Fort Wayne by way of Cleveland producer/songwriter/rapper ChrisRebellion is quietly building a solid discography.
ChrisRebellion, a.k.a. Chrishawn Sadler, makes rap music that’s low-key and introspective. Not boom bap, trunk-rattling rap, but down-tempo and moody.
ChrisRebellion has released a series of Halloween-adjacent EPs called Spooky Tapes since 2022, as well as a synthwave/mallsoft release called SadBoi in 2023.
On RapGPT, he has made four low-key and vibe-heavy rap tracks that don’t require a lot of bandwidth to lock into. The flow is tight, the production is moody with a neon glow to it, and with only four songs, it begs for repeated listens.
There’s not a lot of info to be found about ChrisRebellion, so coming across his music is like finding a mystery to unpack. Who or what are his influences? What inspires him? How did this Cleveland native land in The Fort? Well, I can’t answer those questions, because I don’t know. What I can say is that his style seems to be more introspective; looking inward. I’m reminded of cats like Joey Bada$$, Oddisee, Digable Planets, and Earl Sweatshirt. And the production seems to pull more from down-tempo and chillwave than straight-up rap production. Think beats inspired by Boards of Canada and Macintosh Plus.
What you get with RapGPT are four tracks heavy on mood. “You Right” stutters and stammers along in midnight undertones laying the groundwork for the overall vibe. There’s some Lucasfilm love in the low-key “Anakin,” complete with reference to midichlorian counts. “Cold” hangs in the air like breath on a single-digit temperature day, and final track “For You Ma” is a homage to the mama’s boy. A tribute to mom and calling himself out (“I know I don’t call much/I’ve gotten so lazy”) for not staying in touch. It’s a poignant note to end things on.
ChrisRebellion shows he’s got production and rap chops on RapGPT. He also shows he’s a unique voice in the rap community, taking a more nuanced and introspective approach to hip-hop. We need more voices like that.
