Chris Pinset is a Living Legacy of New York Hip Hop

Chris Pinset was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 22, 1977, to Alain Pinset and Marie Pinset, who were immigrants. His father was a well-known international chef who owned several restaurants around the world, while his mother, who hailed from Martinique, graduated from Sorbonne College in Paris. French and Creole were Chris’s first languages, with English being his third. His parents got divorced in 1981.

Chris grew up in Jamaica, Queens during the 1980s, a time when Hip-Hop was on the rise. He was surrounded by great musicians such as Billy Joel, Run DMC, Salt n Pepa, Metallica, James Brown, and Duke Ellington. Being passionate about music, Chris Pinset spent a lot of his time playing the guitar in his bedroom, avoiding the increasing crime rate in his area. At ten years old, he started hanging out in his neighbor’s studio where he got his hands on the MPC 60 and M1 keyboard instruments. His mother introduced him to influential musicians like Jam Master Jay, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Vaughn in 1987, and he has since spent most of his life in a recording studio.

In the mid-1990s, after graduating from high school, Chris Pinset started recording various artists and genres professionally. He also enjoyed filming skateboard videos on the streets of Manhattan with his childhood friends CX and Adam Deitch, who later connected him with BadBoy’s recording artists Black Rob and G-Dep. Chris worked with Camron, Jim Jones, Jay-Z, and Beanie Sigel in the studio due to these Harlem connections. By 2000, he produced a new project called “Adventures in Emceeing” for KRS-1 in Los Angeles, featuring Chuck D and MC Lyte. Chris and Redman began working at Universal/Def Jam on “Red Gone Wild” in 2005, featuring artists such as Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Method Man, and Erick Sermon. Besides production, Redman mentored Chris as a producer and mix engineer by giving him the opportunity to mix records for Pete Rock and Timberland. Eventually, emerging technology allowed Chris and Redman to build a new studio in Rockland County in 2006.

The studio opened up a wide range of talent from Rockland County, and artists such as Meleni Smith and Jermaine Paul, Alicia Keys’ background singer and 1/3 of Tall Paul, created a legacy of RnB music in the studio. The studio would eventually create the independent label “Esclave” to release independent artists directly to consumers. Several acts have used the studio for their releases, including Ellis Dodi, Anhayla, Divinity Roxx, Busta Rhymes, Blam, Rap and Weed, LDJ, CX, Oran Juice Jones II, B-Hi, Ariel Yvonne, Smoke DZA, 38 Spesh, Conway, Benny The Butcher, ADG, Jay Worthy, Shahef, Test410, Uncle Murda, Chase Fetti, El Camino, Dark Angels, Lettuce, Foxy Brown, RJ Payne, The Musalini, Cory Gunz, Infamous Billa, 33 & 1/3, Fred The Godson, Rome Streetz, Rain 910, Ty Ferris, Eto, Flee Lord, Graph, Rasheed Chappell, Street Justice, Jamal Gasol, Planet Asia, G4 Jag, Reef Hustle, Flashius Clayton, Daniel Son, Black Geez, Jai Black, Hus, King Pin, Rim, DJ Cool, Arsonist, Keith Murry, Ready Rock, and Saukrates.

Chris Pinset is currently living in Nyack, NY and is working on several major projects, among them shooting a music video for Infamous Billa and Oran Juice Jones II.

Natalia Privalova

Natalia is a Rap and Hip Hop enthusiast. After graduating from The New School of New York’s Public Relations Program and taking a course in Journalism at Michigan State University, she decided to dedicate her life to the music publishing business and to the discovery of new talent. She helps new artists gain exposure to the masses via online marketing and publications.