BBC/Jonathan Birch
Bad Boy Chiller Crew have previously been nominated for best group at the Brit Awards
Playing in front of fans around the country is the bread and butter for any musician.
But when Bradford rap trio Bad Boy Chiller Crew reflect on performing in front of their home crowd, it hits different.
“They’ve seen us grow from the streets, around the corner or from the estate. They’ve seen the work we’ve put in,” Gareth “GK” Kelly tells BBC Newsbeat.
The group honed their infectious, humourous and bass-heavy sound in their hometown, and have proudly worn their roots on their sleeves ever since.
GK says things have changed drastically in Bradford since Bad Boy Chiller Crew’s early days, with nightclubs they used to perform at closing down and a sense that “the heart had gone” from the local scene.
There’s also a sense that focus has shifted towards other cities – particularly Leeds, which is just 10 miles away.
A symbol of this is Bradford Live – the former concert hall and cinema that has been redeveloped into a £50m music venue.
It currently sits, unopened, in the middle of the city after the operator lined up to run it pulled out of a deal with the local council.
“It’s a beautiful building”, says GK.
“It’s immaculate, they’ve really worked hard on it. I just don’t understand.”
GK hopes the government funding from Bradford’s year as UK City of Culture will help to boost and regenerate the area.
The attention it brings to the city and some of its undiscovered artists is the big wish, though.
“There’s so many races, religions and different background – lots of talent,” he says.
“And I think if everyone pushed together and worked together, it could be really good,” he says.
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Gareth says they could never contemplate veering away from their roots
GK says he and fellow group members – MCs Kane Welsh and Sam “Clive” Robinson have always tried to stay authentic, and believes that helped them to find success.
“I think back then it was the rawness, the naturalness of ourselves,” he says.
“We won’t try to be anybody else.”
The group say people in the music industry tried to get them to tone down their “Bradfordness”, but they weren’t having any of it.
“That isn’t us,” says GK.
“We couldn’t adapt to that.”
Clive adds: “Because we were that raw and that genuine, that’s what made us stand out to everyone else.”
The pair also credit the local music scene with allowing them to experiment and find their signature sound – but also work on their trademark sense of humour.
“It was the entertainment side of our band that caused the breakthrough for us,” says GK.
“It was laughs, jokes, parody songs. Pranks, stunts, skits.”
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MC Clive is proud of Bad Boy Chiller Crew’s authenticity
‘Heartbreaking’ legal issues
“We’ve had a few problems as well,” GK admits.
The rap trio have lodged a legal claim against their record label and say they are owed about £400,000 in unpaid royalties.
They say they had “no other option” but to take court action against House Anxiety, which signed the group in 2020 and released their Full Wack No Breaks mixtape that year.
It included the band’s breakthrough track 450 and follow-up Disrespectful, reaching number two in the UK album chart in 2022 under a licensing deal with Sony’s Relentless label.
House Anxiety has previously strongly rejected the claim and said it welcomed the chance to “clarify inaccuracies” in it.
GK describes the situation as “heartbreaking” and says it’s paused everything for Bad Boy Chiller Crew.
“We got belittled and used and manipulated,” he says.
“As it stands, there’s no future because we’re not allowed to release music.
“We’re not allowed to put anything out there. We couldn’t even go on tour because we couldn’t release music.”
That’s despite them “trying and pushing” to do so, says GK.
Clive tells Newsbeat: “It’s stopping us from working, stopping us from doing what we do best, what we love.”
House Anxiety has yet to respond to a further request for comment.
On a personal level, GK says it has taken “a massive toll”.
“We’ve put in a lot of hard work, sacrificed a lot of things,” he says.
“It makes you want to actually avoid people totally.
“Because I don’t want to get asked that question: ‘Where’s your songs? Have you split up? Have you fell out?'”
But, once this is all resolved, fans can expect a lot of new music from the group.
“We’ve got a catalogue stacked up,” says GK.
“Some tunes remind me of when we started.
“So there’s a lot of songs we’ve got to release.”
And the boys say they know the perfect venue to debut their new material – Bradford Live, which used to be the cinema they’d regularly visit as children.
“Absolutely,” says GK.
“We’d be looking for the nachos and the popcorn.”
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.
