Those of us who have been there since the beginning know how good it must feel to be a member of the Guerilla Thug Syndicate (GTS) right now. After years as New York street soldiers, struggling and hustling and rhyming about their guns, after numerous self-produced EPs and LPs (including the infamous unreleased "New York’s Loudest" EP, a collaboration with M.O.P. and DJ Evil Dee that contained so much yelling that several were injured by exploding woofers from car speakers), they finally are kicking back, popping some cristal, and learning to enjoy the non-trife life. Where once shit was real, now it’s all iced-down and everything (the shit, I mean), and the Guerilla Thug Syndicate is living the good life.

Of course for a thugged-out, iced down, street-level Rock-a-fella money-makin’ syndicate like the Guerillas, life is never without a little realness. I mean, the way the rap game is today, whose life is? Things started in earnest with the rumor disseminated by The Queen of Zoo York Wildin’ (and the definitive outer of gay rappers –yo,watch ya gay-ass back, Busta Rhymes) Wendy Williams herself, has the Bizzy-ay Area’s JT Tha Bigga Figga’s Get Low Playa crew beefin’ with the infamous Thug Synd. So now everybody wants to know what’s going down. Y’all are like, yo, E.L., Clammaster, "What the dilbert fo’ rilbert??? F’rill though, son, what the dizzy-ill-on-tha-rizzy-nill?" Yo, ease back and step off the nuts, kid. For all the reppin’ playas and chedda makas, we’ll kick the real deal like Delino Deshields. We were both up in the mizz-nix, so we know how shizznit went dizz-nown. Check it:

With the debut 12" "Da Bay Iz Gay" b/w "Nuttin’ in Ya Mom’s Face-Piece (Like the Housin’ Authority)," Producer CocoPuff jacked the Stevie Wonder beat JT used for, "Get Some (I Wanna Nut)" for the chorus of the GTS’s dis song, which did it like this in the chorus: "Da Bay can’t Nut/ Suckas Git Shut/ Gettin done in da butt/ wha-what what what what." We, like everyone else in the south-west region, was feeling that jam every fifteen minutes on The Beat, yo. Therefore it’s more than obvious that the lyricists of the GTS, (31st Architek, Bugzy Gitsmunnie, Baretta 2000 and Buttaball Ghostprophet) weren’t afraid to spark the bi-coastal beef. That is, until, in one of the most infamously violent moments of the east-west conflict of the mid-90s, one of the spurned and pissed JT’s fellow Biz-nay representers RBL Posse’s "Don’t Gimme No Bammer Weed" emerged. This dis of the quality of marijuana on the east coast emerged and made quite the impression on the GTS. Whilst recording their response, the white labeled "West Coast Schwag," the DTS found itself in a confrontation when, SNAP!, Da Bigga Figgas’ crew str8 rolled up outside New York’s D&D studio. Claimin’ they was the real cabbage-makas, they pulled a jack-move that only Da Bay knows how to pull — playin’ mufuckas out they mufuckin’ minds! Word is bond, kid! They came out the block wit Range Rovers, iced-down medallions, their momma’s gold chains, and even the Converse React juice: in other words, JT’s crew straight brought beef to the GTS’ chest like a kosher butcher. And they got ganked like a prank on the GTS’s infamously anti-gay "Homo Thugz," featuring a defiantly anti-PC Noreaga proclaiming the RBL and JT to be, and we quote, "homo thugs."

It was one of the most infamously inimicable beefs in hip-hop history, but like the Beatles said, "life goes on," feel us? Presented with a situation that could only end in murder (and remarkably improved record sales, but whatever), both crews retreated to their seperate camps. The GTS took some time off, with Bugzy and 31st Architek immersing themselves in the philosophy of Deepak Chopra and Five Percent Islam, Baretta 2000 recording the heartbreaking anthem "I Grew Up in Newark," while JT’s crew looked deep within themselves to record "Bitches is A’ite Part III" with Baton Rouge hot boyz Tha Down South 187 Boyz Clik. The beef was squashed, at least officially, and the crews’ lives went on, oh blah dee oh blah dah.

So what next, everybody askin! Yo, like we said, put on your Adidas and step off the nuts. So, on the latest, we just read up in Blaze that this beef is finished, although it has been picked up by Da Jersey Thugs (y’all act like ya know: DJT, reppin’ Cape May Courthouse fo’ real!), who are straight planning some shady manuvas. Their next 12 is working like Tommy Boy, so y’all need to recognize, a’ite "Blastin’ West Foolz and Reppin’ New Skoolz" is on some next level type shit, but GTS is on some next shit, as ZYRLTVVII:PMB demonstrates.

Without a doubt, this is a straight departure from the shit the GTS was dropping before. Good as it was, singles such as "Peel Yo’ Cap" and "I’ll Fuck Yo’ Bitch and Not Feel Bad About It At All" left something to be desired. While they were unquestionably the group of real-ass rappers, they didn’t quite give the introspection that true heads demanded. On ZYRLTVVII: PMB, we finally get to see what GTS are like as grown-ass men. Here, things are much more sober and measured. From the grown-up playing of "Watch Us Ball" (featuring down south upstarts Da Down South 187 Boyz Clik and Ca$h Money Soldiers Hot Boyz) to the exhilarating "Extended Dog Metaphorz" featuring Ruff Ryders DMX and Drag-On (who steals the show with the line "bust a nut in your mama/then bust a cap in Siddartha Gautama), to the deep like the deep end of the community pool "Zontag Ztyle Philozophizing" to the introspective "Now I’m Rich" (with Baretta 2000 philosophizing "now that I’m iced down/Baretta has fake-ass playas trying to take this crown/so get off the balls, this goes for all y’alls/I’m on some straight playa-ass pimping type routines like my man Teddy Schall"), GTS is a grownup group here. The lyrics are more intelligent, but also more questioning: GTS dares to go beyond the dominant modes of modern hip-hop, particularly on "Real N*ggas Do Fabulous Things," featuring "The Gay Rapper" (who sounds suspiciously like Spliff Star of the Flip Mode Squad), as they make defiant political statements, and offer bold gestures of their relevance as true players and Zoo York style ballas. When they team up on "Watch Me Flozz" with Jay-Z and Ja-Rule, the effect is almost unnecessary: we already know that these kids are running shit in the tri-state area.

For real, there ain’t no playaz like the one Thug Synd. As the GTS themselves say numerous times on ZYRLTVVII: PMB, "Triple Eastside Fo’ Real!: This ish right here is the Nubian Newness! In case y’all didn’t know (and were afraid to ax somebody), the Guerilla Thug Syndicate are your new neighbors. So, sorry about the noise last night, and all that. Say, got any toilet paper?