Epic Mazur

Epic Mazur
Mazer (left) with Seth Binzer in 2014.
Background information
Birth name Bret Hadley Mazur
Also known as Epic
Epic Mazur
Born (1970-08-31) August 31, 1970[1]
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.[1]
Origin Los Angeles
Genres
Occupation(s) Producer, musician, singer, Rapper, songwriter, DJ
Instruments Vocals, bass, keyboards, Turntables, Beatboxing
Years active 1986–2003
2006–present
Labels Columbia
Associated acts Crazy Town, Shifty Shellshock

Epic Mazur (born Bret Hadley Mazur[2] on August 31, 1970) is an American vocalist, rapper, and record producer. He is best known as a founder and former frontman of the rap rock band Crazy Town.

Early life

Bret Mazur grew up in Brooklyn, New York before his parents moved across the country to Hollywood, Los Angeles. It was here that he began to work as a DJ at age 16, and received the pseudonym "Epic" from a friend. Mazur graduated from William Howard Taft High School in Los Angeles. He then collaborated with Richard Wolf as part of the production team Wolf & Epic on albums by Bell Biv DeVoe, Ralph Tresvant, MC Lyte and MC Serch, among others.[3]

Crazy Town

Crazy Town was formed by Mazur and Seth Binzer, who started collaborating in 1995[4] under the initial name of "The Brimstone Sluggers". By early 1999, they were calling themselves Crazy Town, and the full band consisted of Mazur, Binzer, Rust Epique, James Bradley Jr., Doug Miller, DJ AM, and Antonio Lorenzo "Trouble" Valli. Their debut album, The Gift of Game, was released in November 1999, having been recorded earlier that year. It would become a major success after their single Butterfly reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, sparking record sales in excess of 1.5 million.[5] Their 2002 follow up album, Darkhorse, was a commercial failure in comparison, and the band broke up shortly after its release.

Crazy Town announced they had reformed in 2007,[6] and Mazur stated that Crazy Town's third album, tentatively titled Crazy Town Is Back, would be released right after his upcoming solo album, Strip to This in Spring 2008. Neither album was released, though Crazy Town did release a third studio album, The Brimstone Sluggers, in 2015.[7] Following a year of hiatus from the group, Mazur announced in January 2017 through Facebook that he will no longer tour with the band.[8][9]

Other work

Mazur began his career as a record producer in 1988 at the age of 18 for the band New Edition and the song N.E. Heartbreak. Mazur was subsequently included as a producer for New Edition side project, Bell Biv Devoe. Some other notable artists Mazur has worked with are Prince, Easy E, Seal, New Kids On The Block and The Plain White Tees. In 2011 Mazur formed the band LA EX, together with Crazy Town member Kraig Tyler and Antonella Barba. They released their first music video "Lipstick" on YouTube in July 2011.

Mazur works in scoring and sound designing feature films, including The Oath.

Personal life

Mazur has one son named Max, who was born in 1996, and his cousin is Monet Mazur.[10] He is of Jewish ancestry.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bret "Epic" Mazur". xtrememusician.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  2. ↑ United States Public Record Number 135824002
  3. ↑ "Bret "Epic" Mazur X Fluid Audio". mixware.net. Mixware, LLC. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  4. ↑ Edwards, Gavin (March 15, 2001). "Q&A: Shifty Shellshock of Crazy Town". Rolling Stone. No. 864. p. 35.
  5. ↑ Jeckell, Barry (January 10, 2002). "News on Crazy Town, Nelly, NY Metropolis Fest". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  6. ↑ Harris, Chris (December 5, 2007). "Kris Kross, Crazy Town, EMF, Extreme And More Unmemorable Reunions, In Our Year-End Top 10s - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Crazy Town: The Brimstone Sluggers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Mazur, Bret (January 10, 2017). "To all of our fans and friends..." Crazy Town (via Facebook). Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  9. ↑ Mazur, Bret (January 10, 2017). "Statement from Epic..." Bret Mazur (via Facebook). Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  10. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon. "Crazy Town Into the Skater Chicks in New Vid". mtv.com. Viacom International, Inc. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
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