From the press release:

“The video for El-P’s “Time Won’t Tell” is inspired by a childhood memory of director Shan Nicholson, who grew up in the “Old New York” during a time when necessity often bred creativity. This video depicts a young boy innocently finding a way to embrace his imagination amid an urban wasteland. El-P’s all instrumental album Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixxx3 is out now.”

Last night, El-P announced that Definitive Jux will soon go on hiatus, and that he plans to step down as its artistic director. Acknowledging industry rumors portending his label’s imminent demise, the co-owner, rapper, producer and symbol of one of the most acclaimed rap imprints of the past decade explained in a note titled “Of Hooptys and Hovercrafts,” “We are not closing, but we are changing.”

In the post — which went live around 10 p.m. EST February 2 but is dated February 3 — El-P didn’t fully explain what new form Definitive Jux will take. But it appears that it will turn into a catalog label focused on selling products created during the past decade.

Also unclear from the statement is whether Definitive Jux will stop releasing new material. It has a backlog of signed artists, including Despot, Activator, Danny!, and Cool Calm Pete. Many of them have waited years for Definitive Jux to issue their material. Those delays have fueled speculation that the company is becoming financially insolvent. In the post, El-P described such rumors as “mildly exaggerated.”

Other artists closely associated with Definitive Jux, including breadwinner Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic, are expected to release albums in 2010. El-P promised that its final slate of projects include King of Hearts, a collection of the late Camu Tao’s final recordings, and “a DEF JUX remix compilation, a 10 year anniversary retrospective and some other goodies. But then as a traditional record label DEF JUX will effectively be put on hiatus.”

Definitive Jux was one of the last great record labels to emerge during the underground hip hop explosion. El-P formed it in 2000 with manager Amaechie Uzoigwe after an acrimonious departure from Rawkus Records, which distributed El’s first venture, Official Recordings, and his group Company Flow’s pioneering album, 1997′s Funcrusher Plus. (Company Flow didn’t survive the transition, splitting up in early 2001).

Definitive Jux quickly became one of the hottest labels in the country, dropping several hip hop classics during a heady two-year period: Cannibal Ox’s The Cold Vein (which El-P produced), Mr. Lif’s Enters the Colossus, Aesop Rock’s Labor Days, RJD2′s Deadringer and El-P’s own Fantastic Damage. Its roster formed a crew that toured together around the world, guested on each other’s albums and mixed hip hop aesthetics with noisy musical and lyrical experiments, all while capturing accolades and a devoted audience. Many of its titles sold over 50,000 copies (known in industry parlance as “indie gold”).

As the  roster grew and evolved, however, Definitive Jux became less of a collective and more of a traditional independent. It issued acclaimed albums such as Murs & 9th Wonder’s 3:16: The 9th Edition, the Perceptionists’ Black Dialogue and Cage’s Hell’s Winter.

Definitive Jux’s last major release to date was Cage’s 2009 album Depart From Me.

With such a vague post announcing undefined “change,” it may be too soon to write Definitive Jux’s epitaph. However, media attention surrounding this announcement, and presumed further comments from El-P and other associates will undoubtedly provide some answers on which direction the company will take next.

“Of course we’ll still have our website, we will still sell our catalog, merch and more as well as bring you news and updates on all our projects and artists,” wrote El-P. “The process is already underway, and the last several months (for those wondering what the hell we’ve been up to) have been spent dealing with the technical aspects of wrapping up the label in it’s current form and re-imagining our collective and individual futures.

“The evolution of this industry is, in my opinion, exciting, inevitable and it would be nice to see the DEFINITIVE JUX brand be a part of it. In other words, maybe we can turn this hoopty in to a hovercraft.”

Photo by Timothy Saccenti.

It was only a matter of time. Vast Aire, Cage and El-P have traded barbs all summer on their respective MySpace pages. Now, Vast Aire has finally responded with a Cage dis, “Battle of the Planets.” The “video” for the battle track compiles scenes from the anime classic Gatchaman, known in the States as Battle of the Planets.

Vast Aire has alleged for years that he wasn’t treated fairly by Definitive Jux; it’s the reason why a Cannibal Ox sequel has never happened. But this beef (at least publicly) began with a MySpace post from Cage, which was posted on May 25.

