Ego Society - Eyego/Direct

Philadelphia Weekly
January 26, 2005
MUSIC

Beat Society

Josh and Jake Eigo take local hip-hop to a new level.

by Joshua Valocchi

Long derided as an inferior proving ground for the Gotham scene, the underground hip-hop movement in Philadelphia is experiencing quite a revival.

First two of the biggest names in the game, DJ/producer/MC J-Live and Def Jux DJ Rjd2, moved here. Then Josh and Jake Eigo, better known as the production collective Eyego/Direct, burst on the scene. The brothers are relative greenhorns on Philly's hip-hop scene, scattering their beats and techniques on a few local releases in the past four years. But 2005 is shaping up to be a monster for them.

The pair has managed to shift the derivative underground hip-hop paradigm with their creative beats and varied influences. "Too many hip-hop fans have become jaded and narrow-minded regarding what's 'acceptable' on the underground scene these days," says Josh. "If I'm down with some of Kanye West's jawns because they're just that good, do I have to abandon that when I step into the studio just because he's on heavy rotation on MTV?"

"That seems to go against the very nature of hip hop, which is to constantly solicit fresh influences," he adds. "The only rule in hip-hop is that there are no rules."

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A cursory glance at this year's slated releases bearing the Eyego/Direct touch reveals a make-or-break lineup that could propel the crew to the forefront of the Philly scene--and far beyond. Most notable among the brothers' current efforts is their contribution to the debut release of the JuJu Mob, the closest thing to a Pennsylvania hip-hop supergroup going today.

The JuJu Mob consists of Philly's Reef the Lost Cauze--the reigning Rock Steady Battle champion--along with local heroes Chief Kamachi and State Store, and Pittsburgh-based spitter Charon Don. Kamachi is surfing a swell of success generated by last year's blazing solo effort, Cult Status, and Reef has been busy plowing through MCs as he solidifies his status as Philly's top freestyler.

Hoping to capitalize on their burgeoning success, Josh, 28, and Jake, 26, also teamed up with the folks at Good Hands Records/ Eastern Conference, lending their skills as beat-droppers and knob-twiddlers on several tracks on the JuJu Mob full-length Black Candles (set to drop May 17). They also served as primary producers on the preceding 12-inch from the Mob, which is tentatively set for a March release.

In addition to their work with the JuJus, Josh and Jake are logging loads of studio time as they tweak Reef's next solo project, Feast or Famine, and collaborate with several other notable names in the local hip-hop scene, including Scandal of the 40th Dimension, on the second volume in the Workers Comp collection on the local Union Reps label.

Last year's initial Workers Comp installment featured eight tracks of MC mastery and production values that rivaled national releases, completely obliterating certain widely held assumptions about local underground efforts.

The brothers use their divergent strengths to achieve their near-perfect mixes. "I have more of a background in music, whereas Josh is coming more from a DJ angle," says Jake. "It works out well because my beats tend to be darker and more eerie--more of a downtempo feel with a melodic aspect. Josh, on the other hand, employs more sampling techniques to create a party-vibe beat."

That diversity emerges as a theme with Eyego/Direct, as both are committed to increasing their range of beats while broadening the horizon of the artists they cater to. "We haven't done much promoting in the past, but as we increase the number of artists and releases we work on, we'd like to put a push on getting our name and product out on the streets," says Jake.

Both say other artists and producers are becoming more adept at delineating which beats were provided by which brother, lending even more credence to their growing reputation as a crew that values variety over rote tried-and-true techniques.

If the sequel to Workers Comp even comes close to hitting the scary-good sonic-bliss plateaus maintained throughout the original, expect to hear more about these talented brothers.