Man Like Chez

If Oasis ever decided to cross into the world of Rap/Hip-hop, I believe Man Like Chez would be the result. With his northern blokey flow, Chez's song-writing screams of authenticity, it's raw, honest and relatable, add DJ and producer into the mix and you have an uber talented chap with his teeth well and truly chomping into a number of creative pies. Real name Andy he adopted the name Chez at the age of nine " My brother is even little Chez " he tells me, "It’s the old northern thing where the first syllable of your surname ends up being your nickname. So when I needed an MC name it was a no-brainer!". About to drop a new album, let me kick off with what led me to want to review him in the first place, I've been following his journey  ever since  his 2023 E.P  Madblo and my first catch of track "Amateurs" . This is a track that I regularly have blasting out at Runnin With My Rhythm HQ. .... and BOOM! just like that  you can get your ears on it  below and check it out for yourself:

                                        

Not always a Hip-hop head, it wasn't until much later that he got into the genre: " I was a raver / junglist back in my teens growing up in Cheshire, and it wasn’t until I got to Uni in Sheffield about 1995 that I started seriously listening to Hip-hop. But yeah love all those Golden Era east coast classics like Wu-Tang Clan, Tribe, Nas, Mobb Deep etc."

The first track to blow him away was  a mixtape of a Jungle DJ called LTJ Bukem from about 92/93:

"It was one of those where they record their set from the rave and sell the tapes. this was the first jungle tape that totally converted me, before that it was all Altern 8, 2 Bad Mice, The Prodigy piano breakbeat stuff" he said.                                           

He started up as a Jungle DJ, showing real commitment by  spending his second year student loan on a pair of 1210s decks back in 1996. "We had a little sound system and would play house parties, squat raves, the odd night out in a proper club...one night they wanted someone on the mic, we didn't have an MC and I’d had a few cans and said I’d do it! So my first go on the mic was as a jungle MC.

After that, I got into freestyling, writing lyrics etc and ended up knocking around in a couple of late 90s Sheffield crews, which culminated in Multiverse 3.

                                      

Multiverse 3 was originally me, MC Epicentre and DJ Riles as a live act, with a crew of producers, guest MCs and other great talents supporting it all off-stage. We were active from about 2001-2004 and had a good run of live shows and even released an EP. But the money was pretty tight even back then, so in the end I got a day job and that meant I had a lot less time for tunes so things started to fall off.

I went abroad working for a while, got back to the UK in 2016 and reconnected with some of my old mates, one of which was Epicentre. He’d got a load of studio masters he’d found in an attic and we hit upon the idea of re-releasing them to raise money for a Sheffield homeless charity. That kinda re-lit the fire and I started Djing, producing and rapping again both with Epicentre as a resurrected Multiverse 3 and as a solo artist. I also DJ with an online collective called Breaks and Bass Fam, we upload a new mix every Saturday with quite a range of genres. So long as its good, is basically the mantra!"

 

1.Intro  

2.Rock A Jam Right 

3.Vibes Feat (DrBig F MC) 

4.Rogue Trooper  

5.Fire In The Peaks Pt 2 

6.Right Flow (WillHouseRemix)  

7.Solomon's Mine (FeatEpicentre)  

8.Camel  

9.Manifesto 

10.Consume/Create  

11.Ain't Nothing Changed (AD Remix)  

12. Victory Lap (Feat T.C)  

The time has come for me to check out Chez's new solo album  "Type Beat" dropping imminently. I'm not usually a  fan of most Hip-hop album intros, in fact I'd rather watch broccoli grow, but I'm pleasantly surprised by this one, I often find them a waste of minutes, just full of yadda yadda, bang bang and I have my finger poised over the CD player to skip (yes I still prefer the Jurassic way of listening ?) But that's not the case here, How would I sum it up? There's a line where a female  says "Chez is different" and she's bang on. ...and then we're off with Rock A Jam Right which sets the vibe for the whole album, there are some beaut beats to die for and I loved the smooth groove of Vibes Feat Dr Big F MC. Rogue Trooper, followed by Fire In The Peaks and I'm still in hip-hop heaven apprehensively waiting for a dud track that just doesn't come, by the time we hit last track Victory Lap Feat T.C I'm ready to hit replay. Man Like Chez has come along way as an artist and with the drop of this latest gift I believe will cement his place as an exciting contributor on the hip-hop scene. Whether Life, the Universe or Politics, Chez always has something relevant to say. Time for a Victory lap ? You can pre order a physical CD now over at Bandcamp & follow his various platform via  https://linktr.ee/man_like_chez  Plus, put the 28th March 7.30 UK time  in your diaries because there's a listening party over on Bandcamp where you can check out the album and hang out and chat. 

  If you enjoy good music then please show your support for the artist and  consider sharing. Til next time, Stay Blessed, Back Before Elvis.