Always at the forefront of the music scene, CRAZE started his BEATS mix series back in 2016 as the sound was just emerging. When he reached out to a producer friend who was spearheading the movement and asked what the genre was called, he was told, “That’s the thing…there’s no name to this genre…they’re just beats.” The name and sound stuck with CRAZE making his BEATS series an annual affair. With 2018 drawing to a close, the wait for Vol. 3 is finally over. Today we have honour of premiering the newest edition ‘BEATS V 3.’
“The goal for these BEATS mixes is just to put people on to this vibe. I’ve been collecting tracks all year long and a couple weeks ago I just picked the ones I was feeling the most and started putting together the mix. I make sure all vibes are covered…smooth shit, hard shit, next level shit…everything covered. I try to stay away from the obvious copy cat tunes,” CRAZE tell us. It’s quite clear that this isn’t some hastily put together quick mix of random bangers. This is a well thought-out masterwork from one of the greatest DJs of all time. It’s some of the wildest and most forward-thinking music you’ll encounter paired with Craze’s signature flair. Craze samples everything from Joe Budden and George Carlin, to Mobb Deep and Tupac. There’s flashes of his battle roots, flexes of his turntablist skills and even some social commentary for 2¢ fans. The mix features a wide array of talented producers including heavy-hitters like Ivy Lab, Tsuruda, Baauer and Shades, plus FUXWITHIT favourites like Hydraulix x Avance, Jon Casey, Chee and more. Not to mention some unreleased heat from CRAZE himself.
What makes ‘BEATS V 3’ so incredible is the way that CRAZE stitches it all together. “With every mix I like to start smooth and weird and get darker and harder as the mix goes on, towards the end I bring it back down so you don’t finish listening to the mix and feel like killing somebody. I like hard shit but don’t like too much testosterone. And starting soft and ending soft is like a roller coaster. I really dislike mixes that stay on 100 the whole time…there’s no vibe in that,” he explains. You hear DJs talk about taking listeners on a journey, few execute it with this level of precision.
The mix is multidimensional and primed for any occasion as CRAZE tells it, “People should just go to my SC and download that shit so you can listen to it while you taking a shit, on a date, in the gym, visiting your grandparents at nursing homes…basically anywhere.” Stream and tracklist are below.
‘BEATS V 3’ TRACKLIST:
1) Tim Parker — Slanted
2) Deft — For Sudden V.I.P.
3) Chee — Sensory Overload
4) Tsuruda — Cousin Litt’s Revenge
5) Denmark Vessey – – Quiet Storm Jam
6) Lando Chill — Facts
7) Tsurda — War In The Jungle
8) Craze & Jon1st — Dead
9) Deft — Done
10) Halogenix — Trouble
11) Halogenix — NEVREVR
12) Sinic — Heat (Balatron Remix)
13) Ivy Lab — Chic
14) X&G — Safe (Chee Remix)
15) Monuman — Sasquatch
16) The Outsiders — I Desire
17) It Hz — Disgust
18) Razat — Clipping
19) Halogenix — WAOW
20) Sinic — Numbers
21) Crimes — FKNWT
22) Shades — Kolumbo
23) Tsuruda — 8991
24) Fracture — Soundboy Get Nervous
25) Razat — Vampire
26) Waeys & Dayle — Merge
27) Halogenix & Tim Parker — VOAT
28) Ivy Lab — Calculate
29) Yunis — 1999
30) Craze — KOS
31) Ocee — Bluff
32) Snake & Wolf — Royal Gala
33) Craze & Shield — Humans Are Stupid
34) Mutated Forms — Wastegash (Shield Remix)
35) Hydraulix & Avance — Roll Out
36) Jon Casey — Dimes
37) Baauer — Hate Me VIP ft. Miquela
38) Chee — Cloutmeister
39) Ivy Lab — Astral Pirate Theme
40) Dayle — UV// Ride For Me *Craze Edit*
41) CYGN — Indigo Poetry
42) BobWhite — Who’s There// Fakin Jax *Craze Edit*
43) Phizicist & Zain Wolf — Stages Of Depression
