Christian Walcott Webster (born October 13, 1988), better known by his stage name Chris Webby, is an American rapper from Norwalk, Connecticut. Chris Webby has released many mixtapes such as the DJ Drama-hosted Bars On Me (2012) and his EP There Goes the Neighborhood (2011), which peaked at number 101 on the Billboard 200. He has worked with various artists such as Freeway, Mac Miller, Joell Ortiz, Big K.R.I.T., Method Man, Apathy, Prodigy, Bun B, Tech N9ne, Jarren Benton, and Kid Ink. In 2013 he and his label, Homegrown Music, signed a deal with E1 Music. He then released Homegrown, another EP, in November 2012. Webster released his debut studio album Chemically Imbalanced on October 27, 2014.
Early life
Webby's mother was a middle school teacher at Nathan Hale Middle School, his father was a guitarist and he was their only child. He started listening to rap at a young age admiring Eminem, he then started writing his own raps in 2000 at age 11. He attended Greens Farms Academy, a private school in Westport, Connecticut.
Musical career
2007–2011: Mixtapes
After graduating from Green Farms Academy in 2007, Chris Webby went to Hofstra University in Long Island, New York on scholarship. During this time his rap name was Vindictive, and was a known freestyler through the frat houses, himself being a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity (ΣΑΕ). He was arrested on March 27, 2009, during his sophomore year, in connection with a failed robbery attempt of a drug dealer on Hofstra University campus. He would then spend a week in jail and be banned from the school. Following getting kicked out he looked at rapping as a career, and focused on releasing music.
On April 30, 2009, Chris Webby released his debut mixtape The White Noise LP. The mixtape featured his first hit single "La La La," first released on April 17, 2009, on YouTube, based on "Around the World" by Beat Ink and samples ATC's "Around The World". He performed at local Connecticut venues, including Toad's Place and the Heirloom Arts Theatre. Then on September 19, 2009, he released his second mixtape Teenage Mutant Ninja Rapper. The two mixtapes included tracks he had recorded since 2008.
On May 10, 2010, he released his third mixtape Optimus Rhyme, intended to be a prelude to his fourth mixtape The Underclassmen. The project was billed as a "mini-mixtape" and was primarily a compilation of his unreleased tracks. He teamed up with DJBooth to release his fourth mixtape The Underclassmen on July 14, 2010, which featured a guest appearance by Mac Miller and others. The mixtape contains disses towards fellow rapper Sammy Adams.
On December 21, 2010, Webby released his fifth mixtape Best in the Burbs. The mixtape featured collaborations with Statik Selektah, Ski Beatz, and Big K.R.I.T. and has been downloaded over 200,000 times on DatPiff. It had even shut down DatPiff's servers due to the high number of downloads upon its release, the first mixtape to do so.
2011–2012: Webster's Laboratory and There Goes the Neighborhood
On June 3, 2011, Webby released his sixth mixtape Webster's Laboratory. The mixtape was hosted by DJ Ill Will and DJ Rockstar, which featured guest appearances from rappers Freeway, Gorilla Zoe, Kinetics (of Kinetics & One Love) and Apathy. This mixtape also resulted in DatPiff's server crashing. The mixtape was met with positive reviews, receiving a three out of five or "L" from XXL. Adam Fleischer of XXL said, "Webster's Laboratory ends up being further proof that not only can Chris Webby rap, but his skills are improving with each release. Having said that, his content gets somewhat tired, and Webster's Laboratory is indicative of an artist still trying to find himself and his own sound."
On December 1, 2011, Webby released his first retail project an EP titled There Goes the Neighborhood. The EP would be released by his record label Homegrown Music, and feature a guest appearance by Slaine. Upon its release the EP shot to the top of the iTunes hip/hop sales chart. The EP would end up debuting at number 101 on the Billboard 200, number 13 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and topping the Heatseekers Albums chart. On February 10, 2012, he began a 40-date North American tour in support of the EP.