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Sydney’s number one Hip Hop party Halfway Crooks have reached their 5th birthday which is no mean feat in today’s clubland. Started by likeminded DJ’s Levins, Captain Franco & Elston the night has gone from strength to strength outgrowing it’s original venue Brighton Up Bar to supporting international acts and now starting to showcase local Hip Hop acts at their “Crooks Live” events.
Grindin’ caught up with one third of the team Captain Franco as they prepare to celebrate their 5 years in the game by throwing a special one off event “Players Cruise” on a boat in Sydney Harbour April 5th (Buy tickets here – smarturl.it/crooksboat) playing the music which has made the monthly night the event to be at.
What are your earliest memories of music?
Trying to steal my sister’s Smash Hits cassettes
What first got you into DJing?
Around 14 years old I saw a friend with turntables scratching and I thought it was to coolest thing I’d ever seen. Then a year or so later I spent my saved Bar Mitzvah money on a pair of 1200’s and a Technics battle mixer. Please note, I never battled.
Who were your influences coming up?
Mostly the classic mixtape DJ’s like Funkmaster Flex, DJ Clue, Tony Touch and Kid Capri
What were your first big break as DJ’s?
I played a handful parties when I was younger but was predominately a bedroom banger until I moved to London in 2001. In the first few months I found myself acquiring a ton of great records so started hustling bar gigs and putting on parties to fund my vinyl addiction.
How did the 3 of you link up?
We all put on different parties around town, Levins and Elston as part of Ro Sham Bo and myself as 1/2 of Dynamite Sounds. There was always a common love of Rap between us and after chatting about it for a little while, we just decided ‘fuck it’ and booked a venue.
How and where did Halfway Crooks first start out?
I used to throw a Reggae Dancehall night called Dynamite at the Brighton Up Bar once that ended, in early 2009 we approached them about renting the venue and Halfway Crooks was born.
You are about to celebrate Halfway Crooks 5th Birthday what has been the main reason for it’s longevity?
Crooks was essentially started out of frustration with the local scene. Every Hip Hop party we went to was the same old tired classics, and while we grew up on all that stuff, we were really interested in the newer sounds coming out. Between the three of us we just loved such a vast range of Rap and wanted to do something different to the norm and blend the old with the new.
What does each of you bring to the night?
All three of us are total music nerds, in a good way. At any given Crooks you could hear Elston playing an unbelievable selection of funky West Coast jams, Levins doing a 45 minute marathon of DJ Khaled singles or myself trying to sneak forgotten Roc-A-Fella tracks into the latest internet rap sensations.
What have been some of the more memorable moments over the last 5 years?
Really hard to pick specific moments, over the five years we’ve been blessed with the best crowd you could ever ask for so I guess they are all memorable in one way or another!
What are the top anthems at Halfway Crooks event?
There are so many, but guaranteed if you play Ace Hood’s “Bugatti” the dancefloor with turn into a moshpit, girls will sing along to every Drake song and at least one of our friends will take their shirt off and start whipping it around if Petey Pablo’s “Raise Up” comes on.
With Sydney just implementing the new lock out laws how do you think it will effect Sydney nightlife and what will you do differently to work within them?
100% it will affect the nightlife scene. There are so many venues who rely on late night trade to get by and in one fell swoop they implemented laws that could put a lot of people out of work plus jeopardise a lot of businesses survival.
You have recently started a live showcase night for local acts “Crooks Live” at Goodgod what are your thoughts on the local Hip Hop scene?
There are some great artists coming up right now, making really contemporary Rap that doesn’t sound like your standard Aussie ‘occa’ Hip Hop. We wanted to support these artists (most who are unsigned) and give them a platform to perform to for our awesome crowd who we felt would appreciate their music
What one thing does Hip Hop need right now?
Nothing, it’s GREAT! Sure, there’s a lot of crap out there but amongst a lot of noise there is a whole new crop of super talented artists carving their own niche and getting noticed.
When your are not spinning what DJ’s do you like to party to?
Mostly our close friends with whom we’ve played various parties over the years; Radge, Leon Smith, Hoops, Joyride, Count Doyle,
What artists are you currently listening to?
Schoolboy Q, Ty Dolla $ign, Young Thug, Pusha T, 100s, Jeremih, YG, Problem, Future…
What does the future hold for Halfway Crooks?
More international artist tour supports, special one-off events and continuing to make sure our monthly party has only the raddest vibes.
What is your definition of Grindin’?
Three dudes, each with stressful day jobs running a successful party for five years. That’s grindin’!
Interview by Duggs