"I don’t live every part of the lifestyle in Hip-Hop that everyone speaks of. This is what God blessed me with to make a living for myself; that doesn’t mean that I go around ripping and running and just doing things unaccountable by my own standards."
Perhaps a rap career would seem to be an unlikely destiny for southern rapper Chalie Boy. A vocalist at heart, the Texas spitter could very well hold his place in the quire stands. However, that's not to say he's not doing our speakers justice. His efforts to diversify his music don't go unnoticed, leaving an impressionable mark to his sub-genre.
His eclectic vision for music surpasses the limits of the average southern artist, making him stand out among the masses. After introducing himself with his leading single I Look Good, Chalie Boy has established a solid foundation as he prepares for his debut, self-titled album. And while some may be critical of the newcomer, juxtaposing him with the competition, rest assured Chalie Boy doesn't fit the usual comparisons.
In an interview with Yo! Raps, the rapper discusses his transition from singing to rapping, his view of southern Hip-Hop, and the importance of lyricism.
What’s new with Chalie Boy? What do you have going on right now?
What’s new with Chalie Boy; mixtapes, touring, traveling. A little bit of everything you know. Just the same old, and a little bit of something new.
Things have really popped off for you since your I Look Good single, where do you see things going now? The main goal for 2010?
The main goal for 2010 is to establishing more. I Look Good was a good song for me, it put me in a good position [but] still a long way to go, still got more work to do.
It’s no secret that you started out mainly as a singer, after transitioning to rap let me ask you this, would you ever consider changing it up again?
I like to a little bit of everything so whatever comes my way and opportunity to show off my talent, that’s what I’m going to do.
Let me ask you this, because you did speak about growing up in the church, do you feel like your upbringing ever conflicts with the lifestyle portrayed in Hip-Hop?
No, I really don’t because I don’t live every part of the lifestyle in Hip-Hop that everyone speaks of. This is my overall opinion, say and feel what you think but understand that rappers do have souls too. This is what God blessed me with to make a living for myself; that doesn’t mean that I go around ripping and running and just doing things unaccountable by my own standards.
Since getting signed to Jive Records, what would be the most difficult thing to get used to?
In some avenues, being on the underground and independent you have a lot of freedom to move about the area and work freely with people on your own terms. With signing there’s a lot more paper work to deal with so that’s the hardest thing. It’s kind of like a puppeteer thing but it’s a push and pull thing. I don’t mind them having as much control as long as I do my job everything will still work itself out.
Did the business aspect of it come unexpectedly or was it overwhelming?
No, it wasn’t overwhelming at all. I understand that doing what I do independently and knowing there’s entities like Def Jam, Jive and things like that -- those are multi-million corporations. There’s a lot of money in this business so there’s a lot of paperwork to go around people will push numbers and working things out, there are so many artists that they have on roster and staff, there’s people you have to pay for promotion, things of that nature. It’s not really overwhelming for me because I don’t actually have to hands-on deal with it. I do know that it’s all behind the scenes and I do know what’s going on so somebody has to do it. As long as I work and continue to do the best that I can then I won’t have as much tension on my strings.
Your album, which as of now is self-titled, let’s talk about that a little bit about that…
The upcoming album, there’s a lot of me. You’re going to get to know me, Chalie Boy, what I’m capable of, what I do, what I like to do and songs that relate to people. I’m not here to overdo it, I’m not here to be a part of this rap community -- I’m here to make sure that people understand I have talent and I want you to get to know it and connect with me.
As far as features and production goes, what can we expect?
I don’t have any major producers or major artists on the album at this time -- it’s just a groundwork process right now. I’m still trying out songs here and there and once we get down to an official date then we might decide upon what song might need a certain upgrade to that, where it may need a certain artist or a track might need to be replaced but that’s all on that specific time which I don’t have an actual release date though.
Making your way into the game, I’m sure there’s a lot of artists that you’ve looked up to and would like to work with, who are a couple artists you might like to collab with in the near future? Why?
Ah man, I might have a lot for the fact of having a singing background and a rapping background. I’d love to do a song with Robin Thicke, Ruben Studdard, Patty LaBelle, Beyonce, Busta Rhymes, T.I., Eve, Trina; those are just spotting across the board. Those are a handful of artists I’d love to do some work with.
You’re heavy on the mixtapes, how do you feel mixtapes play a role in the “portfolio” of a southern artist and an up-n-coming rapper in general?
