Interview: Chip Breaks Down Every Track On 'Believe & Achieve: Episode 1'

"If you have enough faith and belief, then anything can be achieved..."

"Anything can be achieved if you have enough faith and belief," says Chip, a rapper who's lived by the same mantra since the age of 13. Eleven years since picking up the mic, telling himself that daily has clearly worked out: his bars hold legendary weight in the underground, plus he's got a string of chart hits to be proud of too. Chip recently became the catalyst of grime's much-buzzed war season, ​where he sent shots (back) at Tinie Tempah and re-booted his career from a real grassroots level. But now he's putting the last two months of fanfare to good use, releasing Believe & Achieve: Episode 1 exclusively on iTunes today. Complex pinned Chip down for a detailed breakdown of the project.

Interview by Joseph 'JP' Patterson

"Where Are You?"

Producer: SOS

"This is the first track I made for this project and I knew it was going to be my intro. For a long time, I didn't feel like I was being brutally honest with myself, and my listeners, about the lows I experienced as a young man. But, the older I get, the more comfortable I am with my flaws as a human; I don't mind sharing them to help someone else through my music. 'Where Are You?' explains some of the experiences I've been through since my last official release... I zone out to this track as if it's not mine."

"School Of Grime" f/ D Double E & Jammer

Producer: Mity Maose

"'School Of Grime' was produced by one of my boys from Los Angeles: Mity Maouse. The second I heard this beat, it instantly took me back to the first time I heard the original D Double E 'If you...' bar. I get asked a lot of questions about grime, and my answer is always the same: believe and achieve, trust God, and love your peoples. Big up the original producers who actually started the sound, though. They know who they are. Anything that can take me back to my childhood, mentally, before I knew about pagans [laughs], that's what makes me happy. And nothing or no one will ever get in the way of my happiness again."

"Feeling Myself" f/ Kano & Wretch 32

Producer: New Machine

"Big up New Machine—he's the bass player in Plan B's band—because he used mostly live instruments on the production for this track. We were hanging out at a studio in Shoreditch to some old school funk from the James Brown era, and there’s something about the tempo and groove of those records that relate to expressing yourself freely as an MC. It's not every MC I can call to approach any kind of track—some get stuck on different tempos, some don't—but Kano and Wretch 32, no tempo can scare them. As a child, they were the ones who I aspired to gain the respect of, so this particular track means a lot to me."

"Holdin' That" f/ Maverick Sabre

Producer: Chris Loco

"Chris Loco on production. Maverick Sabre on the vocals... I don't wanna talk about this one too much; I just had to get these bars out of my body. Holding shit in can be destructive, both physically and mentally, but I'm still finding my way. I'm still learning." 

"Make It Home"

Producer: SOS

"About this track... My angels helped me write it. Shout out my angels! The real ones. My angels tell me which way to go when this physical life doesn't have the answers. Too many young brothers from my city step out of their home, and never make it back. I have thoughts on if I'll make it back home all the time. It's just real life, man. A page from my deepest thoughts. Harmony Samuels is on the live bass, and my g Mo Samuels is on the production. Shout out Varren Wade on the scene-setting vocals, too. I hope this track takes you on a journey with me, or at least makes you think about your own journey."

"I'm Fine" f/ Stormzy & Shalo

Producer: Victizzle

"I never usually close a project on a high note but, really, this project isn't closed—​Epidose 2 will come in the second half of the year. Big, big shout out to Stormzy and Shalo on the icy verses—and Victizzle on the ones and twos. This track wasn't actually made for the project, but due to the supporters' reactions, I'd be a snake not to include it [laughs]. I just hope everyone enjoys the first episode of this body of work; nothing does the talking better than the music. One love to everyone supporting!"

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