Today we’d like to introduce you to Chanelle Simone.
Chanelle, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Growing up in Alexandria, VA was probably the greatest choice my mother could’ve made for me. That town only had 1 High School, TC Williams High. Which just like on the movie Remember the Titans remained the only school in town for everyone’s kids. I grew up around so many cultures, different races and nationalities and it in turn prepared me for the World at every angle. I spent many years in different dance organizations performing and writing poetry that I’d apply to music. After High School I attended Virginia State University where my talents started to become clear career choices, if I were willing to start the dream chase. My mother used to tell me, ‘it’s important that you exercise everything you’re good at, every single talent.. perform it. Because you never know what God has in store for you but I bet it’s one of those gifts’.
In 2005, I became VP of Promotions & Programs for an organization on-campus called Kerojo Modeling Agency, Ltd. I was recording rap music in Parrish Paschall’s home studio… Parrish was a genius producer and a former vocalist of the Harlem Boys Choir. That same summer, I randomly met Hell Rell & Cam’ron and was offered a ‘demo deal’ just to see what I could come up with. I spent many days not going to class and only focusing on music and modeling. Both of which were tied to me being at VSU. It wasn’t until my mother called me at school to ask me who I wanted to be. She said if you want to come home & do your music & modeling, I’ll support you as long as you’re on it. If it doesn’t work out, it’s back to school. What does ‘if it doesn’t work out even look like’ when it’s my dreams were talking about here? Needless to say, I dropped out of college that year. Never turned in that demo; I actually got cussed out by Rell for calling so much just to show my friends I knew Dipset. But I went on to modeling in DC Fashion Week (an event I found myself while in Kerojo).
From there, I modeled in NY Fashion Week, got my first billboard placement in Saks 5th, signed to an independent record label that went by the name of Vishus Ent and began touring the Bay Area with my labelmates. I became a socialite in DC and before I knew it, brands were mailing events & fundraiser tickets to my front door. On Facebook, people were requesting my Nightlife knowledge and paying me to reserve tables & bottle service at multiple places. I became an ‘IT’ girl. A gangsta rapping, Fashion model, Nightlife guru. Before you knew it, my experience as a VIP Nightlife Host landed me the award ‘Socialite of the Year’ in 2011 from The Fab Empire (a prestigious marketing/branding group at the time). I began reserving tables and bottle service for celebrity clients such as Rza, Method Man & Redman, Talib Kweli & more. I spent a lot of nights that turned into days & sometimes when life is a party- you lose focus. I wasn’t quite keeping my word to moms in regards to staying focused & chasing my dreams. Times were changing though, I literally was making a life out of VIP club shit. This was new for us all. But she wasn’t having it, I was kicked out of home and spent the next four months couch hopping. I didn’t skip a beat and no one could ever tell I got dressed out of a clothes bag that night. I was still popular. I was casted for a reality show pilot called Chocolate City that was filmed in DC, purchased & later shelved by MTV. And as a now Signature model for KAS Collection, Inc. I continued to model on the most exclusive runways & finally moved into an apartment of my own w/ an old friend from college.
Through an agent, I was offered my own radio show on wedcradio.com and it was within a year that IllaStr8 Radio was born. Like I said, my momma always told me to exercise every talent. I had no idea back then which direction to go in, I just knew I had to do it all. I would pray that God allows me to live out my destiny and to be one of the chosen that gets to do exactly what He designed me for. So my radio show went on for the next two years, later moving to a new network under the name Loudpack Radio. Despite everything on an upward bound, I was given the opportunity to move to San Diego, CA. An opportunity that I knew I’d be leaving my entire life behind for but nonetheless nothing I’m afraid of. I touched down in this City without a single connection outside of the best friend I moved here with. I immediately began to apply to modeling gigs and of course networking events for photographers and models. I also immediately created business cards which is how I met Kogniak of KP Platinum Sounds. A super producer & artist that initially contacted me to relaunch my radio show through his studios. Having no clue that I was a rapper, Kogniak agreed to let me book his studio for a recording session. It was there at KP Platinum Sounds that the artist Chanelle Simone stepped all the way up in the forefront of my life. I was blessed to score three writing credits for the legendary MC Talib Kweli.
