In his official Instagram bio, Lance Cheney, who works under the artistic moniker ChillCheney, describes his music as “emotional Aussie hip hop vibes.”
This is fully on show in his song – and accompanying music video – “Raise Ya Hands”, released earlier this year to positive reviews. ChillCheney wrote it as part of the Abbey Road Institute’s songwriting camp, with Roland’s SYSTEM-8 being a main source of inspiration.
“Raise Ya Hands”, which features I.K.P, is energetic and atmospheric, featuring dirty beats and vibey vocals. The accompanying video was made in collaboration with 3 Matters Records and James J An, while South Asian rapper Vivi and artist, producer, and engineer Jace Kara both starred in the clip.
View this post on InstagramLove Hip Hop?
Get the latest Hip Hop news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
It sees ChillCheney spit his verses in various locations, including an empty parking lot and a darkened street. You can watch the full music video below.
Having not come from a musical background, ChillCheney first discovered his love of hip hop when he came across the transformative lyrics of Tupac‘s “Changes” at the age of 14.
When he became an artist in his own right, the rapper looked to pay homage to major influences such as Eminem, Lil Wayne, and 6lack, displaying the same emotional depth and dark undertones in his sound and lyrics.
ChillCheney has appeared at festivals like Rock the Block and COOEE, shared the stage with Nitrous Battles, warmed up the crowd for Drapht, and also supported Tech N9ne at his Sydney show in 2022.
“Raise Ya Hands” is comfortably the rapper’s biggest hit on streaming to date, garnering almost 8,000 streams on Spotify, but it’s not his only notable recent track.
Following “Raise Ya Hands” came “Losing Sheep”, a cool collaboration with Imagine the Rapper (no relation to Chance) and zepha that is about, as the title suggests, counting sheep while losing sleep due to being stuck in your own head.
ChillCheney’s “Raise Ya Hands” (ft. I.K.P) is out now.
