For anybody that doesn't know yet, I hail from the small state of Connecticut. We don't have a ton of dope things to call our own, but we have a few; UConn Basketball, Miss USA, the WWE, Casinos out the ass, and one of the hottest up and coming Hip Hop artists in the game right now, Chris Webby

You may know the homie for crashing DatPiff...twice, or maybe his DJ Drama hosted smash hit "Bars On Me", or maybe even his brand new EP "Homegrown" that hit #2 on iTunes, right behind his hero, the Rap God. But for the last 4 years, he's been tearing down the stage at one of our landmarks, New Haven's historic Toad's Place, every Black Friday. This year, it happened to be the first stop on his Homegrown Tour, and I got to sit down with him before the show to talk about his progression as an artist, becoming more involved in the recording process, and even who he killed off (or didn't) at the end of GTA 5. Kick back, spark up, and hit play


Duke: This is The Duke, we're here at Toad's Place New Haven, CT. Chris Webby in the building

CW: Yessir!

Duke: 4th Annual Toad's Place Black Friday Blowout. Four years ago, did you ever foresee this show being this huge?

CW: I mean, it's somehow been consistently this huge. The past 4 years have been kinda awesome. Every year it's a sellout, or damn close to it, which is pretty dope

Duke: You can't really kick off a tour with a bigger show

CW: Yea, yea, it'd be hard to do that

Duke: Lets talk Homegrown EP. So, obviously it charted VERY high out of the gate. What was it like seeing it up there with, what I presume, is a hero of yours?

CW: Oh, most definitely. That is my #1 right there, Eminem. It was awesome to see that man, it was crazy. Just being next to him on the charts is bananas. You know what I mean? Like, that's the dude that gave me the blueprint for my entire career. So that was cool. And just to be selling units is a great thing nowadays in this music industry

Duke: It's been a long journey, and you've done it so organically, that to get to this point where you're moving this many units is wild. When I listen to Homegrown, I get a little bit of a (I mean you're super versatile, every project's a little different) Southern, strip club anthem vibe

CW: Interesting

Duke: So what were you trying to do with Homegrown? Where were you trying to take it?
CW: I wouldn't say Southern or strip club. I think as far as production, I took some new steps with that. All in all, I think its by far the best sounding project when it comes down to listening to it in headphones. This one sounds the most professional

Duke: Did it get mixed somewhere different?

CW: It got mixed and mastered, and the difference this time is that I was there throughout the entire process. And I really was super hands-on with the mixing to make sure that everything was 100% exactly how I wanted it by the time we turned it in. Which I've never taken the time to do in the past, because part of it is sometimes you can't afford to do that, like you don't have the time to do that. That's something I'm going to do from now on, is make sure that I'm super hands on with everything. But as far as the sound goes man, the intention of the EP is to set up the album, which is going to be coming top of next year. So I wanted to make sure I gave people a very solid project that you could listen to all the way through without giving away everything that's going to be on the album. The album's going to tell the story, its going to have those deep tracks that you may have been like, "Where were those on...?". This is just an EP, its supposed to be bangers, remind people who I am, remind them that I can rap, show them that I'm more capable of making a song, now more so than ever. Just really build that momentum back up, so when I drop that new project at the top of the new year, its going to blow the fucking brains out of your skulls

Duke: You've always had really interesting features. Its always people that, while different from you, really compliment you well. How'd the Rittz feature come about, how'd you guys link up?

CW: In theory, I was going to have Homegrown be all me. But when I did that song, I just heard Rittz on it. I had been listening to Rittz lately, I think he's a dope artist. His flow is very unique, he can flow very fast. So can a lot of other rappers, but he can both flow very fast and fill it with a shit load of content, which is very impressive. He seemed right for that record, and when it came time to pick tracks, I wanted it on there. I just saw him out the other night in New York, he killed the show at SOB's. Good dude. At this point in the game, I've just realized there's no point in fucking with people who don't want to fuck with you. There's no point in fucking with people who aren't real. I'd rather just fuck with dudes who are cool

Duke: As a fan, if you're a hip hop head, you can tell when people recorded tracks together, or if somebody mailed in a verse. You can hear that relationship

CW: Absolutely

Duke: So I know you can't tell us too much, but what's the deal with the album? What're you going for with it? How's it going to sound different?

CW: Its really going to be the one that tells my story. This is going to be my debut album. It'll be my 10th project, at about the 5 year point from when my first mixtape came out, White Noise. So basically it was the 5 year plan, its kind of a crazy concept

Duke: I smell a box set

CW: That would be pretty cool. But its a debut album, and I'm going to treat it as such. I'm going to make sure that its everything thats been dope about past projects rolled into one. Its really just going to tell people about who I am, and what the fuck I'm about

Duke: Obviously its been a long journey, but do you think there's a better time for you to pop off, now that we're in this lyrical, technical renaissance where a lot of the ringtone rap is gone and we're seeing all these guys that are super technical. Do you think this is the prime time?

