Artist Profile: Chimezie
Chimezie, the UK-based rapper who recently relocated from Dallas, Texas, has found expression in hip-hop as an art form and, as both a critic and creator, has solidified an outlet for the genre that has been foundational in his personal and artistic formation.
As a member of a military family, Chimezie’s musical roots sprouted under the wing of his uncle in Germany, who introduced him to artists like 50 Cent, Eminem, and DMX that he had discovered through the cultural pipeline. Although he didn’t really speak English, his uncle gravitated toward the energy of these artists and shared his love for them with his nephew.
However, his parents often disapproved of the genre throughout his childhood, and, for years, his listening was limited. As a teenager, however, he discovered Odd Future, whose eclectic style and unabashed differences inspired him, like many artist of his generation, to pursue his own voice.
“I feel like so many rappers nowadays… you'll see that they used to f*ck with Tyler, the Creator, like Goblin. How does that work? And I think it was just a movement. I don't know. It was just so weird. That was the counterculture music to really get into when you were like 16, 17. So it didn't even matter if you really [subscribed to] their ideology whatever, it was just so raw.”
As he moved across the world, spending time in Georgia and Alaska and eventually settling into his adolescence in Texas, he continually found his way into being involved in the community surrounding the genre that he loved, eventually taking his first steps into recording his own songs and developing a Youtube channel where he would review hip-hop albums.
These two coinciding outlets for his passion slowly took shape, and, when living in Dallas, Chimezie finally had both an online community and a personal, collaborative one, allowing him to release his first projects, “Cycles”, Woebegone, Ground Up, and Better Together, in the span of a few short years.
While his personal creative outlet took form, his online presence also grew, and, through these channels, he found a sort of symbiotic relationship between the two.
“It felt like I found a real community there, because I would react to music that I liked. I found an audience there, and they would then discover my music and be like, ‘Oh sh*t, I didn't know you made music,’ so that really motivated me to continue on and see that there could be something there, that I could find some fans and an audience.”
His most recent project, When Glitter Hits the Surface, serves as a perfect encapsulation of the balancing of his personal artistic understanding. Featuring frequent collaborator Sefu, Chimezie combines his personal tastes, as formed through his relationship to the genre as a fan, and his own experimentations and explorations, resulting in a beautifully alternative, relaxed, and cohesive tape.
This was, however, his last project made in the United States. When the album was almost completed, Chimezie moved to the United Kingdom, and, in doing so, has discovered an entirely new energy and culture surrounding his genre.
“It's crazy energy. It's so, so different compared to the shows that I've seen in the States. It was very raw here in the UK, here in London. It is very reminiscent of seeing videos of nineties rappers, just freestyling and like the whole crowd sort of going crazy, and it's just bizarre to see that that's happening with local artists: they're not even like these big name rappers. So I definitely have been seeing the difference in that and it's been very inspiring”
Now, as Chimezie navigates a new personal and artistic landscape, he plans to continue exploring both channels of his personal passion, and, as he works toward new reviews and new artistic output, will certainly be someone to watch in the continued blossoming of his creative proclivities.