Between the Notes: Chase Green at The Parlour

Chase Greene is a local rapper who recently appeared at the Parlour in support of his new EP East Coast Baby to chat with Motif as part of our podcast, Between the Notes. With slick rhythms and clear rhyme schemes, Chase seeks to bring positive messages to the local scene by changing the narrative of the typical rap song. He also talks about what led him to music, including his history in dance and other artistic avenues. Read below for an excerpt from his conversation with Hakeem.

Hakeem Kushimo (Motif): You told me you had a bit of a dance history before the music even started. Wanna tell me a little bit about that?

Chase Greene: Yes, so ever since I was young, I performed with Mary Paula – she’s from Providence, actually. She used to teach ballet. And it was a ballet contemporary dance company, and I used to be like, the boy in The Polar Express. So I performed at a few venues – like Nordstrom’s in the mall, which is hilarious. But I also performed at Nathan Bishop Middle School and Hope High School, and I fell in love with the stage. Literally, since I could remember. Like the first time being on stage, I just felt in my energy, in my zone – like fully complete. It’s just being able to let go of everything and be yourself on stage. It’s a whole different feeling that I’ve literally never felt anywhere. That and in the booth, recording music. That’s it – it’s crazy.

HK: I feel that! So were you always musically inclined, or was there a moment where you were like “I kinda wanna try this”? How did that come about?

CG: Yes, so music has definitely resonated with me my entire life, for sure. But one of my biggest inspirations is actually my father, and he’s actually here right now. 

HK: Shout out to Pops!

CG: Yes sir, shout out to Pops! But I’ve always been surrounded by all different kinds of genres. Like I said in my music, I studied other genres from the past. You have to because you have to know the history of music, music theory – you have to know everything. So when I was growing up, my father was playing reggae, was doing jazz, classical – it was a whole lot of everything. So I got to find what I liked, and then I got introduced to hip-hop, and I was like, “Oh, this is crazy.” And then I started finding my flow, finding what I liked in music, and just started creating ever since.

Listen to East Coast Baby and other music by Chase Greene on Spotify HERE: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2V8DCRWV1WCfodzBx14N2W?si=Vu8SKZ-YQ4ON0r15V86fXA. Find Behind the Music on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.