Crizzly’s Real Thugz Tour: Expect the Unexpected

Crizzly's Real Thugz Tour - Ya that's thugs with a Z.
Photo Credit: Merc Photography

When I came face-to-face with Chris Marshall, better known as Crizzly, after his Real Thugz Tour stop in Portland I was shoulder to shoulder with selfie-hungry fans.

With beats that make you bounce, an abundance of energy, and a determination to get turnt, the crunkstep king attracts those who want to not just party—but fucking rage.

Antiserum and LAXX have softer hearts than their music suggests.

The Austin-based DJ wore a “Dope” hat, gold chain and personality to match. I quickly yelled out, “Can you describe the show in two words?” He coolly answered, “trippy…booty,” before being grabbed by three girls in bedazzled bras, fishnets, and booty shorts.

The DJ grabbed the sold out crowd’s attention with a casual, “How's it going? My name is Crizzly and were about to fuck shit up.” 

His music is just as big as his personality, having remixed some of the biggest names in hip-hop and worked with influential producers like Bassnectar and Excision throughout his growing career. Rappers like Waka, Lil’ Flip and A$AP Rocky are among those songs he’s morphed into electronic bangers over the years.

Photo Credit: Merc Photography

 “With hard-hitting dubstep intertwined with a strong hip-hop presence he makes us feel like we can dance,” yelled Texas native Ian Hopkins who feels a sense of sense of pride watching the DJ come up from shows in his hometown. “He was crazy back then, but I haven’t seen anything like this.”

While Steve Aoki throws cakes, Crizzly throws pizza. He encourages mosh pits (while simultaneously making sure the ladies are looked out for), crowd surfing, and booty bouncing with the help of his energized MC.

Photo Credit: Merc Photography

Tall in stature and personality, the 6-foot something stage presence had the crowd mesmerized with his buldging eyes, nonstop commentary, and unwavering energy. I couldn’t help but mimic his moves and excitement, when he told us to throw our middle fingers up that’s what we fucking did.

Antiserum with LAXX
Photo Credit: Merc Photography

LAXX and Antiserum

After my short-lived interview with Crizzly I turned to dubstep producer, LAXX from across the pond. He charmed me with his accent but I really swooned when he pulled his third musketeer, Antiserum, into a hug (there's just something about a sense of humor). After happily snapping some pictures for me LAXX went onto describe their Portland show as, “Dope, one of the best of the tour hands down. You guys kept up the hype.”

The trio are a complimentary pairing of bass, dubstep, and personality. LAXX has taken the electronic world by storm with his unique twisting of bass music, called Twitch, with support from DJs like Skrillex and Knife Party as a part of Never Say Die Records. Antiserum who played along with his tour mate’s humor posing for a photo, was surprisingly friendly after playing a set that had our brains ricocheting in our heads with his bassy, hip-hop inspired music.

The party started for these three way before the show however, Crizzly throwing a pizza party for 12 lucky fans who got the invite through Twitter. One of those fans was Zach Redmond who donned a pizza costume for the show, which Crizzly of course signed. 

Real Thugz Tour is bouncing around the US bringing pizza parties and snapbacks back with an unprecedented swagger. Support Crizzly and his tour by seeing if he’s in your neighborhood next. Until then get your own taste for his genre bending remixes here.