thePULSEBy Jennie Fitzgerald
Not too hip on the slang of the streets? Listen to “Ebonics 07” from mix tape Round Up Pt. 1 and you’ll learn that…“Your ride is your whip, a shorty’s a chick, money’s a grip and if you dying from a virus, you hit, you fake you a clown, a shake is a pound, playin’ too much is OD’n and if you OT, you outta town.”
The lyrically intricate music from DeepBlue Production owners Jusslu, Ariez, and Rugged take you back to when hip-hop wasn’t about “leanin’ back” or “cranking that.”
Luis Cotto, also known as Jusslu, is the mastermind and music engineer behind DeepBlue Productions. His passion goes back to when he was a “…straight B-BOY, break dancing and rapping for friends anytime they were willing to watch or listen. PrettyLu was the name back then.” Born in 1982, and raised on Worcester’s Grafton Hill, at 15 he pushed break dancing to the back burner and took on rapping full-time. In 2000, he and his cousin Rugged formed DeepBlue in hopes of taking their music to the next level. “We basically were tired of going elsewhere to record music and felt we had the talent and love to do it our selves.” They met Ariez soon after and completed the DeepBlue team.
“DeepBlue Productions is not only beneficial for us, but is also a positive outlet for other local musicians that want to record their art. Jusslu, for the last 3 years, has been engineering musicians of all kinds from hip-hop to rock, metal, hardcore, soul, techno, dance, reggae, salsa, and religious,” the boys said.
So what’s with the name? “Our very first studio booth, years back, was a closet completely covered with blue bed sheets to cover up the awful color of the wall. True Story!”
Three powerful rappers and entrepreneurs may make up most of DeepBlue, but they also represent a variety of artists from the Worcester area. Childhood (rapper), Art Beatz (Producer), J Stokes (Rapper), and R Bez-a-Lot (Rapper/Producer) are among them. Jusslu has produced and rapped on tracks with DOGBODY, Blaze Tha Bastard, Jae Banga, Amiyj, Authentik, Don P and the whole MOR, Stitch Production, Dmatic, Dead End, Pete Beats, Mr. Somebody, DJ E Dubble and DJ Jemaine. The list goes on!
The future calls for an expansion of the DeepBlue facility and the launching of a promotional company called “Relentless Promotionz.” Several mix tapes are available now and double that will be coming out in 2008. The men of DeepBlue claim their goal is “…to be known all over the world, to be respected, to be loved, and to be able to make this our full time. This is our passion, and we all have the same goal; making it.”
In an increasingly competitive hip-hop industry, it’s hard to find something fresh and unique ~ but according to Jusslu, they are different. How? “We’re two Puerto Ricans and a Greek/Palestinian dude, you figure it out!”
Listen and figure it out at myspace.com/deepblueproduction.com
