Dub dot dash

Death, Taxes and Prozack...
is the brilliant name of album by US hiphop MC Prozack Turner, part of the group Foreign Legion. Thanks to the demise of his label Dreamworks, you will probably never hear it.
When I first came across this album title last year, I had to check out what it sounded like, just on the strength of the genius title. I managed to buy the Restaurant Quality Lemonade EP which was released as a promo for the ill-fated album; it's got some great tunes and rhymes on it, including a tasty Pete Rock production called Wonderful Life, where he rhymes about being a kid and buying his first records - Run DMC and Stray Cats. Prozack Turner's story goes like this...

After being courted by Virgin and DreamWorks, Turner happily signed a four-record deal with the latter in July 2002, and began recording tracks soon after. "I thought, 'This is cool, I'll put all my friends on the album. People are going to know that the Bay Area has really great stuff.'"
To that end, Turner recruited DJ Design and MC Marc Stretch from his group Foreign Legion, and enlisted local producers DJ Ray and Supa Dave West. He also flew to New York to work with legendary beat-maker Pete Rock and headed to Atlanta to collaborate with Organized Noize, best known for its production for OutKast and TLC.

For more, read the article at SFWeekly here.

"Every independent label [Foreign Legion] ever messed with has stole from us," he says. "Every person who had been my manager has fucked me over. I got sued for 10 grand by some manager. It's such a dirty business. I'm a real honest guy. It's a hard, hard business to be in, especially when you get so close to succeeding. I'm having meetings talking about Spike Jonze directing my music video. Six months later, I'm looking for a bartending job."

Still, the recording of his album had some high points...
..."I'm in New York, standing in the glass booth, and Pete Rock is on the other side about to record me," he remembers. "Even if the album never comes out, I made it. All the people who told me not to do it- 'You're not going to make it; you're white; you're from San Jose, the suburbs'- here I am with one of the illest cats. That was an emotional moment in my career."

Along with the label and legal drama, he and Foreign Legion recently parted ways. Just last week, Turner contemplated quitting music altogether and getting a straight job to pay his bills. Then he got a check from one of his Death, Taxes & Prozack distributors for a thousand bucks. And then he got an order from Japan for 400 CDs--an extra 3 grand. The record is also selling in Germany and Australia. This boost, plus working with San Jose production team the Buckle Brothers on new tracks, improved morale and given him incentive to make music." From the San Jose Metro.

Now that Dreamworks has been bought out by Universal, they want $450,000 plus $70,000 in uncleared sample fees before they'll let him release it officially. Just as well 'someone' has bootlegged it for him, aye? (Tip of the hat to Underground post)


If you haven't scored the new issue of Wax Poetics, the best music mag on the planet, then check this interview with DJ Premier over at Pound magazine (premier is in Wax Poetics too). Anyone know where I can get Pound magazine from? Anywhere in NZ? Or online?