Murs Breaks Guinness Record With 26-Hour Rap Marathon

(From Rolling Stone Magazine, Oct 16th 2016)

“Combining my own compositions with songs I love by other artists should keep me amped up enough,” rapper says. “If not, there’s coffee and coffee”

Los Angeles rapper Murs will attempt to break the Guinness Book record for longest continuous rap Wednesday when he kicks off a 26-hour marathon that is being livestreamed above.

Dubbed #BarsForDays, Murs will spit a mix of original material and hip-hop classics during the 26-hour feat, which also includes two hours of periodic breaks.

The marathon concludes 11 a.m. PST Thursday and is the final event in Boost Mobile’s Where You At? series in Los Angeles.

Murs tells Rolling Stone that the idea was borne out of Boost Mobile’s unlimited music streaming program through Slacker Radio, but the marathon eventually took on a deeper meaning for him.

“Lil’ Yachty made his statement about not having to know older songs. And then setting this record became more about me paying tribute to the music I grew up on. And using this platform to maybe even expose someone younger or unaware to the classics,” Murs says of the teenage rapper who admittedly couldn’t name five songs by Tupac or Biggie Smalls.

“I understand where Yachty is coming from especially with the lack of respect he’s been shown from the old school and underground heads. But at the end of the day, hip-hop is rooted in African culture and it’s an oral tradition. And the only way for the essence of the culture to stay intact is for it be passed down from generation to generation. And from Lil’ Yachty to Young Thug to Pete Rock to Shock G, no one wants to be forgotten.”

As for the event, titled #BarsForDays, itself, “I expect it to be fun above all. I’m sure it’ll be challenging. But the being awake part I’ve done,” Murs said, adding that he’s gone on 24-hour video game marathons. “So I’m good there. I love rapping just a little more than video games. And combining my own compositions with songs I love by other artists should keep me amped up enough. If not, there’s coffee and coffee.”