SweatBox Productions' artist, James Crawford, is an ordinary guy with extraordinary perspectives. Not one for flashy clothes and platinum chains, he focuses on his message more than his image. He loves what he does, and he does it well.
James Crawford began writing lyrics and freestyling with his friends, Loo-E and Taz, circa 1995. Using the instrumentals from Maxi-Singles, and looping breaks from their favorite tapes, they were able to construct crude soundscapes to rhyme over. Eventually they were able to get their hands on some low-level equipment and started making no-budget garage tapes for fun. They'd pass out copies of these tapes to anyone who wanted them as a way of gaining recognition in the neighborhood.
As time went on, James kept building with his poetry and mastering language. Realizing breaking laws wasn't his forte, he started seeing his music as a positive alternative. He experimented with different rhyme schemes and patterns, and developed impeccable rhythm with his speech. He observed the world around him and drew in tremendous amounts of information and influences, growing in leaps and bounds mentally.
While still in school, he began to see the bigger picture of his situation, and noticed a lot of fake and misguided people around him caught up in trivial pursuits of meaningless ends. He swore to himself to always stay rooted in reality, and maintain honesty and integrity in his music.
James purchased entry level production gear and began putting together beats using the money made from pouring concrete and making pizzas. In 1999 he fused his talents of wordplay and production and produced a few amateur demo tapes. In 2001, feeling restless after little networking and progress, he decided to enlist in the military as a way to expand his horizons and make a decent paycheck. He was able to get in contact with other artists from across the country and let his creativity soar.
In 2003 he completed his first full length LP, "Metaphysiks", under the moniker Rationale. He handled the bulk of the production, but also used tracks from DJ JB and Shawn Lov. Recorded at Sound Logic Studios in Spokane, "Metaphysiks" is regarded as a collection of raw battle rhymes and punchlines. On the song "Don't Blink" he spits: "Crushin punks with my strategy of masterfullly/ rhymin while my colleagues are busy with stacking cheese/ avidly, attackin and sackin it to waq emcess/ with words they can't grasp like I was rappin in japanese", and "I'd still be ill and volatile by any other name/ cause I win, train, and win it alone like Clubber Lang". On the song "Trust You" he gives an account of past relationships gone bad: "It's all for you, so I'ma talk to you/ tomorrow when call you about this weekend and all that you wanna do/ it's all on you, or maybe we can go/ catch a movie like you and the dude I caught you with two weeks ago/ in the mall, yeah, I know he's your friend and all/ so even he can go, shit, I wouldn't want to piss his off".
The next two years would be a period of extensive growth, both personally and musically. In 2005, after several deployments and much labor, he released his second LP, "Life As An M.C.", again under the name Rationale. This time around James was responsible for everything from production, to engineering, to recording, all within his home studio--The SweatBox. Moe from Represent That Records sang choruses on three tracks. LAMC is an album of a different direction and different calibre than James Crawford's previous effort. He shows a more personal and reflective facet of his life and his ambitions, with emotions ranging from joy on the upbeat single "In Motion", to anger and despair on "Trapt", to melancholic on "Impel", to uplifting on "Enhance". "Life As An M.C." is definite proof of one man's talent, drive, and dedication.
In 2006, he officially founded his company SweatBox Productions, and launched SweatBoxProductions.Net soon after. In early 2007 he released "Fugyous, Vol. One", a mixtape of released and unreleased material, as a way of showcasing his abilities to new audiences. Fugyous features material from his previous two LP's along with a few freestyle tracks.
James Crawford is currently working on his next LP as yet untitled, but scheduled to be released late 2007. He maintains and updates his website with new material periodically and is leisurely assembling a curriculum of links and documents as way of giving fans a glimpse of his perspective. He offers beats for sale and customized production service, and has worked with a variety of artists including Chief of Represent That Records. He's also looking for talented artists to work with and accepts demos electronically through his A&R department at [email protected]. He can be contacted at [email protected] or through his myspace page: www.myspace.com/jamescrawfordsweatbox.
