Artist Spotlight: Danny Chaska

Up and coming Bristol based producer-rapper

Oscar Ross Editor

Hidden gems are a strange concept to me. Alongside terms like 'underground', even the long lost meaning of the now overused 'indie', there is an implication of hiding from the spotlight, of staying o the musical grid.

Well, Danny Chaska is not a hidden gem, because he's not hiding. This local artist is making waves in the UK rap scene, working with MC's here in Bristol and across London.

Chaska produced breakout single 'Madrid', with rapper Hal Shallo recording his bars in Chaska's makeshift bedroom setup, using sheets for sound dampening and stopping every so often to let the nearby trains pass.

'Madird', now with nearly 3 million streams, merged into Chaska and Shallo's collaborative 2021 album: VICETOWN. 40 minutes of jazzy beats and interweaving bars from the two young MCs, VICETOWN is the sound of nostalgia, of growing up and growing out of things, with tracks like 'Rose Gold', 'Plan C' and 'BRB' e ectively capturing the feeling of the album.

Chaska now works either out of studios at DBS, his sound engineering school in Redcli e, or working with MCs in London. Similar new talents David Armada and Cassius Gray have recently been working closely with Chaska, with some fresh new tunes bound to be on its way this year.

Chaska's latest release, 'SE17' shows o his production with bars from South East London MC, Stacy N.K.R. The producer combines stylish sample chops with his own guitar skills and drum loops to create an individual, distinctive sound.

Taking time to chat with epigram about his thoughts on the UK rap scene and his next steps as a musician, Chaska sipped his beer and gave us his thoughts on gatekeeping and ‘underground rap’:

“It's not so much gatekeeping, it's people saying stu is underground. It closes it o , it makes it feel like it's not going to break out, which is obviously not great for artists like me. I’m not trying to underground forever.”

Chaska also relayed stories of people DM.ing him about how much they like the songs, laughing about the ways in which people share and don’t share music:

"I’ve seen artists saying stu like ‘don’t gate keep my music’ on their instas and I just think, that’s not your job. Just make the music and play the shows, don’t get upset about it. "

"(Laughing) Then again, if u like a song: post it on your story, send me a message and then maybe hit me up on hinge."

Chaska is currently working on a solo project to be released later this year. Working with other local musicisans as well as Mc's from Lodnon, this project could well be right up your street.

So when it comes out, don't keep it to yourself, don't put it on your underground playlist, but most of all, de nitly don't hit up Danny Chaska on hinge.