ABOUT

Crystal Precious is a multi-hyphenate artist, mentor, event promoter and community organizer based in Vancouver Canada. She is best known for her work as a recording artist, her industry podcast Backstage Cash, and as the resident main stage MC of Bass Coast Music Festival.

As an artist, CP lands her somewhere between cabaret torch singer and late-night warehouse MC. Her original songs pay bass-heavy tribute to nineties-style atmospheric hip hop, while her stage chops reflect twenty-plus years of performing alongside DJs, rappers, drag queens, and showgirls.

THE LONG VERSION

Born in 1981 in Smithers, BC, CP was singing and rapping onstage by the time she was 8. Her family moved to Winnipeg in 1991, where she performed for several years in the Prairie Theatre Exchange's Young Company, started raving, and sang lead for a couple of bands. At 16 she was invited to front popular local multi-piece funk band Supershagg, performing underage (secretly) in clubs until she left Winnipeg for college. The band's members would then go on to form Moses Mayes.

CP landed in Vancouver in 2001 after completing the Acting for Screen program at Victoria Motion Picture School. Disillusioned by the misogyny of both music and film industries, she stumbled upon neo-burlesque when attending an underground fashion show. Her fascination with the art form's revival and culture lead her to form Sweet Soul Burlesque in 2003 with choreographer Cherry Ontop & pin-up clothing designer Cara Milk. 

For almost fifteen years, Crystal toured with the Sweet Soul dancers, kicking off each show performing her original vocal hip hop tunes.  She went on to produce and star in their six year weekly cabaret run at The Keefer Bar (2010 - 2016), hosting more than 350 shows in the award-winning cocktail lounge.

Sweet Soul Burlesque would become one a world re-known troupe, with its members cumulatively nominated 26 times for titles at the international Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. In 2006, Crystal co-founded the Vancouver Burlesque Festival  with Sweet Soul & Screaming Chicken Theatrical Society. She stepped down as executive director in 2011, but the festival is still running, now approaching its 20th year. 

Slowly Crystal started recording again with bass music producers while throwing raves at Sweet Soul's rehearsal space & DIY venue, Dollhouse Studios. During this time she collaborated with the Bass Coast girls and began MCing on larger stages such as Pemberton Festival and Shambhala Music Festival. Her debut recording project “The Striphop EP”, was produced by Self Evident (Lighta sound, Dipped recordings) and was released on East Van Digital.  

By February 2020, Sweet Soul Burlesque had dissolved, and CP debuted her new music and storytelling show "Things I Shouldn't Tell You" at the Push International Performing Arts Festival. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Crystal joined the cast and crew of Youtube start-up A Filthy Lot, now known as QuestCoast Studios. She also curated and performed in shows for the Vancouver Mural Festival,

In 2023 Crystal debuted her monthly podcast "Backstage Cash", exploring the business of being an artist.  She currently recording new music and publishes a local biweekly newsletter listing her top 50 upcoming underground events, the Precious-ness List.