album in 1998, People Under The Stairs had a difficult time getting their record released, and many local DJs refused to play the album on their radio stations or during club events. One producer, DJ Vadim, even wrote a letter to Om Records to tell them they had made a mistake signing the band. New York-based distribution company Phat Beats also refused to endorse the album because it did not sound "New York" enough. Despite initial difficulties, the group found friends in DJ Rob One and DJ Dusk, who helped them gain exposure in the Los Angeles area and planted the seeds of future success. Reviews of the album were mixed. NME gave the album a positive review, saying that the group's strategy of personally funding and self-releasing the album "paid off" and that the lyrics are "pleasingly unpolished, intelligently raw". Allmusic praised the album as a "promising debut" and enjoyed "Death of a Salesman", but that the album performed "within the boundaries of old". The album had a much stronger showing overseas, which prompted People Under The Stairs to go on their first world tour following the release of the album. Despite never being released as a single, "San Francisco Knights" quickly became a live favorite and a breakout cult classic for the group, and People Under The Stairs still perform it to this day. The song gave the group a little trouble when it was released, however; many casual fans believed that the group was from San Francisco, California. In reality, the song was written and recorded in 1996 to commemorate a fun visit to the city. The track "The Next Step II" was later included in the 2003 video game Tony Hawk's Underground. The song samples the lyrics of "Movin' On Up", the opening theme of The Jeffersons. Track listing All songs written by Christopher "Thes One" Portugal and Michael "Double K" Turner, except where noted. References External links Official People Under The Stairs Website Official The Next Step lyrics page on The Point of the Rhyme 1998 debut albums People Under the Stairs albums Om Records albums Hip hop albums by American artists