Interview with Uncle Buzz & Chin

1. What is your stage name? Night School (comprised of Uncle Buzz (rapper) and Chin Beats (producer)
2. Are there any other members to your crew or band, what are their stage names? We are the only members currently in Night School but we are looking to expand in the future.
3. What city did you grow up in, where do you live now? I grew up all over Toronto. Etobicoke, North York and Malton to name a few, but we currently live in Brampton.
4. How did you and your band mates meet each other? We came from the same womb.
5. Hip hop culture has come a long way over the last decades, what is your opinion on the state of hip hop right now? It’s in a great position personally. We have become global so now there are so many different tastes and subgenres now to pick from. You can literally find the type of hip hop that suits your mood at your leisure. There’s a lane for everyone. The only downside I would say is the abundance of people wanting to make music in today’s day and age but are ignorant on the steps it takes to get to a certain level. Everything is a learning process for us, even now considering how long we have been doing it and the information we’ve gathered along the way.
6. How long have you been doing music? Man, I would say at least 15 years honing our craft. But up until recently, with life circumstances out the way we have decided to go full throttle. So far it’s been working great for us.
7. Not everyone creates their own instrumentals, do you guys produce your own music? Yes, we only do songs on our production. We’re our own in house team when it comes to the beats.
8. Who have you guys worked with, who have you produced for in the past? Man, a lot of people. Cory Gunz, Consequence, Mobb Deep, Little Brother, Fred The Godson (RIP), Q-Tip, Estelle, we had a chance to work with Kanye West also, that was a dope experience…it’s a lot to name but that’s just on the production end.
9. Do you do any live shows, if so, how often are you on stage? Not often with COVID in the world, but when things open back up we hope to bless every stage we can.
10. Do you or have you ever taken part in battle rap competitions; do you belong to A battle league? Between all the Canadian leagues that exist currently, Uncle Buzz has participated in 13 battles for the year of 2019. He has been a part of King of the Dot, Canada Premier Rap Battle League, Capital Rap Battles and BEAST MODE battles, which can all be watched on YouTube right now.
11. What is your background? Jamaican. Chin got some Chinese in him. Lol but we’ll say Jamaican.
12. How do you feel about the big record labels, do you think they’re needed in this new era? I’m sure they can help on a partnership level; when you’ve already developed your own independent machine. They can provide resources that an artist may need but for the most part, this is something you gotta build from the ground up. But I prefer it that way, I don’t want too many hands in the pot.
13. What first got you and your band mates into music? We were exposed to music at a young age. I wouldn’t say any one person put us on to music. It played in our home. A lot. And outside while we were playing. We would tape music videos on VHS and stuff like that. So it became a part of us. Maybe our parents put us on.
14. Who inspired you to make music? We did. We inspire ourselves.
15. How would you describe the music that your producer typically creates? Fire. It doesn’t matter what bag Chin decides to go in, it’s gonna come out classic. But we do try to go for the classic, timeless feel . We’re chameleons. We can blend into anything if we wanted to. But hip hop needs some more balancing first.
16. If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be? De La Soul. Something like that. Maybe an older artist like Anita Baker. Make it a weird show.
17. What can be done to help the independent artist & producers get ahead? More central facilities for artists. More studios. More availability when it comes to lending your talents to others. Support from every angle. Atlanta supports and curates their own very well. We can do the same. At least I hope so. The industry is shifting towards artist independence anyway, sort of like, back to square one. I like it personally because it maintains our integrity as creators.
18. There are A few grants to help an artist grow their career, do you think it’s enough? Anything helps. The bigger the budget the easier it is to get things done. But more grants would help as well. At the end of the day I don’t mind working for what I want and investing totally into my music.
19. Generally speaking, does the local artist get enough support, or the recognition they deserve? Not necessarily, that’s an entirely different conversation though. We had a brief period of selfishness among certain artists, and only they got the shine. All that time spent and no real musical community in our city. It’s still very much scattered. Those artists hardly did anything for the generation after them either, and now they have nothing to show for it. No lies told. Our generation can change that though. There is still time.
20. Do you have anyone that you consider your mentor? How has their help or advice shaped you? Musically all we had was ourselves to mentor. I really don’t have an idea otherwise.
21. What is one experience in life that, without it, you wouldn’t be the artist you are today? Us being signed to Band Camp Records in the early 2010s gave us a certain type of hunger and work ethic that can’t be lost. A lot of diligence and all nighters during that time. We worked like animals. We still do when it comes to this.
22. What kind of artist would you classify yourself as? Unorthodox. Unassuming. But always dope. It isn’t coming out if it’s not dope.
23. what are your web links, where can we see your work, videos, or listen to your music? You can follow us on IG @blaccbypopulardemand (Buzz) and @chinbeats_ on IG as well.
Chin Beats and Unc Buzz on all social media and digital platforms.