DVS Mindz

Introduction

DVS Mindz was a seminal underground rap music group from Topeka, Kansas that was active from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. The name stood for Dope Versatile Styles Manifested IN a Direction to Zucceed. The group consisted for four MCs: Str8jakkett, Killa The Hun, D.O.P.E., DL; and a DJ, Kutaculous. The group's sound was sparse, with raw beats and furious, nonstop rhyming from all members. While the group had very catchy material, many of its songs featured no chorus, just a sparse beat and verse after verse from the MCs. The group's lyrics were packed with inside jokes, pop-culture references, puns, numerology, religion, violence, and obscure references to the group's history. Each member also had alter egos and pseudonyms, and they sometimes rapped in those voices. During its decade-long career, DVS Mindz released one critically acclaimed CD, and opened for a number of notable rap acts, including Run DMC, Wu Tang Clan, Sugarhill Gang, Redman, De La Soul, Digital Underground, Das EFX, Black Sheep, and Goodie Mob.

Formation

DVS Mindz formed in 1993 when rappers Str8jakkett and Killa The Hun, who met in middle school, began collaborating on music. D.O.P.E. signed on a few months later and the trio debuted Nov. 4, 1993, at a Topeka talent show.

The group's original sound owed major influence to hardcore East Coast rap groups such as the Wu Tang Clan, as well as old-school rap acts such as Erik B and Rakim. The trio began recording and performing in earnest, eventually landing two tracks on a 1998 compilation entitled "I.C.U.: The Revival." The tracks were "No Coast" and "Real MCs," both of which showcased the group's lyrical prowess, dexterous verbal interplay, and growing confidence. Through numerous shows in the Topeka, Lawrence, and Kansas City areas, DVS Mindz was becoming a popular live attraction.

Million Dollar Broke Niggaz

The group eventually recruited two more members who solidified the group's classic lineup, DJ Kutaculus and a young MC named DL. The group took refuge in a dilapidated house at 1137 N. Sawyer in Topeka, Kansas. Unable to afford utilities, the group paid for just enough electricity to run their recording gear. During this time, the group bonded and wrote a number of its most popular songs.

In December, 1999, the group opened for U-God, an affiliate of the Wu-Tang Clan, at the Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas. The group caught the eye of local music journalist Geoff Harkness, who subsequently wrote a rave review of the group's Bottleneck performance, which was published in the local newspaper, the Lawrence Journal-World. Harkness wrote an extensive article about the group a few months later, which appeared on the cover of a local music weekly.

In May, 2000, the group released its debut album, "Million Doller Broke Niggaz," which contained tracks that dated back as far as 1994. The album spawned two popular songs, "Niggaz" and "Tired of Talking," both of which were nominated for song of the year by the The Pitch. These and other songs showcased a much harder sound than the previous DVS Mindz recordings, surprising some of the group’s long-time fans. The group was also singled out by members of the local rap-music elite, who claimed that DVS Mindz was posturing and boring. Kansas City music writer JJ Hensley noted that “There are two schools of thought on the Mindz: those who think DVS Mindz is the area's tightest rap group and those who think their rhymes are unoriginal and their beats add nothing to the songs. There's some merit to both arguments."

Shawn Edwards Controversy

In July 2000, local writer Shawn Edwards singled out DVS Mindz in a scathing review of a Memorial Day "beach concert" held at the Kansas City International Raceway. Edwards wrote: “20 local rap groups that had paid for the opportunity to perform delivered second-rate sets ... None of the groups, including rap veterans DVS Mindz from Topeka, captured the crowd's attention. They paced the stage, spewing out unintelligible lyrics. The audience wasn't rude -- but it clearly was unimpressed. As they tried to capture the crowd's attention, most of the artists began calling the people in the audience ‘motherfuckers’ and yelling ‘Suck my dick!’ They started talking down to people in the audience, calling them ‘haters’ for not responding to their music, and they invited women to dance explicitly on stage. The crowd briefly got excited as young women flashed their breasts, but the strip-club antics grew tiresome as each group tried the same stunts.”

