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 scheduled to drop this year. Depending on this year, one might drop next year. Due to the art direction of course, as the art that comes with the music such as album covers and videos are such an integrated part of the projects themselves, it has to be just right to make the body of work fantastic.

Jay: So, on episode 36 of RVA Rap Elite, you were involved in a team cypher that had people talking about the verse weeks after it happened. Were you expecting your Rap Elite Cypher to get the attention it did? Did you feel like your team should’ve won the team cypher?

Chance's verse starts at 22:30. On his Instagram reel, the video has over six thousand views. This was RVA Rap Elite's first-ever producer lead cypher vs cypher set new precedence! Team Skinnyy Hendrixx (Nat Digga, Kelo, Vintage A, Sneeze, and Tre Awthennic) went head to head with Team Ant The Symbol (Eliturite, BC Music 1st, T.R.I.G., Rah Scrilla, and Chance Fischer)

Chance: Truth be told, didn’t realize it was gonna be that viral. Getting through that to me was like "AYO, how did I do that?" I wrote that the night before, afternoon the memorize. Due to my schedule, I write my rap elite verses two days before so I can greatly commit to memorizing them heavily and further push my pen that way. Everyone on that team cypher was dope. I LOVE VINTAGE A, so seeing him on the opposite team, I knew he would have something luxurious. I wanted to like do something that represents my personality and reveal my confidence. I like the competition. I like to rap. I like to fight. Those situations fuel me to perform at a higher caliber than I did at my performance before that.

Jay: Who are some indie artists that you would want to shout out?

Chance: My man Tope who has been working with La Russell. Grinding from the ground up and has so much personality through in the videos. Never met him but Tope is a great guy to work with. 3WaySlim deserves all the shout-outs. He really is someone I respect highly. Tyler Donavan is super dope. Vesta is really great. Shy Lennox is dope. Rezon Da Don is dope. That man can really really really rap. He is fire. I can go on and on. The whole city is killing it. I can go on all day. Rio is fire. Luh Kiddo. Peter $un. I really like Troy.

Three writers in the city I really think about often are Peter $un, Sap Evans, and Michael Millions. When I listen to how people choose words, I instantly think of those three instantly. I was listening to Pete so long ago and saying “do y’all hear how this man writes? Do y'all understand how he ties his traumas into a form of writing that makes people feel energized?” I listen to Peter and I get happy bro. To see them perform live makes me want to write and it’s pure. Pete is one of my favorite people out of the city. Pete and 3WaySlim. I would sign them if I had a label because how they explain their stories and even interweave their traumas, is pure artistry in such a beautiful way. Particularly, it's like seeing an emerald for the first time. You would never see an emerald not stop people. It's that green that calms and electrifies you at the same time. That's how I can describe Peter's and Slim's writing. Another writer I must mention is Ryan Easter. He is a great musician and in his genre of music, there is no better pen than his.

"It's like seeing an emerald for the first time. You would never see an emerald not stop people. It's that green that calms and electrifies you at the same time."- Chance Fischer

Jay: What was the best no you have ever received and why?

Chance: This might sound boujee, but I'll say being rejected from Brown University. In some ways, I wished I did go there but I knew I wasn’t disciplined enough for it. The no was beneficial in a way that it helped me remain balanced. I would’ve had a great time there but it wasn’t what I needed to get to where I am now. I would’ve chosen to stay very pigeonholed in certain circles and needed an environment thrown in with random people without knowing their views first and learning it and figuring it out. Going to Brown would’ve made me hide more or go into politics which would’ve been a really bad decision.

Jay: What influenced your sounds growing up?

Chance: A lot of different things. When I was younger, I listened to old funk like Earth, Wind, and Fire. My parents did not like rap and I grew up in a church-influenced household. I used to sneak out on my own and catch whatever was on the radio for rap. Cash Money and No Limit played on the radio heavily. Shoutout to my friend Courtney who put me on to 2Pac. The first rap album I bought was Mystikal's Let’s Get Ready.

Canibus style was cool. I bonded with people who told great stories with the ways they weave their words together to paint a picture. People like Andre 3k, Jay electrónica, and Biggie when they rhyme remind me of sitting with your friends as they share detailed stories.

Chance Fischer with his good childhood friend, Juan Pierce, who put him on to Jay-Z in his later years.

Cash Money, OutKast, Biggie, Big Pun, and Big L influenced me more than Jay at first until later. My good friend Juan Pierce made me sit down and listen to Jay. I don’t like when people come to me to hype me up about someone but as I was listening to Jay, it inspired me. I loved Pun for the flow. I loved Andre and OutKast for doing crazy shit on their own. Andre said his words in such piercing ways that captured moments in a precise way. He can still be witty but full of life and make people feel that way. Andre is narrative and Big Boi is raw. What enhanced their chemistry was their unique production. They’ve been effortlessly ahead. It never sounded like they tried too hard.

Chance can be found on all social media @mrchancefischer .

Written by: Jay Guevara. @justinhisprime on all social media.

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