PicoBlog

A lightning rod’s job is to catch the energy around and provide a place for it to go. For Michael Crooms, better known as “Mr ColliPark”, his whole life has revolved around creating and catching the energy all around him as a DJ, producer, and owner of his label, ColliPark Records.

Coming on to the scene first as DJ Smurf, his evolution from one of the pioneering Atlanta bass DJs to one of the pioneers of twerk music and other varying genres perfectly positions him at the top of musical excellence. His current protege, Michael Clark Jr, represents his ascent into another untapped musical market of Southern Soul music and is another link in his unbreakable chain. But in his words, he’d rather be acknowledged as “someone who was deceivingly impactful.”

Born in Orlando, Florida, but raised in College Park, Georgia since the age of five, Crooms was influenced by the band culture he heard from his parents and older brother and the burgeoning rap culture blossoming at the time.

“I am the youngest of six and all of us were in the band, but my oldest brother played the trumpet. The band came first before I was exposed to hip-hop and got the DJ bug. But DJ-wise, Jam Master Jay, DJ Magic Mike and Mr Mixx. “

Atlanta’s rap culture at the time was still in its infancy so he participated in the culture by DJing for local talent shows and house parties while the dance crews entertained the audience. Over time his reputation grew and he was introduced to Atlanta’s king of mixtapes, King Edward J.

The pioneer of the Atlanta mixtape scene, the J Team’s R&B-infused mixtapes were the first of their kind and it was through that musical tree that artists like Success N- Effect, The A-Town Players, MC Shy D and Collipark would emerge. Honing his skill in his shop, Edward J gave him his first set of turn tables.

From there, he began working alongside MC Shy D, one of the city’s earliest commercial emcees as his tour DJ, even earning a placement on his single, “True to the Game” off his 1993 album, The Comeback.

“I auditioned and he loved it. He gave me a set of 1200s. Before I left for college I was DJing for MC Shy D and when I got out of college, I headed back to DJ and produce for him. True to the Game was my first placement.”

Collipark left Atlanta in 1991 to gain a degree in Telecommunications and people skills from Alabama A&M College in Huntsville, Alabama. The variety of sounds, people, and attitudes helped broaden his mindset and informed his DJ sensibilities as he learned to play the records people loved not the ones he loved. For Collipark, the time there helped shape him as a man, teaching him the nuances of different regions and dialects as well as giving him a place to practice publicly as a DJ.

“College parties made me DJ in public not as a mixtape. It showed me I wasn’t playing for myself but for the people. I had to adapt and the influence of the band sound in my production came from my time at A&M. I learned marketing and even more learned life.”

While there, Collipark learned of a growing musical competitor in the city known as Big Oomp Records which was beginning to gain market space. Through a combination of record stores and hustle, Big Oomp and its DJs were beginning to make traction, releasing their mixtapes that embraced the gangster rap sound coming out of the city.

Loyal to his camp, Collipark launched a verbal attack on the crew while in college, but it wasn’t long before the J Team calmly moved aside to allow the newcomers the stage.

Experienced and hungry, Collipark, who went by DJ Smurf then, began building a career as an MC and DJ in the city, dropping singles that embodied the energy of the Atlanta bass scene. From 1995 until the early 2000s, he created a slew of popular songs like “Ooh Lawd”, and “Put A Hump in Your Back” alongside songs like “My Boo” by the Ghost Town DJs, “Swing My Way” by KP and Envyi, “Baby Baby” by Kilo Ali, and” The Most Beautiful Girl” by Raheem the Dream.

Smurf and others soon became the premier curators of the genre, so much so that he admits turning away from opportunities that he felt didn’t reflect his energy such as his refusal to make a song for the highly popular So So Def Bass All-Stars Vol 1. album.

“At the time, we fancied ourselves as the street side of Atlanta bass music. So when Jermaine came, we felt he was commercializing what we were fighting for. But I agreed to do a skit instead of a song. It ended up being the first plaque I got. But it was bittersweet. The lesson I learned though was everything.”

