People Under the Stairs
are an underground hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. It's comprised of two emcee's Thes One and Double K. The group, also known as PUTS
, has released five albums since 1998, and have since put out a record every two years, with the exception of 2004. Although widely unrecognized, PUTS is often considered one of the hip hop underground's most prominent acts, with a musical style similar to that of A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde, and fellow Los Angeles group Ugly Duckling. PUTS is also renowned for their live shows, which feature a large amount of crowd interaction and humor.
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PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS TICKETS
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History
Thes One (Chris Portugal) was born in
Lima,
Peru in 1977. His musical aliases include Thes One, Uncle Thester, Supreme One, Thessoterrorist, and Lord Radio. Double K (Michael Turner Jr.) is originally from Los Angeles, California, and was also born in 1977. He is also known to go by K Jackson, BABY HUEY, Dub K, L.A. Mike, Mikey, Kaos, Hale Bop, and Kidd Drunkadelic. The two met in Los Angeles in the late 1990s, and quickly proceeded recording their first album,
The Next Step
.
The Next Step
Recorded themselves, before they had secured a deal, the group sold it at gigs and would go out on the street with backpacks full of copies to sell it to anyone who would buy it.
The Next Step
would eventually be released in 1998
[1], it was well received critically, and because of this success, the head of
Om Records (Chris Smith) negotiated a contract with the group, leading to their 2000 album
Question in the Form of an Answer
.
[2]
American Men, Vol. 1
The group recorded a limited run of 1,000 presses of the album in 1999. Due to its rarity, it is much-coveted amongst PUTS fans.
Question in the Form of an Answer
Released on
Om Records in 2000
Question in the Form of an Answer
was PUTS' sophomore effort and also received a warm welcome from critics. Along with groups like
Jurassic 5,
Dilated Peoples and the emerging
Ugly Duckling, People Under the Stairs were considered part of a successor generation to
The Pharcyde's west coast sunny weather, fun rhyme and laid back attitude in opposition to the popular
G Funk which was heavily associated with west coast hip hop.
"O.S.T."
People Under the Stairs third release in 2002 saw a continually growing fan base and more intense touring. Another popular release with fans and critics the album featured popular tracks such as
O.S.T. (Original Soundtrack)
(featuring Odell Johnson) and
Acid Raindrops
.
...Or Stay Tuned
Released in 2003 the
...Or Stay Tuned
EP featured the single
Yield
with the B-side
Out da Club
. Following this the group would take a short hiatus during which time Thes One would begin work on his solo album, though it wouldn't see release until 2007. Eventually they would return to the studio to work on their fourth full length album
Stepfather
. They also included a remixed version of "San Francisco Knights" (from "The Next Step") titled "S.F. Knight Remix".
Stepfather
Their album
Stepfather
was released on
April 18,
2006. A false leak of the album was released on the internet on
February 21,
2006. The leak was orchestrated by
Thes One himself by recruiting members on the PUTS Online messageboard to spread the bad copy. The leak is in fact a recital of
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
with an introduction containing such jeers as, "You got it way before everyone, you're so smart. You couldn't wait for 4.18.06, huh. You're smart, well enjoy this."
They have also moved to
Basement Records, who released their current album along with Tres Records. The label was started by Chikaramanga & Sausen with the assistance of Thes One
[3] and has begun releasing 12" singles and CDs for Thes One,
Giant Panda, Lightheaded, and other artists.
Thes One released his first
solo album,
Lifestyle Marketing
, in early 2007. It is a 2-disc album of instrumentals featuring samples from Herb Pilhofer's
Music That Works
.
Fun DMC
It was released on September 30, 2008 and has received critical success so far.
Discography
Albums
- The Next Step
(1998)
- Question in the Form of an Answer
(2000)
- O.S.T.
(2002)
- ...Or Stay Tuned
(2003)
- Stepfather
(2006)
- Fun DMC
(2008)
- Carried Away
(October 13, 2009)
EPs
- Question in the Form of an Answer Instrumentals
(2000)
- American Men Vol. 1
(2001)
- Stepfather Instrumentals Part 1
(2007)
- Stepfather Instrumentals Part 2
(2008)
Compilations
- The Om Years (Favorites, Rarities & B-Sides)
(2008)
Singles
- "The Next Step II" (1998)
- "Youth Explosion" (2000)
- "The Cat" (2000)
- "We'll Be There" (2000) (Hot Rap Singles #36) [4]
- "Jappy Jap" (2002)
- "O.S.T. (Original soundtrack)" (2002)
- "Acid Raindrops" (2002)
- "Yield / Out da Club" (2003)
- "Tuxedo Rap" (2006)
- "Pass The 40" (2006)
- "Step Bacc/The Wiz" (2008)
References
- Biography
- People Under the Stairs
- Giant Panda
- Singles