Music
The 6 Malaysian Hip Hop Crews You Need To Know
Your cred’s only as good as your crew. Here are some local crews you have to check out.
Crews are an essential part of the hip hop experience. Most hip hop artistes worth their salt have a crew to back them up. An artiste’s crew acts as a petri dish for germinating ideas, collaborations and rhymes. It’s what hip hop is all about. A solid crew can really move and shake the scene. Just look at Odd Future.
It’s no different here in the hot and humid Malaysian hip hop scene. But do you know the main crews that rock the scene in these parts? We list a few essential ones to get you started.
Karmal in action
© FlowFam XXII
FlowFam XXII
22s Up! Once known as Flow Familia, FlowFam XXII is a collective that sprouted from a tight community of friends. Fronted by the likes of Karmal, SonaOne, Hunny Madu and many more, the collective was formed in 2004 and has since gone regional, with members hailing from Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.
Cool Crew Fact: SonaOne is a member of FlowFam XXII despite being signed to Kartel Records.
Straight out of Batu Caves
© The Bat Cave
The Bat Cave
This Bat Cave’s way hipper than Batman’s. The Bat Cave’s origins can be traced back to 2010. With two mixtapes and a host of releases by artists under their label Kelawar Records, the group has enough walk to match their talk. The collective cites Wu Tang and Jurassic 5 as inspirations. These guys have big dreams and big hearts.
Cool Crew Fact: The collective was born out of a lo-fi studio in Batu Caves, hence the collective’s name.
Rogue Squadron members Krayziesoundz
© Rogue Squadron
Rogue Squadron
This one’s likely the largest collective of the lot, given there are multiple crews within this crew. Rogue Squadron boasts a wide span, with their collective featuring not just MCs and beat makers but also writers, graphic designers and photographers. The crew is putting the finishing touches to an album titled, Rogue State Vol.1 that is entirely produced by The Rebel Scum's (also a member of the crew) MicWrecka.
Cool Crew Fact: The Bat Cave is also a part of Rogue Squadron, hence the massive size of the collective.
Joe Flizzow
© Kartel Records
Kartel
Kartel’s the big daddy of the bunch – the one with the cred and the stars. Bankrolled by Malaysian hip hop elder statesman Joe Flizzow, the Kartel collective is built around its label Kartel Records also features the popular big time MCs such as Altimet, SonaOne and DJ Biggie.
Cool Crew Fact: Kartel Records also has extensions in music publishing, music advertising, TV shows… everything and the kitchen sink.
The new kids on the block
© Lawalah Familia
Lawalah Familia
Having been in the local seen for only 2 years, Lawalah Familia’s rise through the local hip-hop ranks has been nothing short of meteoric. Their mixtape Ramai Lagi Lawa has garnered plenty of cred and traction among local hip-hop connoisseurs.
Cool Crew Fact: The crew has a Borneo affiliate called Lawalah Borneo. It is led by Benzooloo. A lot of the affiliate's work such as this can be found on Youtube.
DJ Fuzz
© Mixology Music
Mixology
The Mixology collective is built around its label of the same name. The crew was formed by DJ Fuzz of the Teh Tarik Crew – the godfather of blending ethnic elements with hip hop. The collective consists of artists such as W.A.R.I.S, Iwere and of course Fuzz himself.
Cool Crew Fact: Fuzz can also add author to his long list of credentials, having written a book titled The Way of the DJ.