April 23, 2018

CRYSTAL CAINES: YOUR NEXT FAVORITE HIP-HOP PRODUCER

Harlem-native and triple threat Crystal Caines has been making music since she was 16, and when she finally stepped onto the mainstream music production scene in 2014, her intense, slowed-down beats immediately made heads turn. She’s not only a producer but also a rapper and a sound engineer. Crystal Caines released her debut single, “Whiteline,” in 2014, featuring fellow Harlem rapper A$AP Ferg.

Caines and Ferg grew up in the same neighborhood, and their shared musical creativity brought the two together. In an interview with HipHopDX, Crystal Caines explained that she had “been working on music since I was 16 and Ferg would come to the studio for my sessions because he was more focused on clothing at that point.” Once A$AP Ferg “got that opportunity from Rocky, he reached out to me to help him with recording. Together we made ‘Work,’ ‘Shabba’ and majority of his first album Trap Lord.” In January of 2017, the Harlem duo came together again on Caine’s “Run With Me.”

In a video interview (above) with BET Network, Crystal Caines sits at the mixing board with confidence and power. Perhaps Caines found that power from her community and culture in Harlem. She explains, “there was really no women that came out of Harlem. We had Dispet, we had Mase, we had Cam, and we had a lot of teams that made it look cool to actually be from Harlem, to be flashy, and I just feel like I just gotta follow up with the flashiness really.”

Crystal Caines embodies the spirit of Harlem through her beats and her flow. Her success has led her to produce for hip-hop names such as Smoke DZA, BbyMutha and BIA, and she does not seem to be slowing down any time soon.

You can find Crystal Caines’ music here: Spotify / Soundcloud / Youtube