The impeccable rhyme speaker Kev Roc and dusty loop and raw beat provider X-Ray are better known as the group Darc Mind.
Kev Roc was in the incarnation of the first group Darc Mind when they were called Legion of D.U.M.E.(X, Ray,Schott Free (Loud), Matt Life(Loud) who dropped a 2 track ep in 1994 Son of Sam/Darc Mind Inc...
Because this was released on Ruffhouse, there was a very familiar sound on Son of Sam and you would expect Son Doobie to jump on the track, which is interesting because a Cypress Hill sample from Insane In The Brain, (plus a dope EPMD sample) was used for the hook, of course it is Kev Roc that shows up every other MC
it was through a clothes designer friend Trace Levine (Down To Earth) that Kev got hooked up with X-Ray's beats way back in 1989, now here is the interesting thing and something I didn't know until recently, X-Ray(then known as)DJ GM Webb D was the producer of the classic Sugar Bear-Ready To Penetrate/Scandalize Mine and did a tour with Sugar Bear, EPMD and MC Shan in the late 80's, X-Ray also produced Public Enemy's Tie Goes To The Runner
Plus he produced for a very short lived 90's group Serious Lee-Fine (on the late, great Jam Master Jay's record label) in 1990 and in 1991 some obscure artist named Militant Messenger and of course later his work with the ill madness that is MF Doom and the Monsta Island Czars.
1996 was the year that the first Darc Mind 12" Outside Looking In turned up on record shelves and on mixtapes all around the globe, then in 1997 on the dope Soul In The Hole soundtrack they had the ill Visions of Blur
Soon, Loud records folded and the duo were without a deal and a completed album, but Darc Mind are one of those groups that keep on because they have a sound and style all of their own that needed to be out there, enter the left field label Anticon Records to finally give the album Sympotmatic of A Greater Ill a release and more importantly a life, so the masses can finally hear what a full album would be like.(dope 8/10 for me)
To follow up the albums, they released a dope mixtape titled Bi-Polar which was a collection of earlier and unreleased tracks from 1991-99 and the two of them have thier own hype radio show as well, available for a free download
I was fortunate enough to get an interview with Kev Roc and X-Ray and this is what they had to say, my thanks to Kev, Ray and Mazz.
1.Why didn’t you release Symptomatic of a Greater
MINDBENDA RECORDINGS LLC IS STILL A GROWING COMPANY AND ANTICON HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE SO THEY HAD BETTER DISTRIBUTION THAN US ALSO WE NEVER PLANED ON RELEASING THAT ALBUM ANYWAY. THE RESPONSE WAS COOL I JUST THINK IT NEEDED MORE PROMOTIONS BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS.
2.Kev Roc, how do you feel about some reviewers comparing you to Charlie Tuna from Jurassic 5?, personally I don’t hear it all, and I think it’s just because you have a deep baritone style that people feel they have to compare you.
YEAH I FEEL THE SAME MY STYLE IS MUCH DIFFERENT THAN HIS BUT OUR VOCAL TONES ARE VERY CLOSE.
3.X-Ray, did you produce the Sugar Bear record or were you just his DJ?
ALL THE PRODUCING ON THE SUGARBEAR RECORD WAS DONE BY ME AT MY LAB IN
4.X-Ray I see your name listed on some discographies for Public Enemy’s Tie Goes to the Runner, were you a producer on that track and not credited?
YEP IT ALSO WENT THROUGH THE SAME GUYS (SHABAZZ) FROM THE SUGARBEAR RECORD. GOT PAID UP FRONT BUT THIS TIME NO CREDIT IT’S THE SAME BEAT FROM THE READY TO PENETRATE.
5.When Matt Life and Schott Free when onto work for Loud records did you ever get the urge to do the same?
NO I JUST WANTED TO BE A ARTIST/PRODUCER AT THAT TIME I WAS RUNNING AROUND WITH MF DOOM AND DARC MIND TRYING TO JUMP START OUR CAREERS
6.X-Ray when you first met MC Kev Roc rhyme, did you have a thought that your beats would be perfectly suited to his unique flow and what was the very first Darc Mind as Darc Mind track?
NOT REALLY I JUST KNEW I HAD TO GIVE HIM SOME I’LL SHIT THOUGH .OUR FIRST SONG WAS “SMOKE FROM THE LYRICAL BLUNT “
7.Who are you listening to these days and what are your views on Hip Hop in 2007?
WE LISTEN TO ALL INDIE ARTIST FIRST AND FOREMOST AND WE HAVE A RADIO SHOW THAT WE DO ONCE A MONTH(X-TACY RADIO) YOU CAN FIND IT HERE >>> WWW.MINDBENDA.COM
IT NEEDS BALANCE ON THE RADIO AND ON T.V. SUPPORT MORE LOCAL ARTISTS.
8.Kev Roc who were your MC influences growing up and who would say influenced your style the most?
THAT WOULD BE KK ROCKWELL AND KOOL MOE D
9.X-Ray, could you please break down what is going with Monsta Island Czars these days, are they still together and will there be another album?
NOT SURE, I AM NO LONGER A MEMBER OF M.I.C. BY CHOICE BUT I STILL HAVE A STRONG FRIENDSHIP WITH SOME OF THE MEMBERS. LOOK OUT FOR TOMMY GUNNS NEW PROJECT “THE NICKEL BAG” COMING SOON ON MINDBENDA RECORDINGS.
10.Who else are you working with these days and are Uppa Notch planning another album?
RIGHT NOW I’M WORKING WITH ROC MARCY, DARC MIND, STEVEN KING, TOMMY GUNN, AND KWITE DEF AND TRYING TO GET MY LABEL OFF AND POPPING.
UPPA NOTCH IS
11. I want to list some of my favorite Darc Mind tracks and if it’s cool ask you the actual year they were recorded please?
Dot
Legion of Dume-Darc Mind Inc...
http://www.sendspace.com/file/wkepqf
Darc Mind-Outside Looking In (prod Nick Wiz)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/1m3zb4
Darc Mind-The Saga (demo version)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/h526iv
Darc Mind-The Saga
http://www.sendspace.com/file/zcprtx
Darc Mind-Visions of Blur
http://www.sendspace.com/file/hlkujo
http://www.anticon.com/?js=yes
www.myspace.com/darcmind
peaceEDit: Slurg and his ill Press Rewind...blog has posted the Legion of Dume in the Unsigned Hype section of The Source from 1992.
check it here:
http://pressrewind.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/unsigned-hype-legion-of-dume-in-the-source-1992
