By Andrew Mason
Amid the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, the producer, engineer, and artist is using his quarantine time to further polish his talents and promote his upcoming album, "Nothin 2 Prove".
In journalism writing, we are told to avoid clichés; they’re boring, overused, and not specific enough. Well, sometimes the cliché just fits too damn well: Steven Callan is a “jack of all trades”.
The music producer, engineer, and artist by the stage name “Kid Chxp”, is multi-talented when it comes to his musical craft. Callan (@thechopshop805 / @steven_callan), 23, boasts a well rounded musical skill set, with the ability to create a complete track himself, front to back, from the comfort of his garage-studio, “The Chop Shop”.
The Newbury Park, Calif. native’s first endeavor into music was recording music on his phone with friends. As the need for better quality grew, Callan decided to learn the technical side of music (making beats, tuning voices, mixing samples, etc.) himself.
He bought, downloaded, and practiced on the audio editing software Audacity (“that shit was really bad”) and later FL Studio, moves he says saved him time and money in the long run.
“I got decent enough at it,” Callan said. “You don’t have to rely on other people’s schedules, [and] you don’t have to be paying [other people].”
Callan did not study music in college. Instead, he graduated from the University of California, Riverside in 2018 with a degree in sociology. While he considers himself self-taught, he does specifically credit Ventura County producer, GMBeatz, for passing on his beat making knowledge.
The quarantine seems to be impacting the hip-hop world, both mainstream and underground, in multiple ways. On one hand, any live concert or tour of any sort, such as the rapper-heavy 2020 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (whose lineup features rappers Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Big Sean, and Denzel Curry) has been cancelled or postponed.
On the other hand, content is pouring out, with many artists seemingly stuck at home with nothing else to do but pump out songs and go live on Instagram. And with his upcoming seven-track album “Nothin 2 Prove” set for release on April 10th, it’s clear that Callan is among those who have taken advantage of this unexpected free time.
“I’m not linking up with people right now,” Callan says. “[But] this has been fantastic for making stuff.”
While Callan did not produce any tracks on the album, he sings on and engineered every track. “Nothin 2 Prove” will also feature local artists Deo Cane (@deoislame), Caspa G (@caspa_g), and nobodie (@sketchybryce).
“It’s a very vibey album...it’s more melodic type shit,” Callan says. “I would enjoy listening to this type of music, especially if I’m locked in at home.”
Callan hopes to do some sort of live concert event to celebrate “Nothin 2 Prove” soon, although the immediate future remains unknown to due current circumstances. He does guarantee a music video for the album’s title track.
In the meantime, Callan is helping out with Deo Cane’s upcoming album, mostly in an engineering role.
I respect artists like Callan, who know how to create a song from top to bottom. In my time studying underground rap music, I’ve found it rare to come across someone who is willing to put in the time and effort to become a one man army.
In the still unsettled lands of the Ventura County music scene, these are the rappers that hold the best odds of establishing longevity for their careers.
“I’m engineering, making beats, writing [and] recording songs,” Callan says. “There’s a lot going on, low-key”.
Callan engineered the Undrgrnd Magazine "The 805" OFFICIAL CYPHER, which is available above. Kid Chxp's body of music can be found at https://soundcloud.com/chxpshxp.