The REAL Hip Hop

I'm going with another record I've seen next to nothing written about on the web to date... I think that's a good, general standard for reasons to cover a record in this blog: if one can't find info on it anywhere else.

This is The Crash Crew (this blog is being posted in conjunction with a new artists' page on my site - woot!)'s comeback record from 1996. I don't think it went over really well, because it sounds nothing like the classic Crash Crew records of the past. There's no harmonizing, no Sugarhill band... definitely a disappointment to all the fans hoping for a return of the Cool Romantic Amazing Super Heroes they remembered and loved. But, if you can put those expectations aside... if you can say to yourself, "okay, this is just a new, indie rap record from some anonymous group," it's actually pretty tight.

They each (even DJ Daryl C gets on the mic, and they added an unnamed female MC to the mix on the flip) come with hardcore raps - we're talking a LOT of threats of violence, here - and deliveries that would be more at home on Fat Joe's first album than alongside anything else from their past catalog. Here's a sample:

"Nineteen years,
I thank God I'm still breathing.
Day after day, son,
I see my peoples leaving.
Now why the fuck they put me on this Earth
If I can't stay?
That kind of shit
Makes me wanna bust my AK.
...
No time for babies,
I'd tryin' ta make it on my own;
Stressed the fuck out,
Smoking bone after bone.
And even worse,
They even caught my man for a body:
Jake fucked him up, son;
They caught him in the lobby."

Yeah, that's the other difference you'll notice; these verses are filled with curses (the radio edits replace them with sound effects, which is kinda fresh and kinda corny at the same time), especially the b-side, "Champagne Flights." The production is cool on both tracks; very dark and moody... I prefer the A-side, but the choppy piano loop and slow bassline on the b-side are pretty nice, too. Like I said, if you can get past "this ain't how the Crash Crew is supposed to sound" (I mean, let's face it - "the infrared is gonna hit you between the God damn eyes; steppin' to the Crash Crew - another suicide" - you wouldn't exactly be wrong), the guys can still flow and; all-in-all, you've got a pretty nice, gritty underground 12" here.

Oh and, as to official sites and myspaces... yes, I have one for ya: EK Mike C's myspace page. Be forewarned, it is loaded with glittery flash animations that could implode your browser if you're on an older system.