Beneath The Radar

'Under The Radar' features the singles "2D" and "Lightwork" and much more from Che Fu.

Four years have gone by since Che unveiled 'The Navigator', his chart-topping second album of breathtaking hip hop, funk, reggae and soul. Like its predecessor, 1998's '2b S.pacific', 'The Navigator' spawned a handful of classic singles, went multi-platinum and earned Che numerous industry awards and plaudits. But since the hype and hoopla of that record died down, he's been laying low on a self-imposed exile - and for a hat-trick of very good reasons.

"I've got three sons," explains Che, "and my oldest boy just started school last year... so I put the music away for a while and concentrated on my kids. And I tell you what, it was really good."

While he was taking care of family affairs, Che began demo-ing tracks for the follow-up to 'The Navigator'. By end of 2003 he'd penned a dozen songs and completed pre-production for 'Beneath The Radar' at his home studio.

'Beneath The Radar' is easily the most lyrically forthright album Che has delivered and it's also the most sonically adventurous. "It's a progressive move that I've made with this new album. When I listen to '2b S.Pacific' and 'The Navigator' I just think, 'okay, what will I do next?', and I'm looking for a new challenge. This time around I've been a lot more selfish about the songwriting, I've just gone and done what I feel is dope. When I'm writing a track I want to think really carefully about what I'm doing - if it's too easy or if it's not a challenge, then to me that's not moving forward. And moving forward is what it's all about."