A.J. Crew
A.J. Crew is an American Hip-Hop artist and producer, born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. He is known for his work with Skhye Hutch, Naledge (of Kidz in the Hall fame) and charitable efforts towards furthering Sickle Cell Anemia research. He previously attended Columbia College Chicago and Roosevelt University.
A.J. Crew | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 1, 1990 Toledo, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | Hip-Hop,[1] Rap |
| Occupation(s) | Artist, record producer |
| Years active | 2009 – present |
| Labels | A.J. Crew Recordings, Downtown Records, Deluxe Pain |
| Associated acts | Naledge (Kidz in the Hall), Demarco Castle, Clarence Clarity, Rhymefest |
| Website | ajcrew |
Early life
Crew was born July 1, 1990, in Toledo, Ohio and grew up on the South End of the city. He was raised by his mother, attended E.L. Bowsher High School and graduated in the year 2008. It was then that he decided to move to Chicago, Illinois, to pursue music.[2] He was diagnosed with sickle cell disease at age 8.[3]
Career
Crew started his career in 2009. Upon his arrival to Chicago, Illinois, he attended Columbia College Chicago where he met Austin Neely,[4] and together they released a street album, "Nightmares & Daydreams".[5] The album was released on September 1, 2009, via RubyHornet.com, Dope Couture and Soundscape Studios, with owner Michael Kolar serving as executive producer. The Chicago Reader featured a review of said album with Miles Raymer writing, "...on the album in question, Crew shows a lot of potentials - he's got a talent for punch lines and a way of mixing long lyrical with short chopped lines."[6]
In 2009, He worked with Grammy award-winning Rhymefest on "Destiny & Desire", a song from his first mixtape, "Nightmares & Daydreams". On May 1, 2013, A.J. released "The Reality Of It All", The project features a collaboration with Naledge from the indie hip-hop duo, Kidz in the Hall, entitled, "Nah Mean?".[7] In 2017, he was featured in The Thing I Am a hip-hop musical by Steve Bannon based on Shakespeare's Coriolanus and it was produced and realised by NowThis.[8][9]
He was invited by Converse to record at OutKast’s legendary Stankonia Studios in Atlanta, Georgia as a part of their global Rubber Tracks initiative.[10] One of the songs recorded during these sessions was "Vibes", a song that appears on his 2018 project "Excuses." The single was also released by Converse and Amoeba Music on 7" vinyls distributed at Amoeba Music in Hollywood, California during a show Crew performed at for the Converse Rubber Tracks campaign in 2016.[11]
In 2018, he featured on Rafters by Clarence Clarity, the song was reviewed by Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop.[12]
Discography
- Albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Nightmares & Daydreams |
|
| Excuses |
|
- Singles
| Title | Album | Details |
|---|---|---|
|
Nightmares & Daydreams |
|
| Nah Mean? (feat. Naledge) | The Reality of It All |
|
|
The Reality of It All |
|
| Who Knew? | - |
|
| Young Santiago | - |
|
| The Word | Excuses. |
|
|
- |
|
| Have You Ever | Excuses. |
|
|
Excuses. |
|
|
| |
- Guest appearances
| Song title | Artist | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Never Gets Old - Rap Remix (feat. Allan Kingdom, Casey Veggies & A.J. Crew) |
Penguin Prison |
|
| Useless (feat. A.J. Crew)[13] | ANGELZ |
|
| Don't Lie (feat. A.J. Crew & Troy Joe) | AR Ferdinand |
|
| Rafters (with A.J. Crew)[14] | Clarence Clarity |
|
| You and Me (feat. A.J. Crew) | Pxy.Hwy |
|
| 100k Bracelet (feat. A.J. Crew) | Carlos Figz |
|
- Mixtapes
- The Reality Of It All[15]
- EPs
- A
- Production discography
- Demarco Castle - "XL (Excel)" ("On The Road To Glory: My Story")[16]
Charity work
In February 2012, Crew launched a "Still Waiting" campaign to spread awareness and raise funds for Sickle Cell Anemia research and donated half of the proceeds from promotional single, "Still Waiting", to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. He was interviewed by The Torch about his charity work the same year.[3]
References
- "Steve Bannon Wrote A Rap Musical in The '90s That You Need To See". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- "A.J. Crew – Graduated with the Cords". Music Ninja. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- "Hip-hop brings awareness to debilitating disease - Features". Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
- "Austin Neely". www.complex.com. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- "A.J, Crew: Nightmares & Daydreams LP". www.rubyhornet.com. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- "Local Release Roundup". www.chicagoreader.com. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- "A.J. Crew feat. Naledge from Kidz in the Hall - "Nah Mean?" [MUSIC VIDEO]".
- Rosenberg, Alyssa. "Stephen Bannon wrote a movie about the 1992 L.A. riots. Now, you can finally watch it". Washington Post. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- "NowThis Unveils Never-Before-Seen Musical Written by Steve Bannon - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- "EXCLUSIVE: Emerging Artists Discuss Recording At Iconic Stankonia Studios As Part Converse Rubber Tracks Program". AllHipHop.com. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
- "A Journey to the centre of Unknown Music". LA Weekly. April 28, 2016. p. 47.
- Fantano, Anthony (September 30, 2018). Weekly Track Roundup: 9/30.
- "This AGLORY Mix Makes Being Evil Sound Like Fun". www.vice.com. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- Patel, Nikil. "Album Review: THINK: PEACE, Clarence Clarity". Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- "A.J. Crew - The Reality of It All - Download & Stream". Archived from the original on August 18, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- "GemStones a.k.a. Gemini - XL (Excel)". www.djbooth.net. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
External links
- Official website
- A.J. Crew interview, indepreneur.io