J.C. Crew was a hip-hop trio that was a one-and-done situation. They released Serious Bizness on Pakaderm/Word (with mainstream distribution through Epic) in 1991, and then more or less disappeared. Nevertheless, there are a few notable things about the project.
The album features a danceable, funky style of hip-hop that was common at the time, meant to rock the party. However, the rapping was actually quite good too. One of the members, Maximillian later released album Deeper than Most through N-Soul in 1997, after a season with T-Bone’s Organized Rhyme Crew. Member Dave Kerby formed his own A&R company, who also worked with T-Bone as well as M.C. Dash. Unfortunately, I have no information on third member Kenny Dingler or where he ended up.
Another surprise (that I just learned while writing this piece) was that the surprising producer of the album was none other than Bongo Bob Smith, the Sacramento-based producer who worked with a plethora of Christian alternative artists from the Sacramento scene, including the Seventy Sevens, Steve Scott, Charlie Peacock and Robert Vaughn. In fact, Smith actually wrote one of the Seventy SEvens’ most well-known and well-loved ‘hits,’ “MT.” What’s even more astounding is Smith’s lengthy list of credits, which includes work from artists as diverse as Whitney Houston, Joe Satriani, Narada, and literally dozens of others.
Let’s not get sidetracked by the producer here, as notable as that is. It’s tragic that Serious Bizness and J.C. Crew have not been remembered much in CCM history, as the album is a fun romp through early 90s hip-hop.