Admiral Crumple

With his DIY aesthetic, Toronto rapper Admiral Crumple is better suited to the punk rock world where fans actually embrace amateurish, lo-fi basement recordings. Unfortunately for Crumple, hip-hop fans can be a demanding lot, which has resulted in a lot of online scorn and criticism for his mostly self-reliant creations. With his newest, Crumple responds to his many detractors on the scathing "Fire Exits” but more often than not, he raps about the sex-, drugs- and violence-obsessed underbelly of the big city, specifically Toronto, as well as taking the time to admire the beauty that also exists there. In fact, it’s a pretty good mix of the positive and the negative, with the most likely comparison being early Necro or Cage. Crumple once again excels at beat selection, with dark production contributions on The Next Night from Westnyle, Dr. Strange, Nebula and, as always, himself. Sure, Crumple’s flow could be a bit tighter and occasionally his raps can be a bit simple but The Next Night might just surprise his haters, especially when everything clicks, as on "Fire Exits,” "I Chop My CDs,” "Time Just Goes” and "The Energy,” featuring a verse from the legendary Kool Keith. And for those still fiending for more Crumple after 22 tracks, this enhanced CD contains more music, photos and album credits in a text file. Just don’t judge this book by its cover.