Capital LS & The Rumpletilskinz -1993- What is a Rumpletilskin ? (RCA)

• 1993 : the only album of the Rumpletilskinz, Capital LS' group close to Busta Rhymes & the Leaders of the New School.
• Capital LS was one of the main voices of One Nation project in June 1996.

 

See Discogs page. Listen or grab it there. 

1. What Is A Rumpletilskin ?
2. Attitudes
3. Hudz
4. Mad M.F.'s
5. I-N-I (prod. Jeranimo)
6. Sweet Therapy (prod. "E")
7. Snikslitelpmur
8. Earthquake (prod. Capital LS)
9. Mushroom Talk
10. Is It Alright
11. Theramixx
12. Dacumin
13. Hi Volume

Rumpletilskinz - Sha-Now, Jeronimo, Capital LS & R.P.M (aka Peter Lopez)

Producer - R.P.M.

Capital LS or Busta Rhymes ?

In June 96, Capital LS was invited to record with 2Pac, Boot Camp Clik, Greg Nice and Asu during the first One Nation sessions. For most people he is a complete unknown... How the connection was made with 2Pac ?

In fact, 2Pac initially wanted to invite Busta Rhymes for his Gridlock'd Original compilation project in early April... His name is biffed on the handwritten draft of it, but we can still read it. Busta Rhymes said in an interview that, being a friend of both Biggie and 2Pac, he chose to refuse to be featured in their records at the time of the feud. So Busta Rhymes very likely could have sent his friend Capital LS to record with 2Pac instead of him... 

Capital LS is known to have been the roommate of Busta Rhymes... in Long Island, but what year ? His way of rapping and voice clearly sound like Busta Rhymes. Back in the early days of Makaveli bootlegs (1997-2000), his verses on One Nation songs were mistakenly attributed to Busta Rhymes by fans !

A surprising thing is : neither Capital LS nor his group appear in Busta Rhymes' 1st album The Coming whereas L.O.N.S. did... Again, maybe Busta wanted to repair that by giving the opportunity to Capital L.S. to launch his own solo career.

A group in the shade of Busta Rhymes...

If Capital LS was a friend of Busta Rhymes, Jeronimo was a dancer for Charlie Brown's Leaders of the New School early years. Probably they met through that connection, and Sha-Now and P.R.M. were added to the line-up. In the early times, Leaders of the New School were more like a collective entity.

"Attitudes (Video Version)"

Logically, the new group appear in Leaders of the New School's first album in 1991 (A Future Without A Past) for the song "Sound of The Zeekers @#^**?!", the only song produced by... Busta Rhymes ! (important part of the album being produced by Eric Vietnam Sadler of the Bomb Squad !) That first appearance led them to record their first album in 1992 which received some popular success.

More info about the album, group interviews... cf. hiphop-thegoldenera.

In late 1993, the group will again be featured in Leaders of the New School's second album T.I.M.E. for the posse cut "Spontaneous (13 MC's Deep)". Around that time, the hype was so huge for Busta Rhymes that the group was about to fall apart... 

Busta was then featured in many projects : Buju Banton's Voice of Jamaica, De la Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Brand Nubian, Craig Mack, Artifacts, KRS-One, Boyz II Men... none of them with L.O.N.S. partners...

May 2 of 1995, 2Pac being behind bars, Busta Rhymes appears in Panther Soundtrack, mainly recorded in 1994, for the track "The Points" alongside Big Mike of Geto Boyz, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Buckshot, Heltah Skeltah (a real taste of One Nation...), Coolio, Digable Agents, Ill Al Skratch (remember their '94 album with LG's version of "Runnin" beat), Jamal, Redman and... the Notorious B.I.G. !

"It'z Alright (Video Version)"

Did the group explode ?

What happened to the group after their successful album ? We can find none of their work nowhere... In 1995, Sha-Now will give the song "Remedy Man" produced by R.P.M. for the Blackmarket Unreleased compilation (different label from their album and L.O.N.S.'s one). Considering the vibe given to Rumpletilskinz by R.P.M., it is very surprising that he almost never did any other important producing acts...

This song by the two members could mean that the group was then separated and Capital LS was more or less going solo... what could explain that Busta wanted to help him by sending him to record with 2Pac... Maybe Capital LS is still an unknown guy but, because of his verses on One Nation, alongside one of the hugest figure in rap history, L.S. and his group Rumpletilskinz is regularly discovered by new listeners.

Presumably in late 1996 after 2Pac's death, Capital LS gave a promo vinyl with 4 tracks through Tru Criminals Records. Among the songs, "Bitches" aka "World Wide Dime Piece" (recorded during One Nation with 2Pac, Greg Nice, Asu and Snoop Dogg). Did 2Pac or Death Row gave/sold him the song in the end ? More probably it was just an unofficial promo, in order to announce a further project which wouldn't have had the song... Anyway, it is possible Afeni Shakur/Amaru early blocked every projects with 2Pac's voice... In 1997, with the same label, LS will also release the solo single "I'm Gonna Do Ya", but no album will follow... That same year, LS will even be featured in Boot Camp Clik first album For The People for the song "Rag Time" with Buckshot and Steele of Smif N Wessun. 

Capital LS will be featured in Long Beach veteran Domino's new album D Freaked It in 2001 for "Parking Lot Pimpin" and in Ghetto EP companion for "Like That (Ghetto Remix)" single. The next year he will participate to the confidential Black Sopranos EP project Money $hemes.