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Meet Chozin

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Chozin.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Chozin. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in a very music-oriented family which consisted of singers and some instrumentalists. As a kid, I remember wanting to desperately become a singer and even took lessons. However, I quickly realized after my vocal coach giggled mid-lesson that maybe singing wasn’t for me. I was able to get a hold of my uncle’s iPod Classic when I was in elementary school and would spend hours listening to music. I mean that thing was loaded with songs with genres that spanned from rock to hip-hop so I was able to get a full scope of different sounds. I began officially writing music in the 8th grade even when I didn’t have beats I just wrote whatever came to mind and built on it until there was nothing left for me to say. It was the summer leading into my freshman year of high school that made me 100% certain that this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

A few of my friends and I would get together either after school or on the weekends and go to the homie’s house to record. We had no microphone except for the one that was built into the laptop and some earphones. We didn’t have much but we were happy being able to do this as a group. My freshman year brought a lot of attention from my fellow peers. I remember handing out my stickers to students as well as teachers and getting this sense of gratitude after seeing my product on walls, notebooks and even on the back of phones. That level of support for a kid who just started had me geeked.

The summer leading into my sophomore year was when I was granted the opportunity to meet the eldest son of Dr. Dre, Curtis Young. He found me through my friend’s uncle and booked me my first actual session at Snoop Dogg’s studio in Lake Forest. It was a surreal moment for me and though I was nervous I knew I couldn’t let it show. Although I’m sure the shock on my face watching them bob their heads to my songs might’ve blown my cover. Curtis became my mentor shortly after and invited me to his home to work on music with him. I was so grateful for this opportunity and to this day I can’t thank him enough for just believing in me. I graduated high school in 2016 with the entire student body and staff backing me in my career and I still remember walking the stage and having the whole 2016 class screaming my name and reaching out for high-fives. It was a great day, to say the least.

In 2017, Curtis (who was head of Urban Division) brought me into OC Hit Factory and walking through those doors felt like a dream. I mean it’s a place where music and creativity flow through the walls so I can kinda see why Curtis felt it would be a better fit for me as a growing artist. I met the founder and CEO Thomas Barsoe who at the time was hosting one of his famous songwriting camps. Curtis had spoken to him about me and told me to rap for him so I did. Thomas was impressed by me and decided to make me an OC Hit Factory artist which I’m still eternally grateful for considering the number of doors that were opened and all the beautiful people I had the chance to befriend as well as work with. I met my current producer Ge Oh Works at a songwriting camp and he’s been super helpful in everything that I do now. Without these three mentors, I’m not sure where I’d be today so I owe them a lot of thanks.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I feel the biggest struggle I had to overcome would be my tendency to overthink. Having an overactive mind felt like my brain was playing some kind of messed up game that I just could not win. I began questioning relationships with people who meant the world to me and eventually ended up losing them down the road. I even became extremely hard on myself and questioned every step I made thinking it was always the wrong one. This led to me having really bad stress & anxiety along with my confidence going straight down the gutter. I was watching myself become my own worst enemy and didn’t know what to do to stop that. I recall a point where things had got so bad for me both mentally and emotionally that I fell out of love with my own music and even contemplated quitting.

However, as time went on it became clear to me that my love for music is far too deep to just stop. It was also apparent to me that though I tried walking away from the music I’d just end up to coming right back. There were a few of these exact instances which opened my eyes to the possibility that maybe I do have a purpose in this world. Which in retrospect was probably why I couldn’t quit. I decided instead of walking away from my passion I should take a step back and figure out the root of the issue. I began to reclaim my life. I purged all meaningless relationships, bad habits and got rid of things I no longer saw value in. I just needed to reset my mindset and really consider how I want to go about my life.

Speaking from my own experience, I now hold on to this notion that sometimes we just need a new perspective on life. I feel as individuals we get so wrapped up in our heads that we don’t always get to see the true beauty of what lies in front of us. We carry all these expectations as to what life is supposed to be that we forget how to live and enjoy it. It’s so important to understand (yet so easy to forget) that mistakes are just learning experiences, most things aren’t meant to stay the same & acceptance is a part of growth. Accept your flaws, accept your situation just accept who you are because when the day comes to an end you’re all you have. I know the world is already gonna hate me for not being perfect and that’s okay it just means I have to love my self even harder. This is something that took me a while to grasp and though I still struggle with it from time to time I know imma be just fine.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I write and perform music specializing in rap with a mix of RnB. I’d say I’m best known for my ability to constantly switch up the styles of my music. I work extremely hard to make sure my music never sounds the same and venture off into different sounds whenever I can. I’m proud of the fact I’m able to make music that really speaks to people and seeing them genuinely enjoying it is the best feeling ever. I feel my versatility alone is what sets me apart from others.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
As far as small plans go I’m just releasing new music and getting my merchandise situated for the late summer/early fall. I’m also working to finish writing these music videos so I can finally give people new visuals on a more consistent basis. When talking about my long term plans, I plan on getting to a place where I’m able to take care of the very same people who continue to take care of me. I don’t really have any big plans for myself per se but I do have several smaller goals that I’m working to accomplish that’ll eventually get me to the finish line. I’m the kind of person that usually makes huge plans for the future but ends up abandoning them either because life happens or I find that it perhaps wasn’t meant to be. I find it best to just say “fuck it” and dive in headfirst it’s been helpful thus far. I’m honestly just looking forward to the day I can sit back and feel content knowing I gave this everything I had with 0 regrets. Living completely worry-free with my family and close friends is what I make my plans for.

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Image Credit:
Sarah Merker, Joshua Prezgay, Evelyn Navarro, Michael Gomez

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