My husband is a....

My husband is a hip-hop dj/producer for the group Mars ILL. This has made for some funny conversations around the monkey bars with faux-urban (my word for....edit:: that first definition wasnt quite right. Ive come up with a better one. It's the folks who want to live as if in the suburbs while in the city--avoiding the city experience) moms. It usually goes something like this:

mom: "So what does your husband do that requires him to be out of town?"
me: "Oh, he produces music and travels with a group."
mom: "What instrument does he play?"
me: "Well, it's a hip-hop group."
mom: "Oh! That's so interesting!"
me: "Yeah! He's the dj" (to which I receive a look I dont know how to interpret) "he scratches" (moving my hand to mimick the movement.) "And he produces music for the group and other groups. He doesnt rap."
mom: "Wow! What't the name of their group?"
me: (knowing full well that there is a 95% chance she's never heard of them) "Mars ILL."
mom: "Hmmm. I havent heard of them."
me: "Yeah, they have a pretty nice following here in Atlanta. They play a lot of clubs here and around the country."
mom: "Wow, how interesting!"


Of course this isnt how every conversation goes, but a lot of the time it is awkward and strange, as if they cant quite get it. (If you ask me it has to do with the fact that I dont look like I'd be married to a hip-hop producer so it throws them off! But what should the wife of a hip-hop dj look like?)

I am so proud of my man. When we first met we were in college, and I would stay at his parents house on the weekends because my family lived across the country. He would spend hours downstairs in the basement "working on beats" and driving me crazy! I wanted those precious hours spent with me! But God had other plans. Nate had this little Gemini mixer, an ARS-10? and a record player (I say record player because it was literally a record player--not a turntable.) He was doing a few shows around the area with a friend he had met (Rahlo, now of The Blacksoil Project) and was making beats out of old Jimmy Hendrix albums, and later, Tears for Fears.

I would go to most of the shows with him, and secretly I was so nervous. They were just learning their craft, like babies learning to walk, and I would pray that the audience would get into it and respond. A few years later they were doing it full time, and we were deciding whether or not to marry. I remember him sitting me down and saying something to the effect of "I love you, but I know this is what God wants me to do, and you have to decide if you can do this too." It was a big deal, because I had dreams of what I thought my life would be, and traveling around with a hip-hop group wasnt exactly a part of the plan at the point! But I did know that God had brought this man into my life and my life was now full of love. I knew that he was the biggest blessing I had ever received, and I also knew I didnt want to live this life without him around! So I trusted that God's plans were bigger than mine, and the journey began!

Since then I have seen some pretty amazing things happen with the group that came to be Mars ILL. Three albums, several 12"'s, an EP, as well as guest spots on some great albums, record contracts, traveling all over the country, a music video, etc. But what keeps me going is the encouragement we get from people who love the music. When I hear the response from people, when we get emails from fans, or when I read what reviewers have written about the albums, or see interviews with the group I am encouraged! I am reminded that having my husband gone for weeks at a time, regularly, is worth it! I see what God is doing and I am excited!

If you are interested in knowing more about what Mars ILL is about, check out my link on the lower right column.
And here's a little blurb about the crew:

Mars ILL Friends and Family

manCHILD started out with SintaxtheTerrific and DJ Hi-Tech in the underground group The Pride in the mid 90's. In the late 90's they joined forces with other like-minded individuals to form the Deepspace 5 crew which now includes groups like Labklik, Mars ILL, and artists such as Playdough, Sev Statik, Beat Rabbi, and DJ Manny.

At the same time Dust was paying dues with Rahlo (now of Blacksoil Project) and The Judge as Basses Loaded. Mid 90's Rahlo and Dust joined forces with Nobul (later became Thinking of Michalis Constant) and toured as Dead Poet Society across the US and overseas. After meeting Dust at a hip-hop convention in the late 90's manCHILD joined the group and he Dust and Rahlo became Mars ILL.

In 2000 Dust and manCHILD set out on their own to make history with the release of Raw Material, then followed that with a 12", the Blue Collar Sessions EP and on and on. Next on the agenda is the anxiously awaited sophomore release from Gotee, ProPain, due out this July.


Mars ILL Albums/EP's/12"'s released to date:

Raw Material (Sphere of Hip Hop/Uprock)
12" Mona Lisa
The Night We Called It A Day~Deepspace 5 (Uprock)
Blue Collar Sessions (Ill Boogie Records)
12" Redefine
Sound Methods (Mars ILL)
Backbreakanomics (Gotee Records)
12" Breathe Slow
Sound Methods v.2.0 (Mars ILL)
Pirate Radio (Mars ILL)
Unique, Just Like Everyone Else~Deepspace 5 (Gotee Records May 10th 2005)
ProPain (due out July 19, 2005 Gotee Records)
maxi single for ProPain

BROTHERS~
Deepspace 5 website is deepspace5.com
Albums: Deepspace 5 EP and "The Night We Called It A Day"
"Unique, Just Like Everyone Else" May 10th 2005

The crew is:
BEAT RABBI (Circumcised Mind)
DUST/MANCHILD (Mars ILL)
FREDDIE BRUNO (Phonetic Composition)
PLAYDOUGH (Phonetic Composition/Ill Harmonics)www.illharmonics.biz
LISTENER (Labklik) www.forthelistener.com/www.labklik.com
DJ MANNY (Grits)
SINTAXtheterrific (The Pride) www.sintaxtheterrific.com
SEV STATIK (All Bully/Tunnel Rats) www.sevstatik.com
SIVION (Phat KATS)
also RECON and ILLTRIPP (semi-retired)



The Blacksoil Project website is: http://blacksoilproject.com/html/home.html
Albums: "Ulterior Motives" and "The Calm Before the Storm"
The crew is:
RAHLO
RYAN OFFICER (sometimes travels with Rahlo)
DJ LEVEL


COUSINS~
Binkis Recs
Squashy Nice & AD
Collective Efforts
Educated Consumers
Bigg Jus
MinaMina Goodsong
Bobby Bishop
Illogic
The Remnant (Militia)
John Reuben
Braille
Surreal
Blueprint
X
Ishues
4th Ave Jones
Adeem
LA Symphony
Pigeon John
J3
Psyche Origami
The (other) Remnant
Canon (also known as Ward @ the Ward-O-Matic)
Dres the Beatnik
Lightheaded
Vintage Imperial
and others...