The House that Cool Nutz built
by Ramone Vestes

What is even more interesting is how much he has put others careers in front of his at times. Cool Nutz has helped many acts from Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho get verses from and chances to open for major label artists. And throughout all this, he continues to uphold a prosperous career for himself as an artist.

It's all ironic though. For someone who has and continues to help so many in his region, Cool Nutz still doesn't get what you could say are the spins from NW radio stations or the ink from most NW editorials that he rightfully deserves. Some of you may know him and a few things that he has done in his career BUT Kennel Insight wanted to give everyone a deep, in-depth look at the life and times of Terrance.

It all started in 1992, when super-producer Bosko and best friend, Cool Nutz, decided to start Jus Family Records. Jus Family was put together as an outlet for their great talent. Back in the early 90's, hip hop was thriving strongly but artist still couldn't get the attention of a major label without having reputable credentials. Instead of waiting for a label to pick them up, (which could've taken years) they just worked hard on making Jus Family a household name.

Cool Nutz - "Dis Nigga Nutz," was the first release from the label.  This album was one of many projects that was released in the early days of Portland hip-hop.  It was a phenomenal album,  filled with many NW classics and anthems that broke much of the silence on the street from local acts.

Almost immediately the duo were back in the lab creating the follow up cassette single, which was entitled "Playervision b/w Notoz" (a tribute to his now dead, younger brother).  This project did much better than expected, and showed the public that Cool Nutz was a force to be reckoned with.  With the great success of this project, Jus Family knew that they had what it took to maintain as a quality independent label.

As the  label grew, Cool Nutz knew that he needed artists to carry on the legacy of Jus Family Records, so he signed on the talented duo of G-Ism (Ray Ray & Young Randall) and Kenny Mack.  The next release from the label was entitled G-Ism and Kenny Mack "Nuttin But Da Family".  This release validated again that Jus Family records was the home of some of the NW's most talented artists, and the fans support of the projects verified that.

During the release of "Nuttin But Da Family", both Cool Nutz  and Bosko  secured recording contracts with Big Beat/Atlantic Records. They were prepared to release two projects with the label that also housed Lil Kim,  and Junior Mafia, but due to political reasons and the way major labels sign today and cut tomorrow, the deal fell through and it was back to independent hustling.

Upon leaving Big Beat/Atlantic Records, the duo decided that they must stay active and keep the people satisfied, so they dropped the first full-length CD from Cool Nutz, "Harsh Game For The People".  This album was far ahead of it's time. It was the first independent album from the region to feature major label acts (Yukmouth of C-Note/Noo Trybe and Poppa LQ of Rap-A-Lot). It also sparked a lot of success by letting the local community hear some of it's hottest and brightest upcoming talent which included G-Ism, Maniac Lok, Kenny Mack, The Lifesavas, Monkey Mike, Bleek, Dubb Flexx, Bosko,  Poppa LQ, Jiboh, and more. Songs like "76 Nova," "Behind the Scenes," and "Punk A** Niggaz" solidifed this album as one of the rare NW classics.

With all the success from "Harsh Game for the people," shows came from all over the Northwest and Cool Nutz began setting up his own venues, and managing several acts including Bleek, Bullet, Vursatyl, Torry Ward, and Maniac Lok. During this time, he also started his now monumental POH-HOP fest which stands for Portland Oregon Hip Hop festival. This showcase allowed many local groups to get their first chance to perform in front of crowds in the 1,000 mark. With each year, the event grew bigger and bigger, eventually  leading to coverage of the event in the Source.

Cool Nutz also organized an interview of the entire Portland rap scene in MurderDog. The article featured over 10 acts and took up 3 pages. This was a very big move for the entire region as groups from all over tried to get ink from the upcoming Vallejo publication, with little or no success.

Jus Family continued to release projects from G-Ism "On A Mission," Izaya "Da Next," Various "The Western Conference All-Starz," Cool Nutz "Speakin Upon A Million," Maniac Lok "I'm Back" and DBA "Doing Business As".  These albums were met with open arms from the public, and all sold significant numbers.

The DBA album featured some of hip-hop's biggest artists like E-40, WC, Kurupt, Ras Kass, The Luniz, B-Legit, Jayo Felony, and countless others. It sparked Dino Devaille's attention and he signed the group to Universal. After a year or so, and still no release on Uni, Cool Nutz and Bosko diligently found a way out of there contract. "I didn't want to be another artist who spent their whole career riding the bench. That's why I started my own label in the first place," stated Cool Nutz when asked about the whole ordeal.

Since then, Cool Nutz dropped his third solo project, "Verbal Porn." Again, another hot album which got 5 stars in many publications and album of the month from Africa's based E-zine, Africa's Gateway. And again Nutz was signing paperwork. This time it was with Bayside and it was a distribution deal instead of a P&D (press & distribute). And this time, something will actually get dropped. "Verbal Porn" is slated to be re-released through Bayside in early September and features a few new tracks with more big hip hop names.

As if that wasn't enough, Jus Family not only released albums from it's artists, but it also helped in the growth of artists such as Jay Dee,  Mr. D.O.G., Bullet, Shaolin, the Phranchise, Brotha Luv, E-Dawg, and Elco. Alot of these groups have chosen to go their own way and do their own thang. But even with that said, Jus Family Records has contributed greatly to the growth of Jay Dee and Bullet's careers and labels, and they still benefit greatly from their past association with the independent powerhouse, Jus Family Records.

From touring the country with some of hip-hop's elite, such as: Foxy Brown, Wu Tang Clan, Ice Cube, Ja Rule, E-40, Outkast, Knocturnal, Mack 10, N2 Deep, Too Short, Digital Underground, De La Soul, Kool Keith, Living Legends, The Liks, Blackalicious, Latryx, Ludacris, RL of Next, Xzibit, and Warren G, to rapping alongside some of hip-hop's elite, Jus Family has proven that they are one of the more prominent voices of NW hip-hop.

But with all of that said, Jus Family Records, is far from done.  You can expect new releases from Cool Nutz, Maniac Lok, Bleek, DBA, Ray Ray, Brotha Luv,  the Murderdog Compilation, and more. Also make sure to check Cool Nutz out on the NEW C-Bo album.

For more info on Cool Nutz and Jus Family Records, check out their website, www.jusfamilyrecords.com. There you will find even more shocking facts about the label, upcoming events, and samples of some of their greatest and most respected work.

"It's time for Jus Family Records to put the NW on the nationwide hip-hop map, and show the masses that the NW has a strong voice waiting to be heard on a broader spectrum." - Cool Nutz