nice interview with KILLER MIKE.
Check out thats life on his myspace page. Theres a link to another good interview he did on npr.

When Jay rapped about button-ups he set off a grown-man movement that never quite penetrated through the white tees. Two years later getting your grown-man on is the equivalent of popping your collar. But then again, turn off the radio and you can hear Wade Waters (WW), the grown-men we don't hear enough from in hip-hop. WW consist of SoulStice from Chi-town and Haysoos from D.C./Maryland. The two were making the rounds on the Maryland hip-hop scene like two star crossed emcees when they were introduced by a mutual friend. Dark Water is the product of their first collaboration effort.

Don't trip, grown-man doesn't mean over your head. You'll only need an encyclopedia to decipher their group name (Wade Waters is a reference to the slave freedom song, "Wade In The Water"). Dark Water is grown-man blue collar rap at its finest. A trait often found in a grown-man is thinking before you act. Dark Water sounds as if SoulStice and Haysoos drew up blueprints before putting the album together. The two start the album off with a foundation made up of strong production and rhymes that sound custom made for a live audience. The two rhyme their asses off on "Rock Solid" featuring Cuban Link. The song is laced tight with the hook: "Banging that bass and keep the ground shakin/teams rock solid that's the foundation/drop through your spot then we'll rock till its vacant." Cuban Links appearance will have you missing Big Pun. The Dom Perignon and Cuban cigar references will leave you waiting for Joe to come in singing "I don't want to be a player no more."

The only other guest on the album is none other than Illmatic alumni AZ on "Speak on It." SoulStice takes the opportunity to speak on his dedication rapping, "While there's breath in my lungs still here put it down/times change but a lot stays the same look around… before my backs in the coffin/I'm grabbing a portion/speaking to the masses while amassing a fortune/so every time I grab the mic I'm passing it scorchin."

After SoulStice and Haysoos hook you with the rhymes they drop seeds with songs like "Tread That Water" and "Man to Man." "Man to Man" is a keep it real anthem without the drugs and guns. The two speak on a friend with a slanderous tongue and the similarities between indie and major record labels pleading, "Talk to me man to man/look me in the eye/ let me know where we stand/ are we foes or friends/ let me know in advance/is it love or hate/ tell me man to man."

No album is complete without a song for the ladies. "That's My" finds SoulStice and Haysoos shining the spotlight on their dream girls rapping "That's my chick!" Staying true to the grown-man movement the serenade lacks any references to bitches. Even when Haysoos expresses his frustration with trying to find a "raise your right fist type chick" he keeps it gentlemen rapping, "It's hard to have patience for relations/it can make you complacent with your current situation/not to mention the complaining/the insane accusations/I meet too many jerk chickens and I'm not Jamaican.

Dark Water is a solid head nodding release by two solo artists who were smart enough to recognize the chemistry between them. The album is 14 tracks of consistent production and rhyming. However a bump in the road can be a good thing. You can't help but ask what these guys sound like solo. While the album is light and just right on guest appearances with tracks complimented rather than assisted by Cuban Link and AZ, it would have been nice to hear SoulStice and Haysoos part the waters to roc the mic by themselves. Thank God for myspace though... now you've got two rappers actually worth checking out.