Cody Chesnutt

Biography

Antonious Thomas, better known by his stage name Cody Chesnutt (stylized as Cody ChesnuTT; born October 21, 1968) is an American R&B and neo soul musician from Atlanta, Georgia.

Biography

Chesnutt's music blends elements of rock, funk, soul, hip hop, and blues. After relocating to Los Angeles, Chesnutt found work with Death Row records, writing and producing five songs for the male R&B group Six Feet Deep. Chesnutt and his former band, The Crosswalk with James (Jaime) O'Connell, John Maggio and Jay Gordon, had a brief stint with Hollywood Records, but they were later released from the label. The band subsequently broke up and Chesnutt released a double LP in 2002 entitled The Headphone Masterpiece×The Headphone Masterpiece2 June 2002 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 37 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Magic in a Mortal Minute0:382With Me in Mind3:513Upstarts in a Blowout3:054Boylife in America2:215Bitch, I’m Broke1:596Serve This Royalty5:427The Seed3:258Enough of Nothing0:589Setting the System0:4610The Most Beautiful Shame0:4911Smoke and Love3:3812Michelle3:0813No One Will2:5914Batman vs. Blackman1:0315Up in the Treehouse2:0816Can’t Get No Betta’3:3317She’s Still Here2:1618Can We Teach Each Other4:0319The World Is Coming to My Party4:2720Brother With an Ego0:1421War Between the Sexes1:3722The Make Up2:3223Out of Nowhere1:46Disc 21Family on Blast3:562My Women, My Guitars3:163Somebody’s Parent1:474When I Find Time4:035Eric Burdon2:426Juicin’ the Dark4:5775 on a Joyride3:328Daylight0:499So Much Beauty in the Subconscious2:0410Daddy’s Baby2:3811If We Don’t Disagree3:2412Look Good in Leather3:56136 Seconds4:2614The Headphone Masterpiece12:24, which was recorded on a 4-track cassette recorder in his bedroom recording studio, which he calls "The Sonic Promiseland".
His closest brush with mainstream success came in 2002, when the hip hop group The Roots remade a song from The Headphone Masterpiece, "The Seed", for their album Phrenology, as "The Seed (2.0)×The Seed (2.0)31 March 2003 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1The Seed (2.0) (radio edit)3:552Sacrifice (Radio 1 Session)5:553The Next Movement (Radio 1 Session)8:274The Seed (2.0)". Chesnutt plays guitar and sings vocals on the track, and appears in its music video, which received heavy airplay on MTV and BET. At the height of his popularity, Chesnutt's backing band consisted of drummer Craig Waters, now with the band The Bellrays, and bassist Aaron Ebensperger. In October 2003, Cody Chesnutt was nominated for the prestigious Shortlist Music Prize, and performed in the ceremony for the prize at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
In 2006, Chesnutt appeared in the music documentary Dave Chappelle's Block Party, which was originally recorded in September 2004. The same year, he recorded the track "Boils" for the 4AD records album Plague Songs. On his Myspace announced an upcoming album titled The Live Release, which he has been performing around the world but is yet to be released. In 2007, he performed at the Pop Montreal music festival as one of the headliners.
In 2010 he released an EP called Black Skin No Value×Black Skin No Value7 December 2010 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Black Skin No Value0:102Do Better to the Young3:173The Quiet Girl Who Eats Alone1:024Everybody's Brother2:225Where Is All the Money Going2:576To Be Upon the Perch2:06. Furthermore, he stated in an interview that he would publish his second big album Landing On A Hundred×Landing on a Hundred29 October 2012 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1'Till I Met Thee4:282I 've Been Life4:403That's Still Mama4:154What Kind of Cool (Will We Thing of Next)5:095Don't Follow Me4:136Everybody's Brother2:477Love Is More Than a Weeding Day6:138Under the Spell of the Handout4:119Don't Wanna Go to the Other Way3:4610Chips Down (In No Landfill)6:0511Where Is All the Money Going2:4812Scroll Call5:05 in 2012.
In 2012, Chesnutt performed live on Season 41 episode 06 of the BBC's show Later... with Jools Holland. The three songs performed were "Til I Met Thee", "Under the Spell of the Handout" and "That's Still Mama".
In 2020, Chesnutt wrote and performed an original song for the Pixar movie Soul called "Parting Ways".

Albums

2002: The Headphone Masterpiece
2006: The Live Release (unpublished)
2010: Black Skin No Value (EP)
2012: Landing On A Hundred
2017: My Love Divine Degree

Singles

2001: "Look Good in Leather×Look Good in Leather2002 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracksA1Look Good in Leather (clean radio edit)3:09A2Look Good in Leather (album version)3:48B1Look Good in Leather (remix clean)3:49B2Look Good in Leather (remix extended)6:36B3Look Good in Leather (remix instrumental)3:48" ("AXE Instinct"-Werbespot (2009))
2002: "The World Is Coming"
2002: "The Seed (2.0)×The Seed (2.0)31 March 2003 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1The Seed (2.0) (radio edit)3:552Sacrifice (Radio 1 Session)5:553The Next Movement (Radio 1 Session)8:274The Seed (2.0)" (featuring The Roots) (UK No. 33)
2006: "The Last Adam"
2008: "Afrobama"
2010: "Come Back Like Spring"