Wesleyan has a rich hip hop culture with a deep history, from the graffitied walls of the old Westco café and the pre-painted-over Butterfield tunnels to graduate Bobbito a.k.a DJ Cucumberslice ’88. Its mix of talented, creative students and proximity to the Rotten Apple lends itself to breeding all parts of the culture, from MCs and DJs to graffiti artists and b-boys. Blake Curry ’07, a Cardinal wide receiver for three years who is getting ready for his fourth season on the basketball team, is carrying on that hip hop tradition while juggling school and sports, as well. I sat down with Curry, whose group, Chester Green, is making a name for itself as the next big thing to come out of Wesleyan, to talk about the music, the group, and the challenges of coming up in the hip hop game.
Andre Sternberg: When did you begin to become serious about the music, and what was your motivation to start recording?
Blake Curry: I started freestyling when I was like 15, but I had never put it all together until this teacher in high school, Mr. Martin, told me to start making songs and lyrics with a purpose instead of simply wasting my time on unproductive battles.
BC: My brother is big in the hip hop scene, so he always encouraged my rapping by bringing me the most updated songs and instrumentals. Then one day my boy asked me to drop a verse on his album, and I ended up in the booth in this $200,000 recording studio. And the rest is what it is.
BC: I started thinking that music was going to be my thing when I got to college. I met Marc Arena ’07, who is a hip hop guru in my mind, and he sparked my interest in creating songs with a meaning. Then when I met Young Hii, I had been working on a solo album and we both agreed that we would be better served to make a duo album. From there, Chester Green was created.
AS: That’s an original name. How did you choose it?
BC: Chester Green formed when I met Young Hii here at Wesleyan, for what we later found out was supposed to be some kind of rap battle. One of our mutual friends brought the two of us together and put on some beats, and we were so impressed by one another’s talent, and by our ability to be compatible on a track, that night I called up Hii and he agreed to do the project.
BC: Chester Green was formed by the combination of our nicknames. Hii is sometimes called Chester, and I am known around the campus by some as The Green Light. So came Chester Green.
BC: I was the one who was interested in creating an underground conscious style, while Hii was interested in doing more of the pop/club type of hip hop. The mixture of the two allows us to create tracks that have a combination of both underground and pop. The idea behind it was that the two of us (and later our DJs) could use one character, one moniker, “Chester Green” in order to generate an interest in our individual careers. Now we have made progress with our website www.myspace.com/chestergreenmusic and added on DJ Jemaine and Producer Pete Beatz, both from central Massachusetts.
AS: What techniques do your producers use to make beats?
BC: Jemaine and Pete use several different methods. Lately they have been using a 76-key Triton Classic keyboard and sequencing it with fruity loops. When Jemaine is producing by himself he uses an AKAI 2000xl MPC along with wavelab and fruity loops, both of which are followed by a Pro Tools mix down at a major studio in order to fix levels.
AS: When listening to music, what criteria do you have for possible influences?
BC: The thing is, I myself don’t ever listen to a record for its ability to be transferred into my rhyme somewhere. You sort of start writing, and in order to continue, reflect on what you have heard, not only in a lyrical sense, but also in stylistics as well.
BC: For example, I might say, “yo this is a Jay-Z type rhyme, or this is a Pimp C type rhyme.” But it’s more than that, because a writer has more than one influence in each verse.
AS: What do you think the role of white rappers is? What would you say to critics who accuse white rappers of appropriating black culture?
BC: There is no role for white rappers, nor black rappers, rappers do not have a set role; they are individuals whose job is to entertain. And as far as the white question, it’s never been a question of white or black; it’s a question of whether you are down or not. It just happens that the majority of white people are not down. That is to say, a lot of Caucasians enjoy the music, but are not accustomed to the lifestyle. The fact of the matter is that no one calls Eric Clapton a wigger because he plays the blues, and no one is mad at Elvis, either.
BC: The white rapper is an artist who constantly has to reaffirm to his fans that he indeed deserves to be on the mic, and that reason is because my expression as a white rapper is seen as fraudulent or farcical. All I can say is I live 100 percent what I spit. If you hear me vocalize something on record, it has validity. That is not to say that I don’t write stories, or theorize about things I’ve never done…but you won’t hear me say, “and then he tried to stab me,” if nobody ever tried to stab me.
AS: What is your opinion of the music industry and accusations that record companies exploit up and coming rappers?
BC: I’m not a big fan of the music industry in general. It is extremely cutthroat. In terms of the exploitation claim I’d say it is 100 percent true. I have made sure to copyright anything I put out in case anyone wants to steal a song, a beat, or catch phrase.
AS: What would be the ideal future for Chester Green? What do you see yourself doing?
BC: Our future is in our hands. I envision Young Hii and myself performing on a stage in front of 50,000 screaming fans with DJ Jemaine on the tables behind us.
BC: But in reality, we are humble. We just want to get our music out there and get people to hear our unique sound. Our lyrics have a realistic yet creative and original style and delivery that should resonate with crowds of all kinds. We make rap of all different kinds because we listen to different styles ourselves.
BC: We are doing as many shows as we can in the area until I graduate, then hopefully a tour or signing would be in the cards. The start of our future is our networking and persistence. So everyone check out our myspace, even if you don’t have myspace.