Chris DeLine

The current makeup of Leroy Smokes would be hard to recognize if you had seen the group in its beginning. After a decade making music there are few original members remaining as a result of musical differences and label problems. With the release of 2006’s Love, Hustle, Heater on Smokesignyl Productions however the group hopes to finally have found the right combination.

Citing a wide range of influences Leroy Smokes has a little jam band mixed in with a whole lot of hip-hop. Vocalists Buss-One and B. Ruckuslead the way with Friendly Fred (keyboard) and J. Skillz (guitar) backing them up. Rounding out the line up is Hashbrown Stephens (bass), Highstyle Kyle (trumpet/flugelhorn) and Nic Woods (drums). With the band in constant transition mode with its members each of its three releases took several years to release, subsequently all featuring new personnel. That being said Love, Hustle, Theater album won the best rap album award at the recent L.A. Music Awards and the group still remains as one of the final seventeen competing in Bodog’s Battle of the Bands (a competition that includes over seven thousand entrants). Look for a string of local shows in Minneapolis accompanying the release of B. Ruckus’ solo album in the near future.

[This post was first published by Culture Bully.]