MC Brian appears! I’ve been a fan of rap ever since I was a kid. Some of the very first cassette tapes I owned were by RUN-DMC, Public Enemy, LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys. Over the years my musical tastes have bounced all over the spectrum, but rap has always remained a constant, so I guess it makes sense that I would one day find an outlet for my own attempts at writing rhymes. I don’t remember exactly when I got the idea that BRIAN would be that outlet, but I think the last panel of this strip probably planted the initial seed.

DJ D-Kay, who also appears here for the first time (although nameless at this point), was originally supposed to be just a figment of Brian’s imagination. Same with Braineataz, Brian and D-Kay’s hip hop duo. I guess I just liked my newfound rap outlet so much, I decided to keep it! Hope you like it too, because it keeps coming back over the course of the comic.

I don’t know why Orneryboy compares Brian to 2Pac though; I feel like MC Brian’s rhyming style draws more from those early hip hop influences from my childhood.

And of course, the title of this strip comes from the Cypress Hill song.