In the spring of 1998, months before graduating and using his student loan funding, Thes One released the first People Under The Stairs 12-inch entitled "The Next Step pt. 2". 250 of the original vinyl run were made until the stamper was broken, at which time an additional 200 were made from a different master without the secret bonus track "Live At The Fishbucket", which appears on first run B-side. In late summer 1998, the group independently released their first album entitled "The Next Step", which he produced and engineered in its entirety.