Seeing the success of the commercial sound of bass helped ColliPark learn how to balance his musical outlook. From there, he created his label, ColliPark Records, and began seeking artists to produce and manage.

Amid the Atlanta bass sound was a slew of popular dances that accompanied the high-tempo coming out which included Atlanta’s Yeek and the Bankhead Bounce. At the time, D-Roc, one half of the Ying Yang Twins, was a fellow artist on Ichiban Records with ColliPark, but when ColliPark heard his flow and sound, encouraged D-Roc to work with his friend, Kaine.

“Diamond and D-Roc had the Bankhead Bounce. D-Roc was fifteen at the time, but he wrote all the verses. He was a part of the 2 Tight Click and I featured him on the album that would become their debut album.”

Their 2000 debut album, Thug Walkin, introduced them to the world, and introduced the world to a subgenre of party music that would come to be known as “twerk music”. A derivative of party music, twerk music’s focus on the strip clubs and tempo makes it distinctive from New Orleans bounce music, but ColliPark always makes sure to give credit to the genre for its influence.

The Ying Yang Twins’ continued success with their singles, “Say I Yi Yi”, “By Myself”, “What’s Happenin”, and “Salt Shaker” made the group a staple in the music game, and solidified ColliPark’s role as a connector of various musical genres. The evolution of the bass sound to twerk and the emerging crunk sound reflected a natural progression of Atlanta’s DNA.

Before long all of the city’s talent including Young Jeezy sought him out, rapping over what would come to be known as “Trap Star”. Jeezy, a longtime fan of Edward J and the J Team sought out ColliPark’s sound and incorporated it into his highly successful debut album, Thug Motivation 101: Let’s Get It.

“It is all derivatives of club music so they all are alike. Tempo makes them different, but Ying Yang blurred the line between crunk and twerk. Ying Yang was sonically crunk and they lived like that.”

Solidified as a viable brand, it wasn’t long before ColliPark struck gold again with Soulja Boy. The first artist to sell 3 million records digitally, his monster single, “Crank That”, recently reached the 1 Billion streams club, an accomplishment that he takes pride in being a part of.

“I love I was a part of it. Back when I started we didn’t know it was possible to be a part of the industry. So knowing I brought that change to the industry makes me proud. It gives me purpose.”

ColliPark’s production on songs like “Crank That”, “Wobble”, “Ms New Booty”, “Shake”, “Play”, “Warm Bed”, and “The Whisper Song”, serve as further testaments to his ability to shift and change the sound as needed. For someone like ColliPark, who is swiftly approaching thirty years of dominance, being able to change his production sound to keep the music fresh is just par for the course. “The biggest change for me was due to frustration of not being recognized in the crunk movement, “ says ColliPark.

“It was frustrating, but then the Whisper Song changed everything and gave the identity to the ColliPark brand. It was nothing like it sonically. Then came Play and Shake. That time when I stripped everything down is when I started making sexy club records.”

“Atlanta has been infiltrated and commercialized. So when you go to where Hollywood doesn't exist, you return to the essence.”

Eager to find musicians whose music reflected the same hunger and passion he once had, ColliPark followed up on a recommendation he received from Macon artist and DJ, Tex James, who was signed to ColliPark Records.

His newest signee, Southern Soul artist, Mike Clark Jr, represents that authentic sound that is still pure and untouched. Southern Soul, an amalgam of blues and R&B music has remained a staple for many listeners in the Midwest and South but is a star away from being the breakout sound it can be.

Mike’s voice, which carries an age beyond his own, hooks older listeners in, but his songs including the highly popular, “Auntie Outside” single convey the energy of black BBQs and house parties that we knew in the past. The tinges of line dancing, country, and blues offer a return to the music we knew and grew up on, but for ColliPark, Mike’s music brings a part of the culture out that isn’t touched.

“I do the music that makes people frown at first. It happened with Ying Yang and Soulja, but if you’re not from down here, you ain’t gon like it or understand it. But the payoff is so much more. When it is done right, it moves the needle and shifts the industry. He’s a real talent.”

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