I will stand by my original statement that Chris Crooks is the best bar for bar rapper in the city of Cincinnati. Though, I don’t want to limit this young man to just a local scene. Crooks bleeds onto his records with pure aggression, hunger and pain. Instead of changing up and looking to producers from other areas, he has decided to cook up with some budding legends from the city. Autumn Givenchy handled the instrumentation on “A Little Slow, A Little Late”, which sounds like a precise flip of a Sunday morning service. While Crooks preaches from the tabernacle, he holds our attention with his brooding baritone vocals.
Amari Eman gifts Crooks a more abstract feel for the second cut which goes by the title of “On Purpose”. This is more of a sped up tempo to push Chris and his cadences but he doesn’t disappoint on this one. Crewsheff, the other half of this powerful tandem laced both “If I Didn’t Win” and “Man Of The House”. Both of these records showcase this potent wordplay and unforgiving arrogance that is brought to the table. Rounding things out, M-80 blessed the boards on “Build”, which showcases an old school minimalist beat for Chris to paint his soundscape over.
This is more for the conventional rap lover, but Crooks has the potential to be a great artist for decades to come. Most of these artists are one song away or a set of the right eyes could take it to the next level. Either way this guy is going places, so keep rocking with Crooks below.
