Chiddy Bang, the two-man electronica, hip-hop group is bringing a new sound to hip-hop, one city at a time.
Chiddy Bang will be performing at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion with Lupe Fiasco.
Members Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege and Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin began their journey in late 2008. They were freshmen at Drexel University when they said they started on the right note.
“I met Noah during my freshman year at Drexel University and we have been kicking it ever since making music,” Anamege said in an email. “That’s when the music blog ‘Pretty Much Amazing’ got wind of us and put five of our songs on their site. Crazy thing is, we never had any major intentions of becoming famous until the wheels started turning and things fell into place on their own.”
After college, Chiddy Bang has gone on to make and set records, both in the studio and in the record books.
Their first album, “The Swelly Express,” is a mixtape of songs that tells their journey and how they began to make music. “Opposite of Adults,” a track from the album, was an online hit.
Dheeraj Duggineni, a third-year in microbiology, was one of those listeners, and after hearing the band, became interested in the hip-hop genre.
“My friend actually introduced me to them when they first started,” Duggineni said. “I listened to their first album, ‘The Swelly Express,’ and I really liked it and I try to keep up with their new music when I can.”
In April at MTV’s digital music awards, the O Music Awards, Anamege set new records for the longest freestyle rap and for the longest marathon rapping record in an attempt to expand their following and get noticed. Chiddy committed to the task, which entailed performing a rap nonstop for nine hours, 18 minutes and 22 seconds. It landed Anamege in the Guinness World Records.
“Oh yeah … that was pretty dope,” Anamege said in an email.
Daniel Jeffries, a third-year in theatre, has heard of Chiddy Bang and uses their story every day as motivation in his own college experiences.
“I do know they met in college, which is cool because I feel a lot of aspiring artists feel like school isn’t important,” Jeffries said. “But, if Chiddy Bang can go to college and then go out and do what they love, it gives me more motivation to stay in school.”
Abby Williams, a first-year in nutrition, said she is having a difficult time seeing how Chiddy Bang is any different from the other electronica hip-hop groups.
“I feel that Chiddy Bang falls into the group with the others trying to make it,” Williams said. “A lot of groups seem to be making the same music and I don’t see what makes them different.”
Beresin admits that they still have a long road ahead of them to make a name for themselves. But for Chiddy Bang, they’re just getting started.
“We take every experience as a lesson, so we can’t really say there have been any worst moments,” Beresin said in an email. “We’re still fresh, new, and still growing. Lots more to experience, This is only the beginning!”
