The first time I heard Chester Watson was via BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe. I was instantly hooked on his laid back flow and the way he skipped over the beat, which reminded me, in a way, of a younger Earl Sweatshirt. The beat itself is a real chilled, '90s-inspired knocker produced by Sammsonite and Stricknine (who in turn, sampled an MF Grimm track). The video for this track features a head shot of Chester rapping along, broken up by miscellaneous old, grainy movie clips.
After hearing "Phantom", I instantly went in search of more music by Chester, eventually stumbling upon his mixtape of the same name. The majority of tracks on Phantom are produced by Chester himself (which is an achievement in its own right nowadays) whilst also borrowing beats from the likes of Tyler, The Creator and MF Doom. The mixtape follows the same story-telling, stoner type of vibes given off from the title track, and the beat selection for this 'tape is on point. For me, the most surprising thing about Chester Watson is the fact that he's only 16 years old. Even more surprising was learning that he was only 15 when he released Phantom. With that in mind, you might want to remember the name, as I've got a feeling this won't be the last we hear from Chester Watson.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N53zkq_ypoc[/youtube]
