Pitchfork: 10 Days Left to Catch Def Jux on Tour!

10 Days Left to Catch Def Jux on Tour!
Yes, we intentionally waited until 4-20 to run this

The Def Jux machine continues to roll out, pimpin' Murs, The Perceptionists and S.A. Smash all over the U.S. in April and May. Murs is riding the wave of glowing reviews for his new 9th Wonder-produced release, Murs 3:16; The Perceptionists (Mr. Lif, Akrobatik, and Fakts One) are riding the hype for their forthcoming full-length; and S.A. Smash are simply riding El-P's coattails with their fifth-grade Beastie Boys impression. Fuck, they're awful. Dates:

04-20 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre
04-22 Grinnell, IA - Harris Center
04-23 Minneapolis/Milwaukee - TBA
04-24 Madison, WI - Club Majestic
04-25 Chicago, IL - Logan Square
04-27 Columbus, OH - Little Brothers
04-28 Toronto, Ontario - Fun Haus
04-29 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret
04-30 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
05-01 Boston, MA - Middle East
In other Murs news, a recent collaboration with DJ Danger Mouse called "To a Black Boy" will be featured on the second volume of The Free Design Redesigned, due out this summer. The series features contemporary artists' takes on songs originally performed by 1960s psych-rockers The Free Design. The first volume featured straight-up covers by Madlib, Belle & Sebastian and Peanut Butter Wolf, while the new one is to contain versions by Manitoba and Stereolab. The Murs track, however, is a bit more unusual than the other contributions: It serves as a response to the situation of one Marcus Dixon of Rome, GA, whose story goes like this:

Dixon, a black high school student with an impeccible sports and academic record (3.96 GPA), was charged with the rape of a white girl, and later acquitted, but was sentenced to 10 years in prison due to a technicality: At the time of the consensual sex, Dixon was 18 and the girl was just under 16. Though each attended the same high school, this constitutes statuatory rape under Georgia law. The appeals are still up in the air. Meanwhile, Dixon's plans to attend Vanderbilt University are on hold.