut St.) and Sound of Market (15 S. 11th St.) and at ughh.com, foolblown.com and sandboxautomatic.com.

After the birth of Arrakis, the next battlefield was the stage. "No one was really booking underground shows, so I was like, ‘Fuck it. I’ll do my own,’" Paul says with a quiet defiance. Averaging two local performances per month and trading shows up and down the East Coast, Arrakis is generating a hefty buzz. Different local groups and out-of-towners perform at every Arrakis show. "We’re bringing all these heads out from the underground," explains Paul of the worldwide indie network that Arrakis is participating in and helping to foster through show trading.

"We put underground Philly on…" starts Briz, then stops to reformulate his answer, "We made [the Philly underground] respected in New York."

Reflecting on then-rising giant Rawkus Records and its willingness to push noncommercial artists to the forefront, Adam 12, Dept. of Rec.’s lead MC, says, "When I first heard of Rawkus, I thought it was the shit. It seemed like a new shimmer of light for hip-hop."

As rumors swirl that Def Jam is buying Rawkus, true indie labels like Arrakis keep pushing on. Brushes with the mainstream do happen, even on planet Arrakis. "Actually we were on the verge of getting signed [to Columbia]. They were looking for a white group," says Stape-Mega. "[A group] that they could mold into whatever they wanted to," adds Adam12.

Dept. of Rec. has a mind of its own — "It’s about thinking outside the box," says Stape (using a bit of co-opted corporatespeak that serves as the name of the first track on their Raising Illatropolis EP). On Arrakis, that’s exactly what the artists get to do. There’s no room for compromising artistic integrity. Simply put, Briz explains the No. 1 perk of independence: "I like it because of the freedom." Other artists on the Arrakis roster are Kenneth Masters, Digs DarkLighter, Uncle T and DJ LowBudget.

"We’ll start making money. Things will change after a while. If you got a dope product that people like, nobody can stop that," predicts Briz confidently.

Creating and performing offers the peace of mind that a Rolex can’t. Right now, day jobs are still a reality. No pocket money is being stacked yet. The Arrakis kids aren’t poppin’ Mo, Cris or Dom. Nope. All of the profits are funneled back into promotion, pressing more records and promoting more shows. This Tuesday Arrakis puts its head-nodding lyrical brilliance on display at Silk City in celebration of the Briz’s Blown Mind 12-inch and Dept. of Rec.’s Raising Illatropolis releases. And the fame? Well, they all want to be famous one day.

Briz tells it like it is, "Hip-hop is not our job right now. It’s just our love." For now, the Arrakis crew works damn hard for the love of their life. Welcome to the underground.

Arrakis Records presents "Whatch’all Cats Up To?" Tue., Dec. 11, 9 p.m. - 2 a.m., $5, with Hand Held Aspects, Dept. of Rec., Briz, Digs DarkLighter, Uncle T, L Perfex and LowBudget, at Silk City, Fifth and Spring Garden Sts. 215-922-8157.