Artist of the Week: Craze The Jack
Hip hop artists and rappers in Swansea seem to be a rare find when looking at the music scene at large, but one artist who has stamped his mark on the city is Craze The Jack.
Craze The Jack (aka Craig Lewis) is both a rapper and producer and has a sound that is undeniably influenced by old school hip hop and artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, Big Daddy Kane and E.P.M.D. which is really fresh to hear in a UK music scene dominated by grime. His production on the tracks certainly have an old school vibe to them and makes you imagine a younger Eminem could have been rapping over the top back in the late 90s / early 00s.
With a wealth of material on his Soundcloud and bandcamp pages, it's hard to know where to start with Craze's stuff, so we've recommended three tracks to get you started: Murdered It, Extreme Motion and Hanging Over. If you're in from there, we suggest you head to his bandcamp site and listen to (or better still buy!) his EP RAW (Real and Welsh) and debut album E.Motion. What you'll soon start to realise is that not only are his lyrics are really relatable and delivered in a unique way, but the hooks and choruses on his tunes are really catchy!
When Craze played at our Swansea Musician's Forum in February this year he absolutely smashed it!! In a room where I think it's fair to say the majority would not actively seek out a hip hop show in Swansea, he had the ability to win over the whole room, get everyone involved and commanded the stage that made you want to watch, listen and sing along.
With an album due very soon from Craze this is a very exciting time to start following him and keep up to date with what's to come. We're certainly very very excited.
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