How did you come up with the name El Pus?
Cufi: Our little punk band was called A.S. Octopussy, and at the time we were signed to Speech from Arrested Development, who had just become a born-again Christian. He really had problem shopping a band with the word 'pussy' in the name, so we just kinda came up with "El Pus" as a nickname until we could really come up with a "real" name for the band. We just never came up with a "real" name, so El Pus stuck....
Who or what are some of your influences, musically and/or otherwise?
Cufi: Everybody in the band has different influences, period. I think that when Cosmo and I were trying to define what the band would be, though...we were looking at just classic hip-hop and also the kinda punk/grunge music that we were into at the time, so when we were creating our direction, I think we had everything from Nirvana to Public Enemy in mind...we grew up on hip hop strictly, but you know, I think we both got bored and started listening to rock...at some point, we started to learn to play guitars and basses, just for fun, and the hip-hop never left us, but punk riffs were the easiest to play!! So it was natural to play two chords and then rhyme over it....that's how it started, we grew as writers and made it a little more interesting, but that's how our influences turned into this band...
Cosmo: Musically, my biggest influences are Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, Nirvana, Too Short, The Last Poets, Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul, Outkast, and Prince to name a few. Personally, I would say, Bob Marley, Bruce Lee, Mohammed Ali, and Harry Belafonte.
How do you define your music?
Cufi: Today, I'd say that our band is a alternative/punk band that creates music from a hip-hop perspective. But tomorrow, I would probably say something totally different. We just do what we feel like doing, so you never know what it's going to be...hopefully we don't have to define it, we can just let it breathe and be what it's gonna be.
Cosmo: Musical Darwinism – forever changing, constantly evolving….little by little.
How did the song "Suburb Thuggin" come about?
Cufi: Wow. When we got our advance from the record deal, I bought a house outside of Atlanta, and I was all comfy, thinking that I was in a "good" neighborhood. Then I started seeing graffitti and shit on walls around my way, and you know, at the mall I'd see these kids that were really acting super-ghetto, and it was the burbs!! I just thought it was funny and sad and ridiculous, 'cause I grew up in a pretty foul situation, where dudes really were getting shot over shoes and coats, shit like that. I just really wondered what would happen if these suburb tough guys were to get dropped into a REAL hood situation, how it would turn out, or if they'd think it was such a fun lifestyle then... So you know...the song just came out of that feeling. I've seen dudes laid out in puddles of blood, and there's nothing cute about it, so I wrote that song as kind of a cautionary tale, 'cause I'd hate for these guys to either really start TRYING to be that real with it, OR to run into someone that is that real and get their feelings hurt...
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