Charles "Chilly" Patton (born June 27, 1969) is an American artist manager, executive producer, and Gulf War combat veteran from Chicago, Illinois. He and Lupe Fiasco are co-founders of the independent label, 1st & 15th Records. He is listed as an executive producer on Fiasco's albums.
The songs "Welcome Back Chilly" (2005), "Intro" / "Outro" (2006), "Free Chilly (Interlude)" (2007), "Paris, Tokyo" (2008), and "Super Cold" (2011) are dedicated to or mention him. Fiasco also did a freestyle, and has stated #FreeChill(y) in interviews, songs, and at concerts. Several EPs have been released under the artist name and collection, 'Chill's Spotlight,' which occasionally features 1st & 15th artists including Fiasco, Gemini, and Shayla G. Concerning the artwork for the second and third volumes, Fiasco revealed, "Chills son Dakari drew the artwork…he a beast with the manga…"[1]
Background[]
Lupe first met Chill at Raw Dope Studios. Record producers happened to live near Fiasco's mother, so they knew his younger sister. When Fiasco picked his sister up from the West, the producers pulled up. They knew he rapped, and offered for him to join them at the showcase, where Aftermath Records would also be present. Fiasco arrived at the showcase and met Big Chuck (a representative of Aftermath), whose friend was Chilly. Since Chilly lived in Riverdale, near Fiasco's own street, Harvey, they would hang out at each other's houses.[2]
Originally Fiasco did not want to be featured on Kanye West's 2006 song "Touch the Sky," though Chilly convinced him to.[3] In June 2007, Patton was sentenced to 44 years in prison on several drug charges. At Patton's trial, Fiasco testified in court and wrote a letter, "I love Charles... I am deeply saddened by his circumstances and will stand by him and his family no matter what occurs."[4] The Fader summarized in their 2019 article, "Chilly's trial began in a Cook County courtroom. Prosecutors argued that the six kilograms of heroin found in a storage locker out in the suburbs, worth around $950,000 at the time, were evidence of an even larger trafficking ring that had been operating in some capacity since the '80s." While Fiasco was suspected of being involved, due to police wiretaps that heard the words "whole yellow" and "whole red ones," he stated that they were codewords for songs being mixed, and was not charged.[5]
In 2013, Patton's ex-wife sued Fiasco with the accusation that he and Chilly laundered money during her divorce, and wanted the money that was rightfully hers. Fiasco's attorney denied these allegations, and said, "There are no secret accounts and no illicit instructions."[6] Fiasco addressed the rumors over Twitter, stating "stupid ass media" and posted a link to his song "#DopeFrancis (American Trap)" as a response.[7]
On December 8, 2014, Fiasco declared on Twitter, "Chill is still negotiating the terms but it's looking like Tetsuo & Youth will be my last album with Atlantic Records."[8]
At The Filmore show in Denver on December 14, 2016, he addressed to the crowd amidst the controversy of his song "N.E.R.D." He said about Patton, "They say he's a heroin kingpin in Chicago. Chilly was one of the only people in the world that believed in me. And no matter what I did, he said, 'Listen man. You've got something special. You have God's gift. You've got God's voice in your mouth. Speak it to the people. Don't let these people rub you the wrong way or fuck you over.' Right? That's what he always said to me. That's the only reason I put out music. Not for y'all. I want you to be clear about our relationship. I don't do music for you. I do music for me."[9]
In 2019, Fiasco told Vibe:
Chill has done a lot for me so we are family from the streets to the music business, to the corporate business, everything planned. If it wasn't for him I would not have this entrepreneurial [spirit]. He made me become vice president when I was 19. I wanted to just be the artist rapping in the studio. He was like nah, you need to come to this meeting and sit down with Lyor, you need to come to this meeting and sit down with L.A Reid. L.A. Reid is like, "is this an audition?" Chill is like no, this is my business partner. "But he's 19," and he's like "yeah, I know." Without him, you probably wouldn't see me on stage at Zero Mass because I wouldn't know how to navigate that space, I wouldn't feel comfortable around men in power, women in power, CEOs, or executives and stuff like that because I had never been one, I had always been the artist. There is no way to pay that back, so my loyalty to him is kind of unquestioned, and whatever that means for monetary success is negligible.[10]
Because of the new state law that allowed "prosecutors to revisit extreme prison sentences," Patton became the first person in Illinois to be released. The same day on July 19, 2023, Fiasco announced to social media, "Chilly Free..."[11] The media outlet Injustice Watch reported, "[Patton's] 2007 conviction relied on testimony from a cooperating witness who later recanted. Still, all his appeals failed, his clemency petition was denied, and he was refused medical release, despite his failing health and paralysis from a serious fall while in prison."[12]
In September 2023, Chilly obtained a permit to open the restaurant, Chillyeee Philly's & Beef's.
Chill's Spotlight[]
Extended plays[]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Chill's Spotlight |
|
| Chill's Spotlight, Vol. 2 |
|
| Chill's Spotlight, Vol. 3 - Dak's Playlist |
|
| Chill's Spotlight, Vol. 4 - Spirit of Chicago House |
|
| Chill's Spotlight, Vol. 5 - Shayla G |
|
| Chill's Spotlight, Vol. 6 - Underground |
|
Singles[]
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Run Game" | 2019 | Chill's Spotlight |
| "Hustlaz" | 2022 | Chill's Spotlight 2 |
Guest appearances[]
| Title | Other artist(s) | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Hey Lupe" | None | 2019 | Chill's Spotlight |
| "Fah Real" | 2022 | Chill's Spotlight 2 | |
| "The Pen and the Needlz" | Chill's Spotlight, Vol. 3 - Dak's Playlist | ||
| "Wild Child (Remix)" | Vince Lawrence | 2023 | Chill's Spotlight, Vol. 4 - Spirit of Chicago House |
| "Out There" | None | Chill's Spotlight, Vol. 6 - Underground |
Gallery[]
- July 19, 2023
References[]
- ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". Twitter. February 7, 2022.
- ↑ "Lupe Fiasco on How He Connected w/ Chilly, Dipset & Aftermath (Ch 2)". YouTube. May 18, 2021.
- ↑ "Lupe Fiasco Speaks on His Relationship with Kanye & Jay Z [SKEE Live - Season 2]". YouTube. June 30, 2014.
- ↑ "Lupe Fiasco's Mentor Sentenced to 44 Years". HipHopDX. June 3, 2007,
- ↑ Thompson, Paul (2019). "The Brilliant Ambiguity of Lupe Fiasco's 'The Truth Is Among Us'". The Fader.
- ↑ Robertson, Iyana (September 3, 2013). "Lupe Fiasco Sued for Allegedly Hiding Drug Kingpin's Millions". Vibe.
- ↑ Harling, Danielle (September 3, 2013). "Lupe Fiasco Responds to Lawsuit Claiming He Allegedly Hid Money for Drug Kingpin". HipHopDX.
- ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". Twitter. December 8, 2014.
- ↑ Roti, Jessi (December 17, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Stokes Rumors of Retirement (Again) with Onstage Rant in Denver". Chicago Tribune.
- ↑ Ketchum III, William (February 22, 2019). "Lupe Fiasco on New World Water, and Changing the World with His Bars Before Leaving Rap Behind". Vibe.
- ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@lupefiasco)". Instagram. July 19, 2023.
- ↑ Dukmasova, Maya (September 28, 2023). "Chicago Man Becomes First in Illinois to Get Reduced Sentence Under New Law". Injustice Watch.