Album Notes

Three years in the making “5 Seconds” is live hip-hop. Free of samples and driven by the Go-Go-influenced percussion that Crumar grew up on in Washington D.C., each track is a lyrical dip into a day in the life of the Mission-based singer/songwriter/rapper. As a producer, Crumar expands his musical reach on “5 Seconds” with jazzy horn arrangements and swing melodies. The album, which features 13 new songs, is the next step in a musical career that has included releases on the now defunct San Francisco label Asphodel (DJ Spooky, Mix Master Mike) and Crumar’s own label Up In The Attic. Crumar’s past work has included collaborations with Dan the Automator, Mike Hampton (Parliament), Schmoovy-Schmoov (Digital Underground), Rob Swift (X-Ecutioners) and swing-rapper Jimmy Luxury. Phil either arranged or actually played most of the instruments on the record. He currently performs every Sunday as a member of the nationally known choir at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.
Born and raised in the Washington D.C. area, Phil Crumar’s life was changed forever when McGruff the Crime Dog and The S.W.A.T. Band performed Parliament’s “Aqua Boogie” at his school in the second grade. While McGruff wasn’t able to keep young Phil off drugs, the crime-fighting canine did get him on to the funk and playing the drums by age 11. As a blossoming drummer in the D.C. area, the styles of Go-Go bands such as Trouble Funk, Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers and The Junkyard Band inevitably rubbed off on Crumar, who found his first work picking up trash wearing an orange jumpsuit in D.C.’s Rock Creek Park at 15. Searching for more, Crumar headed west to the San Francisco Art Institute for college, where he studied painting and found a life outside of school playing music. He's still doing his thing in San Francisco.