Crucial Interview

Crucial Conflict lights up a "Bonfire" The group that took us for a rodeo ride is back!by Toure Muhammad Ever walked out the house forgetting something you needed? Something important. It kept eating at you until you remembered what it was you forgot. What a relief to finally remember. That?s how I felt when I heard Bonfire, from Crucial Conflict playing on the radio the other day. Relieved. ?Ah, here?s what not only Chicago, but Hip Hop has been missing?the realness, the playfulness, the uniqueness that makes up the character of Crucial Conflict. I had the opportunity to talk with all four members of The ?Flict May 19 to discuss their new projects?that?s right, projects with an ?s?. These brothers are launching an entire entertainment company. But first, let me give some background to those who don?t know these four pioneers of Chicago hip hop and national hip hop innovators. The four members are Wildstyle, Kilo, Coldhard, and Never. Crucial Conflict burst on the scene in 1996 with their debut album, The Final Tic. That album featured 154 singles and the remix of Hay. CC came out of the Midwest in a way that made everybody from Chicago proud. They ignored the ?diamond in the back? type laid-back grooves of the west coast and the frenzied pace of the east coast. Instead Crucial Conflict settled in with a unique, natural Midwest pace that reflects the city?s down home, country blues, gospel, and R&B flavor. All born and raised on the west side of Chicago, Crucial Conflict gleamed their name as a reflection of the turbulent situations of survival in their area. Their style embraces the old west, but with a modern twist. And that?s authentic Chicago west side. It?s not unusual to see a brother walking down Madison in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat and riding a motorcycle. So this is good news for you Crucial Conflict fans; their new album to hit sometime this summer under their own label, Buck Wild Records. Meanwhile, here?s the interview. Bean Soup: What?s up brothers. It?s an honor and privilege to talk to you brothers. It?s so good to hear your voices on the air. What?s been up? Wildstyle: We?ve been working. Working on our new album, Planet CruCon. Bonefire, was the first of 19 new songs. We?re ready to come out the gate. Coldhard: That?s right. This new album reflects a state of mind, not a place. BS: You all usually have a strong message behind your music. What?s some of the messages with Planet CruCon? Wildstyle: Each song is soulful. We make good music and we have fun doing it. Some songs are fun, some reflect our state of mind and others have a message. We rap a lot about the struggle?good times, bad times, and everyday life. Not the fantasy life you often see. Not all about jewelry. We put a twist in the message, keep it raw and uncut, but you gotta listen to it. For us, we want to talk about something else. You can?t just keep pulling a rabbit out the hat. Let?s pull something else out the hat. Kilo: Yeah, Bonfire is new and fun. It?s like a pep rally. But overall, we change emotions in our music. We go up, down, sideways, upways (laughs). We are an octagon of vibe. Wildstyle: We still got that fire we always had. BS: I?m looking forward to hearing it. One thing I must comment on is that it?s good to see and hear that you brothers are still together. It?s hard to keep not only artist together, but even family has problems. How have you all managed to stay together. Coldhard: We love each other, first and foremost. We always carried ourselves as more than just friends. It?s the legacy of the group. We have our problems, just like even a bunch of puppies will bark at each other in a pin, so we jump down each other?s throat sometimes. BS: You made many Chicago hip hop lovers proud. Do you expect the same reaction to CruCon? Coldhard: Yes sir. It?s gonna really make people proud. The thing about Crucial Conflict is that we never left the hood. We?ve done free shows, always signing autographs. We stayed in the game and we?ve been supporting other artist. Especially Wildstyle. We?re gonna make Chicago proud because this album represents unity. We all, Crucial Conflict are from different ?hoods. We?re all from the Westside, but from different areas and we wanna see our city do the same thing. Never: Chicago is really a warm city. We have hospitality. It?s been warm to us and we?ve shown that love right back. All those that rode the ride with us (in ?1996) we give that energy right back with this new project. BS: To me, Crucial Conflict?s must and style really reflects Black Chicago southern blues historical roots; it?s still gritty, urban, hard, fun and organized confusion. Was this by accident or on purpose? Wildstyle: It was a little of both. We knew our talents and we knew what was out there. We just gelled together different point of views. We don?t write together. We just have good chemistry. We can pass to each other without looking. Never: The bond we built, that bond was formed a long time ago. It?s still sturdy today. I?m glad people stayed strong and believe in us and waited, but this is the Lord?s doing. We all believe in the Lord and He?s gonna make it happen, despite our trials. All: That?s right, yeah. Kilo: We weren?t on our time, we were on God?s time. And we now it?s time to give the people what they were missing. What they ARE missing! Never: Also, Chicago has a lot of talent. We plan to help others too. We seem crazy or look crazy, but you can?t judge a book by its cover. BS: You all have any other projects in the works? Kilo: We?ve got the Crucial Gear we?re coming out with. Wildstyle: Yes, and we?re launching a whole entertainment company?film, DVDs, clothing, other music that will take this thing to an entire another level. We plan on making it go down in the city and we plan to stay here, stationary. We plan to make Chicago the center of attention. We love what?s going on with this new Chicago music movement.