Check Out ChrisCVine’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to ChrisCVine. 

Hi ChrisCVine, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My name is ChrisCVine, I am a 21 (if published after November 8 then 22) year-old musician from Westchester County, New York. My story starts somewhere around 2005 when I discovered the song “Run It” by Chris Brown. I quickly became obsessed with that song at just 4 or 5 years old. That led me to become a huge Chris Brown fan which would later lead me to discover artists like Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, Drake, etc., and develop interest in them as well. In pre-school, I performed a cover of “The Big Bad Wolf” by the group B5 for a talent show. I was always paying attention to music everywhere I went as a kid specifically Hip-Hop/Rap. When I was around 9 years old, my cousin introduced me to freestyle rap which then influenced me to take interest in rapping and writing music. I saved up money for an audio interface and uploaded a song to iTunes. A couple years later when I was 12, my neighbor signed me up for the app Vine and that is what really starts this story. I was just posting videos for fun until I saw I was gaining a following of people interested in my videos. Not far after I was networking, making friends, and participating in local NYC “Vine Meetups”. It was a way to express myself and inspire others to do the same, which is what made it so impactful. While all of this was happening, I still had my interest in music. I was still writing in my notes, I was networking with musicians, and I was connecting artists with producers, studios, etc. I just was not releasing or really recording music at the time myself and if I did it was in my room on GarageBand. It was time I needed an email account for the business and networking I was doing so taking inspiration from other Viners’ email account usernames which was their first name, first letter of their last name, Vine. I made my email username “ChrisCVine”. It wasn’t long after my classmates at school and other influencers saw that and gave me the name ChrisCVine. At first, I wasn’t too happy. They were making fun of me. But after some time, I realized this was the perfect opportunity and decided to embrace the name by referring to myself as ChrisCVine. While that was going on, I was in the process of transferring high schools and soon after would be going through my first breakup. I wasn’t sure how to let my emotions out, so I did it in the only way I knew which is writing a song. I wrote the song half asleep in the morning, I then grabbed an old “Guitar Hero” USB microphone and recorded the song on GarageBand which I titled “Why Did I Fall In Love With You”. As the day went on I kind of forgot I released a song. I was going about my day until I ran into a group of people who commented on the song. I laughed it off not realizing the entire two schools I went to at the time had already heard it and were singing along. It was a joke to everyone including me but what wasn’t a joke is how natural music felt to me. The next couple months I recorded some freestyles on GarageBand and uploaded them to SoundCloud which were shared around my schools as well in a jokingly matter. I wanted a way to show I wasn’t just playing around so I reached out to New Jersey-based artist “GMGB DaiDough who I was and am a big fan of and stepped in a real-life studio for the first time to record my first collaboration titled “So Rich”. As easy as finding and booking a studio session is now for me, back then this was a dream come true. The song caught people off guard in a good way and it wasn’t too long until everyone was singing along, playing it at parties, sending me videos, and all that. Before I released music, I became friends with a producer from my hometown by the name of Pnoonz. Pnoonz is responsible for “So Rich” and so many other early memorable songs of my music career. We would spend all night in the garage making beats and recording on GarageBand just having fun. I eventually took all these ideas to the studio which became my second home. I was there till the sunrise just having fun then I would go post the songs on SoundCloud the next day or sometimes right away. I was serious about music, but I needed to decide what I was going to do with high school at the same time because I was never there. Long story short, I left public school for an online school and got my diploma a year and a half early in 2018. I was only 17 so this gave me so much time to focus on music, travel, and try new things. This is when I started to visit LA frequently. I met some new friends, ran into some old friends, and instantly felt a connection with the city. It was a place I was able to be productive and breathe. For the next couple years, I would continue to visit LA, travel, and make music. Towards the end of 2019 is when things started to get more serious. I was freestyling to some beats on YouTube and that’s when I made “Knew It”. “Knew It” will always be one of my favorites because I felt like I finally achieved a sound I was aiming towards that felt more natural to me. I filmed the music video in Montreal QC and released the video and single in January 2020 with Bentley Records. I was in LA at that time as LA became a frequent travel distension for me until the pandemic hit. I was able to make one more trip out but the following week we were in lockdown. This was and still is frightening and uncertain times, but I used being stuck inside to my advantage. It was just me and GarageBand again but this time I was turning more knobs, watching videos, and really experimenting with my sound. This was a very productive time for me. I was finally creating all these songs that felt true to who I am. I used that time to record an ep titled “2017” to reflect on those days and show my progress as an artist while still staying true to myself. In the beginning of January 2021, I was going through a little rough patch. One night my anxiety was high, so I kept telling myself “It Is Okay” “It Is Okay” and played some beats to try and calm myself and freestyled “Ima be okay…”. That’s exactly how my song “It Is Okay” came to be. I didn’t expect to do that, I was just having an anxiety attack 5 minutes ago. I felt like the past 4 years built up to this moment. I spend lots and lots of time tweaking this song. I wanted this it to come out perfect. I decided I needed a music video for this song so I booked a flight to LA, found a place to film, hired some talent, and put it all together in just a couple weeks. I kept picturing myself standing, overlooking the Hollywood Hills filming a music video and now I was actually standing, overlooking the Hollywood Hills filming a music video. This taught me to never give up on anything I have my mind set to. Now that things were starting to pick up, I was traveling again but staying in LA was on my mind. I took a trip out there in spring 2021 and that’s what made me decide I needed to stop taking quick trips out there occasionally and either move or extend my stay so with a 2 day notice I packed my bags and headed out to LA, only this time it wasn’t going to be short trip. I performed the following night in Inglewood and went on to network, record, and enjoy the city. Throughout the year, I continued to film in LA and work with amazing people creating music videos that were once dreams to me. Being able to meet, work with, and befriend so many amazing like-minded was something I could have never expected. When I wasn’t in LA last year, I spent my time performing at local shows in NYC but currently due to the abundance of performance and networking opportunities in New York as well, I have decided to continue to travel back and forth. Besides New York and Los Angeles, I still travel as much as possible, most recently being Las Vegas, Nevada where I filmed the music video to my newest single and first rock song titled “Running From Love”. Branching out and experimenting with new sounds and genres really changed me as an artist because it allowed me to find better ways to portray my stories and find sounds that feel more natural to me. As music is and always will be a huge part of my life, seeing everything that has come together simply from a passion and determination to turn ideas into reality inspires me to never give up, and as I continue to turn ideas into reality and follow my passions, regardless of where my future takes me, the real feeling of success comes from seeing these dreams become reality. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it definitely has not been a smooth road. As a kid in my early teen years making Vine videos, as worry-free those times can be for most. I was struggling in school while attempting to cope with anxiety and depression and make Vines. It followed me into high school where I was transferring schools and trying to find the best way to finish school. As I got older, even though I have my struggles still, the anxiety and depression I struggled with in High School will always remind me to stay true to myself and keep pushing because if I gave in to what others wanted for me then I’m not sure I would of finished High School and done half of what I’ve done with music. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a musical artist. What sets me apart from others is my versatility and willingness to try new sounds if I feel like they portray my story better. I’m most proud of my songs “Knew It”, “It Is Okay”, & “A-List” because of the progress, meaningfulness, and diversity of these songs. I am known for stepping out of the box and making catchy hooks. 

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Although I used being stuck at home to my advantage to learn and try new things, I was reminded to enjoy and treasure every moment because you aren’t certain what tomorrow might bring. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chriscvine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ChrisCVine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisCVine/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrisCVine
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAqvbPHpCg2ur50S577Y5XQ
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/chriscvine