The Grouch has been in expansion mode lately. The longtime West Coast underground figure and Living Legends co-founder has formally linked up with Bay Area rapper Pure Powers under the name The Linkz, and their newest single “Music Makes The World Go Round” brings the entire Living Legends crew into the fold. It’s the fourth drop ahead of their debut Linkz full-length, coming via Ineffable Records.
“Music Makes The World Go Round” folds reggae-leaning bounce into the same DIY-minded indie-rap DNA that built Living Legends into a cult institution in the late ’90s and early 2000s. The lineup this time includes the full cast — Murs, Eligh, Luckyiam, Sunspot Jonz, Scarub, Aesop (The Black Wolf), and Bicasso — all of whom remain fixtures in the independent hip-hop ecosystem. Living Legends still maintain their community-built reputation; their tour pages and show listings routinely highlight their impact on the Bay and LA underground.
In true Grouch fashion, the rollout is tied neatly to the calendar. The Legends are days away from launching the 14-date How The Grouch Stole Christmas Tour, a tradition that pairs cult-favorite lyricism with holiday-season chaos. Dates posted through Live Nation and Ticketmaster include:
Dec 4 — Ace of Spades, Sacramento, CA (Live Nation)
Dec 5 — The UC Theatre, Berkeley, CA (UC Theatre)
Dec 13 — The Bellwether, Los Angeles, CA (Ticketmaster)
The Grouch teased the project earlier this year in a post introducing The Linkz: “We got some bangers for y’all,” he wrote, promising a broader sound.
If “Music Makes The World Go Round” is any indication, those bangers are leaning toward a hybrid of mellow warmth and classic backpack-rap flexing — the exact pocket where Legends fans tend to thrive. It’s also a convenient bridge between the old guard and a newer wave of reggae-adjacent indie-rap that’s been bubbling around artists connected to the Ineffable family.
