Hip Hop's Chef Bac Shows True Self on Ryan Bacon LP

Having created a bit of a buzz over the past year and having now come to be a legitimate hip-hop prospect as an unsigned music artist, Chef Bac has come back to reveal his most honest, if not manic, thoughts as his government alias in Ryan Bacon. With absolutely no hype or promotion, Ryan Bacon was released in late January as a bit of a surprise to his fans.

While much of the anticipation was building based on his newly-formed group, the Brown Booty Bandits, the Chef decided to scrap plans due to the time constraints of recording with the other members and go for his own. Left to his own devices for the better part of two months, with issues stemming from matters of the broken heart to spiritual enlightenment, Chef has opened up to give a frank piece of his mind on Bacon.

(Interview on February 6, 2008)

Sandy Dover: The Ryan Bacon album...there's a lot going on there, a lot of raw emotions, raw beats, and a lot of eccentricity--what all went into creating this LP?

Chef Bac: Umm, I would say hard work, and my devotion to makin' good music, but one of the main things that tied the album together was one girl I was in love with.

SD: Yeah, that's clearly evident--were your love issues the main ingredient for the album?

CB: Don't know, I just think some of the tracks revolved around the love issues.

SD: Word up...some of the tracks on Ryan Bacon were originally intended to be mixtape cuts--what made you include them on the album?

CB: Well, I decided to just do the free album to create more of a buzz, and I felt the mixtape cuts were some of my best songs.

SD: I agree, it had more of a mixtape feel, almost like a "Side A" and Side B" of a cassette--was that merely coincidental or was that a plan for the sound?

CB: Well, I think half of the songs might have had a different energy then the other half of the album where I was just rappin'.

SD: Speaking of energy, you sounded quite full of it on all the songs--did that energy carry over to how long it to you? Did it take a while to really compile the album?

CB: I'd say the album took about 2 years to make, and a lot of the newer tracks have a different swag on them than the older ones, because I wanted to write songs with concepts.

SD: Feel you--is part of that swag because you produced the entire album? The cats that are familiar with you know that you have a tight bond with producer StewRat.

CB: Well, I actually only produced five of the tracks; Stainless Steele produced "Merry Christmas LP", "Leslie's Letter", and "Stainless Chef Pt. 2"; and StewRat produced "Black Emo" and "Burnin' Up Ya Nosehairs".

SD: Word? The sound seemed to be all you, even production-wise...this release was thought to be the collaboration album with you and fellow rappers H!ku and Demeter--is that album scrapped or is this just something you wanted to release before that?

CB: Well, I would say that's put on hold for right now, although H!ku, who now goes by the name Floronic Man, has 10 tracks ready for an album, so his will probably be next (to be released).

SD: Is that produced by you as well?

CB: I believe he has a handful of my beats to choose from and probably some from StewRat as well.

SD: Word up...so how do you feel about yourself right now in music? Are you feeling more confident in what you're saying, because it seems like you let your hair down on the Ryan Bacon LP.

CB: I feel that I am just a humble MC, I'm always trying to write better songs and experiment with beats. A lot of the times when I make music, I'm never satisfied, because I feel like I always have room for improvement.

SD: And you're satisfied with your new album? You're MUCH bolder on this new release.

CB: I think it's good progress, but I'm always tryin' to sharpen my skills.

SD: Was there a formula or a specific process that you followed when you did this album? Was it truly "free" as you said it was when you were recording?

CB: I would say the main formula was to try and out do myself on every track. It was a lot of fun (making it), and I hope the listeners enjoy the effort I put into it.

SD: What was your software/hardware that you used?

CB: I used Reason 3.0 and SoundForge.

SD: Word up...and what did this infamous Leslie think of the album? Did she have an opinion on the subject material?

CB: (laughing) Well, she's a very cool girl, but I don't think she wanted to listen to it after all the phone calls and with me tryin' to pursue her in the game I spit--but if she reads this, I would love a response *wink wink*

SD: (laughing) No doubt, hopefully she's receptive! Any last words about the album or anything in general?

CB: Download the album and spread it like a virus

CB: http://www.zshare.net/download/69094980589345/

CB: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2ISRVD62