Chip tha Ripper: Gift Raps

While many people from around the world are more familiar with Kid Cudi and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony when it comes to Cleveland hip-hop, many fans are starting to take note of one of Cleveland’s finest, Chip tha Ripper. Chip who recently finished up a nationwide tour, is currently working on a new project called Gift Raps, set to be released as a Slab Ent and Cake Recordings project.  The project will officially feature songs with Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks of the Cool Kids, Tennille and Boldy James, but other features are also in the works as well. In addition to his own work, Chip is featured on Kid Cudi’s upcoming new album, as the two have formed a duo they call, “The AlMighty GloryUs”.  But how did he get his start, how did he persevere through the times in Cleveland when people were mostly only listening to down south raps?  “Disguising the lyrics in different music,” Chip says. Take a look at this AllHipHop.com exclusive interview with the up and coming Midwest rapper and one is regarded as one of raps most intriguing new artists. AllHipHop.com: So what kind of projects you working on now?Chip tha Ripper: I’m doing this Gift Raps album that me and Chuck are doing now. So we are just throwing it everywhere, on iTunes and in stores everywhere. We doing it independent though.AllHipHop.com: So Chuck from the Cool Kids produced the whole thing?Chip tha Ripper: Yea man, me and Chuck doing the whole thing, its crazy.AllHipHop.com: That’s a good look.Chip tha Ripper: We just putting the last finishing touches on it bro but its going down. AllHipHop.com: So who you go lined up on there?Chip tha Ripper: Man its hard to say because I don’t want to leave anyone out, I don’t really wanna say though, but its some people and couple of names on there, but its going down! (Laughs)I don’t really like to look for features, I f### wit my fam, I just like to vibe out with my homies…. we weren’t even planning anything, we were just chillin’. Like there’s a record from me and Mikey (of the Cool Kids) where we were just hanging and chillin‘ and vibin’ out. If I collab with someone, that’s usually how it happens.AllHipHop.com:  I can tell the buzz is getting stronger in Cleveland for artists, I remember seeing emails from Mick Boogie and Terry Urban, Ray Cash has been in stores and online for a few years now, Kid Cudi. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony are legends.  It’s good to see artists making it out there, some artists felt they had to leave Cleveland to make it. Its cool to see you have stayed at home and you’re staying true to that area.Chip tha Ripper: Its crazy for a time its like… when I first came on the scene it was a whole another like……  that Texas music was in out here, if you wasn’t playing screw [Chopped and Screwed music], it wasn’t nothing. That down south Texas s### was it…. If you weren’t rapping like them, you really weren’t getting any play out here at hip-hop shows and in the streets or whatever out here.I had to keep my, you know…. I came up being a lyricist, but had to mix that in with whatever they wanted, that, that, whatever, I don’t know what you call it, but we called it “cappin music” up here.  Like cappin’ is a word we had for showing off, like stuntin’ or what we call it cappin. We had switched it like cause cappin’ also meant like showing off or stuntin’ like lying, so it was like if its something that so unbelievable, like you lying, but you ain’t lying, so its like you cappin’AllHipHop.com: [Laughs] that’s crazy bro. That’s funny man. That Cleveland lingo…Chip tha Ripper: Laughs, know what I’m saying? So that whole movement took over and it was inspired by cappin’ and the down south movements like DSR, Swisha House, Fat Pat, Lil’ Keke, and Chamillionaire, he was like the man…. The names go on forever.  All that was real heavy in Cleveland. So all that was around the time when me and Cudi was coming up.  Cudi was like f### this s###; I’m outta here. Me, I said I’m gonna give it a try, ain’t got nothing to lose so, I stayed.  I kind of switched it up a little bit to the point they couldn’t realize they were getting real raps.  I kind of disguised my lyrics into another form of music that was hot and rode that out until it got back to reality where it’s at now and its perfect.AllHipHop.com: So now when you do a show in Cleveland its crazy.Chip tha Ripper:  Its perfect now, when I do a show in Cleveland its crazy. I just had a show in New York at Santos, I brought Cudi out and it sold out.  I had performed there with Cudi, but it was like it was my show and that mothaf**ka sold out beyond capacity. Mothaf**kas couldn’t get in.AllHipHop.com: I was talking to Bone Thugs about Cleveland artists backstage and they mentioned you as an up and coming artist.Chip tha Ripper:  That’s dope man <p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/13597893″>Chip Tha Ripper & KiD CuDi – All Talk (Live At Santos)</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/illroots”>illRoots.com</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p> <d##><strong>Chip tha Ripper:</strong> Well it was like 4 years and when we were just coming up I met Cudi four years ago, and I heard his music and I didn’t know he was hip to my music, but one thing let to another, we both knew a mutual friend and we came out to the show in Chicago at the Metro on the North Side and ever since then its been going down.   </d##><d##>We kind of recognized what we had to do. A lot of s**t was unspoken, but we knew we had to get it in.  We were the only two that were taking it serious on some next level s###, not even just in the city but beyond the city.  See the music scene has a lot of talent here but everyone doesn’t aim as high.  </d##><d##>But he was f###### with Fools Gold and I remember when [Kanye West’s] 808 and Heartbreak came out and he flew in town and we came and got Cudi from the airport and he was like ‘Yo we should form this group’”. I’m like hell yea and we ended up naming the group the Almighty GloryUs.  And that’s a lot of the reason you will see me on his album and we just gonna kill the world and do it bigger than any other group, big like Outkast. </d##><d##></d##> <object width=”640″ height=”390″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/LOx-cSD110E&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3″ /><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true” /><param name=”allowScriptAccess” value=”always” /><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/LOx-cSD110E&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=”always” width=”640″ height=”390″ /></object> <d##><strong>AllHipHop.com:</strong>  That’s dope how you guys spelled it too. </d##><d##></d##><d##><strong>Chip tha Ripper</strong>:  Yea the Almighty Glory…. Us.  Yea man we were at my crib and I let him hear this joint that I did called “Higher” and I was up smoking acting like I was one of the lost members of Bone and I let him hear it like I did that and he was like “Yo you have to let me have that. Like yo that’s mine, I have to have this for my album. You cant have that.” I was like “What? Hell yea man, I was going to put it on the Cleveland Show my last mixtape, but you can have that.  Please.”</d##><d##></d##><d##><strong>AllHipHop.com: </strong> That’s dope man. So I just want to hear more about this Gift Raps.  Who is doing the artwork?</d##><d##></d##><d##><strong>Chip tha Ripper:</strong> The artwork is done by this guy named Glen Infinite, out here in Cleveland.  The dude is just amazing.  The cartoon stuff is not what he specializes in.  He kind of just having fun with this stuff and whips this stuff up really quickly.  His talent goes way beyond these basic cartoons. We bout to get it in and work.  He does it all freehand.</d##><d##></d##><d##><strong>AllHipHop.com</strong>:  I have a feeling you got some Curren$y, some Cool Kids…..</d##><d##><br /><iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/13815764?color=ffffff” width=”400″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″ /></d##>AllHipHop.com: So how did you link up with Cudi?Chip tha Ripper: Well it was like 4 years and when we were just coming up I met Cudi four years ago, and I heard his music and I didn’t know he was hip to my music, but one thing let to another, we both knew a mutual friend and we came out to the show in Chicago at the Metro on the North Side and ever since then its been going down.   We kind of recognized what we had to do. A lot of s**t was unspoken, but we knew we had to get it in.  We were the only two that were taking it serious on some next level s###, not even just in the city but beyond the city.  See the music scene has a lot of talent here but everyone doesn’t aim as high.  But he was f###### with Fools Gold and I remember when [Kanye West’s] 808 and Heartbreak came out and he flew in town and we came and got Cudi from the airport and he was like ‘Yo we should form this group’”. I’m like hell yea and we ended up naming the group the Almighty GloryUs.  And that’s a lot of the reason you will see me on his album and we just gonna kill the world and do it bigger than any other group, big like Outkast. AllHipHop.com:  That’s dope how you guys spelled it too. Chip tha Ripper:  The Almighty Glory…. Us.  Yea man we were at my crib and I let him hear this joint that I did called “Higher” and I was up smoking acting like I was one of the lost members of Bone and I let him hear it like I did that and he was like “Yo you have to let me have that. Like yo that’s mine, I have to have this for my album. You cant have that.” I was like “What? Hell yea man, I was going to put it on the Cleveland Show my last mixtape, but you can have that.  Please.”AllHipHop.com:  That’s dope man. So I just want to hear more about this Gift Raps.  Who is doing the artwork?Chip tha Ripper: The artwork is done by this guy named Glen Infinite, out here in Cleveland.  The dude is just amazing.  The cartoon stuff is not what he specializes in.  He kind of just having fun with this stuff and whips this stuff up really quickly.  His talent goes way beyond these basic cartoons. We bout to get it in and work.  He does it all freehand.AllHipHop.com:  I have a feeling you got some Curren$y, some Cool Kids…..Chip tha Ripper:  It’s some features on that that haven’t been recorded but I don’t want to leave anyone out and I want to make sure we include everyone.AllHipHop.com:  It seems like there is a real nice movement of MC’s contributing to the game that are all working together.Chip tha Ripper: We are definitely the 2nd or 3rd round of nice MC’s thats coming out. The 2nd or 3rd shift, that night shift, we getting ready for work, that night shift baby!AllHipHop.com:   I met Wiz at SXSW he was real cool dude, mellow dude. Chip tha Ripper:  I had a show and I wanted to see Bone Thugs but it was at the same time.  I missed the Currensy and Devin the Dude show, and Curren$y was like “Dude where were you at?”AllHipHop.com:  The Bone show was ill bro.  They had so many hits.  They did the Pac s###, the Biggie s###.Chip tha Ripper:  I remember when Crossroads came out with the cassette tape, I had the CD Walkman, I had the single.  That s### was the s###. It was one of the first raps I owned on tape. It had the cardboard that was open on both sides.  That was the s### tho.AllHipHop.com: Talk to me about some of the influences man.Chip tha Ripper: Instead of the artists I like the songs.  I like a lot of 50 Cent songs, Nas, Canibus, Redman, man just like certain songs that were crazy.  The Too Short songs, Pimp C was real consistent in his songs, and Bun B they were raising me.AllHipHop.com: It’s crazy how much the Texas sound really resonated in Cleveland.