Today we’d like to introduce you to Craig Smith.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Gunshots, gang signs, sweltering hot parties, and late nights recording describe my first few years making music and performing. We would make these mixtapes in my basement bedroom for years and post them to cloud storage sites for people to download. This was around 2005 and coming across free music was a come-up. The only streaming of music was on my MySpace profile where you’d see my baby face next to some unmixed songs, on top of my “Top 8” friends. We, myself and the rap group I was a part of in Kansas City would take these songs and perform them wherever we could. We did talent shows, community centers, nightclubs, parties; wherever. The consistent theme of these shows was that we were the stand-out act. The consistent danger was that our hometown could be a violent place, especially in rap. That, coupled with the evidence all around us that Kansas City wasn’t going to make anyone famous. We always knew we had to leave in order to have any success in music.
With that in mind, we became really efficient at making music. Once our group disbanded, one member moved to Los Angeles and started working for a firm that creates music for film and tv. I stay in Kansas City, fall in love, get married, have one kid, then another, then another, then get divorced and have another. In the meantime, I almost sign a recording contract with Tech N9ne’s label Strange Music, I find Jesus and become a minister, and survive a couple of suicide attempts. All of this gets dumped into the music. Years of pouring into my craft and I wasn’t making any money. I turned down the deal with Strange Music, and my career in church wasn’t shaping up to be what I had imagined. That’s when my buddy in LA called and asked if I would be willing to submit some quick-turnaround songs for film and tv. Not having any money, I said “hell yea” and started submitting music as often as I could.
From 2015 to 2019, I made hundreds of songs for our catalog at The Math Club (www.mathclubmusic.com). This landed me placements in shows like Power, Empire, Shameless, and Ozark. In 2017, I received a music credit in Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming”. I was working on this massive catalog of music, achieving sync placements, all from Kansas City, MO. In late 2019, I accepted an offer to join the in-house team at The Math Club in Hollywood and relocated myself and my three sons to Koreatown. This is after also becoming a fixture in Kansas City’s social change environment and a pillar in the music community.
Since 2019, I’ve embarked on another venture crafting podcasts about Golden Era Hip Hop with my co-founders at Stupid Fly Media. I host our marquee show “Fresh Era” which has been featured on Apple Podcast’s front page and a top 20 music podcast worldwide. I’ve told the stories of dozens of hip hop legends including CL Smooth, Chubb Rock, Grand Puba, and Young MC.
Recently, I wrote and performed the theme song for the Apple TV+ Show “Loot” starring Maya Rudolph and our company Stupid Fly has partnered with the RIAA to honor MC Lyte and Grandmaster Flash in Washington, D.C. for a ceremony called “RIAA Honors”.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One big hurdle on this journey has been direction. There’s always a temptation to feel like I’m not fulfilling an expectation or reaching high enough benchmarks. That makes it hard to stick with ideas or even communicate the thoughts I have for creative endeavors.
The biggest struggle, of course, is fear. Fearing that things won’t work out. Fearing that things WILL work out and I won’t maintain. Fear that my kids will get lost in an ever-growing list of priorities. Fear of fear itself.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m most recognized as the voice behind several songs in hit tv shows and films. Over the years I’ve accumulated many songs inside tv shows, video games, and movies. It’s great because sometimes there are shows that I really enjoy, like Amazon Prime’s “The Boys” wherein I’ll casually hear my voice in the background of a scene. It makes me feel very accomplished.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The best way to interact with me is by sharing, honestly. I love being inspired by the creativity of others and lending my spirit to projects as they come organically. I read my inbox on Instagram and it would be a joy to have people send music, art, vibes, stories, etc.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Http://instagram.com/iamcraigsmith
- SoundCloud: Http://SoundCloud.com/iamcraigsmith
