If you've followed the ever-heightening exploits of the Minneapolis-based Rhymesayers collective, you know that the Upper Midwest has established an identity and esthetic for hip-hop music all its own. This music doesn't attempt to put itself over as gangsta or street or bling (and let's face it, any act from Caucasian-rich Minnesota, Iowa or Wisconsin that did would inevitably look silly), but rather relies on intelligence and down-to-earth honesty.
That's precisely what Madison rap fans have learned to expect from the Crest, a local crew formed by the sibling MC duo of Jack Cracker and AD, along with DJ Skrabble and producer Jayson Blare. These lads have been sharpening their edge for years on the local club drag as well as at various MC battles. But 2005, by all indications, is the Crest's year to break out and establish themselves on a bigger playing field.
Skeptik is the name of the group's first nationally distributed CD, and it's the real fuckin' deal. Released by New York-based Uprising Records (who helped launch emo-rockers Fall Out Boy to stardom), the album is an emotionally charged, politically relevant paean to the power of individualism and free-thinking. Jack and AD address topics ranging from corporate corruption to the wages of war (even snipping a Noam Chomsky speech at one point), but shift gears along the way to have a few laughs and tell a few stories.
The album's strongest statement comes in the form of "Kill 'Em," an unambiguous censure of war generally and the Iraq fiasco directly. Killing, the song reasons, only leads to killing, and if the real motives behind war are shrouded in artifice, it's left to the "skeptik" to weigh the painful consequences. "What do you tell a daughter," they ask, "who lost a dad that she never met?"
While they're searching for answers in "Kill 'Em," several other tracks find the Crest speaking their conscience in terms both powerful and concise. Over Jen McCoy's playful la-la vocal loop, the MCs trade off motormouth stanzas about finding inside oneself a voice for change ("Go against the grain/Claim your spot") on the outstanding "Heart Shaped Box." The title track, strung ominously over a cello riff, spews anger in the face of a world where there is little an honest man can believe in. And the dancehall-flavored "Mr." slams at cold-blooded CEOs and cold-hearted parents.
But other album highlights traffic in lighter fare with no decline in quality. "No More Lady" finds humor in the misadventures of dating; "Independent," set to a Beastie-style beat and some fine free-jazz sax, celebrates all who keep the underground vital; "L-Ascorbic Acid" is a kinetic dance track with an old-school feel and guest raps from Eyedea and Carnage.
The Crest chart their own trajectory on the album's opening salvo, "Back to the Basics," dropping a bit of hard-earned wisdom along the way: "Learn to connect/With what first brought you to the step/Then bring it back to that/Like you never left."
And it seems they've followed their own advice. Skeptik is a remarkable album by any standard. Loaded with solid beats and skillfully layered production, it's a record with a lot to say and the heart to say it.
By Al Ritchie for the Isthmus
