May 12-18, 2005

music

The Untouchables

MY SQUAD: (L-R) Reef the Lost Cauze, State Store, Charon Don, Chief Kamachi. "Everyone has their mob and now I have mine," says Kamachi.

Chief Kamachi assembles his hip-hop dream team in The JuJu Mob.

by Deesha Dyer

Somewhere across the Atlantic in Germany or Amsterdam, a DJ at a downtown discotheque is bumpin' a cut from Chief Kamachi's 2004 solo release, Cult Status. Back at home in Philly, however, he is just another rapper. He's been in the game for a decade, but success beyond cult status has so far proven elusive.

Each new project, and there have been many, is another swing for the fences. His latest is The JuJu Mob, a four-man supergroup composed of independent hip-hoppers: Kamachi, Reef the Lost Cauze, Charon Don and State Store. All of them contributed to Cult Status. Kamachi calls JuJu Mob a movement.

It certainly got them moving. Commuting back and forth to Pittsburgh, they banged out their debut album, Black Candles (Good Hands/Eastern Conference), in about three days. It's set for release next week.

"Reef brings the straight, raw uncut, while State Store is the scattered, dirty flow, and Don kicks that Midwest, Pharoah Monch style," Kamachi says. The first single, "No Chorus/My Squad," was released in mid-April, and The JuJu Mob mixtape CD Vol. 1 is in the works and will feature talent in Kamachi's supporting cast.

The group borrows its name and ideology from the West African JuJu spirit that Kamachi studies. "There are different mobs, and as far as I'm concerned, the JuJu is the most important. It is magical and no one can touch it. It sets the tone and brings everything full circle. Everyone has their mob and now I have mine," Kamachi says. However, in mob tradition, there is only one boss. Hip-hop usually doesn't work that way, especially when it comes to MCs.

Reef, with his humble persona, and Kamachi, with his God complex, are familiar names around these parts — even gracing these pages a few times — but their JuJu counterparts aren't instantly recognized. Although Charon Don and State Store have been making music for years, the nationally distributed Black Candles will be their official introduction to the world.

Pittsburgh native Charon Don — described by Reef as a dope, educated lyricist — met Larry and Charley of Good Hands Records while performing at LaTazza three years ago. "I recorded over their house the first night we met. I felt their hunger, and they were developing as I was," he says. With his partner, DJ Huggy (who also contributed production to Black Candles), Don released a solo album in 1999 that pinned him as a battle-oriented young buck. "I was in high school when I wrote my first album. Everyone thought I was a jerk because it was egotistical. I've since moved on from that," he laughs.

Citing his Christian upbringing (mom and sis are gospel singers), Charon remains true to his spiritual side. "I don't want to preach, but it's needed. People are forgetting the importance of God and family. I try to fit that in my rhymes without being hypocritical. I've seen things and I put it all out there, but keep it positive." He laughs that some may write him off as a small-town rapper with nothing to rhyme about but abandoned steel mills. "I admit Pittsburgh is slow. You're big until you go somewhere else. No one from Pittsburgh has really made it on the national level. I know it's a small city, but it's still hip-hop, and we have the same struggles. It's hot working with Philly artists. The JuJu album is a good example that I am serious about my music," he says. "Chief, State Store, Reef and I worked well together. The album is diverse. It has something for everyone. Someone is going to feel what I'm saying."

"State brings the gritty Ghostface element to the group," says Kamachi, who has known rapper/singer State Store for 11 years. State recently completed a European Tour with Maylay Sparks, Last Emperor and Kamachi. Music became his form of expression when fighting inner demons. "I was diagnosed as being bipolar and schizophrenic at a young age. I was in and out of facilities, and music was an escape," State says. Re-releasing The Sickness with DJ Carlo, he is making his fight public, hoping to draw attention to the mental health of black people. "Mental issues are rarely talked about and very taboo. I definitely speak about that on the album. It's my personal view and experiences. This is my perception of the truth. I can speak on it because I've been there. This is not a character, this is me. I don't pretend."

All four members have high hopes for this album but are keeping their individual projects a priority. "This is a good platform for my solo album. I was honored to be a part of this project. It's one of the first real releases that I'll be a part of. I'm proud of what everyone brought to the table. It was a free thinking, optimistic and a natural process," says Reef. "Hopefully this will open some eyes in the game, and it can carry the next lineup of The JuJu Mob."

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Juju Mob
Black Candles
(Good Hands/Eastern Conference)
Putting four different MCs on one track is a gamble; audiences usually either love or hate it. Shot callers, of course, recognize the marketing advantage of a hot collaborative single. So, why not try it on a whole album? On Black Candles, the anticipated debut album from the JuJu Mob, listeners are shuffled between Chief Kamachi's angry tone, Charon Don's calm nature, Reef the Lost Cauze's versatile songwriting and State Store's unrefined singing voice. "Angel Feathers" is the album's hype anthem, full of testosterone and energy. They vent career frustrations on "Radios" and honor the lovely evils of women on highlight track "Voodoo Doll." With its addictive chorus and cool-out vibe, that's a highlight track not even Kanye West syndrome (sped-up soul voice backing track) can crush. Lyrically consistent and balanced, Black Candles sets the bar for underground albums dropping this summer. —Deesha Dyer