Cadence Weapon on the Genesis of the Phrase "Crew Up"
Chandler Levack: Who created “Crew Up”? What’s the genesis of the phrase?
Cadence Weapon: It’s gotta be Adam Wilcox, Thom Gillies from TOPS or John Batt. Or, Phil Karneef, Karn. It’s gotta be one of those guys. It’s hard to tell who the outbreak monkey is for that.
CL: And it just means, you’re gonna hang out before you go somewhere?
CW: It’s very open-ended—we use it for “let’s meet up now.” Or, “I heard he crewed up with that girl.”
CL: Can you crew up solo?
CW: No, it always involves other people. You can’t crew with yourself.
CL: Okay, I was debating this with somebody.
CW: I mean, you can be like, “I’m gonna crew up with Chandler.”
CL: But you can’t be like, “I’m gonna crew up with this Nabokov book?”
CW: No. But you can be like, “I’m gonna crew up a box of donuts.”
CL: Okay, that’s good to know. I’m glad you’re not putting limitations on the term.
CW: Oh no, no. You gotta let it…grow.
Pick up a copy of Maisonneuve's Summer 2012 issue or order it online to read Chandler Levack's report on the new wave of Montreal music. Cadence Weapon's Hope In Dirt City is out now.
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Related on maisonneuve.org:
—Interview With Cadence Weapon
—Charles Bradley's Music for the Austerity Era
—Montreal's Navarino Cafe: A Love Letter
