Chester Hansen

Chester Anton Mathias Hansen (born May 1, 1992) is a Canadian musician and songwriter, best known as bassist of instrumental group BADBADNOTGOOD. As a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, Hansen often works with his bandmates and producer Frank Dukes and is credited for co-writing hit songs by Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Daniel Caesar, and Kali Uchis, among others.

Personal life and career

Hansen was born on May 1, 1992, in Ottawa, Ontario. He was raised 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 students Alexander 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 (with an 8×10 GK cab), a Gallien-Krueger Fusion 500 (with a 4×10 Kicker CX cab), and a D’Angelico Excel SD. He has commented that he likes to use thick flat-wound strings far off of the neck.

Additionally, Hansen often plays keyboards on records. He has perfect pitch.

Discography

With BADBADNOTGOOD

• BBNG (2011)
• BBNG2 (2012)
• III (2014)
• Sour Soul (2015)
• IV (2016)
• Talk Memory (2021)

Production and songwriting credits

Partial discography, adapted from SOCAN. Note, Hansen's work is sometimes incorrectly credited to C. John "Jack" Hansen, a producer notable for his work with Buddy Holly.

Notable credits include,

• Kendrick Lamar: "Lust." from Damn. (2016)
• GoldLink: "Fall in Love" (featuring Cisero) (2016)
• Daniel Caesar: "Get You" (2016)
• Kali Uchis: "After the Storm" (featuring Tyler, the Creator and Bootsy Collins) from Isolation (2018)
• Khalid and Swae Lee: "The Ways" from Black Panther (2018)

• The Living Sound System – Night of the Living Sound System (2011); keys
• Talib Kweli – "What's Real" (featuring RES) from Gravitas (2013)
• Drake – "0 to 100 / The Catch Up " (2014)
• Talib Kweli – "Arsenio Hall Show" (2014)
• Yuna – "Broke Her" (2014)
• Fabolous – "Bish Bounce" from The Young OG Project (2014)
• Wale – "The Helium Balloon" from The Album About Nothing (2015)
• Logic – "Top Ten" feat. Big K.R.I.T. (2015)
• Mac Miller – "Perfect Circle / God Speed" from GO:OD AM (2015)
• Kingsway Music Library – Colors (2015); bass, keys, vocals
• Estan –The Vanity Of Reason (2015); bass
• Rihanna – "Sex with Me" from ANTi (2016)
• TGOD Mafia – "Stay the Same" from Rude Awakening (2016)
• Lil Pump – "Flex Like Ouu" from Lil Pump (2017)
• Aminé – "Yellow" from Good for You (2017)
• Saukrates – "The Grand Design" from Season 2 (2017)
• Charlotte Day Wilson – "Doubt" (2017); writing, bass, guitar
• Charlotte Day Wilson – "Let You Down" and "Funeral" from Stone Woman EP (2018); bass
• Matty – Déjàvu (2018); bass, writing
• Wes Allen – Funny Thing EP (2018); producer, mixed, instrumentation
• Jerry Paper – Like A Baby (2018); bass
• Tropics – "Never Letting Go" and "Come Home" off Nocturnal Souls (2018); bass
• Matty – "Selfportrait" (2019); writing, bass
• Elijah Blake – "Half in Love" (2019); writing
• Safe – "No Rush" from Stay (2019); writing
• Doug Shorts – "Heads or Tails" from Casual Encounter (2019)
• Antony Carle – "Cut in Line" from The Bitch of Living (2020); writing
• Ben L'Oncle Soul – "Next To You" feat. Yuna and "I Love This Game" from Addicted to You (2020); bass
• Beachtown Exile – Feeling Again (2020); mixing
• Steve Arrington – "Good Mood" from Down To The Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions (2020); bass
• Rogê - "Pra Vida" (2022); bass
• JID - "Stars" (ft. Yasiin Bey) from The Forever Story (2022); writing

Awards

As part of BADBADNOTGOOD

As producer and songwriter