THE MALIBU FAVORITE

Fresh on the scene with the new self-titled album Shwayze hitting stores on August 19, 2008 on Suretone Records, the Shwayze crew is ready for the flashing lights.

From an East Coast perspective, when I think of Malibu, or “the Bu” as Shwayze calls it; pictures of blue skies, palm trees, clear waters, and rich surfer kids come to mind. But, for 23-year-old Shwayze, the trailer park of Malibu is where he has called home for the majority of his life. While living with his grandmother, he was exposed to the sounds of Bob Marley, and James Brown, which inspire his smooth rap tone, and rocker demeanor. Although rock was his first genre of choice, the rap bug kicked in full throttle when he began working with producer Cisco Adler.

Shwayze confesses to being a latecomer in the rap-game, as his first band consisted of a predominant rock sound with a “Rage Against The Machine” type of feel.

“It was hard for me to write rap [lyrics].” Admits Shwayze. It wasn’t until he connected with Cisco Adler, where they merged genres and the music began to make sense. Adler continued further by not only producing the entire forthcoming album, but also co-writing and providing vocals for some of the tracks. The style and combination of the “Shwayze & Cisco” duo are definitely not the typical collaborative effort, but they have made it quite obvious that they are used to doing things their own way, by staying true to their sound.

“We met in Malibu, it’s a small town, one of my people said he made beats, and I knew him as a rocker, and I wasn’t sure he knew how to make hip-hop beats. One day we went to an after-party at Cisco’s house, and then I would see him at other parties, and finally one day he just told me to come to his house. We finally linked up the next day, and made our first song, and after that I caught the bug; and our fourth song was “Buzzin”… After that we did like 30-40 songs with me rapping, and him singing because it just made sense. Cisco had a meeting with Jordan Schur, and he loved the song and signed me off this song, and I couldn’t believe it”. Says a reflective Shwayze.

Little did Shwayze know, this was only the beginning of his career… Shawyze manager - Jordan Schur had a plan, and began to put it into motion. Having faith in Shwayze’s star-potential, Jordan forced his way into the halls of the powerhouse cable network – MTV, to bring the video for the first single “Buzzin” to the forefront, also pitching the new reality series (Premiering July 23, 2008, 10pm EST) “Buzzin” featuring Shwayze, Cisco, Warren and himself, and landed the deal on Suretone/Geffen Records.

The new series will premiere the good and bad times as the crew promotes their new record across the country. This marketing tool is an important factor in the success of their project, as this will allow fans to get a real day-to-day feel of the crew and their relatable personalities. Ultimately this will invite people to get to know them, and provide an inside look into the eclectic man from the Malibu trailer park.

Now ready for what’s next, excited about the album and reality show, Shwayze and the crew are ready to surf this wave until the end. With the “Buzzin” single heating the airwaves, and their new single “Corona and Lime” just released, time will only tell if the crew will be successful in a struggling industry that must find unconventional outlets to sell records.

Shwayze most definitely has the necessary tools for success in today’s industry. Now, it’s time to sit back, relax and see how the Malibu-native crew’s very own brand of hip-hop will crossover to the masses. I’m confident that the Shwayze team will be one of the bands who will withstand the test of time, and become the superstars that they were deemed to be.

*Photo by Taylor Herron

Related Dopeness:

• VIDEO: “CORONA AND LIME” (1)
• VIDEO: SOUL HOP (1)
• VIDEO: “J&J” (0)
• FEATURE: U-N-I (2)
• FEATURE: U-N-I pt.2 (1)