Born and Raised in Inglewood, California, Chris Thomson aka Krucial Styles possesses talent that defies the usual MC that comes up on the Westcoast. He has charisma and a strong stage presence, combined with his ability to craft metaphorical stories about a wide array of subjects. He's described as the not so typical white artist, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Krucial was the minority within his environment and has struggled to fit in on either side of the tracks. At an early age Krucial turned to Hip-Hop for inspiration and an outlet to express him-self.
While going through high school challenges he hooked up with a kid called Phil from Philadelphia and they hung out in the streets and partied and put down some freestyle raps together. From there the two began writing lyrics and rapping together, and it was on a trip back to Philly with Phil that he realized that writing and rapping gave him an outlet to express his emotions and release his anger and frustrations of his youth.

It wasn’t until the December of 2004, after his father had committed suicide, that rap became a serious part of Krucial’s life as it is today. It was from this tragedy that he has gained the experience of releasing his pain through the pen instead of a knife or a gun. His father shot himself only a few months after Krucial himself had been hospitalized on a 72-hour lockdown for trying to commit suicide and this wasn’t the first or last time he tried that. In the track "Outta Control" we have below, he refers to this traumatic time in his life; "I ain’t never gonna fall ball up and die, commit suicide and don’t tell nobody why, I’m much smarter much wiser, I’m not trying to go out like my father"

He started showcasing and doing battle raps in the summer of 2005 with a couple of friends and from this he was picked up by an independent producer Greg Smith [Big "G" Smith] who became a strong male influence in his life at a time when he most needed it. Krucial tells us that Greg spent over a year mentoring him, and taming some of that anger behind the mic.

Now in 2007 having already released his solo debut album "Outta Control", Krucial has built upon its local success and is ready to progress further and as such has been working with a variety of talented artists and producers on the West Coast.

His aforementioned debut solo album, "Outta Control," was released independently in January of this year and produced entirely by Big "G" Smith [Greg Smith of Music Star Matrix in Long Beach, Ca.], when asked about the album Krucial Styles refers to it as "my entry project for Rap University." Krucial Styles - Outta Control (Feat. Cameron)

Since this release he has been busy recording new material and is working hard to succeed. As he acknowledges, L.A. is a tough place to break out; "In Los Angeles everyone wants to be famous, and music is no different from the Hollywood movie scene, there’s a lot of good competition and a lot of wannabees. My philosophy is to just keep rolling, get back up when I fall, learn through networking with others in the business and to keep it real".

With that industry and networking attitude Krucial has already lined up Cashis from Shady Records and Producer Rikannatti for the track "Imma Ryda", also producer Dem Jointz for his latest single "Sip it Slow" featuring Bangloose The single "Sip it Slow" has a campaign is in place to get local and national Radio play. This track is set to follow on from the radio success of the two of Bangloose's singles "Greygoose" and "Rated R" also produced by Dem Jointz.

His networking has also lead to collaborations with more artists that are contributing to his currently in-progress sophomore album "It's Krucial"

G-Unit member Spider Loc recently got in the studio to write and record with Krucial and it left a positive impression on him; "I worked on a track with Spider Loc, I really appreciated the way we sat down and collaborated on the writing, he actually took the time to work toward my style and made me feel comfortable."

His local shows and promoting led to a fellow Inglewood artist K-Active who has got him involved with Killa Krock, and Problem as well as the clothing company Blu Leaf, which has given him sponsorship to help promote the LA and West Coast T-Shirt line. He is also involved in a concert series for inner city youth entitled "Lyrically Lyfted." Krucial Styles performed live at the opening on October 13th 2007 at the Hollywood Musicians Institute.

As well as the aforementioned relationship with Bangloose and producer Dem Jointz, which is set to produce more music, he has also linked up with Eminem's protégé Cashis. The Shady Records signee recorded a verse at Krucial's home studio. Krucial says, "Cashis was really down to earth. I like his lyrical style, to me he sounds a lot like Proof," The track "Imma Ryda" is a result of the collaboration and also features the aforementioned Inglewood native K-Aktive - all delivering over a production by Cashis' Renegadez companion Rikannatti. The plan is to record together again this year should schedules allow.

When asked why he feels his music should be listened to over someone else's Krucial explained; "'Cause I am diverse and relative, I am young and fresh, my flows change up, and I can relate emotionally to people even those that wouldn’t usually listen to Hip Hop. So basically I feel I can cross over to incorporate a larger audience. My name says it all, Krucial cause rap is crucial to my survival, and I am crucial to the game - or will be soon - and Styles cause I have style in my lyrics and swagger. I am a westcoast artist cause I grew up here, but my style can go Eastcoast and all the way to the South.

This artist has a strong foundation for the road ahead. This attitude and self belief has given Krucial Styles a head start in the industry and his realization that the music business has to be seen as a life long career and not as a hobby seems to hold him in good stead. Stay on the look out for more news and media about Krucial Styles and don't forget to check out his official MySpace page www.myspace.com/krucialstyles updated frequently with news, links to other sites, and upcoming releases and events.

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