Crimeapple celebrates its triumphs in 'Cartagena'

The rapper born in New Jersey and of Colombian parents, Crimeapple, released in September 2021 Cartagena, his second album with Dj Muggs, the guy who spat out the sound of Cypress Hill. We talked to him about working with a legend, the golden age of rap, and building a legacy.

By Santiago Cembrano | @scembrano

From the balcony of a sixth floor, in a building of so many that rise above the hills of the southeast of Medellin, Crimeapple smokes and looks at the foliage of different shades of green of the dozens of trees that he has in front of him . He takes his time to think.

It's something he hasn't been able to do much in recent years. Since 2019 he has released nine albums including albums, Mixtapes and compilations with new songs. He puts the pedal to the maximum and does not stop to reflect: he is already working on the 2023 material .

But now, as he listens to the birds chirping and watches the still blue sunset over the city where his father was born, he enjoys a moment of clarity and admits to being surprised and grateful for how his career has progressed. “Life is very good, daddy. What can I complain about?

Cartagena, Crimeapple's most recent album, was released on September 24th . Released by Soul Assassins, and recorded in the city that gives it its name, it is the New Jersey rapper's second LP with DJ Muggs, after Medallo (2019).

Perhaps in the future he will come to Bogotá to complete the trilogy, confesses Crime. Muggs, an absolute legend of hip hop with thirty years as a producer of indisputable hits, has approached in the last five years several of the main names of the neoclassicist wave such as Roc Marciano (KAOS), Eto (Hells Roof), Mach Hommy (Tuez -Les Tous), Al Divino (Kilogram), Rome Streetz (Death & The Magician), Flee Lord (Rammellzee) and Crime himself.

The sound Muggs created for Cypress Hill, the group with which he reached the peak of sales and cultural impact, has leaned toward a contemporary sensibility of dark atmospheres, slow, menacing drums, dusty loops, and an enveloping feel that mixes danger. and action.

In Cartagena, Crime begins by recalling the teasing he received at school for his non-Timberland Wolverine boots and non-Wallabees Colombian moccasins . From there he jumps to the present to celebrate what has been achieved: he feels unstoppable.

He spits grease between bottles of Veuve champagne and lamb so juicy it smears his long red beard. His focus is global: it is narrated in Greece, Birmingham, Brazil and the capital of the department of Bolívar.

“I don't know another underground rapper who has known so many countries. They may have millions of dollars, but they have a lot of unstamped pages in the passport,” he boasts. These are luxurious raps on forceful drums, as well as deep reflections that can only emerge from the calm that comes from contemplating the immensity of the Caribbean.

Crime fills each verse with words. His tone is conversational, he could be telling you a story or letting his awareness flow like a stream whose track is the channel. He raps fast, but he doesn't rush. In Cartagena there is his characteristic flow that breaks out of the beat, goes through it, without interest in the compass framework. But there are also more traditional flows, structured by 4x4, as well as double tempos.

At times he sings and at others he throws a whole song in machetero Spanish. He spreads his wings to the fullest. And he makes room for memories, like that time he almost died in a car accident in 2003. These memories come not in the form of nostalgia but to trace the starting point from where he started to where he is now. .

Where is Crimeapple now?

In an apartment in El Poblado, on the phone with his aunt, scheduling a family dinner, hopefully it will be a fine restaurant and not in a food court in a shopping center, he proposes. In Medellin once again, where he usually travels four or five times each year. In the development of Manteca, his personal brand, and his work together with his colleagues Primo Profit and RLX, also of Colombian descent. In the process of putting out a pizza at Tony Boloney's (large New Jersey chain) with Colombian ingredients like costeño cheese and hogao. In this interview, which he goes next.

In your Instagram you said that Cartagena is an experience more than an album, why?

Because we were in Cartagena and there we recorded the album, except for two or three songs. Parce, I think the album reflects the patch we were in. Living well, swimming, drinking, eating rich, do you understand me? It's rare in underground hip hop that someone goes to another country to record an album there.

