Published: Thursday - April 12, 2007
Words by Ronnie Gamble & Jay Casteel
Tangled Thoughts (Photo: Good Hands Records)
Although it’s produced artists such as Beanie Sigel and Cassidy among others, Philadelphia has also influenced other heavily, such as Kurupt who is a native of the city, but relocated to Cali later, shooting to stardom as a member of the Dogg Pound.
Although Cali is where he blew up, Kurupt has always wanted to merge the East and West Coast sounds together -- and has made that happen with Philly trio, Tangled Thoughts, consisting of Cas, De and Tek.
After hooking up with Kurupt in 2005, Tangled Thoughts impressed the West Coast vet so much that he convinced the trio to pack it and head to L.A. and that's exactly what they did. "I seen drive [in Tangle Thoughts]," Kurupt explains about what initially drew him to the group. "They had a lot of ambition and drive in them. That's the key to the game. They love to work, they rhymes is right and they beats is immaculate. How can you deny them?"
"Kurupt told us basically that there wasn't no outlet for us in Philly and that we need to go to the West Coast and get it, so after thinking it over, we did it," group member Tek said. "So, now we here and we love it."
Loving California isn't hard. There's sunshine and women everywhere, but that wasn't Tangled Thought's focus. After relocating less than two years ago, they quickly made an impression in the Los Angeles scene. Tek quickly began producing for the likes of Tha Dogg Pound, Freeway, Swizz Beatz, Roscoe, Gail Gotti, Jayo Felony, and Gillie Da Kid, among others. All while readying their debut album, Kurupt Presents: Tangled Thoughts Philly 2 Cali.
That Kurupt Presents stamp on the album definitely means he was heavily involved in the project, specifically on six tracks. But it wasn't because they felt like they needed him on the project, it was because they are family and they wouldn't have it any other way.
"As we were working on this material we were with Kurupt, rolling around with him everyday. It's not like we got in the studio one day and smashed it out, this was a family affair," says group member De. "Our album was a collection of material made out of love and wanting to work with each other."
Their debut, Philly 2 Cali, in addition to Kurupt, features Roscoe, the Reyes Brothers, Gillie Da Kid, Gail Gotti and Freeway. According to the group, the project embodies what they represent -- influences from both coasts. "It's really just about us being from Philly... mixing the Philly swagger with the West Coast music. Just mixing of two coasts, that vibe. The album embodies that," says Cas.
Based in Oxnard, California (city north of Los Angeles), Tangled Thoughts are already enjoying success in the cities surrounding that area, but feel as though the future is wide open for them, especially for the Tek, the group's producer, who has been working heavily with the whole Dogg Pound crew and affiliates alike.
Philly 2 Cali is slated to drop May 22. Fans can visit them online at MySpace.com/PhillyToCali.
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