Unsigned Hype: Legion of D.U.M.E.

Legion of D.U.M.E. featured in The Source's June 1992 Unsigned Hype column. The group was based in Long Island, New York, and consisted of GM WEB D, Prime Time, Kev Roc and Scott Free. Web D was the only member of the group to have gained notoriety beforehand, as he is credited as being the producer of Sugar Bear ("who had that jam "Ready to Penetrate" back around '87?"). The Source states that "one important aspect of their sound is that each MC has a totally different sound from the next", mainly because the group's members were of different races (Italian, Puerto Rican and African-American). WEB earns some respect for his production work also.

The January 1993 issue of ''The Source'' provided an update that the group, under the management of YZ's 720 Sounds (who also managed November 1992 Unsigned Hype feature Eight Off), were in negotiations with Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. The deal did not work out and the group's only release under the name was the independent single "Son's of Sam" (which interestingly features Funky Jilz, who would be featured in the Unsigned Hype column of June 1994, exactly two years after D.U.M.E. made their appearance). However, Kev Roc and WEB D (now known as X-Ray) formed their own duo under the name of Darc Mind. Their debut single, "Outside Looking In", was released by Loud Records and produced by Nick Wiz, on which Kev displays a style that sounds real similar to Scarface on "I Seen a Man Die" (an odd comparison, but you'll hear what I mean when you listen to it). Loud also featured the group on their soundtrack for the movie Soul in the Hole, with the song "Visions of Blur". During this time, they also recorded an entire album for Loud, but it was shelved and not released officially until 2006 under the name of Symptomatic of a Greater Ill. that same year, the group released an unofficial album titled Bipolar, that features several incomplete songs and a couple of remixes. In 2011, Dope Folks put out an unreleased EP recorded by D.U.M.E..

X-Ray, who had the most success before D.U.M.E.'s Unsigned Hype appearance, went on to have the most success after their appearance. He became a member of the Monsta Island Czars in the late-1990s, and produced songs for members MF DOOM, MF Grimm, Tommy Gunn, Rodan, Gigan and Kwite Def. He has also released three solo albums (two under the name King Ceasar), with the most recent being 2016's All the King's Men.

Though D.U.M.E. never made it, half of the group in the form of Darc Mind became signed hype when they were on a label as notable as Loud. Unfortunately, they never gained much success and some shelved albums are all that is left of the group. However, the appearance can be credited as springboarding the career of WEB D/X-Ray/King Ceasar.

Discography
"Son's of Sam" single - Legion of D.U.M.E. (1994)
1. "Son's of Sam" - Legion of D.U.M.E.
2. "Darc Mind Inc." - Legion of D.U.M.E. feat. Funky Jilz & Red Eye

"Outside Looking In" single - Darc Mind (1996)
1. "Outside Looking In" - Darc Mind

Symptomatic of a Greater Ill - Darc Mind (shelved 1997, released 2006)
Full album stream
1. "Visions of a Blur"
2. "U da One"
3. "Seize the Phenom"
4. "Knight of the Round Table"
5. "I'm Ill"
6. "Covert Op"
7. "Give Me Time"
8. "BMOC"
9. "Fever Pitch"
10. "Rhyme Zone"
11. "Outside Looking In"

'94 D.U.M.E. EP - Legion of D.U.M.E. (recorded 1994, released 2011)
1. "Knights of the Roundtable"
2. "Darc Mind Inc."
3. "Sons of Sam"
4. "Bullet in the Clip"
5. "Vived I Recollect"
6. "Senile"
7. "Spontaneous (Darc Mind Inc. Remix)"
8. "Sons of Sam (Remix)"