Stoic as fuck, with a baby face and a set of blue-collar shoulders, Ellison Renee Glenn aka Black Cracker rocks a swag aesthetic that lies somewhere between Dipset and Blackbox. A snapback Yankees cap and a chain hung against a raved-out, acid-washed jean jacket might be the most apparent juxtaposition, but it gets a lot more interesting.A black guy with a country twang and a swastika tattoo, Black Cracker was born in Alabama and raised between Germany and New Jersey. Currently living in Berlin, but based professionally out of NYC, he works as a producer/MC/writer and has collaborated with the likes of Cocorosie, Creep, Bunny Rabbit, and GrandPianoramax, among others. Also worth noting is that dude entered this realm female-bodied and is currently undergoing the physical transition to male.The past few years have been relatively silent for Cracker but that’s because he was busy laying the foundation for a hectic 2012. In the next few months he’s going to be busting down walls like the Kool-Aid Man, with a solo album and a book of original poetry.We sat down with him to talk, and he had a lot to say.VICE: Tell me about Berlin.Black Cracker: Berlin is straight. Early mornings drinking two Euro whiskey by the canal watching foxes, stepping over dead porcupines on the sidewalk. It is a broke artist paradise. Heaven for the creative/lazy. Hell on the liver and lungs. I also think it is rad 'cause ex Euro ravers with military cuts and piercings are not even double-taked. It’s a city for freaks for sure so I fuck with it.Read the rest at VICE.
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