# A.J. Crew

A.J. Crew is an American Hip-Hop artist and producer, born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. He is known for his work with Skhye Hutch, Naledge (of Kidz in the Hall fame) and charitable efforts towards furthering Sickle Cell Anemia research. He previously attended Columbia College Chicago and Roosevelt University.

## Early life

Crew was born July 1, 1990, in Toledo, Ohio and grew up on the South End of the city. He was raised by his mother, attended E.L. Bowsher High School and graduated in the year 2008. It was then that he decided to move to Chicago, Illinois, to pursue music. He was diagnosed with sickle cell disease at age 8.

## Career

Crew started his career in 2009. Upon his arrival to Chicago, Illinois, he attended Columbia College Chicago where he met Austin Neely, and together they released a street album, "Nightmares & Daydreams". The album was released on September 1, 2009, via RubyHornet.com, Dope Couture and Soundscape Studios, with owner Michael Kolar serving as executive producer. The Chicago Reader featured a review of said album with Miles Raymer writing, "...on the album in question, Crew shows a lot of potentials - he's got a talent for punch lines and a way of mixing long lyrical with short chopped lines."
In 2009, He worked with Grammy award-winning Rhymefest on "Destiny & Desire", a song from his first mixtape, "Nightmares & Daydreams". On May 1, 2013, A.J. released "The Reality Of It All", The project features a collaboration with Naledge from the indie hip-hop duo, Kidz in the Hall, entitled, "Nah Mean?". In 2017, he was featured in The Thing I Am a hip-hop musical by Steve Bannon based on Shakespeare's Coriolanus and it was produced and realised by NowThis.
He was invited by Converse to record at OutKast’s legendary Stankonia Studios in Atlanta, Georgia as a part of their global Rubber Tracks initiative. One of the songs recorded during these sessions was "Vibes", a song that appears on his 2018 project "Excuses." The single was also released by Converse and Amoeba Music on 7" vinyls distributed at Amoeba Music in Hollywood, California during a show Crew performed at for the Converse Rubber Tracks campaign in 2016.
In 2018, he featured on Rafters by Clarence Clarity, the song was reviewed by Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop.

## Discography
### Albums

| Title | Album details |
| Nightmares & Daydreams | Label: self-released Released: September 1, 2009 Format: Digital download |
| Excuses | Label: self-released Released: February 16, 2018 Format: CD, Digital download, streaming |

### Singles

| Title | Album | Details |
| TxtMsgAlrt! Destiny & Desire (feat. Rhymefest) | Nightmares & Daydreams | Released: 2009 Format: Digital download |
| Nah Mean? (feat. Naledge) | The Reality of It All | Released: 2012 Format: Digital download |
| Don't Ask Me (Crafty) Y.F.U. (feat. G-Scott) | The Reality of It All | Released: 2013 Format: Digital download |
| Who Knew? | - | Released: 2014 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Young Santiago | - | Released: 2016 Format: Digital download, streaming Note: non-album single |
| The Word | Excuses. | Released: 2016 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Bout That You Ain't Coming Round Here | - | Released: 2017 Format: Digital download, streaming Note: non-album single |
| Have You Ever | Excuses. | Released: 2017 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Expensive (feat. Iridas) Long Hair Freestyle | Excuses. | Released: 2018 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Find Me The What Compassion All Yo Friends Chopped Send It Back Time Again What You Want 6pm in Santa Monica Floating Same Side Dreams Everything Same Wylin Psycho Man On God No One Cares (The World Could End) You’re Not Mine Weedz (feat. Nyaze Vincent) All the Power of the Sun Summertime (Demo) Ghost Me When I Die Flowers (feat. Kristofer Bryant) | | Released: 2019 Format: Digital download, streaming Note: non-album singles |

### Guest appearances

| Song title | Artist | Details |
| Never Gets Old - Rap Remix (feat. Allan Kingdom, Casey Veggies & A.J. Crew) | Penguin Prison | Label: Downtown Records Released: 2015 Format: CD, Digital download, streaming |
| Useless (feat. A.J. Crew) | ANGELZ | Label: self-released Released: 2015 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Don't Lie (feat. A.J. Crew & Troy Joe) | AR Ferdinand | Label: WUBADUBDUB Released: 2017 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Rafters (with A.J. Crew) | Clarence Clarity | Label: Deluxe Pain Released: 2018 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| You and Me (feat. A.J. Crew) | Pxy.Hwy | Label: self-released Released: 2019 Format: Digital download, streaming |
| 100k Bracelet (feat. A.J. Crew) | Carlos Figz | Label: self-released Released: 2019 Format: Digital download, streaming |

### Mixtapes

* The Reality Of It All

### EPs

* A

### Production discography

* Demarco Castle - "XL (Excel)" ("On The Road To Glory: My Story")

## Charity work

In February 2012, Crew launched a "Still Waiting" campaign to spread awareness and raise funds for Sickle Cell Anemia research and donated half of the proceeds from promotional single, "Still Waiting", to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. He was interviewed by The Torch about his charity work the same year.