Dane Rumble aka 'Kid Deft' from 'Fast Crew' goes solo.
After 10 years in The Fast Crew, Dane Rumble or as he is better known Kid Deft has taken a break from his hip-hop group to spend time in the studio developing a new sound.
Dane draws inspiration from artists like Rage against the Machine, Midnight Oil, Led Zeppelin, The Roots, K-os and Muse. He’s switched up his production technique's and decided to pick up the guitar, which has lead him in a whole new musical direction.
You may have caught the New Zealand On Air funded song Always be here on rotation on C4. The song is a blend of rap, rock and pop and has a flawless rap flow that borders on singing then breaks into a catchy pop rock chorus. A touching love song with superb songwriting & delivery.
When I first saw it on TV I thought “wow C4 is really pushing the pop regime lately” and I just presumed that the artist was some Euro trash pop sensation. Although I did notice the mash up of different styles and that’s what got me interested. As Dane puts it "Music is my passion, style and genre is a minor technicality." "I really wanted to write something new and fresh. Something which combined Rock, hip-hop and pop.. but in a new way. I'm tired of being boxed into a genre, I find writing so much more enjoyable when there are no bounds!"
The next time I heard the song, I noticed a line in the song about “Stand with a brand New Zealand sound”. And then my interest was absolutely primed. “Is this a Kiwi?” Not recognising the name Dane Rumble or his new updated image. It wasn't untill I did a bit of research on the song that the pieces of the puzzle came together.
Dane stepped into York street studio's and Beaver Studio's in July '08 and working closely with Jonathan Campbell came up with his first solo offering Always Be Here which generated a buzz and led to a major label signing. The song, production and video are absolutely world class, and Dane has obviously learned a lot over his 10 years in Fast Crew.
On a whole I find New Zealanders are almost allergic to pop music made by Kiwi’s and prefer all things underground, quirky and low key from their humble neglected NZ musicians. An attitude I’ve never respected. But Dane is from the Fast Crew and they are pretty accustomed to holding their heads high in the face of misconception "Tall Poppy Syndrome" and plane old “haterism” So it will be interesting to see how the NZ public takes it. I give it a massive thumbs up and wish him congatulations and the best of luck.
Check out the video for the single 'Always be here' below.
James Castady-Kristament is in the alternative rap group JCK. Check out their music videos below.
