——— CHUCK STRANGERS (US)
FR/
Chuck Strangers est un rappeur et producteur américain originaire de New York, membre du collectif Beast Coast aux côtés de Pro Era et Flatbush Zombies. Avec un flow posé et des textes introspectifs, il mêle boom bap classique et influences modernes pour créer un hip-hop à la fois ancré dans la tradition et résolument actuel. Après plusieurs projets solos remarqués, dont The Chuck Strangers EP et Lunar, il s’est imposé comme une voix authentique de la scène underground new-yorkaise. Chuck Strangers revient au Botanique pour un concert où il déploiera tout son univers entre storytelling et beats soigneusement travaillés.
EN/
For his 13th birthday in 2005, Chuck Strangers was gifted Akai’s MPC2000. Audio interfaces didn’t cost $100 the way they do now, and so, like any other adolescent (1) obsessed with music and (2) lacking the riches of favorite musicians, he programmed countless beats onto the machine in his free time, with zero idea how to actually get them out. It would be four years until a friend introduced him to FL Studio, but those four years — of creation for creation’s sake — remain indicative of a love for hip-hop that, though tested, has never wavered.
This romance is the crux of A Forsaken Lover’s Plea, Chuck’s most comprehensive solo project since Consumers Park, his 2018 debut. The interim was teeming with hard-learned lessons, even if not all are available on streaming. He found that with patience and discipline, surprising results came: “It’s cliche,” he says, “but if you put in a bunch of reps, you’re going to get brolic.” Like muscle mass, the reps added new layers to his sound.
Where Consumers Park stayed in 90s-borne boom-bap, A Forsaken Lover’s Plea sounds lush, with candid rhymes and guest producers like The Alchemist, Animoss, and NV. Chuck’s production feels current without losing its homeliness, complementing his lived-in raps.
There’s also the grueling up-and-down of a relationship with hip-hop — cathartic at best, unforgiving at worst. Though wary of rap-as-girlfriend cliche, he’s learned lessons of humility, patience, and process. “I’m grateful for everything I’ve done,” he says; “I’ve got much more to offer.”
That process began in NYC’s public high schools, where he connected with Pro Era. As their in-house producer, he conjured gritty soundscapes reminiscent of East-Coast legacy, but suggestive of its future. In 2018, he explored that tension solo, blending lush production with storytelling. As his Pro Era role faded, he collaborated with a fresher crop of NY MCs. His 2020 EP Too Afraid to Dance features both underground mainstay Ka and newcomers Navy Blue and Caleb Giles.
On A Forsaken Lover’s Plea, Chuck calls on longtime collaborators — Remy Banks, Joey Bada$$, Erick the Architect — without sounding stuck in the past. The record reckons with history, where time is an engine, not an anchor. He’s eulogizing a version of himself he’s outgrowing. On the title track, he admits to being “Too G to take a knee” — not ignorant pride, but patient resolve. “I’m not giving up,” he says. “All these niggas are like ‘I love so and so,’ or ‘he’s my favorite rapper,’ but not me. I’ve gotta keep going.”
——— SUPPORT
AKAI SOLO (US)
——— INFO
Tickets on sale 20/06 - 10:00
• Rotonde (Botanique) | Doors 19:30
• Bota'Carte 17.5€ (
https://bit.ly/Bota_Carte)
• Ticket 20.5€
• Day of show 23.5€
(costs included)
——— TICKETS
FR:
https://botanique.be/fr/concert/chuck-strangers-akai-solo-2025
NL:
https://botanique.be/nl/concert/chuck-strangers-akai-solo-2025
EN:
https://botanique.be/en/concert/chuck-strangers-akai-solo-2025
——— TAKE THE CONCERT TRAIN
With the SNCB code on your concert ticket you can buy a nominative Bravo! Ticket Bota at a very budget friendly fare. These E-train tickets are available exclusively on bit.ly/BravoTicketBota
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