FAMILY TIES PODCAST S1: EPISODE 8 W/ CHARLES AKA SKINZ AKA 2 GATZ
Charles is born in Miami, FL. While most of his Crazy Hood family came from different parts of the United States and different parts of the World, Charles was raised here and he witnessed first hand the evolution of Hip Hop in Miami.
Growing up his father introduced him to various types of genres of music. While he enjoyed most of them, he never felt a sense of connection to them. It was hip-hop that spoke to him, the genre of music he related to the most, it was hip-hop that gave him a voice of expression without vocally expressing a word for himself.
It was artists De La Soul, Spice 1, Outkast, Juvenile, etc that made the music he loved and growing up in Miami he seen the way hip hop evolved. From Jam Pony concerts, to DJ Magic Mike and his bass music, music that was so bass heavy it rattled your trunk and your neighbors house! To music from the Young & Restless and Boys from The Bottom, the music in Miami was influenced by hip-hop but it wasn’t the hard hitting like Spice 1’s “187 Proof”.
Charles took his love for hip-hop everywhere and in high school he took advantage of being around out of towners who moved to Miami for a better life. Being surrounded by people from different parts of the country allowed him to pick their brain and see what type of music they were into. He became a collector of artist, of sorts. The only problem that always seemed to prevent him from getting new music, was the lack of availability to the music in Miami and Kendall to be specific.
Although he had meet DJ EFN and the rest of Crazy Hood in high school it wasn’t until he was out of high school and out of the military when he finally joined the Crew. One of Charles biggest contributions to Crazy Hood was the act of delegation. It was him who explained delegation to EFN and from there it was just about finding everyone’s strength’s and weaknesses and applying them to an area they were strong at.
Charles played an instrumental role in the early versions of the Crazy Hood website (CrazyHood.com launched in 1994), as well as his role in Crazy Hood Gear as he help design the clothing they sold at their Crazy Goods store . This is the location where artists would stop by, promote their project and hang out. This is was the go to stop. All his life, it was difficult for hip-hop to become available in Kendall. Crazy Goods changed that. Whether it was the latest shirt, a record pool or the hottest artist coming to town. Crazy Goods was the place to be.
In Today’s age it’s unbelievable to think about a time when it was difficult to get instant access to the new music. Believe it kids, and Charles along with the team help play a key role in bringing the hottest artist to Kendall. Charles was there at the forefront of it all. 
Tune in weekly and hear the individual stories of each Crazy Hood member. Family Ties, takes an in depth look at the teams behind a movement. To celebrate Crazy Hood’s 25th Anniversary we will hear from each member of Crazy Hold and their perspective of the Crazy Hood story.
https://audioboom.com/posts/6768895-episode-08-charles-aka-skinz-aka-2-gats
APRIL 3, 2018 |