Hip-hop's 50th year sees Twin Cities' Heiruspecs and Unknown Prophets returning to the music

Like the blues music from which it's heavily derived, hip-hop music was born 50 years ago out of hard times and real-life struggles.

It almost seems fitting, then, that personal success was one of the things that got in the way for some Twin Cities musicians in their 40s who grew up performing the stuff.

"Jobs and fatherhood were the biggest culprits," said MC Felix of the live hip-hop band Heiruspecs. "And then came the pandemic."

"Personal growth was a big part of it for me," Big Jess of the trio Unknown Prophets confessed. "I had to let go of the ego and the pride that was closely tied to [the music]."

Two of the preeminent acts in Minnesota hip-hop in the 2000s, Heiruspecs and Unknown Prophets each recently released their first new albums in about a decade. They're celebrating together at the Heiruspecs Summer Classic on Saturday, a fun, free, family-friendly block party also featuring rapper-turned-legislator María Isa outside the Keg & Case complex in St. Paul.

In each case, those new records compete as Heiruspecs and Unknown Prophets' best ever — despite coming well after what many would consider the heyday era of any act in the youth-centric genre of hip-hop.

In fact, one of the things that makes these records so potent and powerful is how the rappers open up about being world-weary, middle-aged dads and professionals instead of the more typical young dudes ready to conquer the world.

"Gray hairs grow faster than I thought they might," Felix (aka Chris Wilbourn) raps in "Cloudy Day," a song partially and humorously inspired by Just for Men hair dye.

"Don't see the point in trying to hide who I am / Not naming any names but I know a couple cats dying them back / I don't think it makes them more of a man."

On "Evolve," the moody and slow-burning but ultimately celebratory new record by Unknown Prophets, Jesse "Big Jess" Semanko and his childhood friend Mike "Mad Son" Madison open up about achieving sobriety, raising kids and resolving personal conflicts that kept them from making music together over the past 12 years.

"Elders in the game with a little bit of fame," Madison rhymes for the album's opening line.

In that same song, "Sunrise," Big Jess raps, "My life is lit since I kicked alcohol to the curb / And my relationship with God sends a calm to my nerves. … Trying to stay away from where the chaos and the drama lives / Trying to elevate my mind to a higher state of consciousness."

A father to two boys, Madison said of Unknown Prophets' lengthy hiatus, "Any further time we spent on the group would've been time away from our families. So there are no regrets there."

Big Jess kept working on hip-hop projects in the interim, mostly as a producer. When he and Madison finally reunited in the studio, he said, "I had a lot of stuff bottled up inside me to get out, things men don't really talk about.

"There are 10 years of experiences on that record," he noted. "That's a lot."

In the interim, Madison focused on becoming an in-demand photographer, including frequent shoots at concerts by younger rap acts.

"I never lost faith in hip-hop as an artform, and I always believed [Unknown Prophets'] time would come again," he said. "We just had to find the time."

That echoes comments made by Heiruspecs bassist and bandleader Sean McPherson. He became a dad in the lull between records as well as a radio personality, first on the Current and now as the new program director at Jazz 88.

"One of the best things to happen in hip-hop in recent years is the change in perception that it's a young man's game," he said. "It isn't just a young man's game anymore. And it definitely isn't just a man's game anymore."

Heiruspecs' members were very young — still high school classmates — when they formed the group in the late '90s. The long-cemented lineup also includes Felix's fellow rapper Muad'dib (Jon Harrison), guitarist Josh Peterson, keyboardist DeVon Gray (who became a reputable classical and jazz musician on the side) and drummer Peter Leggett (now chief of staff for St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter).

In the early '00s, Heiruspecs made an admirable run with a national record deal and tour dates opening for established rap stars. However, the pressure of that situation led to animosity and stress among the members, who stepped back but never officially broke up — a move that McPherson says paid off in long-term friendships and stronger musical bonds.

"We sort of fell back in love with each other again, and with making music together," he said. They also learned to work better together.

While they're proud to have achieved longevity and elder-statesman status, the group's co-founding rapper said they don't feel like they've changed a lot with age other than becoming better musicians and writers.

Felix even took umbrage with the term "Dad Rap," a tag embraced by the Twin Cities' best-known rapper, Slug of the duo Atmosphere, who — at age 50, same as the genre — has maintained a long-term music career admired by all these one-time peers of his.

"I don't think being dads or older dudes should define us, or be seen as some kind of gimmick," Felix said. "We're just being ourselves and writing about our real lives. That's what hip-hop has always been about to me."

Heiruspecs Summer Classic

With: María Isa, Unknown Prophets.

Where: Keg & Case Courtyard, 928 W. 7^th St., St. Paul.

Tickets: Free, all ages.