Page 88 - ION Indie Magazine JanFeb 2018

CRUCIFIX took over the stage at Whiskey
Barrel in Laconia, NH with his shades on. his
vocal stylings ranged from freestyle rap to
rhythm and blues. The Georgia native grew up
on rap battles, the music group BONE THUGS-
N-HARMONY and his Casio keyboard. “I felt
like a producer with that thing!” Crucifix joked
about pressing the “Fill In” button while
playing the keyboard to add to the track.

Cruce’s parents were missionaries and in
1992 they took the family to Africa. By 1994,
his family was between Rwanda and Kigali.
Political tensions were high at the time
between the Hutus and Tutsis. On April 6,
1994, Cruce recalled an eerie silence that had
fallen over the city. “It’s the type of quiet
where you know something is going to
happen.” Later that night, a plane carrying
PRESIDENT HABYARIMANA was shot down.
Violence erupted while Cruce and his family
were trapped in a Baptist guest house.

The next day, Crucifix and his family ventured
outside to find people looting stores. “Kids
were shooting each other…it’s the first time I
had ever seen someone get killed,” he
remembered. “I was sitting with binoculars
and this convoy of armed vehicles came down
the road. One guy motioned to the side of the
road where a man who was hiding came out
with his hands up. They shot him three times,
ran over his body, and just left him there.
Later we learned he had stolen a case of
beer.”

Cruce said there were sharp shooters on a building near them. “We were looking for any kind of a foreign entity
to connect with. We were looking for anybody from America.” The UN was able to put together a 32-car convoy
of all the foreign nationals -- French, German, American. The convoy drove down roads littered with the bodies
of people who had been murdered.

“Tragedy like that gives you a whole different view on life, death, and faith. The events in Africa defined me as
an artist.” Cruce went on to say, “it puts everything in perspective. Shocks you to where it immobilizes you or
mobilizes you.” Crucifix shared that he feels that when people are faced with a traumatic event, they’re either
so in shock they can’t progress, or they take the pain and use it to push themselves forward.

After Africa, Crucifix admits that he went through a very dark period from when he was about 15-years-old until
he was 27. By the time he was 18, he was homeless in Atlanta, GA doing a lot of drugs. Cruce describes this time
in his life as rock bottom. “I had turned so far away from religion. I had never felt so empty inside.”