The In Crowd

My friend Steph is a little excitable. Give her an idea and inch, and she'll turn it into a citywide parade. She's always been like that, though the trait has ratcheted up a notch or two now that she's a newly-minted New Yorker. She and the Big Apple are currently in a honeymoon phase that may never end.

Not that this is any kind of character defect. If anything, it's just another thing that we all love about her. But being presented with this kind of raw enthusiasm does lead one to be skeptical in the face of it. You have to temper your own reaction to it, or you'll drown in the tide. And so when she blew up my Facebook page and Twitter feed with info on The Crowd, I calmly decided to check them out for myself. I wanted to make sure this underground hip-hop act that was subject to her sudden volunteer marketing campaign was properly vetted before adding them to my personal library.

After listening to a few of their tracks, and watching the interview below with group member Randy Mason, though, I can tell you that Steph's on point with this one. The Crowd's sound is polished, their chemistry fluent, their words full of heart and meaning. They breathe passion and energy into their songs, running stride-for-stride with each beat in a relentless race between two forces that refuse to succumb to each other. As Justin Thomas says in his summary on the interview:

Randy Mason epitomizes the passion, soul, and indomitable spirit of New York hip hop. Originally from the Bronx, Mason is an MC, songwriter, author, & freelance journalist who has played all throughout New York City opening for legendary hip-hop artists such as the Boot Camp Click, Cl Smooth and many, many others. A brilliant wordsmith who is capable of painting vivid cinema with his lyrical prose, rapid fire delivery, and clever use of metaphor, he draws his influence from a myriad of musical icons such as Nas, Mos Def, Tupac, & Common, and mixes them to potent perfection with his own unique and powerful voice. In addition to his endeavors as a solo artist, Randy is also a member of the accomplished and multi-talented trio The Crowd, consisting of guitarist, beatbox, and MC Akil Dason and singer/songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Adeline. This eclectic group effortlessly combines the elements of hip hop, R&B, and pop into an arresting brand of neo-hip hop soul, and have been featured on BET, among other media outlets. Justin was able to catch up with Randy and his partner-in-rhyme Akil Dason on the New York City subway as the two musicians performed for onlookers to promote The Crowd’s latest CD release.

Randy Mason Trailer from Justin Thomas on Vimeo.

The Crowd now has a permanent place in my playlists. Good work, Steph.