Winston Crite's passion for making music was sparked at age 5 when he began taking classical piano lessons. After a few years of practice, he stumbled upon jazz music and quickly fell in love with the concept of spontaneous musical expression. At the same time, Crite was developing a love for writing and words in general. A voracious reader, he explored, dissected, and mimicked the writing styles
of authors and poets of every sort. It seemed only natural to weave the words together with the music. By high school, Winston had filled dozens of notebooks with everything from gospel ballads to rap lyrics. He inevitably discovered freestyle rap (another form of spontaneous musical expression), and soon gained a reputation as 'The Rev' for winning battles and showcases with his uniquely precise punchlines. For Crite's 17th birthday, his mother booked him his first professsional recording session. It was love at first take. It wasn't long before Crite had recorded and "distributed" his first mixtape, 'Chapter 1,' selling sharpie-labeled $5 CDs throughout his hometown of Bakersfield, California. Soon after, Crite formed the rap group Trinity with 2 close friends, rappers Lil' J and Livewire (later joined by rappers Visu and Tricey). Trinity was a local success, performing at house parties, hometown venues- even high school rallies. Crite released a handful of successful solo singles during this time, but no official album to speak of. Unfortunately, personal differences and obstacles within Trinity arose, and the group casually disbanded in 2009 without ever releasing an actual album. And shortly after that, Crite left town to get some money. Over the next 5 years in the Inland Empire, Crite started an internet marketing company and a family. He mastered web coding, sold a bunch of different things, and steered the presences of companies. And he made no music whatsoever. In fact, Crite had sold his recording equipment before leaving Bakersfield. Music just wasn't paying the bills, and so music had to wait. Fast foward to now, June of 2016. Crite has inevitably returned to his passion, freshly laced with a marketer's expertise and an owner's vision. It's different now. 'Phases' (the mixtape) marks this return: an eclectic collage of Crite's music containing material ranging from 2007 to the present day. So, who is Crite? He is Nasir mixed with Shakespeare. Lyrics and fresh air. And he is changing the indie rap industry as you read this. Care to watch?
