Chiddy Bang Interview: SXSW 2010

Brushing up the old school hip hop set up of a rapper and a DJ, the young talent of Chiddy Bang are bringing pop to hip hop, sampling everything from MGMT to Radiohead to Tom Waits with electric results. Having met during college at Drexel in Philadelphia, Chiddy Bang includes rapper Chidera Anamege, and sampling genius Noah Beresin (better known in the music world as Xaphoon Jones). After blowing up the basement party scene in Philly, Chiddy Bang was courted by some music industry folk in New York, and many of the duo's songs were written during the long Chinatown bus rides to and from these meetings. Their first release, 'The Swelly Express' mixtape, gained over 100,000 downloads, a popularity curated with the help of smitten music blogs and word of mouth. Fresh from their UK tour, and recently signed to EMI/Parlophone, Chiddy Bang just released the 'Opposite of Adults' EP to much buzz. Spinner caught up with Chiddy to talk about Scotland, growing up on hip hop, and performing at SXSW.

How did Chiddy Bang come to be?

We actually started out in college. I was trying to get into the studio and my next door neighbor was friends with Noah. He basically linked us up and we began working on some indie remixes that just came out dope. Since then we've been making crazy material.

Describe your sound in your own words.

I would describe the sound as a new age hip hop electronica with an old school vibe. I think we're taking the elements of the old school hip hop duo, where it was a rapper and a DJ, and making it something really fresh. The music has a life of it's own.



What are your musical influences?

Growing up, my musical influence was really hip hop. Pretty much, my favorite rappers were Jay-Z, B.I.G., Nas and all the great artists that had an effect on people during their time. Today, Kanye West is someone I look to as a influence as far as music goes.

How did you come up with your band name?

My name is Chidera. Chiddy has been my nickname since I was a little kid, so when we formed the group we just ran with it. We were actually called Chiddy Chiddy Bang Bang at first, but decided to shorten it to make things easier.

What's in your SXSW festival survival kit?

I know in my festival survival kit I'm gonna have my laptop (always need that). My phone for Twitter, and some other things that I probably shouldn't mention on here. But we're excited. Austin, here we come!

Who was your first celeb crush?

My first celeb crush probably was Christina Milian. Love don't cost a thing!

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

I went to Scotland and we opened up for a great indie band named Hockey. And I'll say that the city of Glasgow is the craziest thing I've seen on tour. You kinda just have to go and see it for yourself, but there's definitely a medieval feel in Scotland.

Any band or musician you dream of collaborating with?

Kanye West.



Courtney Gillette is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.