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The Crackers
Oberlin College [Genre:Hip-Hop]
Members
Egon
Miguelito
Negatron
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You can judge us once you have been informed about how we get down.
PLEASE READ ON...
Bio
Frequently Asked Questions:
Who are “The Crackers”?
Egon Brainparts, Negatron Johnson and Miguelito. All you really need to know is that we are the dopest production team you have never heard of (and way iller than most of the producers and teams you may have heard of). We produce our own predominantly instrumental music(with some in-house vocal work and vocoder-funk), as well as tracks for other artists from all different types of genres. We are truly producers, and not just beat-makers. The intricacy and depth of our compositions, in addition to the tremendous range of musical resources we tap to give life to our recordings set us apart from your run-of-the-mill “underground” hip-hop outfit. It is also probably important to note that we are slightly c**ky about what we do.
So, I’m guessing you guys are white?
Yeah, the chances are pretty good on that one. Although, Egon’s mom is adopted and doesn’t know who her birth father is and Negatron bore a striking resemblance to his family’s Korean plumber until he hit puberty.
Why the name? Is it really acceptable that you call yourselves “The Crackers” ?
-Ummm…we hope so. We do not intend to offend or alienate anybody by calling ourselves “The Crackers”. We merely wish to be open and realistic about our(probable) ancestral roots and how we are viewed within in hip-hop culture. We do not want to front like we grew out of the prototypical urban, street-influenced, 10 year-old b-boy, smooth-talker mold. Egon’s dad is a highly regarded ecologist and raised his son to have a deep knowledge and appreciation for the natural world. Miguelito's mom is a therapist specializing in potty training theory. Negatron plays raquetball and slangs German board games…you know what I mean. These are not the perspectives or backgrounds that one usually associates with hip-hop music, but somewhere between a camping trip and a ping-pong table hip-hop found us.
It seems like these days so many emcees(white and non-white) are playing type-cast characters, who shift between “bringing the revolution” and “lyrically slicing and dicing fools”. Meanwhile, most producers are cast as silent, vinyl junkies, who don’t have anything concrete to say and just defer to emcees. Basically we are tired of this phony rhetoric.
Hip-hop is a medium of expression and it is striking how few musicians are conveying tangible personal messages through their songs. Additionally, while some non-white artists like Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, The Coup and The Juggaknots voice their thoughts on the state of race issues in America and proudly represent their heritage, it seems like most white artists aren’t really talking about where they are actually from, what they think about their place as artists in a genre that is generally credited as a product of urban-black culture, or how they feel about their own ancestral heritage(be it positive or negative). Not too long ago white-people where definitely the minority at most of the hip-hop shows we went to. Now, even in the most diverse urban areas, the majority of hip-hop shows are populated primarily by white people. In America white people are buying way more hip-hop albums than all other races combined. Nobody is saying anything about these dramatic shifts in hip-hop culture or even acknowledging what has happened. Is it because race and income are statistically correlated, so white people can disproportionately afford to go to shows and buy albums? Or is there another explanation?
We call ourselves “The Crackers” because we are part of this shift and we are not afraid to address these issues in our music or in our everyday lives. We will offer our opinions on these matters to anybody that wants to listen. We do not make music that is just for white-people, but we do make music that is influenced by who we are and how we were raised. We listened to Nirvana, the Beatles and Raffi before we ever fell in love with hip-hop music. You could call our lifestyle white, but we thought “The Crackers” had a little more of a ring to it then “The Whites”.
So where are you all from?
Oakland, CA. Home of the Black Panthers, Too Short, Hyphy-music, Sly and the Family Stone, Tower of Power, The Murder Dubs, scrapers, side-shows, stunner shades, hella slang and The A‘s. We all grew up in the Oakland Hills, which is known for its thuggish Raccoons, windy roads, mothers’ groups and book clubs. We now live closer to Lake Merritt, which isn’t as true to the “Cracker” lifestyle we try to hold down, but still sports a healthy population of Canadian Geese.
What are your upcoming projects?
We have tracks all of over Berkeley emcee-extraordinaire, Bumbalo’s self-titled debut album, which is almost done being mastered. We are also currently shopping instrumentals to some of hip-hop’s finest lyricists from all over the country. We also have written the dialogue, storyboard, and have begun producing songs for a concept album entitled Saltine Dreams. We hope to have all tracks mixed and mastered by July 2007. The album will trace the experiences of a young boy, who trips on a psychedelic cracker and goes on a boundless and unpredictable journey. The album will feature guest performances by some of hip-hop finest emcees, live musical input from several of Oberlin Conservatory of Music’s most acclaimed artists, and humor, meaning, cohesion and production like only we can bring it. We promise you that this will be one of the best instrumental hip-hop albums ever made. We are hoping that Def Jux will pick up this project and help us share it with the world.
