Chester Watson
By Paul Jimenez on April 25, 2013
Out of St. Louis, Missouri we have an upcoming rapper/producer in 16-year-old artist, Chester Watson. This kid offers a unique style in his work, expressing lots of dark imagery in his lines to flow smoothly with his soft, mellow tone. The beats Chester produces sound vintage, yet psychedelic at the same time. On paper that may sound a bit strange, but in reality sounds raw as hell. When he has spare time, he enjoys free-styling, skating, and simply just hanging out at the local McDonald's with a group of friends known as "Nü Age"; a group of musicians,skaters, and artists within the ages of 15-18. From what he has released last year in mixtapes Carnie and Phantom, we can see people comparing him to artists like Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, and even Joey Bada$$. It's most likely due to their young ages, but could possibly just be the mad respect each one of them have for underground artist, MF DOOM. Overall, Chester Watson is a very creative artist that has loads of potential to do something in the hip-hop world, we see a bright future ahead.
Interview
Who is Chester Watson? Where were you born? Where do you live now? Describe yourself.
"Well I’m Chester Watson, haha. I was born in St. Louis, Missouri. I live in North Georgia now. I guess I’m just a kid who thinks a lot and makes music to keep it simple."
Is "Chester Watson" your birth name? Where did it come from?
"Chester Watson is not my real name actually. I was looking up names when I first started rapping. Everyone would say I dressed vintage so I looked up some classic names and I was really feeling Chester. The Watson part came from a middle school friend of mine. Her cat’s name is Watson so she suggested it and I was like yea that sounds fresh. Chester Watson."
You're only 16, how long have you been rapping/producing?
"I started rapping and producing in the beginning of 9th grade, so almost two years. When school starts in August it’ll be two."
What are your thoughts on your last mixtape, Phantom?
"I liked it, my favorite so far. I learned a lot about music and other artists while I was making that tape, so it really gave it a nice sound I guess. I still listen to some songs from it."
When is your next mixtape going to be released?
"I have no clue. We’re looking at like late summer, early fall-ish. Something like that, haha."
How is this next mixtape going to compare to your last one?
"Well it’s definitely different. The same vibe, the dark, but other than that it’s looking like an improvement over Phantom. Lyrically and production wise. Key producers are me, Psymun, and Art Vandelay."
What artists are you influenced by?
"MF Doom, Madlib, Earl, Tyler, Mos Def, Flylo, Onra, maybe Vince Staples. I listen to Vince a lot so he probably has some influence somewhere."
If you could collaborate with any one of today’s artists, who would it be?
"Ugh, Earl mainly. DOOM, Flylo, Vince. Anyone in that list."
What is "Nü Age"?
"Nü Age is a group of musicians, skaters, and artists. 15-18 age wise. Yea we’re just some teens making some noise on the web."
What does Nü Age do for fun?
"We skate, have freestyle seshes, burn, just chill. We go up to this McDonald’s by my old house a lot and just chill there all night. I remember once we went at like 5 am running on no sleep and we stayed until like 7. Then we went back to this crib, shit was fresh."
What will you bring to the game(rap/hip-hop) in the future?
"Some nice music. I hope anyway. Maybe the philosophical ways that we lost over the years; weird beats; LoFi music. Just mellow stuff. Shit that makes you not wanna do anything but listen to the music and think."