Birth name Chris Steele Role Hip-hop artist Occupation(s) Rapper Genres Alternative hip hop Name Chris Steele | Instruments Keyboard Albums Naked Dinner, Newstalgia Years active 2000-present | |
Origin Denver, Colorado, United States Labels Dirty Laboratory Productions Record label Dirty Laboratory Productions | ||
Associated acts Akira the Don, Sole | ||
Chris Steele, better known by his stage name Time, is an American indie hip hop artist from Denver, Colorado. He is one of the original members of Dirty Laboratory Productions. He is also one half of the hip hop group Calm. Aside from music, Steele is also an investigative journalist.
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Life and career
Time released his first album, Litterture, in 2004. He then went on to release the album, Anti-Smiles, in 2006 under the moniker Calm with producer Awareness. Denver Westword gave the album a favorable review, commenting that "[although] Anti-Smiles reflects the dark side of our collective psyche, it's also a statement of hope in the face of fear and self-doubt." In 2007, he released his solo album, The Fantastic Reality. Benzine Magazine gave the album 3 out of 5.
Time released his solo album, Naked Dinner, in 2009. It featured guest appearances from Damon Jevon, Sole, C-Rayz Walz and Extra Kool. The album was described by Denver Westword as "a dark affair tonally reminiscent of There's a Riot Goin' On, with a similar socially critical agenda."
In 2010, Time released 12 EPs in 12 months called the 12 Headed Hydra series for free download. In 2013, he released Newstalgia, an album featuring contributions from the likes of Ceschi, Jake One, Factor, Budo, Man Mantis, and Xiu Xiu.
As a journalist, Chris Steele has written for The Examiner as a progressive politics reporter. He has written on topics ranging from UFO's to the death of Fred Hampton. In 2011, he has received attention for writing in favor of the Occupy Wall Street movement and was interviewed on Mike Feder's XM radio show Occupied Territory.
Style and influences
Time's vocal style has been compared to Josh Martinez, Buck 65, and Sage Francis.