There are some who suddenly go on vacation and do a couple of songs. And on the other hand, the videos of Media Systems Company. I don't see anyone, not even the rapper who is hitting the hardest in the underground, who does it like that. My apologies, but when it comes to video done right, nobody beats Media Systems Company. Chemi (Camilo Escobar, from MSC) is a genius for that, dad. For me that was an important aspect of Cartagena, having cool videos, but different from each other, to show various things. That's lame, who's doing it like that?

What is it like to be produced by Muggs? How is a session with him?

When we did Medallo I had just met him and he was shocked, maybe he wasn't that comfortable. By Cartagena he was more comfortable because we had shared a lot. The main advice he gave me was to remember that, in his opinion, I was the best Latin MC of the moment.

In the studio or making videos, he was like, “Hey, you're the fucking Crimeapple! Go!". Or was it like “This song is going to be a hit, so try again, but do the chorus this way”. I love that, because it almost doesn't happen in rap. Many make records by mail, they don't even know each other. It's brutal to be able to be in the same space with someone who is willing to point those things out. And vice versa too.

We are so comfortable that I can say “I don't love this song” or “I don't think we should put out that song”. It is a matter of respect. And I like that: my opinion is also worth it. He always tells me: “I love working with you, it reminds me of what it was like working with Cypress Hill. You are one of the smartest rappers, you get it.” So I say “Oh, I'm not crazy”. Because in my head, I think I'm one of the greatest, but for someone like Muggs to tell me...

Was there a particular vibe that you wanted to capture with the beats and sound of Cartagena? How was that process?

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The sound of Tony 2C, Bathtubs full of Veuve, Papas and Swish was calling me to the vibe, to being in the pool without my shirt on, drinking champagne, wearing some diamonds and eating fried fish. Living the life. That's the sound that stood out for me in that context.

There were twenty other beats that sounded like Kleenex and were good, but for the vibe and the idea they didn't fit. The vibe was that of a hits album; Well, hits for us, not for Billboard. Beats that sound good in the car, on stage.

When we did one or two songs like that, it became contagious. Like “Oh shit, this is going to hit live”. That's part of this record too, we're going to tour with him. Those songs on stage are going to boom. They are not a loop that maybe people like but it goes slowly and you have to think about it.

In Bathtub Full Of Veuve you talk about having several styles. Here on the album you can see, there are songs that break necks and other reflexive ones, as well as different flows (Swish). Is it important for you to cultivate that diversity?

Yes, for me it is very important; If not, I'm bored. There is a risk there, because there are people who are going to like the sound of “Big Face Frankies” better and that style of rapping out of tempo; others are going to say like “Ah, cool, but I like the double tempo better, squeezing the words”.

In Medallo, I used a lot of the style of not being on beat, I went in and out and I went in and out. In Cartagena I wanted to be more traditional. That also happened on the tracks, which hit hard. I thought it best to stay straight on the beat: one, two, three and four. Kleenex is the song in which I am everywhere, but for the whole album in general I stayed on the beat. And for the next album they don't know what I'm going to do, let's see what happens.

In Gray Skies, one of the most thoughtful and introspective tracks I've ever heard from you, you remember where you started and celebrate where you've reached. What do you think when you look back?

When I heard the beat I knew that this was going to be the intro, and I started to think about all that. Everything that has happened inspires me. I start to think about how I was five or ten years ago and how I am now, and I realize that I can achieve anything I want, you know?

We are all human and we are going to have good days and bad days. But if I have a bad day, that shit goes away quickly, because I start thinking like “Wait a minute. I'm Crimeapple, why am I sad? I've only been in this for three years, I'm warming up. I still have a lot to do." I stay inspired. That was hard to do before, because I didn't have that hope. These days, I'm generally a happy guy.

In Some More Paper you consider that you are on your way to being a legend and in Kleenex you warn that we are going to cry when you leave. It seems that here you begin to think about what your legacy is. How would you like to be remembered?

More than anything, for having been a good person and fair. As my friend Vinnie Paz told me, being an honest guy in hip hop is like being a handsome straight guy in a gay bar: you're probably going to get screwed.

