Chester Watson

Chester Watson (born March 16, 1997) is an American rapper and record producer from St. Petersburg, Florida currently based out of Atlanta, Georgia. He rarely saw his father, who has been a producer for Three 6 Mafia and a keyboard player for Con Funk Shun and Bar-Kays. He transferred from a performing arts school, where he studied ballet, to a regular public school in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Career At the age of 15, Watson started releasing his music online. Watson released Tin Wooki in 2014, Past Cloaks in 2016, and Project 0 in 2018.

On October 31, 2020, Watson released his debut studio album, A Japanese Horror Film.

Artistry

Watson's inspirations are made clear through his music, with references in his lyrics to many artists. In a recent livestream on his Twitch channel, Watson was asked who his biggest inspirations were. He replied with the following artists: Psymun, MF Doom, Odd Future, Mos Def, Madlib, Nujabes, J Dilla, André 3000, Metro Boomin and Travis Scott.

Producing most of his own material, Watson blends genres together, including hip-hop, lo-fi, and psychedelia. In 2017, Watson released a video on his YouTube channel titled "A Moment With Chester Watson", in which he stated "I kinda just want my career to just take its course, and lean towards psychedelia, for sure... because... I don't know, like, that's what I'm influenced by the most." His signature monotone style of delivery is one of the components that sets Watson apart from his contemporaries, and ultimately has given him the nickname of the Monotone Samurai.

In his EP 1997, released on February 27, 2021, Watson made multiple references to the late MF Doom's passing. He released a video for the first track on the EP, "Sunbeam", and in its description wrote "RIP MF DOOM".

Discography

Studio albums

A Japanese Horror Film (2020) fish don't climb trees (2023)

Mixtapes Phantom (2012) Tin Wooki (2014) Past Cloaks (2016) Project 0 (2018) Instrumental Tape (2019)

EPs Space Nobility (2013) My Girlfriend Made Me Drop This (2014) Summer Mirage (2015) Autumn Mirage (2015) Spring Mirage (2016) 3 of 3 (2016) Nebulous (2019) 1997 (2021) Winter Mirage (2024) Montisona (2024) Mirage (2025) Stargazer, vol i (2025)

Singles "Koi Island" (2015) "Marble" (2017) "Smog" (2017) "Halloween" (2017) "Chessmaster" (2018) "Afro!" (2019) "Time Moves Slower Here" (2019) "Cloud Mask" (2019)