The year was 1999 when Tyson Crookmind found himself in prison for a plethora of charges as he started to make a push in music.
“I went in initially for a robbery and kidnapping,” he told HipHopDX over the phone. “When I was in there a year and a half into my sentence, they claimed and filed a cold-case against me for murder. Then they mysteriously found a knife in my cell. Then I’m in court not only for a murder, but for having a weapon by an inmate, which is a strikeable offense. My attorney was like I’m only 21-years-old and that I should take the charge, so I did. At one point in time, I never thought I would never get out and have an opportunity to make music.”
Before spending a significant amount of time traveling to nearly half of California’s correctional facilities from LA County Jail to San Luis Obispo, he’d only recorded a few times and freestyled for the homies on his block. With the time on his hands, he started to write rhymes often.
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“There, I had all the time in the world to sit down and really think about what I wanted to say, but I also had some experiences to talk about,” Crookmind said. “So, I just started writing about shit that was going on around me. Next thing you know, my freestyles sort of fell off and my writing game stepped up. Every day I wrote a song. That’s how that started and evolved. I recorded music from my cell phone around 50 or so songs and would send it to the homie.”
A week after being released in November 2015, he started to hit various recording studios to start his music career again. His younger brother had close ties to YG and DJ Mustard affiliate and current Interscope A&R Pusha Rod who found himself impressed with his musical output. Alongside tracks like “Trapped In,” Crookmind started to catch a local buzz with “Keep It Cherry (Cherry VSOP).”
“They heard ‘Keep It Cherry’ and suggested I get a good feature to go with it,” he said. “I didn’t know anybody and I met Joe Moses at the park actually and he thought it was hard. Next day, we were in the studio.”
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DX premiered the video for “Keep It Cherry” today (January 13), which is set to appear on his upcoming Free The Real debut that should be out by the end of the month. The project should serve as a new beginning for someone whose start was derailed by past mistakes.
“Before I went to jail, I thought I knew everything,” he said. “Throughout the duration of my stay, I realized that I don’t know shit at all. I’m learning every day and to have the opportunity to appreciate my freedom is everything. Now, I’m into something better and appreciate this shit.”
Watch the video for “Trapped In” below.
