Jigmastas are a group made up of DJ Spinna and MC Kriminul. They come from Brooklyn and have been making hip hop since 1996.
Formed in 1991 in the County of Kings, this DJ/producer-emcee combo in the tradition of Gang Starr and Pete Rock & CL Smooth showed enough promise to spark considerable, though ultimately unconsummated, major label interest. Such apparent setbacks would prove fortuitous, though, as the Jay I Gees found themselves amongst the important participants in a burgeoning NYC underground hip-hop movement alongside pre-Rawkus indie crews like Co Flow, Natural E and Bobbito Garcia’s Fondle ’Em camp. As subsequent releases more than aptly demonstrated (the metaphorical minded “Chandon”; a “World Is Yours”-esque paean to self-determination, “Iz You Dee”; the purist manifesto “Hip-Hop” etc.) being beyond real wasn’t just a philosophical ethos but a musical one as well – Spinna’s predilection for Moog synth riffs, vocal chorales, and other inventively chopped and diced samplescapes complementing Krim’s gravelly verses with an otherworldly air.
Long may they keep on rockin’
