As seen on the internet: Chin Injeti x Welcome To Eastvan x Exclaim

Chin Injeti

BC bassist and producer Chin Injeti speaks like he plays: concisely and efficiently, with just a little bit of flair. His sanguine and insistent funk language has been in increasing demand by the likes of Dr. Dre, Drake, Jay-Z, the Clipse and Eminem for a string of best-selling albums. It’s taken the former leader of ’90s MuchMusic staples Bass is Base more than 20 years to refine his personal blend of musical chops with the minimal sonics of hip-hop, but these days he’s going from strength to strength, following his Grammy win for his work on Eminem’s Recovery.

The two sides of his musical personality intertwined early. “I started to play when I was in high school,” Injeti recalls. “I grew up listening to a lot of prog rock; Rush and Yes. My brother got into DJing and he introduced me to reggae, which introduced me to everything else. It all changed. Rock was still a jumping point, but rap was the thing that really defined me. My biggest influences were DJs, not musicians.”

Before Bass is Base, Injeti was well known around Toronto as an after-hours party promoter, soaking up the sounds of some of the most influential DJs in the city’s history. “[Toronto hip-hop radio host/scene builder] Johnbronski and [soul/funk/reggae/house DJ] Paul E Lopes are my biggest influences to this day,” he enthuses. “They literally taught me everything I know. Those guys taught me how to listen more than play. A lot of people work on technique and speed and dexterity but you don’t get more musical that way. Almost without knowing it these guys were priming me to listen to music as a producer rather than a player.”

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