Sitting on the back deck one fine peak-pandemic morning, Nashville newcomer Ben Chapman and his co-writer-turned-girlfriend, Meg McRee, were searching for a muse to write a song. Sitting in rusty beach chairs, gripping a steaming coffee mug with one hand, and a freshly rolled joint in the other—just as they had every morning for as long as they could remember—the two lovebirds wondered if there was a word for this ritual.
Videos by American Songwriter
“I said, I’m pretty sure they call this a ‘hippie speedball’,” Chapman tells American Songwriter, laughing over the phone at the now seemingly distant memory. “I already had a funky lick we wanted to work with and we’re like ‘Okay, what the hell do we do every day?’ I was like, ‘Well shit, we wake up at 11, and just hang out and smoke and drink coffee until we come up with something.'”
And so began the songwriting process. Chapman’s new track “Hippie Speedball” details the exact moment of inception with poetic humor. Each line from the rollicking track is a vignette of the present circumstances, conjuring up vivid imagery of the two, half-wired, half-stoned, basking in the mid-morning light. Lyrics like Burning holes in my folding chair / And my screws are coming loose set the scene in a nearly palpable sense. “I think that’s the magic in some cases, catching the moment you’re in,” he says. “I love those songs that focus on one particular moment in time. That self-reflection, how you felt in that little blip in time.”
Premiering today (October 7), the acoustic video for Chapman’s latest track “Hippie Speedball” exhibits not only his strength as a candid storyteller but also his poise as a quickly emerging artist. Expressive vocals pore over country-tinged guitar riffs resulting in a raw Southern-rock-styled recital of an undeniable talent to contribute an ever-expanding genre.
The Lafayette, Georgia native has earned his songwriting chops collaborating with heroes and friends like Brent Cobb, Hillary Lindsey, Hailey Whitters, Jaren Johnston (The Cadillac Three), Lainey Wilson, and Marcus King. His dedication to the craft paid off when he and McRee signed their first publishing deal with hit songwriter Hillary Lindsey (Dierks Bentley, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert) under her new publishing company Hang Your Hat Music —a co-venture between Lindsey and Concord Music.
Since arriving here, his goal has always been geared toward artistry. For Chapman, a publishing deal bolsters this goal and has allowed for boundless growth as a songwriter, further shaping his sound and artistic imprint. Coming from a small town, he wasn’t sure what to expect from Music City, but an open mind and insatiable desire to write and perform has opened doors he didn’t know existed.
“I think my mind changes of what I thought the industry would be, every single day,” says Chapman. “I never moved to town thinking I was gonna be a published songwriter, and then you are, and it’s weird. I’m still getting used to getting up and going to write every day at a set time, place, and person. Half the battle is won for you this way, but I used to just write when I felt like it—be it early morning on the porch or from an idea that came to me in the middle of the night.”
Chapman teamed up with a previous collaborator, Jake Gear—who is now a part of the Hang Your Hat team—to produce this track as part of his unannounced debut project. Gear introduced Lindsay to Chapman’s work while forming this publishing venture. Upon signing Chapman, Lindsay told Music Row, “I love real people, and real people are hard to find but without even meeting Ben, I was in because he’s so authentic with who he is as a person as well as with his artistry.”
Authenticity is fundamental to Chapman’s identity as a songwriter and performer. And “Hippie Speedball” serves as a well-suited sonic introduction and insightful look into his approach to storytelling. Raw, honest footage captures a seemingly mundane moment that welcomes listeners onto the porch and creates and connection through intentional detail.
Watch the premiere of Ben Chapman’s acoustic video for his latest track “Hippie Speedball,” below.