Any final words or thoughts?
Enjoy the music on this page as a sample of our range as a production team. Please listen to all of the songs in their entirety, as they all dramatically evolve from beginning to end. Enjoy our music and hit us up if you have any questions. For more music and information peep our Myspace pages. Thank you MTVU and Def Jux for making this college only contest during most students finals week. I guess that you are really trying to see who is serious about their music. Peace.
Discography
Neglected Dialects-A Cry For Help... 2001
Neglected Dialects-Line Out Ep... 2002
Egon Brainparts-Insomniac Extraordinaire...2003
Various production credits for artists, film scores and dance routines you have never heard of.
Production on Bumbalo-Self-Titled...Early 2007
The Crackers-Saltine Dreams...July 2007
Influences
In a particularly random order: Dangermouse, Jimi Hendrix, Tech N9ne, Brother Ali, Squarepusher, Brother Ali, DJ Shadow, Dorothy Ashby, The Beatles, Miles Davis, David Axelrod, Illogic, RJD2, Lyrics Born, Scientist, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Hazmat Modine, Rick Rock, Blockhead, Weather Report, El-P, Mr. Lif, Glue, Aesop Rock, Maker, Wes Montgomery, Blue Sky Black Death, Blackalicious, Damon Albarn, Nirvana, hella others and countless hours of obscure lousy 1 dollar records with 2-30 seconds of freshness ocassionally sprinkled around.
Sounds Like
A recorded conversation between Jimi Hendrix, DJ Shadow, Richard Pryor, Roger Troutman, Spike Lee and Bill Clinton on the Yellow Submarine with wierd sound effects. Basically like...PARTY TIME!!!!!!!
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Why we should be on Def Jux Video...
Negatron - 12/14/06 7:46 PM
What's good people...
We are writing to address our lack of a video issue. At the moment you will not be able to view our justifications for why we should be the next jukies because all of our attempts to upload said video have failed miserably. The following blog should suffice as our answer until we are able to figure this system out and upload our actual video. So with no further ado here is our case:
1.) The Crackers will fill several open niches at Def Jux. We have a primarily instrumental based sound that Def Jux lacks now that RJD2 has switched to XL. We are not saying we have the same sound as RJ, but rather that we will offer a product that is distinctly different than anything else on the Def Jux roster. Another niche that we fill is that we hail from Northern California, which is an area that has not been represented by an artist on Def Jux(we know that Aesop now lives in SF, but the point is still the same). Our geographic roots will allow Def Jux to widen it's fanbase even further than it has in the past. We also have a lot of experience collaborating with a great diversity of artists and would be more than happy to share the in-house production duties at Def Jux if we became members of your label. Negatron is also a business major...Yeeee!
2.) We are in this for the long run. We have been making music together for over nine years. We have stable working and social relationships with each other and will not be unreliable or subject to flare-ups. We are dependable, hard-working and meticulous about what we do. We are also intelligent and articulate individuals who are easy and fun to communicate and work with.
3.) We already have a good idea of the EP we want to produce with Def Jux, but are willing to listen to and apply executive advice from Def Jux to ensure the success of our joint venture.
4.) We have specific humanitarian goals that will be advanced by our selection as winners of this contest. Egon has written a detailed grant proposal to open a non-profit recording studio in Namibia, Africa(Holler at him if you want more details). Negatron is also working with biologist and photographer David Gilbert on a project to preserve the lifestyle and habitat of the Huaroni Tribe, living in the rain forests of Ecuador.
5.) Lastly and most importantly we are unbelievably good looking and believe that companies such as Nabisco, Yoplait, Izod Golf Attire and Banana Boat Sunscreen would be very interested in signing us to huge endorsement deals. Trust us when we say that we would take Def Jux along for this wild, corporate ride.
Peace,
Miguelito, EBP and Tron
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amanda
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Posted: 12/18 2:15 PM
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wow, you guys are like totally my style. we rock you fools all the way out here on the right coast, the east coast!
and my opinion means a lot, since I'm a future lawyer and all.
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