Chuck Acid talks influences, artistic vision, and The NeverEnding Mixtape series.
By: Logan Bennett, Brittany Deitch, Reece Herberg
This interview was uploaded to Instagram on February 25th, 2022, and recently reformatted for publication.
Chuck Acid is a self made musician/rapper navigating the various chapters of his life through his music. Since the release of his debut album Food for Your Sole, Chuck has combined a personable and unique talent for lyricism with experimental production to create a brand full of love for art and storytelling. In his songs you will find personal truths, losses, and lessons learned along the way.
"Before this, our heros love for music wasnt enough to have him leave school and commit to what would become his passion. For this First generation, only child, the pressure of lifting the family curse of poverty was very real. For most heros, the call to journey does not come at the end of a pistol, but this is why our hero’s story is unique. It starts at it’s supposed end...." - (whothefuckischuckacid.com)
RATPIE: "You describe The NeverEnding Mixtape as a documentation of chapters of your life. How would you describe the chapter you're currently in?"
CHUCK: "The beginning of the end, or better put, the end of the beginning. I'm in a space where the distance between where I started in music and where I am now is longer than the road ahead. It's comforting, but the next steps are the most difficult. If I were to compare it to a book, we'd be finishing the preface and getting ready for chapter one."
RATPIE: "How do you use your music as a means of storytelling?"
CHUCK: "Music is a very structured thing that has a lot of rules. Life is the opposite. I use those rules to carve out a piece of my life and organize it into something cohesive. I think music becomes beautiful when you throw out enough rules to fit in as much life as possible."
RATPIE: "Where do you find the inspiration for your unique album art?"
CHUCK: "My mom used to ride the bus with me to Franklin Mills Mall (Philadelphia Mall now, they changed it) and I'd always break away, get lost in FYE. I loved cover art, because as a kid, they stuck out to me. I'd go through the discography of an artist and notice the change in style with each release, with each year. To me the cover art was the movie to the soundtrack that came on the CD. For me I wanted the art to allow people into my world. For The NeverEnding Mixtape series, I was inspired by Blaxplotiation and old western movie posters.
I knew people would see me for the first time via the cover, so as a black man, I wanted my image to be displayed like a movie hero. For The Fives series (these are tapes I drop in between volumes), I was heavily inpsired by The Dedication Mixtape series by Lil Wayne. It's where he'd practice flows, and get better between albums so I adopted that for 1.5 and 2.5. Lastly, the singles are my favorite. The art for them is curated by La.mmi. La.mmi also shot the cover art for Food for Your Sole (full circle moment)."
RATPIE: "You pay homage to some big names like Z Pac and Biggie Smalls. Do you remember what artists specifically inspired you to get into music?"
CHUCK: "Lupe Fiasco probably was the first rap artist I ever heard that spoke to me directly. Even though Kanye is my biggest inspiration I'd say Lupe lit the spark. Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor was my bible at one point and "The Cool" was what really inspired me to write. Kanye inspired me to produce and curate the world the music lived in."
RATPIE: "What can we expect from your upcoming release?"
CHUCK: "Expect a mixtape you can grow with. I strived to make a project 14 year old me would love and I accomplished that. It's reflected in the features too."
RATPIE: "How would you say your music has evolved since 2017 with Food for Your Sole?"
CHUCK: "The sound is inclusive now. Collaborative. Food for Your Sole was self-produced, self-recored, self-engineered, etc. That made it hard to enjoy because I'm my own worst critic. It's hard to grow without people to challenge you and converse with your ideas. Now I focus my efforts in one realm at a time, while people I collaborate with focus on the other elements of what we create. The results are symphonic."
Chuck Acid's The NeverEnding Mixtape series can be found on all streaming platforms via self-release.
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