Chew was born Fred Gums III in 1977. The youngest of his mother's kids and the second oldest of his father's, Chew always had a strong love for music. He started by imitating some of his favorite artists and groups, and soon began writing songs of his own. He loved R&B and hip-hop, but when he heard Tupac Shakur's fiery, emotional, and powerful delivery, he instantly connected with Tupac’s confessional style of music. Studying Tupac's style, Chew soon began writing songs in story form. After Tupac's death, he stopped writing, got married, and moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where he met his friends Micah and Melvin a.k.a. Playboy, and he soon began making instrumentals of his own. He started writing again casually, and work moved Chew to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, where met his homeboy Ronte a.k.a. Tay-Money. Tay-Money taught Chew to write his songs in more depth and his lyrical, confessional content soon began to take form. In 2002, Chew moved to...