Chester A. Hansen is a Canadian musician and songwriter, best known as bassist for instrumental group BADBADNOTGOOD. As a songwriter, Hansen is credited in co-writing hit songs by Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Daniel Caesar, and Kali Uchis," among others.
Hansen was born on May 1, 1992 in Ottawa, Ontario. He was raided in the Nepean area of the city and attended Canterbury High School, a local arts magnet school. Growing up, he played piano and shifted his focus to the bass during high school. Beginning in his teens, Hansen worked on and released music which combined hip-hop, jazz, and electronic influences. In 2010, Hansen began attending Humber College in Toronto to study music performance. In his first year, he met fellow music studentsAlexander Sowinski and Matthew Tavares and began collaborating with them, creating what would become BADBADNOTGOOD. The band had viral success in 2011 after posting jazz covers of Odd Future songs online, and released their debut record that Fall. He withdrew from school in February 2012. With BBNG, Hansen has released five full-length albums, including a collaborative record with Ghostface Killah, and has been short-listed for the Polaris Music Prize twice. In the early 2010s, Hansen began working with close BBNG collaborator Frank Dukes. With him, as well as other members of BBNG, they composed original music for hip-hop music sampling. Of note, fellow Canadian Drake used a song Hansen had written with Dukes, "Vibez," in his 2014 single "0 to 100 / The Catch Up" and another track was used in Rihanna's 2016 song "Sex with Me." As part of BBNG, Hansen also works as a songwriter and producer, which includes writing music for sampling as well as working with fellow artists in the studio.
Artistry
Hansen's style and sound is often compared to that of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly because of his stocky, warm bass tone. One critic commented, "Hansen has married the sounds and dexterous, melodic playing style of yesteryear with a modern band and music scene." As a bassist, Hansen often plays a Gibson Grabber and a vintage Gibson SB-300. He employs a variety of basses in live settings including a Gallien-Krueger 800/700 RB, a Gallien-Krueger Fusion 500, and a D’Angelico Excel SD. He has commented that he likes to use thick flat-wound strings far off of the neck.
Discography
With BADBADNOTGOOD
BBNG
BBNG2
III
Sour Soul
IV
Production and songwriting credits
All credits from Discogs unless otherwise noted. Co-writing credits with Frank Dukes Hansen writes music with producer Frank Dukes for the purpose of sampling, most notably penning the track "Vibez" together in 2014. Their music has been used in chart-topping songs, including:
