Interview: Chance Fischer Is A High Class Rapper

Chance Fischer is one of the many swiss army knives of talent in Richmond, Virginia. The Cornell University alum is a former restaurant manager, a former executive of the Common House social club in Richmond, a rapper's rapper, and an executive behind the black-owned Brun cigar bar and whiskey lounge opening the week of March 7th for Richmond's Black Restaurant Experience Week.

The way Chance captivates his fans is by the different topics he raps about. Rather than rapping about how hard he grew up in the Randolph neighborhood of West End Richmond, his raps are luxurious involving metaphors of wine, champagne, and some of the best high-end food around. Chance raps about his life and as a man that works in hospitality and is involved in the Virginia wine culture, he embodies what he raps about. A perfect example of this is his collaboration with Noah-O and DJ Harrison on his single, Don Corleone, named after the famous Godfather character.

Jay: Before we get into your musical background, I have to ask you this. What are your favorite wines and champagnes?

Chance: If I had to pick a red wine, probably gonna go with the R. López de Heredia "Viña Tondonia". It is such a beautiful wine. It's so natural but it can age for thirty years because it is oxidized. This means it can still taste young due to acidity and the primary fruits involved in it. For white wine… I'll say the Francios Carillon Puligny Montrachet "Les Combettes". For champagne though, I'll say the Champagne Salon. It is the best champagne ever in the world over everything. It's a blanc de blanc that is unparalleled. Oh my God. It's one of those beverages that you can pull out and put with a steak and it will blow people's minds. The texture of their 1999 one is like popcorn butter on the tongue, it's so smooth. The 1996 champagne salon is one that I will drink by my death bed. It is the epitome of life in a bottle.

"Don’t call that prosecco champagne. Just because it has a cork and pop bubbles, it’s not champagne."- Chance Fischer

I'm currently working on increasing the representation of the BIPOC demographic in the wine world. I helped spread the word on the Silver Oak apprenticeship with The Verasion Project [apply for the program here]. It is really cool and it can change the narrative to open up the world more to those communities. There are classists in the wine culture that are snobby about only liking certain wines. There is a counter-culture in wine like how it is in street culture such as LV vs Supreme. Think high-end fashion versus streetwear. The other side to the wine argument is people that love natty wine which has no additives. They can tarnish quickly, back and forth between that and folks looking for representation. I’m a champagne snob and I’m like champagne over sparkling wine. I would say things like "don’t call that prosecco champagne. Just because it has a cork and pop bubbles, it’s not champagne."

Photo credit: @teliarivers on Instagram

Jay: Prior to your new releases, what are some good songs in your discography that can help listeners learn about you?

Chance: I did a lot of collaborations. I'll start with No Sleep with Ant the Symbol. Another song would be Knit Me In A Coffin. That was my first major label release with Universal at the time. I love the writing in it. It's one of my favorite songs. Listen to Soufflé. It's a hype song with plenty of energy. I can't forget to mention the work I Tennishu from the Butcher Brown band. Check out the Payback record with Marcus Tenny.

Jay: Earlier in the week, I was listening to your songs like Grand Tour and Stacatto. I liked Stacatto more than Grand Tour.

Chance: Stacatto is funny to me. I say that because we released the version with the wrong mastering and it still sits with me to this day. I thought it was maybe too wild for people. Maybe too esoteric. I overthink so much about it but that record was one of my most streamed, so it's fair to say people liked it. GT is cool because that’s the first beat that made me want to work with Kevo. The pitch of the song was for a Fast and Furious soundtrack. It got rejected because it was the film that paid tribute to Paul Walker and they went another direction with the soundtrack. I was living very much on the edge at the time and the song reflected that. I love to very my big it’s another one that’s esoteric. I had a music video idea for it and it practically involves a sixties version of the batmobile. I found one and issue aight transport force. I found one but that song still needs a video and done in the right way. Depending on some things, it would be shot either in Richmond or Texas.

As of now, three full albums are sched