Cage began with a tribute to the late Tero “Camu Tao” Smith, his former partner in the Nighthawks and the Weathermen, who passed a year ago that day. Then, Cage wrote, “It bothered me very much to see a lot of his enemies claiming this Love they had for him the day after he passed but none when he was dying for a year and a half. Some of you made it right with him before he died. I can understand except one person and in honor of Tero a true shit starter and fire ignitor [sic] I would like to out VAST AIRE you are a LIAR and Camu hated you and you know it.” He claimed that Camu “ousted” Vast from the Weathermen.

Hours later, perhaps realizing his foolishness at taking his beef public just before dropping his major, emo-punk affair Depart From Me, Cage removed the section dissing Vast and apologized. “I am deleting this section. I was extremely angry this morning and lashed out.” Then he wrote to Vast, “I attacked you unsolicited and I should have let it be. I miss Camu that much.”

Besides a few cryptic “mood” updates (one of which read “Fuck Cage!”), Vast Aire didn’t respond until a month later, when he posted a rambling interview with himself. “AT THE END OF THE DAY IF CAMU HATED ME, WHY IS HIS RIGHT HAND MAN {METRO} CLOSE FRIENDS WITH ME AND IS ON MY NEW LP?” he wrote. “METRO IS PROOF THAT ME AND CAMU WERE GOOD, HOW ELSE DID I GET MY BEATS FOR MIGHTY JOSEPH {BLOOD SPORT PROD BY CAMU!} THE ONLY LIARS AND CROOKS HERE ARE THESE EMO BITCHES!” He then revealed that he had a “secret” track where Camu disses Definitive Jux and El-P.

Days after Vast Aire’s “interview,” El-P posted an essay on his MySpace page. He didn’t address Vast’s claims of financial irregularity, and only took a few shots at Vast, instead striking a tone of regret over their broken friendship. “I don’t have any interest in trying to make anyone see things the way the way I see them or arguing about/defending the past,” he wrote. “I don’t want to hurt or destroy you. You were my friend. I wanted you to succeed. Now I just find you to be a sad character. Twisted, angry and resentful and squandering your time on mean spirited pursuits. Its depressing.”

All of these posts have since been deleted.

Now Vast Aire hits with “Battle of the Planets.” Produced by Brotherhood 303 from Vast’s LXG crew, it takes its opening cues from Cannibal Ox’s “A B-Boys Alpha.” “Cats wanna act like we didn’t blow up they whole label. What’s that about?” says Vast. “Emo thugs with pink shirts on.” He doesn’t call out El-P directly, but he spends an entire verse lodging homophobic jokes at Cage.”He ain’t a roughneck/He pussy like Kotex/So go fetch/You 3rd Bass reject.” “Battle of the Planets” sounds like an attempt to reclaim the Can Ox legacy; during the video he shows an ad for his next album, Ox 2010.

Maybe Cage will come back with something equally amusing. Who knows? Unfortunately, The Cold Vein came out eight years ago (!). All of this stuff is, to use Can Ox parlance, just pigeons picking over crackers.

Last year, Vast Aire really impressed me with his solo album and Mighty Joseph; it sounded as if he’d finally grown out of his backpack thug phase into something less insular and more vivid, offering punchy raps without the comic book references and painterly scenes of urban squalor. I’d much rather hear that than detritus from a scene that doesn’t exist anymore.

As I reported several weeks ago (along with everybody else), today (actually tonight) marks the beginning of the El-P, Dizzee Rascal and Busdriver tour. Dubbed the No Chiefs Allowed tour, the month-long trek co-stars gutter music advocate Aaron LaCrate (Dizzee’s DJ), Mr. Dibbs (El’s DJ) and
multimedia artist/MC the Mighty Quin (El’s hypeman), and Mush producer/A&R dude Antimc (Bus’ DJ). But wait, there’s more! Dapper Chi-Town dudes Kidz in the Hall and snarky rapper Aesop Rock will appear as special guests on, uh, special dates.

As an added bonus, El-P is selling a tour-only item, Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixx2, a two-CD sequel to his 2003 mix compilation of odds and sods. He has also launched a blog, “Bastard’s Delight,” on okayplayer.com. Once there, you’ll find a stream of El’s remix for Kidz in the Hall’s “Driving Down the Block.” Check it out after peeping the tour dates below.

