Original, inspiring, evocative and remaining true to the grit and grime of the trenches in the underground hip hop scene, Moonshine Kru is ready to rise above and reach out to the "heads" in Canada and beyond. This Kru has put in blood, sweat, tears and years producing their own "Shine Music", bringing listeners to a higher level of appreciation and greater understanding for their love of the music. These soldiers spit raw truth. Moonshine Kru keeps it real for the real, on the real.
MOONSHINE's REVIEWS
Uptown Magazine
Angelou J. Flores
Out Of The Shadows
Moonshine Kru is breaking down doors with Eclipse..Peg City has our crew hungry!.. So says K-Rup$on, one of the founders of the south Winnipeg-based rap group known as Moonshine Kru.
..If half of y..all knew the half of some of the acts in Peg City you would be supporting the scene more. But as long as the public doesn..t see the half, the longer we will be hungry to show and prove to them that we got talent as good as any other city in Canada...
Along with co-founder Buzzmad, Bobby Dread, Jah D and Krooked Eye, K-Rup will be displaying some of that hunger at the end of the month with a release party for the Kru..s sophomore album, ..Eclipse...
....Eclipse.. is metaphorical for the world being covered in a blanket; the moon casting its shadow. And fuckin.. up the whole scene is the release of our CD. It..s the eclipse from the Moonshine Kru for 2K3. Heads ain..t ready...
The sessions for the group..s debut, ..Intastella.., took place between 1999 and 2000 but didn..t see the light of day until January 2001. It had come after K-Rup .. the group..s main producer .. amassed a studio setup to replace the inadequate equipment they first cut their teeth on.
..We were actually recording tracks using a dual cassette player and a set of headphones as a mic...
Moonshine Kru was able to move 500 units of ..Intastella.. locally .. not impossible in one..s home town, but pushing product in other markets is another thing. Many rap acts can claim success in their own area but are unable to translate those numbers outside their region, but Moonshine Kru has it covered.
..That..s simple,.. says K-Rup of the group..s plan. ..Organisation between our crew, putting in solid work, day in day out, getting in people..s faces with promotional flyers, stickers, Cds.. whatever it takes. But the biggest thing is attitude and presentation and, last but not least, quality of music. With all this in place, all it..s gonna take is dedication, patience and the right set of ears to hear it. How do we break down doors? We kick ..em in...
After releasing ..Eclipse.. locally, the group plans to expand west by hitting key markets from here to Vancouver.
..Basically, we are going out into the battlefield and expanding our network...
They describe their weapons of choice as ..straight street style with many different flos that touch out to all crowds of peeps... The wielders of the ..dungeon style.. .. forged, appropriately enough, in a studio they call The Dungeon .. are also backed by a supporting cast. Kulta Ights, Dre Dub and DJ Combo also appear on ..Eclipse...
..Basically, every CD we dropped was like this. Whoever was able to put in work did. So who knows who will even be on the next one...
Stylus Magazine
Jordan Chalifoux
MOONSHINE KRU
Eclipse
How you mean? How you mean Moonshine Kru, got beats, got lyrics, got skills. This five-member outfit released ..Eclipse.., an album, which defies the borders of the Winnipeg hip hop structure. Jah-D, K-Rup and Bobby Dread lay beat patterns, which boasts a pallet of sound effects, but minimal cuts. Minus the cuts, but back the hook .. that is the route the Moonshine Kru took for the ..Eclipse.. album. ..At The Top.. is one ill track that is programmed to perfection. Lyrically, Moonshine Kru comes at the listener with De la Hoya..s speed and Tyson..s power. This album is lyrically hard, which could put a cramp in the airplay coverage that the Moonshine Kru should receive. ..Lights Camera Actin.. comes on task, clean and tight. This is a battle track, which is directed to ..bitch emcees.. who apparently have no names. This track would sound good at high speeds in downtown traffic during rush hour. Wait .. that doesn..t work, like ..Lights Camera Actin.. .. it..s produced nice, but lyrically redundant.. rhyme patterns galore, but no clear direction. This comes up again in ..Toe to Toe.., a track that could go much further if the angry rappers would tell me the story of their anger. ..Tito.. starts off strong in the lyrical department due to Moonshine Kru expanding their platter of verses. Beat construction is great on ..Tito..; think Spanish chords and space keys. Appearances by Kulta Ighjt, Sahara McDonald and Dre Dub, only make the ..Eclipse.. album stronger. Krooked Eye and Buzzmad make the two fifths of the Moonshine Kru, which released ..Eclipse.. on Sure Shot Records, a Winnipeg label. Final words on ..Eclipse..; a la Wu-Tang: Like a 27-inch Zenith, believe it.
Winnipeg Sun
Moon Shine Kru
Eclipse
129 Street Produktionz
You cant complain about not getting your moneys worth from Moon Shine Kru their album ..Eclipse.. boasts 21 tracks that last a ful 75 minutes. Fortunately, this tough-talking hip-hop outfit possesses nearly as much mad skills as material. Generating maximum output from minimal investment, these street-level cuts combine basic, swaggering beats, circular arrangements and simple synth lines into tracks that RZA wouldn..t be ashamed to claim as his own. Meanwhile, the members of this gruff, rough n.. tough fhyme syndicate trade off on the mic, offereing plenty of the expected braggadocio between the strong singalong choruses. If you..re squeamish about profanity, sexism and other gangsta-rap topics, keep your distance. But if you..re looking for a strong shot of 100-proof rap that goes down smooth, Moon Shine might made to order.
Wutz-Up Magazine
November 2003
In 1994 K-Rupson (Jason Russell) and Buzzmad (Ian Nurse) formed the Moonshine Kru. The two members attended the same high school in Winnipeg and found a common bond through their mutual love for the art of Hip Hop music. The two members, originally started recording through headphones on a two tape deck, but gradually began improving their individual skills.
K-Rup mastered digital production and recording with Buzzmad developing his mic skills through rigorous discipline and dedication. At this point the group was two MC..s and a producer in one. Enter ..Bobby Dread.. (Rob Hyman) a crucial MC with intense mic skills, a raw zeal for the truth, he..s relentless on a track This was 1997. A fourth member soon found his way on deck.
This was Krooked Eye (Curt Evans). Krooked originally attended the same school as the 2 original members and met while playing B-Ball. The rest is history. This MC is dope, a diamond in the roughest mold, a bomb mixtre of foreign and yardie (Jamaican).
The collective of all 4 poetics took up the journey to make true and natural music from the heart ignoring all the noise from other local groups and crews, while concentrating on a distinguishable sound all their own, a sound we call Shine music. The group worked day and night recording countless tracks while doing the little gigs here and there. This period produced the album ..Intastella.., the crew..s first effort release primarily in the local market through independent means. This album is a new philosophical gem demonstrating the conviction of the group through ill magnetic, hypnotic beats and rhymes driven with pure passion ..it is definitely one to own... The final member of the Kru joined in the year 2000, this member, Jah D; a.k.a. Howie Money (Howie Hyman) was a former member of the Frek Sho and also the brother of Bobby Dread. This MC/Producer is as versatile as he is talented. He..s a man of passion and drive. With all the pieces in place this unique collection of Canadian, Trini, Jamaica..s have worked hard even harder and harder and have dedicated themselves to mastering their unique flow. Shine music: a sound that cannot be duplicated, which will definitely be highly demanded.
The Moonshine Kru has released two albums, ..Intastella.. and ..Eclipse.., and has been performing regularly for the past year. They have also performed at several of the Peg City Holla events and have just recently opened for G-Depp.
