FAST CREW - Set The Record Straight
Sometimes, quality hip hop is all about the transcend.
A deft ability to rise above your place in the world and create something
universal. It's not where you're from, it's where you're at. Fast Crew,
a rap collective from Auckland, New Zealand, boldly defines true skool
hip hop without borders. Their infectious rap single, 'I Got', a crafty
slice of strum 'n' bass, party-invite flows and a chorus with all the
right hook ups, raided the NZ top 5 singles chart, then stayed in the
top 20 for 25 weeks. Suddenly, the script was flipped for Fast Crew
(Jerome Fortune, Kid Deft, D-arblo, Bex and DJ Alias), five friends
who spent the last five years making music for fun.
"We all had a passion for music," explains Jerome,
"but it became apparent that we should take it more seriously."
Jerome started his rap career at, of all places, a bar. Some played
pool. He opted for beer, and, after a few more, freestyle rhyming. The
more brew, the more abstract. These impromptu rap sessions were the
genesis of Fast Crew. Soon after, in the very early days of Fast Crew,
Jerome found the courage to call himself a musician. It happened at
passport control. Jerome needed to state an occupation on a Customs
form. "I had nothing to put into that gap," he laughs.
Accordingly, Fast Crew are filling a void in hip hop.
They don't roll with a gangsta lean, pledge allegiance to an area code,
holler, crunk, raise a pimp cup to the ladies - or judge those that
do. To break it down, Fast Crew are just doing their own thing. They
are all the way live, too. "There aren't any samples," says
Jerome. "Everything comes from a live instrument basis rather than
loops. We are musicians and we love music." Now, after acclaimed
tour supports with Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes, Fast Crew releases
their debut album, 'Set The Record Straight', an eclectic brew of hip
hop, pop, and funk. You can check out two of the group's videos HERE!
