Bkchapo is Brooklyn's Underground Rockstar
East New York artist Bkchapo is Brooklyn’s newest rap persona. While the rapper isn’t following the typical drill wave, his discography has flavors for all listeners. As he’s recently opened up concerts for A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Chicago rapper, Lucki. He’s got a long career ahead of him as a rapper, producer, and founder of the Colin Records, record label.
Bkchapo’s sonic versatility can be attributed to his musical beginnings as a pianist and singing in the St. Thomas Choir School in Manhattan, where he learned music theory.
In an interview with Bkchapo he talks about his disdain towards singing in the choir and playing piano because of the genres’ rigidity. Bach and William Byrd’s style of music differed from some of his favorite artists at the time, like Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, which was restrictive to his creative expression but simultaneously fortified the foundation by which Bkchapo makes his music today.
It wasn’t until Bkchapo attended the American Boys’ Choir School (ABS) that he was able to incorporate his own style of music into his background in music theory which propelled him to new heights in his journey as a musician.
Those who listen to Bkchapo, at first, may speak to the similarities between him and Travis Scott in the themes of darkness and the way in which the two use their voice, but many of his influences are derived outside of the rap arena.
Bkchapo feeds fans culture through his music as one may hear the dancehall influence in tracks like wfb and Over Me or the pop/rock influences in songs like Break Your Heart; and will still go bar-for-bar with a fan’s favorite rapper.
Bkchapo talks about the journey from his first album Revenge of the Dreamer (2021) to his most recent releases in 2022, Sorry for the Wait and Wizards Only.
The rapper denotes that during the making of Revenge of the Dreamer he was in a very volatile part of his life, “My younger self was aggressive and dark. Sorry for the Wait was trying to evolve from that. It was like, I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize that I don’t have to be angry all the time. That [Revenge of the Dreamer] was my first project, it was all about revenge, it was all about my dreams…passions.”
Contrastingly, Sorry for the Wait is about Bkchapo’s maturation as a person and artist. He dials back the aggression and turns up his swag to deliberate mature and triumphant bars as a victory lap for conquering old demons. Bkchapo further mentions how Sorry for the Wait is symbolic of finding himself and what is to come next while Wizards Only is straight heat, to reassure his core fans that he isn’t going ‘soft’ on them.
The East New York native knows that his formula cannot be replicated. His pain in addition to his truth is what he uses to cook his recipe.
Ultimately, Bkchapo wants his music to be an emotional experience that a listener can connect with and be inspired by. Bkchapo has released two collections of music this year and says to his fans that they can count on another project to release before the year’s end.