Chester Watson (born March 16, 1997) is an American rapper and record producer from

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

currently based out of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He is a member of the crew Nü Age Syndicate.

Early life

Watson was born to separated parents in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He rarely saw his father, who has been a producer for

Three 6 Mafia Three 6 Mafia is an American hip-hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip-hop group, they went on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mystic Stylez'' became an influen ...

and a keyboard player for

Con Funk Shun Con Funk Shun (formerly known as Project Soul) is an American R&B and funk band from Vallejo, California, formed in 1969. They were influenced by funk progenitors James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone. Signed to Mercury Records in 1976, the ...

and

Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays is an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including " Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) in ...

. He grew up in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...

and spent several years in

. He transferred from a performing arts school, where he studied ballet, to a regular public school in

Career

At the age of 15, Watson started releasing his music online. In 2012, he released a mixtape, ''Phantom''. The music video for its title track caught the attention of

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

, who played the song on his

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

show. For weeks, the video received tens of thousands of views each day. Watson released ''Tin Wooki'' in 2014, ''Past Cloaks'' in 2016, and ''Project 0'' in 2018. On October 31, 2020, Watson released his debut studio album, ''A Japanese Horror Film.''

Artistry

Watson's inspirations are made clear through his music, with references in his lyrics to many artists. In a recent livestream on his Twitch channel, Watson was asked who his biggest inspirations were. He replied with the following artists: Psymun, MF DOOM,

Odd Future Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, better known as Odd Future and often abbreviated as OF or OFWGKTA, was an American alternative hip-hop Musical collective, music collective formed in Los Angeles, California in 2007. The group consisted of rap ...

Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...

Madlib Otis Lee Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic, music sample, sample-heavy production style, he is rega ...

Nujabes , born , better known by his stage name Nujabes (; ), was a Japanese record producer, audio engineer, DJ, composer and arranger best known for his atmospheric instrumental mixes sampling from Japanese hip hop, hip hop, soul music, soul, and jazz, a ...

J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), known professionally as André 3000, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he was one half of the hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper Big Boi, which the two formed in 1992. Benj ...

Metro Boomin Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), known professionally as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer and music executive. Widely acclaimed for his dark and cinematic production style, he is regarded as one of the most influential p ...

and

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

. Producing most of his own material, Watson blends genres together, including

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

, and

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

. In 2017, Watson released a video on his YouTube channel titled "A Moment With Chester Watson", in which he stated "I kinda just want my career to just take its course, and lean towards psychedelia, for sure... because... I don't know, like, that's what I'm influenced by the most." His signature monotone style of delivery is one of the components that sets Watson apart from his contemporaries, and ultimately has given him the nickname of the Monotone Samurai. In his EP ''1997'', released on February 27, 2021, Watson made multiple references to the late MF DOOM's passing. He released a video for the first track on the EP, "Sunbeam", and in its description wrote "RIP MF DOOM".

Discography

Studio albums

* ''A Japanese Horror Film'' (2020) * ''fish don't climb trees'' (2023)

Mixtapes

* ''Phantom'' (2012) * ''Tin Wooki'' (2014) * ''Past Cloaks'' (2016) * ''Project 0'' (2018) * ''Instrumental Tape'' (2019)

EPs

* ''Space Nobility'' (2013) * ''My Girlfriend Made Me Drop This'' (2014) * ''Summer Mirage'' (2015) * ''Autumn Mirage'' (2015) * ''Spring Mirage'' (2016) * ''3 of 3'' (2016) * ''Nebulous'' (2019) * ''1997'' (2021) * ''Winter Mirage'' (2024) * ''Montisona'' (2024) * ''Mirage'' (2025) * ''Stargazer, vol i'' (2025)

Singles

* "Koi Island" (2015) * "Marble" (2017) * "Smog" (2017) * "Halloween" (2017) * "Chessmaster" (2018) * "Afro!" (2019) * "Time Moves Slower Here" (2019) * "Cloud Mask" (2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Chester Living people American hip-hop record producers 21st-century American male rappers Rappers from St. Louis Rappers from Florida 21st-century American rappers 1997 births 21st-century American male musicians