• 5/08: 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
• 5/09: First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
• 5/10: Webster Hall, New York, NY
• 5/11: The Middle East, Cambridge, MA
• 5/12: New Capital Music Hall, Ottowa, ON
• 5/14: Crofoot Ballroom, Detroit, MI
• 5/15: The Abbey, Chicago, IL
• 5/16: Triple Rock Club, Minneapolis, MN
• 5/19: Neumo’s, Seattle, WA
• 5/20: Berbati’s Pan, Portland, OR
• 5/21: 1015 Club, San Francisco, CA
• 5/22: El Rey Theater, Los Angeles, CA

5/08-5/22: w/Mr. Dibbs, Aaron LaCrate, the Mighty Quin, Antimc
5/09-5/10: w/Kidz in the Hall
5/10, 5/21: w/Aesop Rock

www.myspace.com/elproducto
www.dizzeerascal.co.uk
www.myspace.com/dizzeerascal
www.myspace.com/busdriver

In the past two months, Brother Ali and El-P stormed the Billboard album chart, scoring top 100 debuts in their initial weeks.

El-P’s I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead landed first week sales of 11,000 upon its March 20 release, good for a number 78 showing. Brother Ali’s The Undisputed Truth also did well, moving 10,781 copies and hitting number 69 upon its April 10 release. Brother Ali’s success is even more surprising considering it got a fraction of the press attention afforded El-P’s opus. But hey, you can never discount those Rhymesayers fans.

“UH OH… THIS WASNT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN,” wrote El-P on his MySpace blog. “ISWYD has entered the BILLBOARD top one hundred at number 77. of all albums of all genres. something is happening out there.”

These breakthroughs are tempered by the fact that both releases tumbled out of the top 100 by their second week on the market. And, of course, in a market greatly weakened by file-sharing, landing in the top 100 isn’t as difficult as it once was. Nowadays, indie artists regularly make the cut because major label artists don’t move the units they used to.

But hey, you can’t knock success. Congratulations to both. Catch them on tour if you can.

Plug One news: El-P launches world tour
Plug One news: Brother Ali presents the Undisputed Truth tour

www.myspace.com/elproducto
www.myspace.com/brotherali

Photo of Brother Ali by Skye Rossi.
Photo of El-P by Timothy Saccenti.

March 2007 belongs to El-P. Whether it’s for getting into that silly beef with Rawkus, drawing rapturous acclaim for his brilliant I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, or debuting his Abu Ghraib-inspired video for “Smithereens (Stop Cryin’)” on the New York Times website, El Producto has been all up in the national conversation.

If you get El-P’s MySpace bulletins, then you must have turned green with envy from reading tales of sold-out shows in New York, Austin, Miami and San Francisco. “Well god damn. every show sold out. every show off the motherfucking charts. sf burned to the floor boards last night. sold out crowd on a sunday night. something is happening here, and it feels good,” he wrote on a recent post.

But after a quick trip to Europe, he’ll return to North America for an extensive tour. He toured for nearly a year and a half in support of 2002′s Fantastic Damage, so it’s certain that everyone who wants to see him will get their chance. No word on who will support him as a show opener, but Aesop Rock held him down on recent dates.

Here are the tour dates:

• 4/27: Coachella, Indio, CA
• 5/01: Middle East, Boston, MA
• 5/02: Le National, Montreal, QC
• 5/03: The Opera House, Toronto, ON
• 5/04: Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
• 5/05: Little Brothers, Columbus, OH
• 5/06: Magic Stick, Detroit, MI
• 5/07: Top Cats, Cincinnati, OH
• 5/08: Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL
• 5/10: Granada, Lawrence, KS
• 5/11: Bluebird Theatre, Denver, CO
• 5/12: The Depot, Salt Lake City, UT
• 5/14: Neumo’s, Seattle, WA
• 5/15: Richard on Richards, Vancouver, BC
• 5/16: Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
• 5/18: Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
• 5/23: The Clubhouse, Tempe, AZ
• 5/24: Sunshine Theatre, Albuquerque, NM
• 5/27: Emo’s, Austin, TX
• 5/28: Numbers Night Club, Houston, TX
• 5/30: House of Blues, New Orleans, LA
• 6/02: Common Grounds, Gainesville, FL
• 6/07: Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC
• 6/08: 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

www.myspace.com/elproducto

While you mull over that sloppy-ass Super Bowl game, consider another event of magnitude — a new El-P album! After a five-year hiatus that saw him carefully navigating Definitive Jux through backlash criticism (S.A. Smash, anyone?) and a tentative comeback (thanks to Cage and the Perceptionists), Jamie Meline is ready to step back into the spotlight. His new album, I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, is set for release on March 20, and it features a doozy of guests, from Trent Reznor and Cat Power to Def Jukkies Aesop Rock and Camu Tao. A teaser single, “Everything Must Go,” has been spinning across college radio stations for weeks. And though it sounds like vintage El-P — his production style is as familiar as the RZA’s at this point — it doesn’t sound as weird as you might expect.