Well, of a southern artist, that’s what we’ve done since we’ve gotten into the game, that’s how we keep our music relevant. We’re not bunched in like places like New York where anybody will know your music just by word of mouth down the street. Down South it’s so big and widespread that mixtapes keep you current and up to date, it’s kind of like the Internet; it’s so fast and so vast that you drop one mixtape and you don’t drop anything in say a month or two months and people are moving on to the next thing. That’s what keeps us current in the South, that’s what keeps us relevant and to a lot of people it generates revenue.
What’s your opinion about the current state of southern rap?
I’m very positive about the current state of southern rap. You have artists such as myself from Texas, a lot of Dallas artists are popping off right now. I’m very confident that southern Hip-Hop is gonna thrive and survive. Artists such as myself, all the way to Atlanta like B.o.B… we all different in every aspect of the music game and when we come together it’s a whole bunch of energy. You can have one artist with one song and we can give you something totally different with the next, so we are a very vast group of different styles.
How do you feel about artists such as Waka Flocka Flame who think lyrics are not important.
Honestly, to each his own. I’ve actually seen a couple of his interviews; he feels that way and he’s getting money, so why wouldn’t you feel that way if you getting money? There’s always a group of people for every artist no matter what. He got signed and he’s making money due to the group of people that is his core fan base. For every fan there’s a certain type of artist; I, myself, try to be as lyrical as I possibly can but to some fans I might not be any more lyrical than Waka Flocka. I don’t knock that, I just focus and work towards my core audience. Personally, I do prefer lyricism because it adds so much flavor to the game, it’s not so mundane, so plain. I want to hear a variety of style in the song, but from time to time I’ll support an artist that’s not as lyrical, I mean he’s doing his work, he’s doing his job and creating a hit song that people enjoy and love so why not back all aspects of it. Waka Flocka is not the first artist that have been seen as one of the wackest rappers ever so I don’t fault him for saying what he said because nine times out of ten he’s probably heard somebody that has less rapping skill than him. I believe Waka Flocka has some skills, he just using his time because that got him on so why change it. I’m not gonna say that he can’t turn around and produce a lyrical song because I don’t know what all he’s capable of yet. He knows at this point in time right now if he can win and continue to make money off what he’s using right now. Every artist has potential to grow, it’s just when you decide to start growing.
What are some effective alternatives to mixtapes?
The Internet is the biggest source of putting out a mixtape right now. That’s the number one actually at this point because there’s so many websites, so many people on the Internet that you can just send an e-mail to and download. So, I’d say right now, the Internet is the most useful.
You’re from Texas, what was the hardest part of growing up there, and what was the best part of growing up there?
The hardest part of growing up in Texas is the heat, it get real hot around here. As I’ve gotten older the weather has started getting a little funny on the cool side. I’m from a country town, I wasn’t raised in the city so it’s a little more laid back, a little more space to have some free reign to just relax and not run into any problems such as block fights or something like that. The greatest thing about it is… it’s so big. You can do so many things in the state of Texas, just as much as you can everywhere else. It would take roughly ten hours to get out of this state. It’s so much to actually do who wouldn’t want to live here?
You do have a street album coming out titled The Grind Pays Off, can you give us a few words on that?
Hopefully it will be as enjoyable as I’m here, I hope everybody picks it up, critiques it. I will always take constructive criticism; good or bad. My fans as well as those who aren’t my fans’ opinions mean a lot to me. It keeps me growing and it keeps me working. I feel it’ll be a good mixtape.
After being on tour, which cities have showed you the most love?
Arkansas and Louisiana have held me down for a long time. Oklahoma, Mississippi, California is just blasting off with support, Missouri, and Florida has been representing hard. Virginia just started showing love, all those places I’ve named so far… I get love in New York. I’ll say all of them because if they weren’t showing me any love I wouldn’t be able to be there. Every state I’ve named is showing me a lot of love and I’m hitting more states every week. I’m just appreciating the blessings from God; not trying to God it up but that’s the truth, I wouldn’t have anything it wasn’t for him.
Being in the industry, what is the most outrageous thing you’ve experienced?
I tell this in pretty much every interview; I got tackled by a very, very petite, young fan. At that particular time I was very heavy, straight tackled me and laid me down on the ground.
Was security going wild over that?
I’m not big on a lot of security, not to be hard or anything like that but I’m a down to earth person. I like my fans being able to take a picture, I like my fans being able to get close to where they can speak to me. Of course there might be a time in the near future where security will have to be more enforced but at this particular time I don’t mind it at all. You can come speak to me, take a picture, just holla at me. I’m where I am because of my fans and I’m not just saying it to be saying it, I’m for real.
- By Miss L's
