Nov 28 2008
Producer Profile: Che Vicious
You know, it’s a crime that some people might not know who Che Vicious is. I do this profile, and I try to avoid the obvious ones, like Dre or Premier who everybody should know. But really, the people I profile, everybody SHOULD know. If I said The MisEducation of Lauryn Hill, you’d know what I was talking about right. But the man who helped orchestrate that classic, then known as Che Guevera, is the same man who currently highlights the liner notes of many a aftermath classic as Che Vicious. But after I did my profile of King Batson, I got an email from a reader (I won’t call you out S) who saw the picture with Dre, Che, and Batson, and asked who the man in the middle was. Well if you are like my ignorant slut of a friend, here you go.
Che Vicious grew up in Boston, then went to school in Virginia. He got into the music industry working with Teddy Riley, and moved to New York to further his career in 96. While in NY, he linked up with Lord Finesse, Showbiz, Buckwild, and Brooklyn’s own Bob Gibson. He worked with the Fugees crew on various projects, including the aforementioned MisEducation, and for the last 4 years he’s been working with the Yankees of producer teams over at Aftermath.
Now I’m an album cut guy. I love those songs on the album that are too technically innovative and interesting to ever be a single. And Che’s got those in loads. But a producer’s value in this cut-throat marketplace is determined by their ability to make hits. And he didn’t switch the name to Vicious for nothing. “Ghetto Superstar”, “Gone Till November”, “A Rose is Still a Rose”, songs so dope you don’t even need to name the artist. You already know what I’m talking about. And on top of all that, he produced “To Zion”, quite possibly the most emotionally compelling piece of music to be created in our modern times.
So like I said. It’s a god damn crime that people don’t know these things. And now you can thank me for reforming you of your criminal ways.