El-P will perform a handful of tastemaker shows when the album hits stores, including an appearance at Coachella. There’s no SXSW dates yet, but I’m sure it’s in the offing. In the meantime, check out the dates below.

• 3/22: Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
• 3/23: Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, IL
• 3/25: Mezzanine, San Francisco, CA
• 3/26: The Troubadour, LA, CA
• 4/27: Coachella, Indio, CA

For those who don’t live in a major metropolitan area, here’s the track listing for I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead. Most of the tracks feature turntable cuts by Mr. Dibbs.

• Intro: “Moog Liberation” (w/Matt Sweeney, Wilder Zoby)
• 1: “Tasmanian Pain Coaster” (w/Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta)
• 2: “Smithereens (Stop Cryin)” (w/Hangar 18)
• 3: “Up All Night”
• 4: “EMG” (w/Big Wiz)
• 5: “Drive”
• 6: “Dear Sirs”
• 7: “Run the Numbers” (w/Aesop Rock)
• 8: “Habeas Corpses (Draconian Love)” (w/Cage, Daniel Kaufman, Mr. Len)
• 9: “The Overly Dramatic Truth” (w/Darryl Palumbo of Head Automatica, Camu Tao)
• 10: “Flyentology” (w/Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails)
• 11: “No Kings” (w/Tame One)
• 12: “The League of Extraordinary Nobodies” (w/Joey Raia, Slug and Murs)
• 13: “Poisenville Kids No Wins/Reprise (This Must Be Our Time)” (w/Cat Power, Kareem Bunton, Ikey Owens of The Mars Volta)

www.myspace.com/elproducto

Over five years after issuing its first record, a classic double-A side 12-inch by Company Flow and Cannibal Ox, Definitive Jux is poised to mount a major comeback in 2007. One of the most critically-acclaimed underground rap imprints of the new century, Definitive Jux has been relatively quiet during the last two years. In 2006 it only released one album, Mr. Lif’s Mo’ Mega, and a slew of Internet-only tracks via its online store The Pharmacy. If the label follows through on its plans, which it announced via a press release earlier this month, that will soon change.

First up is Definitive Jux Presents Vol. 4, a compilation showcase of the label’s roster. After that arrives label co-owner El-P’s I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead. Tentatively scheduled for March 6, it comes five years after his solo debut, Fantastic Damage. On Oct. 4 El-P gave a major interview to Pitchfork and revealed his guests for the album, which include Trent Reznor, Cat Power, the Mars Volta, and of course Def Jux associates like Aesop Rock.

Minneapolis turntable iconoclast Mr. Dibbs is collaborating with El-P on many of the tracks. The duo are documenting their progess through two blogs: I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead and I’ll Sleep When El-P Takes His Foot Off My Neck. This summer El-P dropped a teaser single, the amazing “Everything Must Go,” through MySpace and the Pharmacy.

I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead sets the tone for new albums from Rob Sonic, Aesop Rock, Cage and Camu Tao. Definitive Jux will also reissue a deluxe edition of Company Flow’s 1997 classic Funcrusher Plus. Originally scheduled for release this fall, the disc reportedly includes new tracks from Co-Flow — El-P, Mr. Len and Bigg Jus — and a DVD of the group’s final performance on March 29, 2001.

Here is Definitive Jux’s tentative schedule for 2007:

• January: V/A, Definitive Jux Presents vol. 4
• March 16: El-P, I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
• April: Rob Sonic, Sabotage Gigante
• May: Aesop Rock, TBA
• June: Camu Tao, TBA
• July: Cage, Depart from Me
• August: Company Flow, Funcrusher Plus 10 Year Anniversary and Concert DVD
• October: Cannibal Ox, TBA