Rapper AB Crazy may have left record label Cashtime several years before it basically shut up shop and stopped producing new music, but the star claims that the writing was on the wall even while he was there.
AB Crazy left K.O's company in 2012 and told TshisaLIVE this week that he could see the direction the company was going in, which made him leave.
"Before I left Cashtime, I wanted to release my own mixtape under Cashtime but featuring the artists on the label. But the guys were not ready for it. I told them I was going to drop an album, whether it was with them or not. In the years after I left you saw more artists doing their own things, with no real group vibe. I saw it coming."
The star released an album, Homecoming, which would go on to be nominated for a SA Music Award. But it took nearly five years before he would release another.
"I took a break to focus on features and take my time with the music. Trap music was the dominant thing and that is not who I am. Once I was confident with my music, I cut down on features and pushed the album. I wasn't scared of being forgotten because I have fans that have always stuck by me."
He had also grown tired of the politics in SA music.
"The most disappointing thing in the industry is the politics. Radio could play more of our stuff. I would love to hear more AB Crazy on radio. We are still fighting that today and that has been the greatest disappointment."
As he shoots for the top of the charts with his new album, Blue Skies, AB Crazy said he didn't see his return to music as a comeback.
"It is more a maturing of who I am. I have become more calculated and careful. I used to have this buzz around me and still not have that reflect in the bank but now I am sure to make money in the bank when I release music."
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