Man Like Chez-Type Beat Album
If Oasis ever took a detour through the world of hip-hop, the result might sound something like Man Like Chez. With a distinctly northern, no-nonsense flow and lyrical style that hits with honesty and grit, Chez brings a refreshing rawness to the scene. His songwriting is real, relatable, and unapologetically authentic. Throw in his skills as a DJ and producer, and you’ve got a multi-talented creative with his teeth sunk into a whole platter of artistic pursuits.
Chez’s roots in music go deep , back to 1996, when he blew his second-year student loan on a pair of Technics 1210s and dived headfirst into the world of Jungle DJing. “We had a little sound system and would play house parties, squat raves, the odd night in a proper club,” he recalls. “One night they needed someone on the mic, we didn’t have an MC, and I’d had a few cans, so I said I’d do it! That was my first time on the mic as a jungle MC.”
From that spontaneous debut, things snowballed. He began freestyling, writing lyrics, and sharpening his craft. Soon he was part of Sheffield’s late-90s underground scene, linking up with local crews and eventually becoming part of Multiverse 3 — a collective that captured the raw energy of the era.
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Multiverse 3 was originally me, MC Epicentre and DJ Riles as a live act, with a crew of producers, guest MCs and other great talents supporting it all off-stage. We were active from about 2001-2004 and had a good run of live shows and even released an EP. But the money was pretty tight even back then, so in the end I got a day job and that meant I had a lot less time for tunes so things started to fall off.
I went abroad working for a while, got back to the UK in 2016 and reconnected with some of my old mates, one of which was Epicentre. He’d got a load of studio masters he’d found in an attic and we hit upon the idea of re-releasing them to raise money for a Sheffield homeless charity. That kinda re-lit the fire and I started Djing, producing and rapping again both with Epicentre as a resurrected Multiverse 3 and as a solo artist. I also DJ with an online collective called Breaks and Bass Fam we upload a new mix every Saturday with quite a range of genres. So long as its good, is basically the mantra!"
I’ll be honest, I usually have little patience for hip-hop album intros. I’d rather watch broccoli grow because they tend to be a time wasting “yadda yadda, and have me reaching for the skip button, yes, on an actual CD player ( I still roll Jurassic-style). But Type Beat catches me off guard. This intro? It lands. There’s a line where a woman simply says, “Chez is different,” and she’s absolutely right. Then boom we’re straight into Rock A Jam Right, and the vibe is officially set. The energy’s there, the beat hits hard and that momentum doesn’t let up. The smooth groove of Vibes (feat. Dr Big F MC) is a real standout, slick, warm, and full of soul. Then comes Rogue Trooper, followed by Fire in the Peaks, and I’m still floating in hip-hop heaven, half-expecting a dud track to bring me back to Earth. But it never comes. Check out some of the tracks for yourself:
By the time we hit the final cut, Victory Lap (feat. T.C), I’m not ready for it to end. I’m ready to hit replay.
Man Like Chez has come a long way as an artist, and Type Beat feels like a major moment, the kind of release that cements his place as a serious creative force in UK hip-hop. Whether he’s touching on life, politics, or the chaos of the universe, Chez always has something worth saying and says it in his own way.
Time for a Victory lap....
You can get your physical CD now over at Bandcamp & follow his various platforms via: https://linktr.ee/man_like_chez
So go give it a spin, and let me know which tracks had you nodding the hardest! If you enjoy good music then please show your support for the artist and consider sharing. Keep on keepin'on. Back Before Elvis.
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