The Subterraneanz

The Subterraneanz' saga began with the crew's original core, then known as the Exile Society -- lyricists Bezi, LCJ, Tranque, and Hypno -- growing up with hip hop in the Boston area (Roxbury, to be precise) in the mid-'80s, practicing the fine arts of grafitti, breaking, and rapping. It is rumored that actual tapes of early efforts from that period still exist. The crew began performing as rap act in 1988, and have scarcely looked back since. After moving to Oakland, California in '95, the Exile Society began the first of what would be a succession of European tours as support for the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Arrested Development, the Sugarhill Gang, and the The Pharcyde. While visiting Austria on their second European tour, they met the mighty Schonheitsfehler, pioneers of German-language rap and the first Austrian hip hop group to put down wax. The Exile Society have been tapped into the Vienna scene ever since, returning to Viennese clubs and hip hop radio broadcasts in '98 and securing a spot on Schonheitsfehler's collaboration comp Teil 3 vom Ei. After the '98 tour, vocalist Lokana Djas and MC Louie Da Saint joined the line-up and Exile Society became part of the ever-expanding Subterraneanz clan. The addition of Djas in particular brings the band's innate soul to the surface of their knockin', drum-heavy groove, reminiscent of the phat-beats-and-harmony steelo of groups like the Pharcyde, Jurassic 5, and down-for-my-dogs divas like Mary J. Blige.