Guy Lochhead, 10/03/12
Short-lived South Bronx rap crew who released one album, Da Dirty 30, in 1997. The group pulled together sounds from the various subgenres of the time – hardcore, g-funk whines, RZA atmospherics, unfunny skits and pass-the-mic crew jams – onto a thirty track LP that seems to have exhausted them of ideas; they never appeared again. An album this long is invariably patchy. When Cru pulls together, it can be as exciting as Wu Tang, but most of the time it’s a bit weak. The production (all in-house) is often pretty interesting, but the lyrics frequently let it down. Also, they’re often overshadowed by their guests. Finally, the skits are sexist and stupid.