“When a vanload of Lil’ Bastards from Portland unloads at your spot, be afraid. When they’re named after a particularly vulgar sexual defiance, it can only get worse. But dudes have got skills!”
-XLR8R, November 2006.
In imagining the standard, stereotypical hip-hop group, listeners will find that the Cleveland Steamers are anything but. Comprised of Mic Crenshaw, a Portland, Oregon poetry slam champion and national finalist, Gen.Erik, a satirical lyricist with the ability to transform into a hip-hop DJ and producer, and DJ Aero, who has toured the world with Tommy Lee, as part of Methods of Mayhem, and with Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huck Jam, the group's creative cohesion has mesmerized numerous crowds since the three members decided to form a union. Although each member of the Cleveland Steamers is a veteran to the music industry, they have emerged as a group, combining Crenshaw's socially conscious clever lyricism and Gen.Erik's thought-provoking wordplay with DJ Aero's melodic, head-nodding beats. As an added bonus, Cleveland Steamers often collaborate live with DJs Wels and Wicked, two of the Northwest's best hip-hop DJs, using four turntables. Wicked is best known for his "Got Milf" CD and touring as the DJ for Rhymesayers’ Grayskul.
The Cleveland Steamers debut album Treasure Chest (available November 2006) is a potentially classic hip-hop album, led by "The Decider", a groundbreaking concept, in which MCs Mic Crenshaw and Gen.Erik trade rhymes with none other than George W. Bush over a smooth beat composed by DJ Aero. By utilizing the President's popular foolish sound bites (Bushisms), the Cleveland Steamers substantiate Bush's lack of compassion and intelligence in a clever manner that is entertaining and comedic to the listener. In an example of the song's brilliance, Crenshaw exchanges quips with Bush, "Bomb the nation into oblivion/ Some say a village is missing it's idiot/ Saying stuff like 'poor people aren't necessarily killers'/Damn George that's the illest/ Now watch this, listen to how he feels/ 'Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill'."
Gen.erik also takes some witty jabs at the President, "You conned the nation taking photo ops/ A background filled with soldiers they probably fixed in Photoshop/ You broke the laws with your vanity/ No respect for those 'working hard to put food on their family'."
"The Decider" is a song that you will have to hear for yourself.
In addition to the politically charged single, Cleveland Steamers offer a wide variety of subject matter on Treasure Chest, ranging from pop culture to personal struggles to underground groupie (labeled "Undergroupies"). The album showcases superb lyricism from Gen.Erik alongside Mic Crenshaw, and features guest appearances by Sy Scott, I Self Divine, and Nightclubber Lang from Boom Bap Project, as well as production from DJ Aero, Gen.Erik, Arkitek, P-Cutta and Mic Q, and Gregory B. from Italy.
Cleveland Steamers Press
"...the Cleveland Steamers are a match made in heaven. The Steamers mouthpieces, Mic Crenshaw and Gen.Erik... are Portland emcees who rightfully demand to be taken seriously, but they’ve also all got a dirty/drunk side that I’m hoping to see them bring out in each other at this show... the Steamers are also wrapping up work on upcoming releases that they can’t wait for you to hear, and it’d be damn worth your while to peep a sneak preview."
-Willamette Week
“The lines are delivered in stark verbal contrast to one another, but it’s the interplay between Crenshaw’s inflective baritone and (Gen.)Erik’s natural, front-free flow that makes the Steamers’ sound so engaging… lyrically compelling throughout…”
-Willamette Week, 11/15/06
“…the latest project from Portland hip-hop favorite Mic Crenshaw is his most incisive and enjoyable yet. “
-Oregonian, 11/17/06
"Man about town Mic Crenshaw (Hungry Mob) and emcee Gen.Erik light up the stage once again as the Cleveland Steamers, with hip-hop that challenges the thick gold chains and Benzos of commercial rap music."
-Portland Mercury
"Whereas some mainstream rap stars rap about sex, drugs, and money, those underground intellectuals in Cleveland Steamers cover, well, "Sex, Drugs, and Money." To their credit, they do so with unusual eloquence. However, Gen. Erik and Portland poetry slam champ/Suckapunch emcee Mic Crenshaw also explore less obvious topics, most notably the destructive advertising imagery detailed in "Brainwashed." Gen. Erik probably spent many of his sauciest rhymes last weekend, so the Steamers should be at their well-rounded best for this gig. Catch the vapors."
-Portland Mercury
"Mic Crenshaw and Gen.Erik team up to form Cleveland Steamers one thing you can be sure of: Crenshaw and Gen.Erik spit out verses hard and fast, sometimes getting dirty, but always remaining intelligent."
-Willamette Week
"Fans of off-center, lyrics-obsessed hip-hop a la Aesop Rock may dig Gen.Erik, who mines a similar territory of sexed-up, all-intellectualized-with-nowhere-to-go storytelling."
-Willamette Week
"Gen.Erik sometimes approximates the over-enunciated consonants and anti-dialect delivery of Eminem, but his subject matter is far less... well, violent, postured and, you know, loco. He points out spiritual hypocrisy--both that of others ("Stereotypes") and his own ("Sex, Drugs, Money")--turning around pretty clever phrases and rapping with humor in lieu of preachiness. (Also, it helps that DJ Aero's production is pretty tight.)"
-Portland Mercury
"I had the pleasure of attending a Mic Crenshaw show at the Ohm recently and realized that this guy is serious about his shit. There was a nice crowd of people and the music was on point! This is the sort of thing that's important to support in this town, because it goes a long way in showing bar owners and the media that underground hip-hop is a legitimate force in the city of Portland."
-Portland Mercury
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