"When the Beast is in the house... OMG!" - cleverly taken from 90’s hip hop duo Blahzay Blahzay, DJ CR has been a part of the New England hip hop scene for some time. Being a Massachusetts native, I remember spending a lot of my early 20’s, rolling down to RI, bumping WRIU with Mekalek and Joey Wonk behind the decks. Most times we’d be heading down to check out the likes of Swann Notty and Big Chach at the Living Room, Forbidden Formula at the Century Lounge or Time Machine at the Met Café. My first encounter with DJ CR was at his recording studio, set up in a storefront on the corner of Washington and Mathewson, two doors down from the "studio bathroom" inside Blake’s Tavern. The man behind CNj Records, CR put out the likes of Roolette, Swann Notty, Jinsu, Prospect Heights, Chachi, Forbidden Formula, and a slew of others.
Six years later, CR is still busy as ever. No longer running CNj Records, CR decided to get back behind the tables, and work his way to "RI’s #1 Club DJ." Earlier this year, DJ CR released "MJ3: Fade to Jack" which mashed up some of MJ’s biggest hits, to the production of Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3. DJ CR has gone on to share the stage with legends like the Wu-Tang Clan, Jadakiss, DJ Premier, Joell Ortiz, Keith Murray,and many other mainstream/underground acts . In addition, CR’s also worked behind the scenes, helping push brands like Scion, Ecko, and the New England Patriots through countless mixtapes and events.
In addition to MJ3, DJ CR released "Soldiers of the Scene" which as he puts it is a "compilation of lost tracks from the greatest hip hop label that never happened" which features a remix of Rhode Island, by fellow fan of RI and New England emcee Apathy, who’s a member of both Demigodz & Army of the Pharaohs. The remix features classic production from some of the best tracks to come out of CNj Records. Click here for the free download:
Download - RI's Golden Era RMX by CR the Beast
CR’s next gig will be at Jerky’s on March 12th, while he provides the sounds for Wu-Tang’s own Inspectah Deck. For more exclusive content and free downloads, be sure to visit his blog at www.crthebeast.com
