Crucial Conflict
Crucial Conflict is a West Side Chicago rap group known for its rodeo-themed, rapid-fire style and the 1996 hit “Hay,” which drove its debut “The Final Tic” to platinum sales.
West Side roots
Crucial Conflict came together on Chicago’s West Side around rappers Wondosas “Kilo” Martin, Ralph “Wildstyle” Leverston, Corey “Coldhard” Johnson and Marrico “Never” King. The crew issued an early independent project, “Crucial Times,” in 1993, and developed a sound that blended weed-smoke imagery with a galloping, Old West-inspired bounce and quick-fire, tightly interlocking verses.
“Hay” and The Final Tic
Signed through Pallas and Universal Records, the group released “Hay” on April 23, 1996. Produced by Wildstyle and built on a Funkadelic sample, the single reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and was certified gold that July. The album “The Final Tic” followed on July 2, 1996, largely produced by Wildstyle, and peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart. It went gold in September 1996 and platinum by January 1997.
Good Side, Bad Side and after
The second album, “Good Side, Bad Side,” came out November 3, 1998, on Pallas, Raw Dope Productions and Universal, with R. Kelly among its executive producers. It reached No. 38 on the Billboard 200 and No. 10 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, led by the single “Scummy.” A further album, “The Call of the Wild,” appeared in 2001. After a stretch of label disputes the members regrouped for “Planet Crucon” in 2008 and continued performing, including a 2015 SXSW showcase alongside Twista.
Legacy
Complex ranked “Hay” the fourth-greatest Chicago rap song and also listed “Bogus Mayn” and “Ride the Rodeo,” cementing the group as one of the defining Chicago acts of the 1990s.
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