DVS MINDZ - Group Profile

Group members: DJ Kutaculus, D Dot, DL, Killa the Hun, Str8jakkett
Formed: 1993
City: Topeka, KS
Labels: No Coast Records
Influences: Wu-Tang Clan, Eric B. & Rakim

Image source: Revolvy

DVS Mindz formed in 1993 in Topeka from what was originally a duo consisting of Str8jakkett and Killa the Hun. They met in middle school and began working on music together, and after adding their third member, D.O.P.E., performed together for the first time at a school talent show on November 4, 1993. Their music was sparsely produced with raw, heavy beats and free-form rhymes, usually with no hooks, reminiscent of the earliest music from the Wu-Tang Clan. They recorded together and opened for artists such as Wu-Tang's own U-God before landing songs on local compilation records and attracting their final members, MC DL and producer DJ Kutaculus. Their debut album, Million Dolla Broke Niggaz, was released in 2000 but included music that went back years to the group's founding. Str8jakkett once explained their unpolished approach to music by saying: "It's not that we didn't know about counting bars, we just didn't give a shit about counting bars...Spit. Give it your all."

Despite acclaim for their album, local press turned on the group after several incidents that stemmed from a negative review of a concert they received from Kansas City newspaper The Pitch. Feeling unfairly singled out by the author of the article, Shawn Edwards, DVS began publicly ridiculing Edwards and ranting against local media that they felt was biased against them. The Pitch had nominated Million for an award for best local release in 2000, but gave the award to Shiner's Starless instead, furthering their paranoia. In 2002, they lost The Pitch's award for best rap artist to Tech N9ne, and threw chairs and stormed out of the theater. This and increasingly unhinged live performances led to what amounted to a blackout from local press, and DVS was unable to further their career.

Since 2002, DVS has released loose tracks, demos, singles, and compilation appearances, but have never properly followed up Million. Kutaculus, D.O.P.E. (under the name D Dot), and Str8jakkett have made some solo releases but none have approached the success of Million, and despite having never formally broken up, the group is largely inactive today. Despite their inauspicious career start and numerous setbacks, the group remains extremely influential on the Kansas rap scene.

Group Discography

Million Dolla Broke Niggaz: The DVS Mindz Experience 1994-2000 (Volume One), 2000

COMPILATION APPEARANCES

• "No Coast," DVS Mindz (I.C.U.: The Revival, 1998)
• "Real MCs," DVS Mindz (I.C.U.: The Revival, 1998)
• "Heat," DVS Mindz (Scars and Tattoos, 2001)

MILLION DOLLA BROKE NIGGAZ: THE DVS MINDZ EXPERIENCE 1994-2000 (VOLUME ONE)

Released: May 2000

Label: No Coast Records

TRACK LIST

1. Public Service Announcement: DL
2. Madness

3. DVS Mindbender

4. Seven (feat. Qui Lo)
5. Public Service Announcement: Killa the Hun
6. Murderous Verses
7. Misrepresenters

8. Tired of Talking

9. Inferred Connection (feat. Bronz and Paw Paww)

10. Public Service Announcement: Str8jakkett

11. Me Against Myself and I Prevail

12. Unsigned Hype

13. Bust Something

14. Niggaz
15. Yellow Brick Road (feat. Pontiak)

For the members' solo music, see their pages.