The music industry is full of sneaky moves, lying and greedy people. I may not have a million dollars or the biggest hype in underground rap, but that's okay. We are having an impact and that is what matters to me. Everything else, time will tell. Not everything is money. When everything is said, of course I want people to remember that I was a great rapper, but above all that I was honest and as fair as I could.

What we do at Manteca with Primo Profit and RLX is unprecedented. I've told them: “Hey, you know you're Manteca, but you don't owe me anything. There is no contract. If you want to leave tomorrow and sign with someone who does something better for you, no problem." Everyone who helps someone wants to get something back; I am not well. Obviously, this is my job, but I can earn my money on my own, and if I can help my friends in the process… like making sure that Media Systems Company makes all my videos and that people connect and want to work with him .

In Kleenex you talk about Vanessa Hudgens and I was thinking: if you did a song like Just Playing by Biggie, who would be those celebrities that you wish you were with?

As I said in Prescription, from Medallo: Jorja Smith. I still think we should be together. Kali Uchis and I should definitely be together, someone has to tell her about me, because we would make beautiful children, it would be the right thing to do. No, but honestly, I can date a woman who works at Rapidogs if she's a beautiful person, I don't care.

Although Spanglish is always present, you rap all of “Peligrosisimo” in Spanish. How did you feel doing it? Was it on purpose or did it just come out?

I thought that since this was the second album that we were going to make in Colombia, we should have at least one song in Spanish, do you understand me? It was a challenge, but when the first few bars came out, the rest seemed easy. I don't believe the teacher speaks Spanish, I'm wrong sometimes. I don't care, I'm not trying to rap as if I lived in Medellín or Cartagena. It's the same as when I sing in choirs. I know I'm not fucking Chris Brown, and there are going to be notes that someone who does sing is going to say they're not right, but that's what hip hop is all about, giving it my flavor and my way. As 50 Cent said: “Being a little off landed me on top of the charts”.

So if I write a song in Spanish, I don't care if my grammar is perfect. I do it to the best of my ability, and if I notice a mistake I correct it, but I'm not going to stress myself, well, if I ended up saying something wrong. The Swish remix is ​​in Spanish. Muggs and I are going to put out an EP with four or five songs in Spanish, so I don't get bored rapping in English.

When you say “I had to live several lives so I could actually live”, could you mean that everything you lived before prepared you for now? Do you feel it was better that success came late in your career? Benny The Butcher has also talked about that, for example, that if he had been rich at 20 everything would have gone to shit.

100%. If I had done well financially when I was 20, 21, 22, just a mess. Because at that age I was not mature. I am very lucky that it happened after I had lived and seen more things. It helped me being a student of music and thus knowing what I like and don't like, because when I hit I had a perfected formula. And if in my 20s I had had the money I have today, I would be in jail or broke. It would have ruined everything. So yeah, I'm lucky it happened like that.

I have been a substitute teacher, I have worked in removals and in an ice cream parlor, I have cleaned toilets, I have been a student, I have not had to pay electricity and I have been well, I have been a faithful boyfriend, I have been a dog, do you understand me? I have seen the different paths of life. Without rain you don't appreciate good weather and you have to go through the hard shit to know when things are good.

For me, we are in a golden age of rap, a renaissance, but one that goes far beyond the nostalgia of the 90s boom bap: it is its own movement from the essence. How do you feel being part of it? Why do you think it has grown like this in recent years?

The reason? Everything is cyclical. Eventually, people are going to get tired of bars. We will always be the loyal ones, but at some point people are just going to want to have a good time again. But I feel very lucky to have my space in this world. It seems very cool to me. Today everyone has options because every week there are many new things. We would have to wait and see if it is going to oversaturate, who knows. When I was trying to start my thing, I had a lot of inspiration from the 90s, but not much from the new ones. Curren$y, Action Bronson, Roc Marciano, Willie The Kid, Ka, Sean Price… But there weren't many. Instead, today, if you are an artist who loves this sound and it is rising, there are many who can give you hope. Now Griselda is earning a lot of money, Roc has been doing classical music for ten years, Action Bronson started to do something fresh as a lifestyle with food, painting, olive oil. There are many sources of inspiration for newcomers.

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