Can Rubberoom Bounce Back?
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“Things had almost seemed too good to be true, so it was definitely a blast of reality,” says Jon Bostic, better known as Lumba, one of the group’s two MCs. “After it happened it was, like, safe to breathe–you knew where you stood. It was like, we’re at it again, what’s the next move?” The group, which also includes MC Meta-Mo (Brian Hines) and producers Isle of Weight (Aaron Smith) and Fanum (Kevin Johnson), is currently in search of a label to reissue the album, which was officially on the market for all of three weeks. Though 15,000 copies of the album–on CD, LP, and cassette–were manufactured, the group has no access to them.
In the early days of Chicago’s hip-hop underground, young MCs developed their skills at freestyle parties like the legendary ones held weekly at Lower Links in the early 90s. The members of Rubberoom came together there and quickly became a scene fixture–not only at underground showcases but also as a popular opening act for touring artists like Jeru the Damaja, the Roots, and DJ Shadow. “Our goal was to get a local buzz before we worried about getting signed,” says Lumba. “People were booking us left and right,” adds Fanum. “We were averaging three or four shows a month a few years ago.”
With the exception of Isle of Weight, the members of Rubberoom had quit their jobs to concentrate on the group–and Isle of Weight, Lumba, and Fanum are all married with children. “I had to fly out to New York to get the album mastered and stuff, and I used up all my vacation time,” says Isle of Weight, who was planning to join the others in joyful unemployment when news of the label’s collapse came. “When things didn’t go as planned I was really pissed off. I’ve had to struggle all year.”
