Hip Hop's Chef Bac Cooks Up New Music with Almost Famous Dudes

Having created a name for himself in pursuing his passion for music and with the awareness of realizing a growing music audience by way of the World Wide Web, young hip hop artist Chef Bac has taken to accumulating underground buzz for his inventive sound and blunt tales of the world of today. Having stepped out of the darkness to show the hip hop world his skills and natural gifts for rhyming, Chef (nee Ryan Bacon) has been busy for the past two years, creating story narratives over exploratory production with high site counts for MySpace with inventive hits like "Iguana Tales", "Funk Recital" and The Levitation Nation's "80s Necklace".

With finishing touches being made to his upcoming album Almost Famous Dudes, Chef took to the time to share his thoughts on his persona, his life, his music career and the pursuit of personal happiness.

(The below interview is a fusion of two separate interviews that occurred on October 7 and October 10, 2007.)

Sandy Dover:So, your recording name is Chef Bac and you're an up and coming rapper--what should the public know about Chef Bac? What do you want your audience to get from you?

Chef Bac: I want my audience to gain something that can uplift their spirits through what I relate with, whether it's through emotions or the particular beat I've produced, the public should know that they have another hip hop head on their hands who [has] decided to follow wherever his hopes of layin' something ill will take 'em.

SD: A lot of what I hear sounds to be super-eclectic and synth-based, so much so that if The Neptunes weren't already known for their exploratory production, your music could be described as "weird"-How would you describe your sound?

CB: My sound reflects what I've known as good music, but at the same time, it's like black licorice, because it's not for everybody. It's more of an acquired taste.

SD: What do you want people to grasp when they listen to your music?

CB: I want them to realize that I'm blowin' smoke on these bumble bees buzzin' in my ear, with all that wackness I ain't tryin' to hear.

SD: Would you say that your sound has changed throughout the process of recording in the past few years?

CB: Over the years I've been tryin' to perfect my own sound, and I feel like I've found it.

SD: I also hear you have a new album on the way, with your Levitation Nation group mate, H!ku--could you shed some light on the album and what led you to record with him as a duo? You've have a lot of outlets and people that you could've chose to record with, in addition to H!ku...give me a little insight...

CB: Well, the album [Almost Famous Dudes] actually started the day I first heard H!ku record
SD: You've had The Special Batter mixtape/EP (an Internet-only release) and various song releases in the past 18 months-what can we expect from the Bac-H!ku collaboration, for those that aren't familiar with your music?

CB: You can expect us to act a fool.

SD: Speaking of your Internet profile, who do you work with most frequently? I know you have a built-in network with The Nation [comprised of rappers Chef Bac, H!ku, Danalog and producer Stewrat] and other folks...who contributes to your music?

CB: I started out rhymin' on Stewrat's beats, who is nasty with the "boom bip", I've worked with Mateos, Stainless Steele, Danalog, H!ku and other cats I would describe as bums.

SD: [laughing] You're a producer as well, right?

CB: Yep.

SD: What music software do you tend to use?

CB: Reason 3.0, SoundForge and [expletive] technology.

SD: Beyond your upcoming release, what are your plans for the future, either short- or long-term?

CB: I want to pursue music as a lifestyle. Hand some demos out to some indie labels. Right now, I need to crank out lots of music and build my rep up.

SD: How do you feel about stepping out and being an actual artist? A lot of people usually feel uncomfortable with such an abstract lifestyle, being a music artist and especially you being only 18-has any sort of life adversity played into how you pursue your passion?

CB: Well, I was very introverted in high school and making music really kept me sane. Like, you know how some people have to run in the mornings or they just don't feel right? That's how I am. I feel down if I haven't made a beat or recorded within a week. Although sometimes I get too sensitive about whether or not certain people will feel my music, because it's not your norm or what have you. I mean, I might as well share my love of music with people who can relate or feel what I'm expressin'.

SD: You said that you were introverted in high school. You spent most of your HS years at a Catholic school before transferring to a city school--as an artist and an observer of trends, you know that Kanye West has made a living off of his misadventures in school and downplaying the importance of what going school actually gives, as far as what a degree of any kind can offer-what do you say about that?

CB: I admire Kanye for following his dreams. School's important if you plan on being successful, but I don't think everybody's cut out for it.

SD: You take it serious, it seems--your music seems to have a lot of emotions tied into it. Various songs you've put out seem to be almost self-loathing or at the very least, they reveal a grim nature of how you see society. Can you speak on that?

CB: Well, they might be self-loathing because, I've never been my own hype man, ya know? Sometimes I write out of depression, love, past experiences-you name it. I'm also a huge pessimist at times, too.

SD: Does that motivate or inspire your work as a whole or just as a fraction of your artistry?

CB: What motivates me to do music is the love I get for the ill tracks. Sometimes, I think I'm tryin' to seek acknowledgement and praise to make me feel better about myself. But I just love the art form as a whole.

SD: You've mentioned earlier that old funk records and Andre 3000 [of OutKast] have been motivators in your craft--if it were possible, who would be the three people you'd want to collaborate with?

CB: It would be Busdriver, MF DOOM, Count Bass D and Andre 3000.

SD: Before we wrap this up, is there anything that you'd like to say independent of what we've talked about? Anyone you wanna give shout-outs?

CB: I'd just like to say blackness is beautiful, shout-outs to H!ku, Stewrat, Lev Nation, Eric Bacon and fans.

SD: Word up, stay up, Chef--I'll be lookin' forward to seeing the album drop.

CB: Fa' sho'.