Crisis Center

These guys have decided not to start from the ground up, but rather to jump in at the middle. From their lyrics to their marketing, they are serious about the business of Hip-Hop.Their metaphorical lyrics keep your brain active while the sharp production keeps you nodding your head.At this rate, we'll be seeing them on top soon - Gida

Undefined and Concept are students of the rap game. They grew up on rappers from the old school and studied the business from all aspects: writing, rapping and producing. These two artists are not amateurs. They know of which they speak and together as members of Crisis Center Productions (CCP), they are turning the rap industry on its ear. Tired of the new bling bling, booty girl shaking rap presented on MTV, the duo have taken the art form back to its roots of battle raps and real stories. The rap game is in a crisis, but CCP could be just what the doctor ordered.

The duo has released an eight-track CD with three original songs, each with clean and dirty versions for your listening pleasure. The top track, The Hurt, gets an extra clean version without an opening intro an instrumental version. Yo, I don't need but one verse to show rappers up/I'm like surgical enhancement/I blow rappers up. One verse is all they needed to show what this group is about. These guys are awesome battle rappers who can definitely string rhymes and make words hurt worse than sticks and stones. They are not content with being second best and all other rappers are on notice (Because before they heard me, they swore you were hot.)

It is in their second song, Trick Photography, that the duo truly show how good they are. Kids yelling thug/ain't never raised a fist/kids think it's love/start claiming that their pissed/Never held a gun/next day their filling clips/10 years in the game/and I ain't never seen no crys/Never iced my wrists/never froze a chain/face a 1000 kids/never flowed the same/fuck politics/what's that got to do with rap/a battle based on skill/what that got to do with crack/Before you even try to get the idea off your breath/vultures in the sky gonna bite that shit to death/Rappers should confess/you ain't never touched a pen/someone else wrote your shit/Your ass should never breathe again. This song contains awesome underground beats with a killer set of rhymes attacking how bad the rap industry has gotten over the years. Everything is just a trick, a photograph that doesn't truly tell the whole story.

All I Hear Is, the final track, continues this trend of attacking the industry, discussing the comments made famous by rappers, like how much money they had and how many booty girls they get. CCP doesn't buy this jibber jabber and address these boasts with some strong, intelligent words that you don't often hear on Hot 97 or Power 105, here in New York. CCP reminds me very much of Mike Control, a great underground rap act with grand potential taking the rap game by storm and creating crisis for mainstream acts who thought they were the end all and be all of rap. You're not; groups like Mike Control and CCP are bring rap back to its good old days, making rap meaningful once more.
- Jon Minners

New York, the first true breading ground for emcees. Known for hard beats and harder lyrics, the "Big Apple" just seems to find talent in every nook and crany. And find talent it did when the duo, Crisis Center Productions first touched the mic & boards. Their most recent release "Crisis Center productions Volume 1" shows off just how lyrically and overall supeirior these guys are to most underground cats in the game.

Your hit first with "The Hurt", an up-tempo, in your face bangin track with Undefined spittin off rapid fire rhymes that would make Eminem think twice about battlin. "Trick Photography" is a more unique styles track. The stripped down cut shows that all you need is a turntable and a mic to make hip-hop sound good. The last cut "All I Hear Is" features Dase and Maxamillion Steele, is another unique track. Nothing you'd hear on ya radio dial or catch on MTV and thats the reason its so good. It challenges the standard shit that we've been plauged with for the past couple years in hip-hop. With a keyboard background and DJ Concept on the 1's and 2's its a track that cant be ignored.

