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Mystik Journeymen,

who have just come off a 55 city tour with Tha Liks, are preparing to drop their

fourth album, Magic, on Outhouse/Revenge Entertainment. Corey Johnson

aka Sunspot Jonz and Tommy Woolfolk AKA PSC aim to inspire people to pursue

their dreams on this album. The album reflects their personal struggle and the

politics of the rap game.

"We’ve been doing this for so long,"

says Sunspot, "we can see through the bullshit! It amazes me that to this

day people still ask us to do shows for free. How many sold out shows do we

have to perform until we get paid?"

Well, it appears that it won’t be long, if that

problem is still happening. The album features Me’shell N’Degeocello as well

as others. The group remains humble despite having to deal with industry politics,

and group member PSC sums the album up. "It’s what all of us artists have

to go through in the business. The struggles, all the people you meet and think

your friends and then they turn their back on you."

If you aren’t familiar with Mystik Journeymen,

it all started in 1993 when Johnson and Woolfolk met at a party in Oakland.

Later that year, after forming the group, the two decided to move in together

to a loft in Oakland and throw parties to showcase their music. Alongside local

pioneers like E-40 and Too Short, the group carved a permanent place for themselves

in the landscape of Bay Area hip-hop. Without any major label backing, the group

toured the world and created their own buzz. Critics continue hail their live

show, but more impressively, they are one of the few hip-hop acts today who

can sell out venues of 3000! In 1996 their debut studio album, 4001 was released.

Since then they continue to drop records (In 1998 they dropped World Wide,

in 2000 Black Sounds of Eternia ) and build a worldwide network of dedicated

fans.

Through the turbulent times of the music business Mystik Journeymen remain unscathed.

"It’s been the benefit of being totally indie from the start," says

Sunspot. "We only rely on ourselves so we aren’t beholden to a label or

effected by the industry woes."