DVS Mindz felt they had been singled out for ridicule in connection to a concert that had far deeper problems than subpar sets by its performers. "No Respect" then became the unofficial Y2K battle cry for DVS Mindz, which took time out at every show to preach from the pulpit about the evils of the local music bureaucracy. Over time, these diatribes snowballed into full-blown conspiracy theories.

The group addressed the Edwards article from the stage at Lawrence's Liberty Hall on August 7, 2000, when it opened for the Wu Tang Clan. Kansas City music writer Andrew Miller wrote that DVS Mindz, "delivered a fierce set teeming with intensity and emotion. Using stop-and-start beats and group recital in an impressive fashion, the crew spit fire on tracks such as "Tired of Talking," and its DJ showed and proved on the turntables after the set was done. Like Wu-Tang, DVS treated fans to some "real live a cappella hip-hop lyrics," with one rant that blasted the music industry for sleeping on the Midwest and several others that brutally lambasted Pitch writer Shawn Edwards, who the group felt gave it a bum rap in his piece 'One More Chance.' ... This was the group's big-time showcase, and it proved to a tightly packed crowd and two touring bands that it deserves major-label interest."

Edwards eventually apologized for the flap and introduced the group onstage at the Hurricane in the fall of 2000. A few weeks later, “Million Doller Broke Niggaz” which was nominated for an award for “best local release” by The Pitch, lost to Shiner’s "Starless," furthering the group’s paranoia that the local press was out to get them.

Break Up and Solo Careers

DVS Mindz had more than two dozen tracks left over from the "Million Dolla Broke Niggaz" sessions. These songs included, "Rowdy Hip-Hoppers," "Central Time Zone," "Let It All Hang Out," "Birds," and "Sleeping on the Midwest." The group also had new material, including tracks such as "Flamethrower," "Desperadoes," "Hatersville" and "Genocide," all of which were performed live at various concerts. Other new songs that were demoed included "Money is the Root of All Evil," "Smoking Song," "The Gospel of John," "Deeper Than Most," and "You Don't Want No Beef." A new song, "Heat," which had become a live staple, was issued on the 2001 compilation "Scars and Tattoos." DVS Mindz also completed a full-length documentary film entitled DVStory, directed by Geoff Harkness, which has never been released to the public.

In May, 2001, DL guested on a track entitled “Devious” by the Lawrence frat-funk group Phat Albert.

In March, 2002, Kutaculous released a compilation disc entitled "G-Coffee," that consisted of tracks recorded with various rappers in his Topeka studio. The members of DVS Mindz appeared on the disc, but there was no group track.

D.O.P.E. eventually left the group and and DVS disbanded over time. The group members continue to make music separately, although they remain friendly and work together from time to time.

In 2008, Str8jakkett released his solo debut, the 20-track "Mood Swings," which received a lukewarm review from The Pitch writer Andrew Miller: “His beats sound like they've been sitting on the shelf for at least a decade ... at 78 minutes, Mood Swings runs a few tracks too long and includes the standard rap-album filler: voice-mail messages, a bank-robbery skit and a fake live radio spot from ‘DJ Dick Goesinya at Club Nutsack.’" "Mood Swings" included a re-recording of the unreleased DVS Mindz track "Flamethrower," with Str8jakkett replacing the second and third verses recorded by DL and Killa The Hun, respectively.

Growing Critical Recognition

In recent years, DVS Mindz has received growing critical acclaim as a seminal rap group in the Kansas City-Lawrence-Topeka music scene. In 2008, Topeka journalist Zach Trimble wrote that “DVS Mindz virtually created the Kansas rap landscape”

External links

Str8jakkett

The Hun

DL

Kutaculous

"Devious" featuring DL from DVS Mindz