With Undefined poppin off rhymes that would make the likes of Jay-Z and Ja Rule envious and jealous, adn DJ Concept spinnin & scatchin some of the illest beats, these guys will have an impact on the game real soon. If your in the NYC area check for em cuz CCP is known for their live, off the hook stage shows. And make sure you cop a cd, tape, 12" whatever you can of these guys, you'll know why you dropped that loot.
- Bonez

"The Hurt" starts with this random 50's game show host-sounding man singing, "I grow cold, I grow weeeaaaary and I knooooow I have sinned. And I go seeking shelteeer and I cryyyy in the wind..." This intro gives foresight into the song's theme which basically tells sucka emcees to go home and quit the game b/c Crisis Center is here to remedy the situation of wack rappers. Then Undefined and DJ Concept drop a fast beat, complete with a syncopated bass line and a 60's sounding whistle sample. The songs is basically a battle rap talking about their skills. Usually I get turned off by the rappers who talk solely about how everyone else sucks and how they can rip the mic, but Crisis Center pulls it off well. I'ma spit just one verse/destroy your LP/have you up in Crisis Center like/"Can you help me" Towards the end, they juxtapose quotes and samples with some scratching and result is a well-rounded package. The biggest highlight is the production; it's obvious CCP has been in the game for a minute and they know how to drop a tightly produced track. - Michelle

A three track 12" containing dirty and clean mixes of "The Hurt", "Trick Photography" and "All I Hear Is". "The Hurt" is a fast paced headtrip, as Undefined rips the microphone up over a neck-snapping beat by Undefined. The little Mad Skillz samples only add to the fun. "Trick Photography" is uncannily Dr Dre-ish, right down to the sing-song chorus, while "All I Hear Is" is a rant on the bullshit commercialism plaguing Hiphop today. This latter cut really impresses, as Undefined is joined by Dase and Maximillian Steele to condemn the bling-bling culture. The emcees are hardcore, the beat is hardcore, the cuts by Concept are dope... what more do you want? If this is the standard of things to come, then look for Crisis Center to blowup soon - A to the L

This is a superb 12"with some hefty skills.The Hurt produced by Undefined,sees intricate flows and tight rapping alongside some fast cutting by DJ Concept.Other tracks included the heavy All I Hear Is and Trick Photography.This is a 12" that DJ's should get. - Tricksta

Next comes the self contained label, productions crew, artist Crisis Center Productions delivering Volume 1. The three song effort makes me proud to know underground will never fade. The stand out song that will immediately garner college radio support, "The Hurt" mixes, a little of Dj Premier's creative scratches with a harder edge version of Mobb Deep style production, add in a vocal comparison to Everlast, for a very good combination to see some success. The B-side "Trick Photography" and "All I hear is" will be way to intricate for the average rap listener, visit them on the web, www.crisiscenterpro.com.
- Dj Rhythm

In the day and age where everyone and their mother can record a record, it is a pleasure to throw a 12" on from an independant label and hear professionally recorded tracks. This fact, combined with the enticing and unique beats strung together by Undefined make "The Hurt" a surpisingly hot single. Unafraid to call a spade a spade, MC Undefined Christ of Rhyme (strange ass name!) comes through on the B-side track All I Hear in a sharp criticism of mainstream hip hop music. But it is The Hurt that really makes this release what it is: a strong start from an up-and-coming NY crew.
- Staff

Another strong debut single reaches the tables of Spine - and these guys have certainly laid down the goods. This 3 track 12" certainly looks impressive first glance (the black and white photography and the overall design of the cover was dope) - and your ears are also rewarded when you put the needle to the groove.

On 'The Hurt', Undefined's beat goes hand-in-hand with his hard lyrics and DJ Concept's cuts round off things nicely. 'The Hurt' is the strongest of the three cuts and probably the one that'll catch your attention - the pounding drum track works wonders.
'Trick Photography' is kinda smooth and the ever-popular dismissive lyrics on 'All I Hear Is' will ring true to many heads out there listening in. It's funny though, because I felt that the beats on this track would draw in fans of the more commercial styles while the lyrics would repel them... Ironic!

Overall, a pretty tight effort with a little of the mainstream sound but coming from the underground. Not bad at all - give it a shot.
- Chris A