Truly & cri$py — Rap Fire
I was chilling out, bumping a recently discovered Spotify favorite, ‘Outsiiide’ (Pusha Preme) when I noticed artist Truly’s profile listed below, so I decided to check it out. And that’s how I stumbled upon the sick album “Sounds From The Town”, that had me sharing it with my fam after I’d listened to it on loop for a while.
What got me was the high fun quotient of these tracks — ‘Wipe Me Down’ with its clever double entendre had me laughing out loud at lines like, “I’ll hit you up later when I’m sober, yeah” and ‘Last Night’ with its slow pace and intimate feel managed to evoke that OMG sensation of the morning after a memorable night. ‘Alligator’, with its classic, heavy bass kick, was the slow sizzle of early love, and the opening fanfare combined with sudden tempo change of ‘Suite (Gaslight)’ was curiously effective at picturing the contrast between the urgent build-up versus the relaxed aftermath of an encounter.
The album wasn’t all fun and games, though… moving from the passion and excitement of being in the throes of a relationship, the album explored the nuances of an ended relationship as well, evoking longing and heartache with ‘Been a Minute’ as effectively as it portrayed anger and defiant self-assertion (‘Comeback’). A more somber look at post-relationship issues was the ominously titled ‘Smith & Wesson’.
Having the album on my favorite playlist meant that I now wanted to find out more about the two artists whose lead vocals were on the tracks I’d been listening to. Looking them up on Instagram, I soon connected with TrulyAdub (artist name Truly) and David Crisp (artist name cri$py), hailing from the waterfront city of Tacoma, Washington.
Truly, I learned, had begun his journey as a rapper back in 2016, building steadily up to the visibility he enjoys today. From being the opener of choice for popular artists like CHXPO, Ski Mask and Lil Skies, Truly grew into a musician who toured with stars like Keshawn and Smokepurrp.
As an artist, Truly confesses that for him, working with and learning from other artists is one of the most important aspects to making music. This is evident from Truly’s many collab projects with rising stars of the music world, including Keshawn, who features on many of Truly’s singles, as well as cri$py on ‘Sounds From The Town’ and more recently Jeleel! (the rapper behind the hit ‘Dive In!’).
Acknowledging his collaborators for their awesome work, Truly gives a shout out to Joe “Papa” Don, a sound engineer who has worked with him through the years, and who recently moved to Atlanta to be part of the acclaimed Generation Now label whose clients include rappers like Seddy Hendrix, Jack Harlow and Lil Uzi Vert. Truly likewise credits video pro Seth Ondrick of SonFilms as well as photographer Side Show for going the distance in putting together the captivating visuals and seamless video track for his highly successful ‘Sacrifices’, as well as the to-be-dropped video for ‘Smith & Wesson’.
The gifted David Crisp, aka cri$py, the other lead artist on the album ‘Sounds From The Town’ has built up a fan following, as much for his musical output as for his skills on the basketball court. cri$py alternates his time between producing drip music and playing professionally for the Ballarat Miners’ basketball team in Victoria, Australia. ‘Sounds From The Town’ also features vocal artists Chloe Short and Quese.
With the buzz surrounding Truly & cri$py’s upcoming video drop and Truly’s recently released ‘Protect Your Energy’, there’s little doubt that these artists are well on their way to being the next big noise on the rap scene. Stay updated by subscribing to the artist’s YouTube channel TrulyVEVO, stream him on Spotify and chillax!
