Certified Fresh – Harlem’s Vinny Cha$e Goes From Dipset Videographer To Rising MC

So many new rappers, how can you possible keep track of them all? Hip-Hop Wired will help vet who is worthy of your ~~CD collection~~ hard drive space with our “Certified Fresh” featurettes. Every week or so we’ll speak to and provide some insight on a Hip-Hop artist that displays the skills and potential to be that next big time rapper. For our first, we caught up with rising Harlem rapper, Vinny Cha$e.

Who: Vinny Cha$e is a stylish master of ceremonies from Harlem, New York who is the leader of the Cheer$ Club. He’s dropping his new mixtape, The Golden Army, on November 15th.

Fun Fact: Vinny Cha$e got his start in the rap game as the official videographer for Juelz Santana and the Diplomats. In the era before blogs took over the net, Cha$e behind the scenes acumen had him document one of the hottest groups’s in Hip-Hop history’s greatest era. “I was around Juelz when he was young and really getting it so I know exactly how to achieve that type of success,” says the Harlemite. “I came up with him before I was doing music so I saw what a successful lifestyle can be.”

He personally shot for the likes of Lil Wayne, Juelz, Cam’ron, Chris Brown and other major hip hop acts. Before the glamour of that job however, Vinny’s first job was working at his mother’s healthcare company. “Imagine me, I was doing accounting and s**t,” Cha$e says. “Once in a while I had to go to old people’s crib and pick up papers and stuff. It’s hard to imagine me doing that now, but that’s what I did. [laughs].”

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Photos: Kid Art

Credentials:

Breaking out on his own, the stylish Vinny Cha$e kept his grind on fashion just as much as he did with music. His relationships with Bape founder Nigo, Jeremy Scott, Dee & Ricky and Mark Jacobs kept his fashion credibility just as strong as his music credibility.

He first broke out with his debut mixtape, The Plaza, which included production from DJ Premier, and the Super Brown Bros. Now gearing up to drop his mixtape, The Golden Army, He’s been buzzing again with his latest single “Biggie And Jordans.” He’s been featured heavily on such popular publications as VICE, Complex, Vibe, FADER, and The Source. This will be his third mixtape of the year, including Survival Of The Swag and the Soulja Boy-assisted Double Cup City.

Hip-Hop Wired: This seems self explanatory, but explain the inspiration that came from “Biggies And Jordans and what can we expect from The Golden Army?
Vinny Cha$e: “The inspiration behind the song really came from my homie Kid Art. We felt that the song should be something that is really a part of our culture so we focused on Biggie and Jordans,”” says Vinny. “People who took the 90s real seriously, we wanted to make sure it was looked at in a positive way. What you can expect from the mixtape is an ill snapshot of what’s going on in New York City. We definitely went out of our way to make sure it didn’t sound like anywhere else. We really wanted to represent for our city and our town in a new way so we made sure that we took our time and did everything the right way.”

Hip-Hop Wired: Between yourself, Azealia Banks, A$AP Rocky, Joey Bad@$$ and many others, it seems like there is a youth movement of the New York area going on. Almost like a renaissance. What do you think it is about what you guys have to say that has captured attention, lately?

Vinny Cha$e: I mean, what it is that cats are starting to realize that you don’t need a major label to launch your career. You can do a lot of things yourself as long as the internet exists and you are a creative person. Anything is possible. I think that’s what this new generation of artists is all about. I can’t speak for others because I don’t know what their business situations are, but me per se, I’m not just a regular artist. I obviously own my own company with my brother so we go about business a little differently than others might.

Hip-Hop Wired: With the long history of artists from Harlem, it almost seems like style goes hand in hand with that. You have that in spades.

Vinny Cha$e: My style is New Harlem. When I say New Harlem it’s something that i’m bringing to the forefront. It’s Dapper Dan 2013. We just do whatever we want, we are not looking to trend to what people think is fashionable. Us being from Harlem in our little small community, we just do what we want. It just so happens that other people catch on to it. We just do our own thing over here as far as fashion goes. We look around the whole world, not just in New York or California or America in general, you know what I mean?

Hip-Hop Wired: You took your namesake from the lead character in the popular HBO series, Entourage. Who in the Cheers Club would match up with the characters on the show?

Vinny Cha$e: I definitely watched the show when it was out. I really loved the vibe of the show. If I had my own Entourage I always look at it like Cartier would be an Ari Gold type of guy. Because he’s very serious and he knows what needs to get done and the level of progression. Kid Art would be that ill director that made all the dope movies like Queens Boulevard and s**t like that. I would obviously be Vinny, you know what I mean? I don’t know who would be Drama, cause i’m not sure if you guys would know him.

Hip-Hop Wired: If nobody knows him, then he’s a perfect Johnny Drama

Vinny Cha$e: Ha!

The Essentials: Vinny Cha$e & Kid Art – “Work It”