Today we’d like to introduce you to Chima.
Chima, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m an independent artist/rapper named Chima. I was born and raised in East Oakland, CA. Ended up being in LA constantly to network and further pursue my passion, music. Thanks to one of my brother’s best friend, who’s also a rapper named Bryce Savoy, I have a place to stay in Culver City with him. I always wanted to do music since I was a kid but never really had the push to take it seriously and start this shit foreal until my senior year of college at the University of Oregon back in 2017. I interned at KWVA, the school radio station, and got an opportunity to be around hella music and events and artist. Which ultimately got me to start getting serious.
As soon as I graduated, I moved back to the Town (Oakland), and slowly but surely got things started. My first big show was when I opened up for Cozz back in the summer of 2018 and from there, shit got poppin’ with my motivation. One of my close friends since like ’09, Ashlen Jordan, makes all my beats. My engineer, Breed’s World, mix and masters all my music. And my two DJs, Mjr Lge (Oakland), and Keera (LA) help with all my shows. It’s fasho a struggle being an independent artist but having a team around me helps hella much.
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?
Fasho has not been a smooth road at all. I’ve had people say they can manage me and promise all this shit that never ends up happening. I’ve had shows canceled. I’ve had people try to change my sound to a more “catchy radio vibe”. It’s been hella stuff but the struggles always gotta occur so that when I do make it, it’ll all be worth it. Sometimes I feel like giving up when struggles happen but I snap out of it quickly because I can’t see myself doing anything but this. I use to find myself comparing my journey to other rappers that made it as like teenagers or before being 21 but I fasho stopped thinking that way, shit’s just unhealthy and everyone’s journey is different. At the end of the day, I push through because ain’t no way I’m settling for a job/career path I’m not even happy in. Music is gonna be my career.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m an independent artist/rapper. I’m most proud of the journey that I’ve been on and how, without even intentionally doing it, I’ve built a solid team around me. I think what sets me apart from other artist is my sound and I feel as if my lyrics are always hella tight haha. I always told myself I’d never make music just to please a certain crowd or to blow up hella quick. I make music I’d wanna listen to and what I feel like comes naturally. Music that tells my story paints a picture and has clean ass production behind it. My first single of the summer, CHIMA feat. Breed’s World – “Vacancy” (prod. by Ashlen Jordan), dropping around the same time as this interview, will definitely showcase all three of those aspects.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
You get a fair share of both I’d say when it comes to this musical journey. Definitely been times where I feel like everything that could go wrong, goes wrong but fasho not always. I’ve had a lot of good things fall in line for me but more from networking, connections, and grinding than just luck.
Contact Info:
- Website: smarturl.it/chima
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/gtmchima
- Twitter: twitter.com/gtmchima
Image Credit:
SBDUNKSCARL, Nhemesis, Chad Treat
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