He may not be the "King of Arizona," as his concert tomorrow night at Club Congress suggests, but Los Angeles-based rapper MURS is finally returning to familiar territory in the Old Pueblo.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, MURS moved to Tucson in 2000 and resided there for two years. Like many local music heads, he worked at Zia Records, in addition to running his own hip-hop shop on Congress Street called "Heaven."
Eventually, his hip-hop career blossomed as he joined New York City's Definitive Jux Records, the Los Angeles-based Living Legends crew and worked on many more projects, including one entitled "Felt: A Tribute To Christina Ricci" with Atmosphere's Slug.
Career demands pulled him back to Los Angeles, but not without some heartbreak. MURS admits missing Tucson's basic longings: the food, people and bands. More perplexing are his other yearnings: summers and the Tucson Mall.
Here is an excerpted conversation with the former Tucson native.
Wildcat: How does Los Angeles compare to Tucson?
MURS: Well, they're two totally different things. Tucson has a lot more positives than L.A. L.A. has a lot of downsides. There's not that many downsides to living in Tucson, except that it's not a major city, but that's where a lot of the pluses come from.
Wildcat: So you think Tucson's better than L.A.?
MURS: If I had to raise kids ... I don't know. I love Los Angeles because I was born and raised here. Like I really don't know anywhere else. If I would have grown up in Tucson, I would probably ... I don't know.
I know a lot of people that grow up in Tucson don't appreciate it. A lot of kids that go to school there don't appreciate it. I don't think you can truly appreciate it until you've lived in the big city.
Once you start paying rent in a big metropolis like Los Angeles or New York, then you move somewhere like Tucson where the rent is cheaper, the people are more genuine, the quality of life is better, and you don't have to work as hard and you're not as stressed out; you can really appreciate a place like Tucson.
Wildcat: The show's called "The King Of Arizona." How does that feel?
MURS: I think that's an exaggeration. Definitely not the "King of Arizona," but I'm happy to be able to come home. Really, I just wanted an excuse so I can see my friends. A lot of my friends have babies that I don't get to see very often. This is coming out for the U of A?
Wildcat: Yeah ...
MURS: All goal-oriented college women, Latina or black/African-American women, please come out to the show.
Wildcat: That's a call, man. No problem. I'll print that.
MURS: Yeah, print that. That's another factor, though, because I never got laid when I was in Tucson, except maybe once. I lived there for like two years total.
Wildcat: So let's try to change that though, man.
MURS: Yeah, I had sex one time. I don't think I'll have time to have sex with anybody, but it'd be nice to meet a reason to move back to Tucson. I'd like to meet my future wife in Tucson. I'm really like everybody-fucking-else.
MURS plays an all-ages show at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., with Odd Jobs and Isaiah. Tickets are $14 in advance, $16 day of show.