The Crest Share Their Hip-Hop Roots
Formed in 1997, The Crest are an up and coming, extremely talented underground hip-hop group hailing from Madison, WI. Madison, Wi, for all those who have never gotten a chance to visit, is kind of like when AWESOME meets RAD. Seriously, it’s probably best described as a rapidly growing smaller sized city and college town one hour west of Milwaukee offering great parties, music, culture and college scenes. In a nutshell, Madison has got a lot of flavor and The Crest are some local frontrunners and favorites in the Hip-Hop and overall music community. They have earned the likings of many and the respects of all who have come to see a live Crest show at one of many clubs and venues throughout the Midwest and beyond. They consist of two brothers Adam (A.D.) and Josh (Jack Cracker aka Joshua Rockets), along with long time producers Jason Blare and DJ Scrabble. They possess an incredible live stage presence and are for sure to get the party cracking. Or crack-a-lating. Or crack-a-lackin' or, I think you get my point. They are the real deal displaying skill and experience with crowd control and crisp deliveries accompanied by original banging beats and fresh production. Both A.D. and Jack Cracker are also quick-witted, sick freestyle and battle MC’s who have earned a serious reputation amongst battle circuits. I highly recommend peepin' these guys out at a quality hip-hop show near you. You can keep up with The Crest tour dates and album drops on the sites mentioned below.
Popular Underground Magazine: I understand THE CREST has released 11 albums since 1997. Do ya’ll have a personal favorite? Album? Songs? If so, Why?
PUM: Ya’ll have said to be avid hip hop listeners since you were young kids back in the way days as early as the mid 1980's. Who are some of your old school favorite artists and influences?
PUM: How do you feel about free music and or video downloads?
PUM: Have The Crest directly noticed a change in the "underground" music scenes popularity due to the explosion of online exposure from websites such as Myspace, iTunes, YouTube, etc. ?
PUM: I personally think you brothers possess different dope styles which mesh extremely well together. So tell us about your writing styles? What inspires your lyrics?
PUM: What is the best advice you could give to all newcomers in the rap game?
PUM: Who are you listening to right now?
PUM: I hate to classify rappers by their region, but sometimes it is what it is. Aside from yourselves, what artists/groups are on the up & up right now here in the Midwest?
PUM: So what’s next for you guys? Are you currently working on any new projects? Release dates? Album titles? Producers or Guest appearances? Tour dates?
PUM: Where can we listen to and purchase The Crest's music and merchandise?
PUM: Who are some artists that you have been touring and performing with? Any favorite spots to travel to and rock a show?
By: P.J. Swift – Contributing Writer
The Crest: Our new album Cheerful Robots because it's our best work. Look for it in '08.
The Crest: RUN DMC, Beastie Boys, 2 Live Crew, Ghetto Boyz, NWA, ... I am a really big Ghetto Boyz fan, they always managed to keep their content relevant on so many levels, and the beats were filled with samples that I had grown up with, as were 2 Live Crew's production.
The Crest: I'm all for it. It levels the playing field for artists and loosens the grip that large distribution companies (record labels) have had on the industry.
The Crest: It would be tough to isolate any change and directly relate it to what's going on in 'internet land,' but it has made promoting shows and music much easier, as well as contacting and 'connecting' with other artists. More of a direct influence on the widening of the underground scene I would say would be the access to recording equipment. Making high quality recordings is easier and cheaper than ever before, once again leveling the playing field even more for recording artists.
The Crest: The inspiration really differs from album to album, but the drive to 'come fresh' is always there. That's what keeps us making music. What we make music about changes from year to year.
The Crest: Don't quit your day job and go to school. For every one 'rapper' who makes a living at rapping there are thousands (maybe tens of thousands) of other 'rappers' who need to find other means of supporting themselves and their families, not to mention to contribute something worthwhile to society.
The Crest: Wu-Tang
The Crest: I don't know if I'm really in position to answer this question fully or unbiased for that matter, but if any group is on the bill with Crest they are in the up & up in the Midwest. Ha...
The Crest: Cheerful Robots 2008....
The Crest: We will be launching a new website in 2008 too; www.crestlive.com It's not up yet, but you can go to our Myspace page: www.myspace.com/thecrest or www.wiscompton.com
The Crest: No time for name dropping right now, but they are all our favorite. All of them.
Photo: From the band's Myspace @ www.myspace.com/thecrest
