For Christin Brown, music is about family. A member of local hip-hop collective Six One Tribe who performs as Negro Justice, Brown does care about family in the traditional sense of blood relatives. But a bigger concern for him is the community-focused kind of relationships that he celebrates on his excellent new LP, Chosen Family.
The record is Brown’s debut solo album, though he’s released a handful of EPs and singles over the past few years. He’s also a prolific collaborator, joining up with producer Cal Cuttah for 2020’s dark, ambitious Two Ronin: A Short Story EP and Gee Slab for last year’s acclaimed Resplendent, among others. The fact that Brown’s first full-length record would feature more than a dozen other artists was only natural.
“I started noticing a thread of me talking about people that are in my family, my circle,” Brown tells the Scene. “Before I even wrote one lyric, that was something that I lived by — that you make your own family, choose your own family. Blood is not thicker than water. That’s how I’ve always felt, through experiences I’ve gone through with people that are both my blood family and not. And it’s led me to a very firm belief in that mantra.”
Chosen Family opens with “A Message From Amaze88,” a short intro on which Brown announces, “I do this because I live and learn and grow from y’all.” Then, the track cuts to a voicemail from producer Amaze88, who says: “Those that are creative are unique in a way that they have a different energy. And their energy connects in various ways. A lot of times it brings positive people, sometimes it brings negative. But when it brings other creative people around, that’s when it’s special.” Brown peppers the album with other voicemails and personal clips like this, bringing a real sense of intimacy to a collection of songs grounded in trying to forge connections.
Brown tapped local producer Aaron Dethrage to helm the project, calling him his “right-hand man.” The pair met through Gee Slab, with whom Dethrage works frequently, including producing the appropriately titled Resplendent. Brown and Dethrage decamped to EastSide Manor, where Dethrage works as studio manager, and plotted out what would become the intricate, immersive LP.
“Aaron kept telling me he wanted to do a record with me,” Brown says. “It kind of gave me a little impostor syndrome, because I was like, ‘Dude, you know Slab and all these talented guys, and you want to do a record with me?’… I don’t know if you follow Slab on social media, but his mantra that he says every day is, ‘Wake up every day and expect to win. Then accept the wins, never feel guilty.’ So, I’m really trying to do that more and more.”
Chosen Family has a rich full-band sound, with a stacked roster of guest players who joined Brown in the studio. Most of the instrumental parts were recorded live in the studio, including performances from singer and saxophonist Amber Woodhouse. She adds jazzy, atmospheric sax runs to “Cherry Limeade” (which playfully calls out Sonic Drive-In) and percussive bursts to “Folks Out Here,” at times acting as a call-and-response foil to Brown’s flow.
“Aaron has some live bass players and drummers,” he says. “He has access to guys who play with Yelawolf, guys who play with Big K.R.I.T. They’re laying down live drums and live bass. Then you see Amber Woodhouse all over the album. She actually has the most features because she’s playing sax on a bunch of songs. And she came in and did that live.”
However, Brown’s flow is the star of the show, playing off beats and grooves with playful curiosity and a studied assurance not always heard from debut projects. On “No Throwaways,” another track to feature Woodhouse, Brown shifts from plainspoken bravado at the first verse to almost a low growl at the chorus, with improvisational runs throughout. Standout “Work in the Morning” gives Brown the chance to show off a more aggressive flow as he confronts systemic racism and the tension between making money and making art. And “George Jefferson Strut” — which features Slab, Corduroy Clemens and FU Stan — slows things down, with each MC putting a crisp, deliberate focus on their contributions to the track.
On April 14, Brown will perform at The 5 Spot alongside much-loved rapper Spoken Nerd, video-game-centric rock band The Mad Gear and producer and wizard of the sampler D. Sauls. While Brown is keeping most performance details under wraps until showtime, he says the collaborative spirit that permeates Chosen Family will also factor into his live set. He says this with a wink you can almost hear — that charisma that so elevates his music bleeding into real-life conversation.
“Going back to that impostor syndrome thing, I see these people [I work with] and I’m like, ‘Damn, should I really be here?’ And we all deserve to be here. It’s accepting them wins, man.”
