Being Bradford - The Secret Behind the Bad Boy Chiller Crew

BBC/Jonathan Birch Sam Robinson (Clive), Gareth Kelly and Ken Welsh of the Bad Boy Chiller crew pose with their fingers in salute. All three are wearing gold chains around their necks, along with Clive and Ken are also wearing sunglasses and yellow t-shirts. Gareth is wearing a black t-shirt and hat. — Bad Boy Chiller Crew previously nominated for Best Group at the Brit Awards

Playing in front of fans across the country is the bread and butter of any musician.

But when Bradford rap trio Bad Boy Chiller Crew consider performing in front of their home crowd, it makes a different impression.

“They’ve seen us coming down the street, around the corner or past the estate. They’ve seen the work we’ve done,” Gareth “GK” Kelly tells BBC Newsbeat.

The group honed their infectious, humorous, and bass-heavy sound in their hometown, and have proudly worn their roots on their sleeve ever since.

GK says that things have changed drastically in Bradford since the early days of Bad Boy Chiller Crew, performing when nightclubs were closed and it seemed as if “the heart was missing” from the local scene.

There is also a perception that attention has shifted towards other cities – particularly Leeds, which is only 10 miles away.

An icon of this is Bradford Live – the former concert hall and cinema that has been redeveloped into a £50m music venue.

It currently lies unopened in the town center after the operator lined up to run it fell out of agreement with the local council.

“It’s a beautiful building,” says GK.

“It’s immaculate, they worked really hard on it. I don’t understand.”

GK hopes that government funding from Bradford’s year as UK City of Culture will help to promote and revitalize the area.

However, it is a great desire to draw attention to the city and some of its overlooked artists.

“There are so many races, religions and different backgrounds out there – there’s so much talent,” he says.

“And I think if everyone worked together, it could be really good,” he says.

Gareth says he can never think of moving away from his roots

Getty Images Gareth performs at the Leeds Festival in 2022. He is wearing a black blazer, white shirt and red tie, singing into a black microphone. — Gareth says he can never think of moving away from his roots

GK says that he and fellow group members – MCs Ken Welsh and Sam “Clive” Robinson – have always tried to remain authentic, and he believes this helped them achieve success.

“I think at that time it was our rawness, our spontaneity,” he says.

“We won’t try to be like anyone else.”

The group say that people in the music industry tried to get them to tone down their “Bradfordness”, but they were having none of it.

“That’s not us,” says GK.

“We couldn’t adapt to that.”

Clive says: “Because we were so raw and so honest, that’s what made us stand out from everyone else.”

The pair also credit the local music scene for allowing them to experiment and find their signature sound – but they also draw on their trademark sense of humor.

“It was the entertainment side of our band that brought us success,” says GK.

“It was laughs, jokes, parody songs. Pranks, stunts, skits.”

MC Clive is proud of the authenticity of the Bad Boy Chiller crew

Getty Images Clive 'Sam' Robinson of the Bad Boy Chiller crew on stage, wearing an orange puffer jacket and black sunglasses, singing into a black microphone. There are neon blue lights in the background. — MC Clive is proud of the authenticity of the Bad Boy Chiller crew

‘Heartbreaking’ legal issues

“We too have faced some problems,” admits GK.

is a rap trio filed a legal claim against their record label and say they are owed approximately £400,000 in unpaid royalties.

He says he had “no other option” but to take court action against House Anxiety, who signed the group in 2020 and released their Full Wack No Breaks mixtape that year.

It includes the band’s breakthrough track 450 and follow-up Disrespectful, which reached number two in the UK Albums Chart in 2022 under a licensing deal with Sony’s Relentless label.

House Anxiety had previously strongly rejected the claim and said it welcomed the opportunity to “clarify the inaccuracies” in it.

GK described the situation as “heartbreaking” and said it has put everything on hold for the Bad Boy Chiller crew.

“We were humiliated, used and manipulated,” he says.

“As it is, it has no future because we are not allowed to release music.

“We’re not allowed to put anything on there. We couldn’t even go on tour because we couldn’t release music.”

GK says they are “trying and pushing” to do so.

Clive told Newsbeat: “It’s stopping us from working, stopping us from doing what we do best, what we love.”

House Anxiety has not yet responded to another request for comment.

On a personal level, GK says it has caused “massive loss”.

“We have worked very hard, sacrificed a lot of things,” he says.

“It makes you really want to avoid people altogether.

“Because I don’t want to ask the question: ‘Where are your songs? Have you fallen apart? Have you fallen apart?'”

But, once that’s all sorted out, fans can expect a lot of new music from the group.

“We have amassed a catalogue,” says GK.

“Some of the tunes remind me of when we started.

“So we have a lot of songs to release.”

And the boys say they know the perfect venue to showcase their new material – Bradford Live, which used to be the cinema they regularly visited as children.

“Absolutely,” says GK.

“We’ll be looking for nachos and popcorn.”