Chin Injeti

Chin Injeti (born Pranam Injeti in India^[1]) is a Canadian singer, musician, and music producer. He got his start as a founding member of Juno award-winning group Bass is Base. Working in many genres ranging from rock to country and most notably hip-hop, Chin is seeing major breakthroughs as a writer/producer. Recent work with DJ Khalil for top hip-hop artists Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Drake, Clipse, Eminem. Chin's foray into hip-hop came with great success in 2010, with Eminem's multi-platinum album "Recovery" winning the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. Chin shows no sign of slowing down as he works on many new projects as well as developing a number of new artists (Sophia Danai, Omar Khan, Of Giants, The New Royales) through The Hastings Set, a company he co-founded with Aidan Wright.

Recently, two albums he has worked on have been nominated for the 2013 Grammy Awards, The Truth About Love by Pink and Gravity by Lecrae.^[2]

Early career

1994-96: Bass is Base

Roger "MC Mystic" Mooking (rapper, percussion)
Chin Injeti (bass, vocals)
Ivana Santilli (keyboards, trumpet, vocals)

While still students at the University of Toronto, Chin Injeti, Roger Mooking and Ivana Santilli made the decision to join forces and share their creative talents with Canada, forming Bass is Base in early 1993 in their North York suburbs and independently recording what would become “First Impressions for the Bottom Jigglers” in Injeti’s parents' house. Their do-it-yourself approach would yield them great success, selling 30,000 copies of their first album and earning them a Juno Award for ‘Best R&B/Soul Recording’ in 1994. Their first single, “Funkmobile”, was an underground hit, eventually receiving heavy rotation on Much Music, and in less than a year they had opened for performers such as Jamiroquai, Pharcyde, Rheostatics, Crash Test Dummies, Barenaked Ladies and Me’Shell Ndege’Ocello.^[3]

After the success of “Funkmobile” they were signed to A&M Records, in an effort to put their Urban Music Roster, and by late 1995 they would release their second album ‘Memories of the Soulshack Survivors’ which received critical acclaim for the positive messages in an era of gangsta rap hatred and rhetoric.^[3]

In 1996, the band had their first breakout top 40 hit, “I Cry”, which would enter top 20 on Pop and Adult Contemporary charts in Canada. Following their second album they toured until 1997, opening for groups such as Cypress Hill, Busta Rhymes, TLC and James Brown. After their quick success and signing to a label the band members decided that their original intentions for creating the group were being forgotten and disbanded to pursue their other interests.^[3]

Santilli continues to work as a solo artist, having now released four well received albums. Injeti went on to work as a producer, bass player and solo artist; starting his production career in 2005 when he produced "hick-hop" artist Ridley Bent's debut release, Blam!. Since then he has produced for several Canadian artists as well as achieving notable success in the United States producing Hip-Hop music. Mooking briefly left the music business to study cooking, and now works as an acclaimed chef in Toronto.^[4] He is currently an Executive Chef and Co-owner/partner at Kultura, Eatalia and Nyood. He is the host of the Cooking Channel show called Everyday Exotic, and co-hosts the show Heatseekers with Aaron Sanchez. He also returned to the music scene with the 2008 release of his album entitled Soul Food.

Discography

Singles

1994 Funkmobile (Soul Shack)
1995 Straw Six & Brix (Soul Shack)
1995 Westside Funk (Soul Shack)
1995 Diamond Dreams (Loose Cannon/A & M)
1996 I Cry (Loose Cannon/A & M)

Albums

1994 First Impressions For The Bottom Jigglers (Soul Shack)
1995 Memories Of The Soulshack Survivors (Loose Cannon/A & M)

Videos

1994 Funkmobile
1995 Diamond Dreams
1995 Floating
1996 I Cry

Solo career

Discography

2001: Daydreaming

Chin’s debut solo album ‘Daydreaming’ is an eclectic mix of genres, ranging from gospel, funk, folk, electronic, jazz, hip-hop and R&B showcasing Chin’s diverse taste in music. Co-produced by David Kershaw, the CD travels from Motown to Memphis, New York to East Compton as it joyously dips into earthy acoustic grooves, b-boy rap, fusion jazz and mainstream pop.^[5] ‘Daydreaming’ maintains the pop sensibility and positive vibes of Chin’s earlier work with “Bass is Base”, while showcasing Chin’s versatility as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist with its lush instrumentation and vocal flourishes. Overall, ‘Daydreaming’ is a great showcase of Chin’s ability as a musician and a producer.

