Many of today's youths are not too familiar with the freedom fighters of the turbulent sixties. These men are. As rap faces its most challenging era, two revolutionaries in their early twenties emerge to pave the way for a stronger tomorrow. They call themselves dead prez, and for a good reason. M-1 and sticman are leading the charge towards a topic that seems to be a dead issue in rap - the necessities in life. In conjunction with 7G Entertainment founded by Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian, the DPs offer an alternative to the common pursuits of short term grandeur. Inspired by self defense parties such as the Black Panthers, dead prez is the most politically conscious group since Public Enemy. They speak the song of Huey and Malcolm with such a modern day pulse that grabs your attention and broadens your perspective on life.

"Loud Records has always kept their doors open to new artists with an innovative approach and original ideas. In dead prez, they found both. In an over-intellectual world, the DPs find consciousness in the simplicity of common sense. They may be one of the last groups of our generation to make a lot of money, by speaking out against it," says Bonz Malone.

First introduced on the Loud '97 Set Up tape, "Food, Clothes and Shelter" debuted, conveying their main focal points. Money and power are both their energies and their enemies as explained on the eerie "Root Of All Evil." They examine the so-called New World Order in a song called "These Are The Times (Novus Ordo Seclorum)." And raising a curious eye at the mysterious deaths of many controversial figures and unsolved incidents in the news is "Propaganda."

Born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, sticman embarked on familiar course... "sipping quarts, became the man of the house when my parents divorced. In and out of court, smoking Newports 'cause my friends did" ("Rights of Passage")

But around the time of BDP's Criminal Minded came out, stic began to internalize life and music as one culture. A couple of years later, in the midst of a dangerous drug situation, M-1 fled to Florida and the two became as tight as brothers.

At first, they were united in a national activist organization which allowed them to travel around the country learning social and political science and studying history. Realizing that they also had to make a living, (hustling proved to be a dead end), they decided to channel their energies towards music.

Dead Prez elevate themselves through knowledge of yesterday and its significance in the present day. The symbol in their logo comes from an ancient Chinese oracle called the I-CHING (the book of change). Very briefly, this system was used by the wise men and women of China some three thousand years ago as a means of analyzing reality and perfecting the art of foresight. That process of change is symbolized in their music and they believe there is a common link between all historically oppressed people.

Obviously the first interpretation of the term dead prez is slang for the six inch paper that rules the world. But for sticman (the yin) and M-1 (the yang), dead presidents represent a spectrum beyond capitalism, addressing the common issues of the most endangered members of human society. These motherfuckers ain't playing. Stay tuned...