* En anglais uniquement
California-by-way-of-New York producer
DJ Muggs helped pioneer a distinctive style of dark, hazy hip-hop during the 1990s as a founding member of
Cypress Hill, and continued expanding his horizons throughout the following decades, branching off into trip-hop, dancehall, alternative rock, and dubstep. In addition to nine studio albums with
Cypress Hill (five gold- or platinum-certified), he is behind major hits for
House of Pain ("Jump Around") and
Ice Cube ("Check Yo Self," with
Das EFX) as well as tracks by
Funkdoobiest,
Xzibit,
Super Cat, and many others. He formed the
Soul Assassins collective in 1997, and reached the Top 20 with the first of several guest-heavy full-lengths. He ventured into trip-hop with a 1999 collaboration with
Tricky titled
Juxtapose as well as the 2003 solo effort
Dust, and revisited the style a decade later with his group
Cross My Heart Hope to Die. Since collaborating with
GZA of the
Wu-Tang Clan on 2005's
Grandmasters,
Muggs has released numerous albums with notable underground rappers, including
Planet Asia,
Roc Marciano,
Mach-Hommy, and
Tha God Fahim. Additionally, he embraced dubstep and trap on 2013's
Bass for Your Face, and produced the haunting instrumental full-length Dies Occidendum (2021) under his alias
the Black Goat.
Lawrence Muggerud was born in the Queens borough of New York City, and moved to Los Angeles when he was 14. He got his start as a DJ for the rap group
the 7A3, whose only album appeared in 1988, and co-founded DVX (Devastatic Vocal Excellence) with
Sen Dog, his brother
Mellow Man Ace, and B-Real.
Mellow Man Ace departed for a solo career, and the three remaining members dubbed themselves
Cypress Hill.
Muggs produced a track on
Mellow Man Ace's 1989 debut, and helmed the entirety of 1991's
Cypress Hill, a landmark hardcore rap album that was certified double platinum and spawned countless imitators.
Muggs produced two of the biggest rap hits in 1992,
House of Pain's "Jump Around" and
Ice Cube with
Das EFX's "Check Yo Self," as well as tracks for
Yo-Yo,
Funkdoobiest, and ragga vocalist
Daddy Freddy.
Cypress Hill's second album, 1993's
Black Sunday, was a bigger hit than their debut, thanks to the runaway success of the single "Insane in the Brain."
Muggs remained active with
Cypress Hill as well as
House of Pain and
Funkdoobiest during the mid-'90s, additionally producing or remixing songs by
Janet Jackson,
U2,
Super Cat,
Salt-N-Pepa, and many others. He formed the
Soul Assassins collective and released
Muggs Presents the Soul Assassins, Chapter I on
Columbia Records in 1997, featuring guest appearances by
Dr. Dre,
Mobb Deep,
KRS-One,
Goodie Mob, and several other big names. In between
Cypress Hill albums,
Muggs collaborated with
Tricky and
Dame Grease on 1999's
Juxtapose, and Soul Assassins II appeared in 2000, with
Kurupt,
Everlast, and
Dilated Peoples among its participants.
Soul Assassins released Mixtape Vol. One in 2002, with guests like
Snoop Dogg and
Jayo Felony.
Muggs signed to Anti-, an independent label distributed by Epitaph, and released the solo full-length
Dust in 2003. Blending trip-hop with alternative rock, the album featured guests such as
Greg Dulli,
Amy Trujillo, and
Josh Todd of
Buckcherry.
Muggs produced
Cypress Hill's 2004 album
Till Death Do Us Part, but then took a break from the group in order to focus on other ventures. He founded Angeles Records and released the mixtape The Last Assassin with
Chace Infinite. He also issued a few mixtapes of mash-ups around the mid-2000s.
Muggs linked with
GZA for the 2005 full-length
Grandmasters, which was followed by an instrumental version the following year, and a remix album in 2007.
Muggs collaborated with
Sick Jacken (of
Psycho Realm) and
Cynic for 2007's
Legend of the Mask and the Assassin, and
Planet Asia for 2008's
Pain Language. He also branched into film scoring, composing the soundtrack to the film Street Kings along with
Graeme Revell. The third
Soul Assassins album,
Intermission, appeared in 2009.
Muggs remained a member of
Cypress Hill, but only co-produced two tracks on the same year's
Rise Up. He collaborated with
Ill Bill of
Non Phixion for the 2010 full-length
Kill Devil Hills, and produced The Los Angeles, Philippines Mixtape by Bambu.
After 25 years in the industry,
Muggs' sound continued to evolve. His 2012 EPs Sound Clash Business and Sound Boy Killa found him incorporating trap and dubstep, and he expanded on this direction with his 2013 Ultra Records full-length
Bass for Your Face, which featured guest spots from
Freddie Gibbs,
Dizzee Rascal,
Roc Marciano, and
Chuck D. He also formed the band
Cross My Heart Hope to Die with vocalist Brevi, co-producer
Andrew Kline, and curator Sean Bronner. Mixing trip-hop with shoegaze, the group released a self-titled EP in 2013, followed by Vita e Morte in 2014, both on Alpha Pup Records.
Muggs also produced tracks on two albums by South African rave-rap act
Die Antwoord.
Initiating one of the most prolific phases of his career,
Muggs returned to pure, dark underground hip-hop with a lengthy string of collaborative albums on Soul Assassins Records. He worked with
Meyhem Lauren on 2017's
Gems from the Equinox and the following year's
Frozen Angels EP, while producing cuts on releases by
Westside Gunn and
Vinnie Paz. He also returned to main production duties for
Cypress Hill on 2018's
Elephants on Acid. Soul Assassins: Dia del Asesinato (with appearances from
MF DOOM,
Raekwon, and
Kool G Rap) and the
Roc Marciano collaboration KAOS appeared the same year.
2019 was a particularly prolific year for
Muggs. Hells Roof with Lil' Eto appeared early in the year, followed by two albums with
Mach-Hommy (Tuez-Les Tous and Kill Em All), Medallo with New Jersey rapper
Crimeapple, a further EP with
Meyhem Lauren (Members Only), and Dump Assassins with
Tha God Fahim. In 2020,
Muggs issued the brief album Kilogram with Al Divino, then released the solo LP Winter, with guest verses by
Cappadonna,
Boldy James, RLX, and more.
Death & the Magician, a collaboration with
Rome Streetz, appeared in 2021. The producer released his first instrumental full-length as
DJ Muggs the Black Goat, Dies Occidendum, on Sacred Bones the same year. He also issued a further EP with Divino, titled Kilo, and collaborated with
Flee Lord on the full-length Rammellzee. ~ Paul Simpson & Jason Birchmeier