March 20, 2007 @ 1:22 pm

Smells Like Teen Spirit: Crime Mob

by: Ben Detrick

Crime Mob used to make soundtrack music for club brawls. Now, the mob would rather see you dancing.

From VIBE's Februrary 2007 issue: Ben Detrick infiltrates the Crime Mob. She's touring somewhere in Germany that she can't pronounce, and Brittany "Diamond" Carpenter of Crime Mob would so much rather be back in Ellenwood, GA. The 18-year-old rapper is a little miffed about missing the BET Hip-Hop Awards (which took place in nearby Atlanta) and on top of that, the Germans can't seem to get breakfast right. "I'm coming like, I'm going to order me a sausage, egg and cheese, and some hash browns, and all they had was an Egg McMuffin and coffee," says Diamond, calling in from Frankfurt, of Euro Mickey D's. "If you want extra ketchup, extra mustard, it's 20 cents. That's really fucking with me." If this sounds like the bellyaching of a homesick exchange student, it's probably because Diamond, like the rest of the Crime Mob, is scarcely removed from DeKalb County's Cedar Grove High School. Their average age is 19, but each member of the high-energy crew - known for confrontational ditties such as "Knuck If You Buck," "I'll Beat Yo Azz," and "Stilettos (Pumps)" - describes their sophomore effort, the new Hated on Mostly (BME/Reprise/G's Up), as "more mature." Equal parts marketing slogan and artistic ambition, the turn of phrase is accurate; Crime Mob's self-title 2004 debut (BME/Reprise/Crunk Inc.) was a skeletal collection of chanted threats, rambling verses, and creepy synths fused together in two weeks' time by a band of teenage rabble-rousers. Lo-fi simplicity was part of the group's magnetism, but growth was inevitable. "We were young, so all we knew was what we saw around us," says Venetia "Princess" Lewis, 19, one of the two female rappers who furnish Crime Mob with a unique brand of gender equality. "Being in school, somebody was always in a fight." After going on the road and experiencing more and having more money and stuff, we can talk about more than just fighting." That's not to say fighting wasn't good to Crime Mob. "Knuck If You Buck" was a hit single and a platinum ring tone, and the Crime Mob album sold over 270,000 units - a strong number for an unheralded group, but still disappointing in crunk's 2004 hey-day. "We didn't reach some people with the first album," says Jarques "MIG" Usher, 19. "We reached the teenage crowd, but older people are going to be into this album." If not quite built for octogenarians to walk it out to, "Rock Yo Hips," the first single from Hated on Mostly, shares more DNA with the unthreatening bounciness of D4L's or Dem Franchize Boyz' efforts than with the sledgehammer intensity of Crime Mob's earlier material. Group members are quick to dismiss any insinuations that they've trend-hopped from crunk to snap, but Jonathan "Lil Jay" Lewis, 21, the group's primary producer, is unabashedly honest about his aspirations behind the console. "Atlanta isn't how it was two years ago. I was trying to give us a more commercial sound," he explains, citing the city's recent move from crunk and its newfound emphasis on hardscrabble drug tales and kinetic dance moves. "Right now, my mentality is not to motivate people to get stabbed and beat up. If you ain't trapping or snapping, you ain't getting too much play." Crime Mob also had to deal with those who took exception to their youth-gone-wild rowdiness, to say nothing of their one-hit-wonder status, which they're eagerly trying to shake. "We get hated on the street, the Web, everywhere," explains MIG, who recalls once receiving some snide comments while wearing a Crime Mob T-shirt in a jail's holding tank. "Since the last album came out till now, you hear somebody say somethign about Crim Mob - and listen to people's reaction." Alphonse "Cyco Black" Smith, 20, believes it's simply jealousy. "If you in the trap and your trap booms, you got somebody that's gonna hate," he reasons. "Folk gonna hate regardless because you fresher than them. I'm at Justin's, eating good $20 plates. I ain't used to that, because my family ain't never really had nothing." But the teenage year are formative for any kid. Even those who seem to be basking in stardom aren't immune to feeling the sting of exclusion. "I wanted to be a part of the dance team," recalls Diamond of her decision to put her career ahead of her social life, "but I couldn't go to the jamboree because we were getting ready to shoot our video the next5 week. I couldn't hang out with my friends the way I used to. I couldn't hang out with my family on holidays like I wanted to. I realized that this isn't a nine-to-five job." It's easy to let the talk of marketing plans, responsiblity, and maturity obscure how young the members of Crime Mob actually are. Just barely past the days of throwing punches and yanking hair in secondary-school hallways, these artists on the cusp of adulthood are, in many cases, still struggling to find their way. MIG was charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault, hijacking of a motor vehicle, and weapon possession in a 2004 incident - he wa found not guilty on all charges in July 2005. Christopher DeJon "Killa C" Henderson has been incarcerated since June 2006 for possession of marijuana and cocaine and failure to register as a sex offender (In May 2005 he pleaded guilty to charges of child molestation stemming from a 2000 incident involving his then six-year-old brother and was sentenced to five years probation. When VIBE asked Crime Mob's label about Henderson, a publicist said that he was no longer a member of the group and that his contributions were to be removed from Hated.) And Diamond, even though she knows better, hasn't entirely forgone scrapping. "It's been a minute since I got to fightin'," she says. "It was a couple of months ago, but it wasn't because of music; it was something dealing with one of my homegirls, and we all got cliqued up." So maybe there are a few cracks in Crime Mob's newly polished veneer. "I wouldn't really consider 'Rock Yo Hips' a dance song," Diamond insists. "You can still fight to it." Still, after a couple of years in the industry, this group of rowdy teenagers now sound like crusty veterans. "We got responsibilities," says Lil Jay. "We don't just see each other as childhood friends anymore; it's more like business partners." Princess has even sworn off administering critical beat downs. "I've really grown off of my temper," she admits. "The old Princess, you say one word wrong and knuck if you buck for real. Now it's more that I'm grown and it's not worth it. I can hurt you way worse with words, cause they stick longer." Sigh. They grow up so fast. Hated on Mostly dropped today - stream the whole album here. Killa C Incarcerated on Child Molestation Charges (vibe.com, 12/1/06)

Article tags: Smells, Like, Teen, Spirit, Crime, Mob 

del.icio.us digg Furl Reddit YahooMyWeb

Page printed from:
http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2007/03/crime_mob/

Return to previous page