About Cruse Entertainment, St. Louis HIp-Hop and R & B
Artist and Cruse Entertainment President In a style often obsessed with materialism and status, the phrase “We Made It” may bring to mind the luxurious and conventional success bragged about monotonously in hip-hop songs worldwide. For St. Louis entrepreneur Rob Cruse, the words carry a different message. “It means that we made it from the streets where we grew up,” Cruse says. “Now I can make music and I don’t to the things I used to have to do just to get by.”
Along the road to becoming a hip-hop artist, producer, and budding industry mogul, Cruse worked the St. Louis scene from the inside as an artist manager and show promoter. All his past experiences make up the inspiration for We Made It Volume One, the debut mixtape from Cruse Entertainment.
“I like to write about experience,” Cruse says. “That’s the most important thing: to be honest about what I do or what I’ve done in the past as opposed to just saying what I think other people want to hear. I want people to hear my music and know it’s me.”
We Made It is bursting with ideas; all while avoiding the lazy clichés all too common in mainstream rap; the mixtape offers more variety in its running time than you’re likely to hear in a full day on popular radio. Cruse’s laid back raps are front and center on the hard-hitting club jams like “It’s Goin Down” and “Hooked”. The disc takes a seductive turn on “Secrets”, where Cruse’s sensual phrasing mate is a smooth acoustic guitar and vintage drums, giving birth to the sexiest hip-hop track since Kanye, Twista, and Jamie Foxx made “Slow Jamz”.
Although the record is a showcase for his many abilities, We Made It is not entirely the Rob Cruse show. The mixtape is packed with cameos from other Cruse Entertainment artists like 17 year old phenom J Bank, who shines on anthems “Better” “It’s My Tyme” and “Swag Season.” Beasy B lends his confident delivery to the banging title track “We Made I”, and Young Sicc’s exciting cameo on “Hooked” is the perfect counterpoint to Cruse’s chill verses. Sicc’s solo contributions “Givin Up” and “Like Me” prove he is more than capable of taking the lead, while similar raspy-voiced MCs have to settle as hype-men.
With so many talents on his roster, it’s no wonder Cruse wants to push his whole crew with his first release instead of dropping a series of solo albums. What is shocking is his attitude towards the major label driven industry. “Right now, the goal is to stay independent regardless of what happens,” Cruse says. He cites indie-rapper Tech N9ne’s career as an influence and adheres to P. Diddy’s “never sleep” philosophy. With We Made It, all his hard work pays off. He has a unique style, mad production team, a solid crew, and one hell of a mixtape to his name and in his mind, he’s already made it.