Dujeous. Pronounced doo-jee-us. But it’s not about their name, it’s about who they are: a seven-man band, raised in the ways and days of old New York. Friends since elementary school, the Dujeous crew blew up through the NYC underground, selling out clubs, throwing monthly showcases that featured the best MCs in the Northeast, and burning up the airwaves of the legendary Stretch Armstrong radio show. Fast-forward a few years and see who they are now: explosive live performers, feared MCs, in-demand musicians, and well-established producers set to unleash their sophomore album Day In Day Out. If you don’t know, now you know.

But it’s not about who they are; it’s about what they’ve done. The Duj graduated from hustling demos from streets and stages in 2004, when they sold 20,000 units of their debut album, the acclaimed City Limits. The record reached No. 6 on the CMJ charts and got spins at top stations like NYC’s Hot 97 and LA’s KCRW. Critics jumped on the bandwagon, calling Limits “groundbreaking” (allhiphop.com) and “a producer’s dream” (Time Out NY). Urb named the band one of their “Next 100,” while The Source featured them in its venerable Unsigned Hype column. The buzz propelled songs from Limits to the big screen, in movies such as Half Nelson, Blue Crush, Lift, and Kings & Queen, and the small screen, in TV shows such as Entourage, Saved, and Crank Yankers.

In 2007, Dujeous followed up with the mixtape Game 7, which burned up broadband, garnering over 10,000 downloads and praise on influential blogs like Brooklyn Vegan and Pitchfork. Their just-released 2009 mixtape, No Clearance, is at 5,000 and counting, and received acclaim on Nahright, widely considered the top hip-hop blog. Meanwhile, onstage, Limits and Game 7 helped the Duj bust out of the five boroughs and rock all across North America, Europe, and Asia, with the likes of Kanye, Busta, 311, Funkadelic, John Legend, Mobb Deep, and countless others. They even recently headlined at the world famous Apollo Theater. Word of their instrumental and production prowess spread, leading to some serious collaborations: They’ve played for Mark Ronson, Lily Allen, Al Green, and Lauren Hill, and produced for Dip Set, Saigon, and Keith Murray (see attached discography). There’s a reason Mark Ronson called Dujeous “New York’s only hip-hop band worth talking about.”

Impressive, yes. But forget what they’ve done—it’s what they’re about to do: release their sophomore album Day In Day Out. “We expanded and stepped out of the old formulas, both our own and hip-hop’s,” says Mojo. “New instruments, new guests, and new topics—we really challenged ourselves with this album musically and lyrically.”

Some things have remained constant: MCs Mojo, Mas D, and Rheturik keep the lyrics smart and to-the-point. Bassist Apex and drummer Tomek still provide that lunchroom-table boom-bap, while guitarist/producer Taylor Rivelli and trumpeter David Guy (also a member of the Dap-Kings) still bring twisted jazz, funk and rock melodies. But there are new ingredients in the mix: Keyboardists Borahm Lee (Lee Scratch Perry, Matisyahu) and Masayuki Hirano (Talib Kweli) join the band on record, bringing spaced-out textures from dub, gospel and beyond. Dujeous didn’t stop there—strings, accordion, mellotron and other instruments from around the world have been added to the arsenal. Plus, while Limits was strictly a family affair, Day In is stocked with contributions from the Duj’s talented extended circle, including platinum soulman John Legend, hip-hop provocateur Immortal Technique, and funk queen Sharon Jones.

The first single, the uplifting “Break Bread,” is Dujeous at its most personal, with the MCs breaking down family woes and willpower over backup vocals from John Legend and Maya Azucena and infinite crescendos of cellos and balafons. This song is coupled with the hard-hitting B-side “Research”—only Dujeous could bring together Japanese koto master Masayo Ishigure and Australian DMC champ DJ Staen 1 and make it work. While those two shred, breakneck guitars and horns blast, and the MCs go straight for the jugular. Both songs have already brought the anticipation for Day In to a fever pitch. “Break Bread” hit the playlists at dozens of college and independent radio stations, hitting No. 1 on urban college radio. Meanwhile, the videos for both songs are blowing up online, getting raves from prominent bloggers like Jessie Maguire, Jacques Morel, Potholes in My Blog and countless others.

So forget everything else, and remember this: a new-and- improved sound; a new album that will take Dujeous to new eardrums, new stages, new continents, new levels of success. In the end, that’s what it’s all about.