TWIN GAMBIT: THE SOUTH WARD WARRIOR
When people start investing in the stock market, financial advisers will tell them one thing when it comes to structuring a portfolio: High risk equals high reward, and when it comes to Twin Gambit, the reward has certainly been high enough to make him a good investment. A champion hailing from Newark, New Jersey, Twin Gambit, born Jamal Crawford, not only delivers energetic songs and well-thought-out lyrics, similar to those in his song Smoke Trails, but he can make you run back to someone with the emotion and passion he expresses in his music, especially on 1 And A WakeUp with singer Vikki Karma off of his project II and a Possible from 2020; hearing what he has to say, backed up with the hypnotic vocals of his feature, it’s clear that he’s bound to be a name in the Northeastern-Pennsylvania scene of music. While he currently specializes in making rap music, Crawford reassures us that it isn’t the only genre he’s been exposed to as a child, giving credit to his father for exposing him to more than one genre. If you’ve been looking for an artist with an out of this world drive with the versatility people dream of having, your search has ended at this article.
However, with such determination and inspiration comes unfortunate events. In the early 2000’s, Crawford was a victim of the Luzerne County Kids for Cash scandal, which put several juveniles in detention centers for minimal offenses at the hands of Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan; Crawford says this put him on the path to greatness, and to greatness he is destined to go. He also gives a shout out to his father for exposing him to the different genres of music and for training his ears to be cognizant of different sounds.
Diving right back into his music, the scene seems to be treating him very well, for, he has collaborations with larger Wilkes-Barre and Allentown artists, such as Tom Sav, GQ, and King Magnetic; some can say this collaboration is Belligerent, as is the name of the song. His fans, however, could never be strangers to the sounds of Green Power Ranger and Cowboys, two songs the artist claims are his most popular and fan favorites to this date. Aside from being a well-rounded and experienced musician, Twin Gambit has expressed his interest in engineering, from chemical bonding to the thoughts of Niel Copenhagen; “Taking things apart mentally and doing it with your hands — it’s a superpower”, he claims. Not only is he passionate about the scientific forms of engineering, but he’s also very literate in vocal engineering, from mixing to mastering. Gambit proves himself to be a very hands-on person when it comes to crafting his music and making sure it’s adequate to his vision.
Having the versatility Twin Gambit has is something hard to come across, especially with some of the newer sounds of today, becoming more and more regulated; not only is his music a breath of fresh air, but it also opens the door for experimenting with what he currently has. The energetic flow and feeling of vocal freedom in Smoke Trails personally has given me high hopes that there is still hope for the revival of lyrical rap, as well as the birth of a new sound, through the crater coming towards the game named Twin Gambit.
From the birth of this new face in the game, through the hardships he had faced and overcome, to the lyrical excellence he bears, I highly suggest you keep your eye out for the South Ward Warrior, Twin Gambit.
-avl
