Conversations with James “Chi TheRealist” Boykins

Today we’d like to introduce you to James “Chi TheRealist” Boykins.

Hi James “Chi TheRealist”, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born on New Year’s Day, 1994 in Chicago Illinois, but what I didn’t know until 2016 is that my mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression and was admitted into the Psyche Ward after I was born, leading to the ultimatum of her having to give me to my father, or give me to foster care. She chose my father whom I was named after. My pops brought me back to Rochester NY, where he raised me with my grandmother and my aunt on my dad’s side. They were the only family I knew. My mom would call from time to time, I even remember receiving a letter in the mail from her when I was five, but I never knew what she looked like, in fact, there was a time period later in my life where I thought of the possibility of seeing my mom and never even knowing… My pops jumped from relationship to relationship, I tried to find a mom in all. With one, when I was 8-9, I was abused, physically and mentally… as a kid, I thought it was discipline, but in hindsight, there were times I was humiliated and given inhumane punishments, like being forced to stand against the wall facing the corner in the dark, while she slept, or knowing I was subconscious of my body, I was forced and locked out of the house in just underwear, in the cold, beaten with a cutting board, and more… 

During this time, I was a bullied kid school, the fat kid, something that continued through to high school too. I was the broke kid, the troubled one. I lied a lot because I had to hide a lot, and sometimes lies helped me. With so much resentment in my heart, I started saying my mom was dead because it was way easier than what I had believed at that point, which was “Your mom was a crackhead, and she gave you up” I kept that lie going until my creative emergence at 14. That’s when I was introduced to rap by a newly found childhood friend Devonne, who taught me many things, including fighting back and writing raps. That’s when my first song was written entirely acapella entitled “Life of a Teenager”. It confessed my truths about my life at that time including admitting my mother was truly alive… Fast forward a few months from then, it would be the first time I hear my mother’s voice as an adolescent. She called my grandmother’s house looking for my aunt, and I picked up… In that conversation, I learned that my mom had three other kids which she also had to give up My two sisters and my older brother who was lost in the system and wound up with a changed name. Even though I thought I had forgiven her at that moment, I still had resentment that caused me to avoid her for years.

Meanwhile, I’m looking at this new rap thing like Miles Morales when he discovers his spider powers, and I start using it to finally gain a little more respect from my peers, I finally was more than just “fat ass”… some days. That reputation builder became a passion, and before you know it, I was performing for talent shows, doing videos for Facebook, joining after school arts programs like “The Cypher” and “TPP” and performing around local open mics at 17-18. When I was 19, I was introduced to poetry by Shaq, My bro-god. He was a slam poet, who had competed in high school in Brave New Voices and had a big hand in building the art program I attended, He was a year older than me, but he was the big brother I never knew I needed until we met. We joined “Roc Bottom Slam Team”, which was the first and only adult Slam Poetry team in Rochester, NY. There I learned what true vulnerability was, I learned what it meant to be a poet, and tapped into my emotions in a way I never thought I could through art. Poetry helped me come to a point of forgiveness for my mom… and when I was 22, I released my first mixtape and sold all of my copies to meet my mother in Atlanta, Georgia where she had relocated to. That was a huge milestone for me, and it was there that I learned and was able to piece more parts of my origin story together. 

That same year is when I tried my hand at acting took my students to a casting call for a movie entitled “CITY” and I decided to audition for the role of a character named “Roscoe” I got the role, being cast to play a supporting lead role in my first featured film “CITY” starring Elijah Boothe & Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris which went on to win Best Narrative Feature in the San Antonio Black International Film Festival, Best Feature Film, & Best Soundtrack in the Hip Hop Film Fest, Which included songs from myself & late best friend Tremain Elliott. How I got to Los Angeles… in 2019, I traveled to LA for the first time to record my first project at Ultrium Studios with my spiritual sister & mentor from Rochester Joi “Stewdiopheen” Wynn. I fell in love with the place, the weather, the opportunities, the studios, something I dreamed of and just knew Chi TheRealist was ready for. In 11 days, I tracked out three projects, had one show in Culver City at The Pocket LA, and performed at Tha Juice Joint. 

After returning home, I knew it was only a matter of time, and in July 2019 I left with a one-way ticket and three suitcases, where I moved in with my bro and castmate from “CITY” Moses Massena. Quickly I learned LA was NOT easy, I had been turned around from performing at shows, lost employment opportunities, going days without food, and dealing with heavy bouts of depression and self-doubt… and that was only after the first month! Things I didn’t know were common for the first year of living in LA. I worked at Amazon delivering packages and Chipotle, all while trying to record and complete my newly decided debut project, and battling crippling depression, to the point I sunk lower than ever before, almost attempting by taking a leap off of a bridge in DTLA around the corner from my house… after thinking about the legacy of Tremain my late best friend, I stepped down, I wrote about this moment in a song that would become my most popular “Andalé” – a testimony of triumph, the truth about my journey in LA. From this song, I have become a spokesperson for mental health, continuing to use my art and my story to speak on mental health struggles and the importance of telling your story.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Never a smooth road, I’ve struggled with depression which made me want to give up on my life and my dreams, I’ve struggled with anxiety, from being afraid of death and not knowing how much time I have left, I’ve struggled with hidden trauma from the abuse suffered as a kid. I had feelings of inadequacy from not having my mother, which led to imposters syndrome after I found things I was actually good at. The best and worst part was that all of my struggles were in my mind because at the end of the day, I was the only one in my own way, and once I understood that, I knew mindfulness was exactly what I had to seek to combat it.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I realized what my purpose was after I performed a poem at an open mic, and this man, who looked like the toughest man in the whole venue, came to me and said, “You don’t know King, but you just saved a 40-year-old man’s life, believe that!” I was shook! But I felt like this is what I was supposed to do, tell my story and empower those that thought they were alone. My specialty is transparency, I used to say vulnerability, but I always felt like vulnerability is what you show others, and transparency is when you’re see-through. I have a responsibility to be raw, honest, and truthful, I have a responsibility to be myself, as flawed and as imperfect as I can be because that’s what being a human is, and that is what many of us get lost in! So many want to combat emotions and be flawless, When we’re supposed to feel, we’re supposed to hurt, and perfection isn’t real… I am here to give the world me, as real as I can be, and inspire everyone around me to do the same in any way they feel inspired to.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
At this time, I have been working on my debut album, “Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself” and with that, I have been selling exclusive hoodies tailored to the project. Every Hoodie Purchased will fund my album release! Take this hoodie as a token of proof that you support Chi TheRealist. You invest in me because you believe in me, and you become part of HISTORY, and pledge your belief in me! Just look at yourself as my record label. You can purchase me by going to ChiTheRealist.Com. If you can’t do that right now just follow me and reach out. Support me by streaming me, watching my videos, leaving comments telling me what resonated with you, sharing my work with someone you think may need it. The one thing I want the most in the world is to inspire the masses, and with you, we both can do that.

Pricing:

• Hoodies – 57.50

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: ChiTheRealist.Com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/chi_therealist
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChiTheRealist
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chi_TheRealist
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/ChiTheRealist
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/chi_therealist
• Other: https://chitherealist.contactin.bio

Image Credits
Daniel Delucenay Cocoa Rae Photography J. Imani Photography Ubefilms