Stacking The Deck with Chetti


Stacking The Deck is a feature exclusive to Adam’s World where I bring packs of 1991 Pro Set Superstars MusiCards to artists, and we discuss who they find in each pack.

There’s something innately like-able about Staten Island, by way of Brooklyn, soul-pop artist Chetti. Her live shows are always jam packed, and it’s clear she has a great time inspiring audiences to enjoy themselves.

With everything that she does, her voice, smile, and authentic New York personality always shine through, making her the kind of artist you truly want to support.

I first became aware of Chetti, and her music, back in 2014, when she opened for former Dream member Ashley Poole at Mercury Lounge in NYC, and since then I’ve been able to witness her grow as an artist. Her most recent release is the single “Better Than You Found Them.”


Hot on the heels of the release of “Better Than You Found Them,” I caught up with Chetti at the Think Coffee at the corner of Bleecker and Bowery to open up some packs of MusiCards, and the artists we found sparked conversations about why her music never stays in one genre, the one food you can easily bribe her with, and which family member Montell Jordan makes her think of.



The Police

“Roxanne” is the best, and I love Sting.

You are the second young female artist I have spoken with that loves Sting.

He’s very sexy. He’s always been.

He did an interview with his wife a while back, I don’t know if it was in Harper’s Bazaar, but it was in one of the magazines I subscribe to, and him and his wife are like so young and fun, and in this really cool interview … you could see that they’re still keeping young.

There’s something very manly about Sting.

He also does tantric sex.

What? I didn’t know that. That’s interesting. Alright Sting. Freaky.

Speaking of freaky, “Every Breath You Take” is kind of a stalker song.

Oh my God, that’s a little weird. Now I’m singing the lyrics in my head. But then you think about it in the terms of someone passing away – oh I just made that morbid real quick – and you’re like oh, OK … but I hear you.

But it’s Sting, and I used to crush “Roxanne” in Rock Band.

Have you crushed it at a karaoke night?

I definitely would do it, but I haven’t.

I just played The Bitter End, and I did “Jolene,” which was a song I’d never done before, and it was awesome. It was really well received, which was great because I actually had mentioned to my mom and sister, “I’m gonna do ‘Jolene,’” and my mom looked at me like, “You’re gonna do what?” She wasn’t expecting an R&B, pop heavy artist to go to “Jolene,” but we did it, and it was just an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, and a kick drum.

It. Hit. Home.

It was really cool, so maybe I’ll decide to throw it into my set next time.

You’re going old school now. I remember seeing you a few years ago, and Montell Jordan was one of the covers.

For me that’s like an old school vibe, because I remember being in the car and my mom blasting it, and me and her rapping, driving around Brooklyn. That was like our thing, so whenever I hear that song I think of her.

Not a lot of people, when they hear Montell Jordan …

Think of their mother. {laughs}

My mom is pretty bad ass.



Tina Turner

Bombshell.

Still.

Still. How do you look that good at that age?

She’s amazing, and what a voice on her.

She was a soul artist, but she brought a little bit of that rock n roll to the soul world. To me she’s so authentically awesome for doing that, for being able to merge those two genres, and still be this pop/R&B artist.

Knowing that you write and perform pop and R&B, and you’ve also covered everything from “Jolene” to Montell Jordan – are you in the business of merging genres right now?

Yeah. Why not?

Something that’s always been super hard for me, whenever I play my music for any music executive, I’ll play a collection of songs, and they’ll be like, “This is not in the same genre,” and I’ll be like, “I know, but I didn’t feel the same way when I was writing each of these songs.”

Because I grew up listening to so much different music, I mean a broad range – Italian music, Spanish music, Celine Dion, Stevie Wonder, you name it, I was all over the place, and still am – for me it’s like the music evokes the feelings that you get when you’re writing. If I’m writing an uptempo song I usually feel some sort of Latin vibe to it. You hear that in “Mr. Skeemer.”


My ear goes to songs that I listened to, music that I listened to, as a kid growing up. I guess I attach myself to a feeling that I had while listening to songs from all different genres.

Being all sorts of different genres was way more accepted in the ‘90s and early 2000s. I’ve recently gone dollar bin diving for albums, and I picked up Natalie Imbruglia’s first album. Every other song is a different genre, and it worked for her.

Oh it did, and she was great.

With the business today, it’s very different. It’s who’s hottest on social media right now.

They care more about Instagram followers than anything else.

I’m going to be releasing another single (this year), and you’ll hear my struggle. You’ll hear that for sure.



Tiffany

Tiffany was a mall queen in the ‘80s. If you had to perform in a series of establishments that sell things, which places would they be, and why?

How large of a scale are we talking?

I was thinking malls, or specific stores, sort of on the fun side of things.

I would do concerts at Laduree all day long. It’s a French macaron shop. It’s right in SOHO. They also have a cafe, but I am addicted to their macarons, so if they had a little lounge, like above the pastry shop, I would sit up there with an acoustic guitar and just play all day long.

If they were to pay you in macarons …

I would not be upset. I might be 20 pounds heavier, but I wouldn’t be upset.

So let it be known, you can be bribed with macarons.

Oh yes, but only really good macarons. They have to be delicious, creamy, well thought out, well made macarons.

I’m very passionate about food, if you haven’t noticed.

How does an Italian girl end up into macarons?

It’s sugar! {laughs}

I have the worst sweet tooth known to man. I eat cookies and milk at least three times a week.

Your workout routines must be even crazier than mine.

I haven’t worked out in about two and a half, or three months.

Is your metabolism just really freakin’ amazing?

I hate to be a jerk and say it, but my dad has like the golden metabolism, and I was gifted with it.

Plus, after you work out for long enough …

I think that’s also what it is. I was always active as a kid. I played soccer on an all-boys team. The Italian Federation. It was me, my best friend Daniela, and all boys on the team, so I had to keep up. Then I did cheerleading, dance, softball, theater, martial arts.

When I do yoga I drop too much (weight). I go to a studio in Staten Island, that studio is like my favorite place in the whole world, it’s good vibes all around, (but) if I’m going often, I end up dropping more pounds than I want, and I’m like NOOO! Too skinny!

So Italian.



Teddy Pendergrass

I just know his name. {sings Drake} “ … like I’m Teddy Pendergrass.”

I was thinking of when Outkast mentioned him in a song.

Yes, that too! Oh my God!

There’s been new life for Teddy Pendergrass thanks to random R&B and hip-hop lyrics. Are there any artists you listen to now that you learned about from a prominent sample, or a mention in another song, where you were like, “I need to investigate who this is”?

I always knew who Otis Redding was, but when Jay-Z put him on Watch the Throne I was like, “I need to listen to more of Otis Redding’s music. Why am I not listening to more of his music?”

(Also) Jackie Wilson.

I was watching a Michael Jackson documentary, and they started talking about how Michael Jackson watched the greats, (including Jackie Wilson).

I know “(Your Love is Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.” Who doesn’t know that song? So you think yeah, I know who Jackie Wilson is, of course. Then I went in, and I watched videos of him, and I discovered “Baby Workout,” and I started listening to a lot of his stuff, and it was like the perfect fit. Here’s this insane passionate soul-funk-pop artist that I couldn’t help but dance to.

(Wilson’s) “Baby Workout” is such a time, era, accurate song, but you listen to it even now, in 2018, and I just want to do the mashed potato, and the dance moves my aunts used to teach me.


For more Chetti check out chettiofficial.com, and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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