A year prior to his death, I was given the grace, mentorship & advice I never knew I needed by the legendary rapper & actor DMX. I was invited to join him on tour and spent four tour stops soaking in a such as possible before I was afraid I’d lose my job and flew home. It should be noted that I have been a huge DMX fan my entire life. I used to rap my lyrics to his poster, wore a fake diamond ‘R’ chain in my yearbook pics. It’s like I manifested these things. Currently, I am the Host at Louisiana Purchase in North Park. I am working on my first EP and in talks with a really dope management group. I would name them but I’d hate to jinx anything. I am what the kids now call an “Influencer”. A creative, forward-thinking person that navigates the culture through shared information based on trends, music, vibes, or whatever else that person is talented at. I consider myself the greatest rapper alive and I’m excited to finally get to express that. Everything that I’ve done in my past, every show, every performance has led me here. It is all a part of my journey that is not quite complete yet. I decided on this dream chase journey many years back. I knew I’d be sacrificing a lot. Time, stability, money, sanity; it’ll all be tested when your chasing your dreams. And I believe it’ll all be worth it. I am honored to introduce myself to you and thank you San Diego for having me. I am definitely here to live out loud the marathon… MY MARATHON continues.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The first obstacle one faces when on a journey such as dream chasing is dealing with the word, ‘No’. It’s never easy being declined. You struggle with feelings of inadequacy, you start to question yourself when you’re supposed to be your own biggest fan. Time isn’t always kind to you either. Often it takes years to catch your first break and it’ll most likely be a tiny break but a breakthrough nonetheless less. Friends will graduate, start businesses, start families right in front of your eyes & that’ll really make you question yourself. Am I sure this is for me? Am I capable of being a decent partner because I’m still chasing my dreams? Which means I’m probably working a regular job & paying the least on living just to afford said dream. You will struggle mentally but you better coach yourself through it. Keep going. Jay-z wrote a song called Dream where he depicts a conversation he had with Biggie Smalls in a dream. Growing up, my Father had been incarcerated for almost 11yrs and I adjusted to not being able to speak to him whenever I wanted. During that time, my moms would joke with me that the Notorious BIG was my Dad too. I had a lot of ‘What Would Biggie Do’ moments to myself which is not normal for most teen girls. Anyway, Jay says in the song Dream this line that goes: (Careful what you wish for you might receive it, ” he said
“I see, ” I said, “jealousy, ” I said
“Got the whole industry mad at me, ” I said
Then B.I. said, “Hov’ remind yourself
Nobody built like you, you designed yourself”
“I agree, ” I said, “My one of a kind self”
Get stoned every day like Jesus did
“What he said, ” I said, has been said before
“Just keep doing your thing, ” he said, say no more.)
And I remind myself of this bar anytime I’m feeling misunderstood or weary.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am in love with Hip Hop. I feel the most free when I’m producing a body of work. As a Songwriter and a rapper, I simply love execution. I enjoy the art of storytelling and creating a motion picture for the mind within my music. If I’m given a beat to write to, it’s not only the lyrics that come to mind. I hear the sound effects, the ad libs, all the little touches. I can hear the finished song in my head and I work creatively alongside my engineer get every detail aloud. When I see people vibing out to my music in person, when strangers write me that they love certain tracks, when I’m added to playlists & tagged in IG stories by people that don’t even live in the US; I am sent an emotion that is too big to explain. Excited, ecstatic, in love, proud. I’m really proud of me. I am only getting older but I am the best I’ve ever been. Artistically and spiritually, and that just makes me so so proud.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Coming from the Nation’s Capital, Washington DC aka Chocolate City; what I’d have to say I dislike the most about living in San Diego is the scale on which Black Culture sits on. I feel very limited here when it comes to the Black experience because it is indeed event-based. There are Black curated events and Black-owned businesses and it is within those spaces here that I find my tribe. San Diegans are used to this and it’s mind-blowing to me. I am used to Blackness everywhere and overflowing. I have had my first racist encounters here in San Diego by young adults and that sticks with you. Always being the only Black woman in the room or on the job and having everyone looking at you as the spokesperson for all Black Women (since they don’t know many personally) grows exhausting. But hey, the weather is phenomenal here. It’s absolutely giving Paradise, lol.
Contact Info:
- Email: Chanellesimone@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ChanelleSimone
- Twitter: www.Twitter.com/ChanelleSimone
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/ChanelleSimone
- SoundCloud: Soundcloud.com/ChanelleSimone
Image Credits:
Virr Photography