2010: D’tach

Chin’s second album comes nearly a decade after his solo debut ‘Daydreaming’ and the time in between has certainly not been slow for Injeti. Stepping away from his career as an artist, Chin has experienced growing success as a producer, working with everyone from country artist Ridley Bent, folk artist Zaki Ibrahim and some of hip-hop’s most notable artists and producers ranging from Dr. Dre, Drake, 50 Cent and Eminem. Amongst his dealings with these artists, ‘D’tach’ comes off as a personal journey and departure from the extensive productions he is becoming known for.^[6]

Recorded in Chin’s personal studio located in Vancouver, ‘D’tach's’ sparse production emphasizes Injeti’s voice, guitar and lyrics providing a meaningful backdrop for his personal musings. While the music remains minimal, Chin displays his penchant for mixing genre’s once again, fusing pop, folk, soul and reggae into what he calls “Urban-Folk”. ‘D’tach’ stays true to its name as Chin detaches himself from all the production tools, industry politics, and many outside influences to providing an honest portrait of the individual that is Chin Injeti.^[7]

2011: Re’tach EP

With ‘Re’tach’ Chin allows those collaborators close to him take the sparse productions of ‘D’tach’ and remix five tracks, one of which (Stay ft. Moneca Delain) is new to the EP. Naturally, as a remix EP, ‘Re’tach’ follows a range of styles, providing an interesting and eclectic take on the songs of ‘D’tach’.

Songwriter and producer

Since the beginning of his music career Chin has had a hand in production, starting with Bass is Base’s debut album ‘First Impressions For The Bottom Jigglers’ which was independently recorded by the group. Since then, he has steadily been creating a name for himself with his unique style and ability to fuse genres. One of Chin’s first major roles as a producer was on the debut Ridley Bent album, Blam! in which he helped Bent develop his unique sound often described as “Hick-Hop”. Since then he has worked with artists such as Esthero, Kinnie Starr, Bedouin Soundclash, The Canadian Tenors and Zaki Ibrahim to name a few.

While Chin’s presence as an artist and producer has been known in Canada since the 90’s, it was not until 2008 that he began gaining notoriety in the United States when his friendship with DJ Khalil would lead them to produce several songs together. This newly formed partnership would also lead to the creation of the genre-spanning production team known as “The New Royales” (consisting of Chin Injeti, DJ Khalil, Erik Alcock & Liz Rodrigues). Through his connection with DJ Khalil, Chin has been producing and working with everyone from Dr. Dre, Nas, Talib Kweli, Organized Noize (TLC, Outkast), Busta Rhymes as well as many other notable artists.

In 2009 Chin produced 50 Cent (ft. R. Kelly) on a track called “Could’ve Been You”, plus the song “Fear”, from fellow Canadian Drake. Chin would go on to work with hip-hop duo the Clipse on their song “Kinda Like A Big Deal” (feat. Kanye West) plus “There Was A Murder” on their Til the Casket Drops.

2010 was highlighted by Chin's work with one of the world’s biggest rap artists, Eminem, on his album Recovery. Chin wrote and performed on “Talkin’ 2 Myself” as well as “Almost Famous”. Chin’s catalogue of work would continue to grow that year having co-wrote and produced a song called “Ansomnia” by Zaki Ibrahim that appeared on the major motion picture soundtrack for Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls, which starred Janet Jackson.

Currently Chin is staying busy writing and producing in Vancouver developing artists such as Mad Child and Sophia Danai while continuing to line up work in Los Angeles. Aside from his busy schedule as an artist and producer Chin has also immersed himself in the business side of the music industry with his appointment to Universal Music Canada’s A&R team.

References

External links

• chininjeti.com official site