CW: I think you're right, it is perfect. I think timing is everything, and that's something I didn't know about the game until recently. I've always been patient, but there's been times where I'm like "why? why didn't it pop off when this other guy's did? My project is so much better than his that he dropped this year." You just realize that timing is everything. The timing for me just hasn't been perfect yet. I needed the development. I look back and I'm so happy that its taken me this long. I've gotten so much better at polishing the skill that I had. I've always had bars. I've always been a kid you could throw into a cypher and guarantee to impress some people
Duke: But you're not trying to be C-Rayz Walz

CW: Yea, its time to really become a polished artist. This album will be the final step. Think about it like this... If my rap career was the "Hakuna Matata" sequence from Lion King when they're walking across the log, and he's growing into a big lion, I'm about to be the grown ass Simba. With White Noise, I was the cub, really starting to figure everything out

Duke: Who's your Scar?

CW: There's plenty of people I don't fuck with

Duke: I know there's somebody on the charts right now

CW: Oh yeah, Sam Adams. I mean, he's just whack though. But it is what it is. I'm not a person who has problems with people if they don't deserve for me to have problems with them. I'm honestly one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. I don't go around looking for problems. But I also respect good music, and I don't respect bad music. And if you're a dick, or you're an arrogant asshole, I'm just not going to fuck with you

Duke: I think industry wise, people fuck with you, its shown. People want to work with you. Whereas people that have come up around the same time don't get that support

CW: Yeah, you may be super poppin', but if you're an asshole, people aren't going to mess with you once everyone learns that. Just keep it good vibes man. Karma is a motherfucker, and I'm a firm believer in that

Duke: Homegrown Tour, tonight's the first night. Where you off to next?

CW: Boston on Tuesday, then a couple days off, then its a lot of them in a row

Duke: And I assume you'll be touring a lot around the beginning of the year with the album

CW: Yeah, so its going to be up until Christmas, then a little break. The album's going to be called "Chemically Imbalanced" and its going to be the tale of what made me this crazy motherfucking rapper from the suburbs of Connecticut. Like, that's not supposed to happen

Duke: For real
CW: I'm like a white tiger. Its not supposed to happen, but through genetics... well, I mean there are Siberian tigers. OK, that was a poor example

Duke: Big ups to Ap, but its different

CW: Honestly dude, like Ap's not from the burbs. You know, not like mansions and yacht clubs and all that, but its just a different tale to be told. I think that's interesting, because there's a lot of kids who can relate to that

Duke: They're all downstairs

CW: There's a lot of them downstairs. The middle class dude. I don't think there will ever be room for an upper class rapper, no one's trying to hear how you grew up in a yacht club with your flip flops

Duke: You have to be able to relate

CW: But like, the middle class, there's a lot to that story. We're the kids who had to have jobs so we could pay our student loans back. We are going to college, but its not easy. That's the thing, its not like school was out of the picture but there's a lot to it

Duke: Who and what are the essentials on tour man, what do you bring with you? I need to know strains, I need to know what games you're fucking with right now, what next gen system?

CW: I don't have a next gen system yet. I'm still in the middle of "Assassin's Creed IV"!

Duke: Can we get somebody to hook Webby up with a next gen?

CW: I think I'm going to have a PS4 sooner rather than later

Duke: So you're a Playstation guy? You're about that pure gaming

CW: Absolutely. It'll be coming with me. I have a portable Playstation carrier, which is a suitcase, and when you open it there's a screen on the top of it. So you just plug it into the wall and its unbelievable

Duke: You still fucking with Grand Theft Auto?

CW: I beat that heavy. I got all the spaceship parts

Duke: Who did you choose to kill at the end?

CW: No one. I saved them all man, are you kidding me? After spending all those hours playing as those characters, I couldn't

Duke: I killed Trevor

CW: Damn man, Trevor was my favorite! He was definitely my favorite. He's hilarious man, when he'd wake up and try to flush someone's leg down a toilet. He was great, I love that game

Duke: So we'll wrap it up on this, I know you have to go. What do you want to accomplish this upcoming year? Obviously you want to see the album do well, but what do you want to see next year? And what DON'T you want to see in hip hop next year?

CW: I want to see all the pieces come together. I've been spending a long time building all these pieces. Now I think its time, and the fans think its time. I think people in general, even if they're not fans of me, they're like "its time, Webby. Good for you, I salute." You know what I mean? Its just time to take it to the next level. In Hip Hop, I want to see the continuation of people trying to one-up everyone, raising the bar. Be lyrical. We need to stop being so political, with everyone trying to keep everything so honky-dory. If somebody's whack, and you're nice, fucking say it man. We're getting way too political. Like "well... he knows him... and I don't want his Twitter followers to get mad..." Like fuck that! Look at Hopsin. I don't agree with everybody that he disses, but at least he's saying it, and that's how he feels. I respect his opinion, I got an opinion. People need to stop being so... Its Hip Hop man, its Hip Hop. I think its starting to revert back to its carnal state. It was a battlefield, man. And I'm not saying it should be so violent, like with 2Pac and Biggie, but we have to weed out the weakness. Its important that all the real lyrical cats support each other. That goes for the upper East Coast especially. Everybody's seeing it. Atlanta stands together, that's why they're winning

Duke: Are you not a Trinidad James fan?

CW: I mean, I'm not not a fan. I have no opinion on Trinidad James. He dresses interestingly is about all I can say about him

Duke: He doesn't have dental insurance yet obviously

CW: Yeah

Duke: I want to thank you Webby, I know you're short on time. Have a good show tonight man!

CW: Will do, thank you sir!