Chase Dreams – Q&A Interview

Tell us a little about yourself. Where you are from? How long have you been making Hip Hop?

Originally I’m from Los Angeles CA, small family of 5. We were homeless for all my early years, going from shelter to shelter, and ending up in peoples garage from the memories i can recall. I was real young so it didn’t really effect me how it did them. From ages 6-8 we migrated to the Valley,started living in North Hollywood. It was a blessing and a curse with different eyes of perspective. When i was like 8 years old my moms alcohol addiction just grew, she started playing in cocaine, her and the man she married just got lost in a bad moment. It was like we had an episode every night to why i was a horrible kid. I was beat on more than the average kid, and this ran on for about 3 years, it seemed like eternity for me though. I was always an artsy kid, escaping with my drawings and my action figures, the first Hip Hop song I remember listening to by myself was Nelly’s “Hot In Herre”, and i fell in love man. His whole album was just new music that i knew was for me. So i looked for more, my oldest brother daniel was very Tupac inclined, so that made an impact on what my young ears were hearing, eventually i found myself making a bond with Eminems music. His past and my past connected somehow through the struggles he had with his mother. My mom flipped out when she realized i was listening to Hip Hop. The struggle of hiding it was definitely worth it. Age 11 i was placed in foster care and from then on i started writing my own music, and performing to invisible fans. years past to my 12th grade year of high school, this was when i started freestyling openly, and actually recording music with an old friend. From age 18 to now age 21 I’ve been recording professionally.

What influences you in making Hip Hop?

The idea that we as people are all the same, we are all one big family is what really impacts me as a person to make music that WE as a whole can feel and relate to. In my opinion I feel that we all have a past that is only different by the details of the problems, but the FEELINGS and the ideas it led to are all in the same content. I honestly believe that music can change the world, the music that is now the mainstream money-maker is more ignorant then it has ever been throughout all of Hip Hops history. Not to anyones surprise, the worlds young generation is at its most ignorant stage as well, makes sense doesn’t it.

Describe your music, and what separates you from other MCs?

My music is not meaningless, my music is not for myself. Every song I write goes through a process of how i can HELP someone with my words. What separates me from other MC’s is my reason for being an MC. They do it for the thrill. I do it to make a difference.

Who have you collaborated with? Who would you like to collab with in the near future?

I’ve collabed with a few local artists that i grew up with, Ej the Crush, and David Washington, they are both up and coming from LA and the Valley. I would eventually want to work with Eminem in my future, thats my biggest collaboration goal, other kats like Dre, Kendrick lamar, J. Cole, Snoop Dogg, and most definitely DMX. He’s a huge inspiration to me as well. Those are all for my big time match ups though, as of now I will work my way to collabing with Dizzy Wright, Hopsin, Immortal technique, these underground artists are who i actually listen to.

Your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?

Underground Hip Hop to me is anything that is independently created, so Chris Brown has a couple of underground joints out. I don’t think all underground music is against the government and mainstream music. In my opinion it’s simply the music that is not on the high grid being labeled.

Production wise, who are your influences? Who does your production?  And who would you like to work with?

When it comes to production, i really look up to J. Cole, he is extremely talented in both lyrical content and production quality. With that being said i would like to work with him, and again also with Dr. Dre, Alchemist from Eminems entourage. With my first mixtape I had someone i met from craigslist named Duncan Woodburry produce a couple of records, my boy David Washington and myself also produced some of the mixtape too.

Any current or future projects you are promoting?

All im promoting right now is my most recent project titled “Change”.

Can you give us a brief description of the creative process of CHANGE? Also/ what was the idea or concept description about your Album Art Cover.

CHANGE was basically my “call to action” for my whole existence in Hip Hop. It’s an introduction of what i am here for as an artist. All based on my morals and views of life as we all see it, not just myself. The idea for the Album Art Cover was to try to give a little less than what most would expect from an MC, eyes can tell a million stories to whoever they are focussed on, and my Cover was focussed on my eyes. Simply to show care, i wanted to give more than just a dope picture.

Where can we find your music and info?

My mixtape can be downloaded on Datpiff.com, through the search engine simply type : chase change. The link is also on my instagram, @kindaunexpected. I have a soundcloud with my whole mixtape on it aswell, soundcloud.com/kindaunexpected. For business inquiries my email is also on my instagram.

Any shout outs?

Id like to give a shout out to listeners really, anyone that can pull something positive and inspiring out of my music, my art as a whole. Just to let those people know and fully understand that they matter, they matter to me as a person and as an artist. Bigger then that, they matter to this world.