Micranots

by Marisa BrownThough the Micranots originally consisted of two MCs and one producer/DJ, by the time their debut, Return of the Travellahs, came out (on cassette only) in 1996, only rapper I Self Devine and DJ Kool Akiem were in the group. Akiem managed to get a copy of the tape into the hands of Company Flow's Bigg Jus, who liked what he heard and eventually signed the duo to his 321 Records. Unfortunately, the label folded before the Micranots were able to release anything, but when Jus rebounded and started Sub Verse Records, the group officially licensed 2000's Obelisk Movements to them. Though the duo never had a falling out with their new label, they weren't happy with Sub Verse either, and moved to Rhymesayers (with whom each had previous connections: the Micranots had originally formed in Minneapolis before moving to Atlanta, and I Self was part of the group Dynospectrum with Musab, Slug, and Mr. Gene Poole), which reissued Return of the Travellahs in 2003. The following year the Micranots' final album, The Emperor and the Assassin, was released in limited quantity just before the band folded, as I Self Devine wanted to pursue his solo career. The rapper released Self Destruction in 2005, and Kool Akiem went on to DJ for MF Doom, among other things.