Enter the world of Chillious, its honest – brutally so at times – in depth, with intelligence and maturity borne from experience. Bad boy turned good, who makes some fine music too. His album ‘Out of Many Comes One’ is available at www.chillious.com also keep an eye out for more releases on SlamJamz – including a track with The Impossebulls.

CHILLIOUS: I want to begin this by saying, when doing an interview I try to give you the reader something interesting and hopefully beneficial to take from it. I can tell you about the standard things I did like mic battles over the years, or something like that, but when given an opportunity to reach the masses I would like to dig deeper.

Thus, I am Chillious a rap-recording artist. A simple man, just like everyone else, yet unlike anyone else. I come from the bay area in northern California. I’m not from the ghetto; I am not from the projects. I have too much respect for the struggles of my folks there to claim I am. Nor am I from the upper crust. I’m from a small middle class family that had very humble means. We didn’t have much, but we did have more than some and for that I’m thankful. However, home life was anything but perfect and I caught the belt from pops often. I spent the majority of my life “running the streets” with some extremely hardcore people around the Bay area. From San Francisco to San Jose, to Hayward to San Mateo, and all over, I was saturated in a melting pot of different cultures. I ran with “thugs” of all types – Samoan, Latino, Filipino, Iranian, White, Black and others.

I’ve done many things growing up and in my past that I am not proud of. I admit to being an ex-felon with 2 strikes in Californian law for gun violence. I’ve shot many guns on the street, I’ve beat many people up, I’ve robbed people, I’ve broken into homes, I’ve sold drugs, I’ve taken drugs, I’ve turned entire neighbourhoods and street blocks into shooting galleries. I was caught for only some of it. And I did time. Thankfully by the grace of God, none of my bullets ever met the flesh of another person. Which is why I am still here.

I tell you this about me for one reason and one only to help others. Why? Because I changed my life, I feel that I was given a second chance and if I could do it, I can help other people do it too. I turned my life completely around over the years for the sake of doing good to do right. I was troubled as a youth and as a teen, (I am now 30), but I broke out of the grip of violence and crime. Just like so many out there must do. I knew what I was doing was wrong and that it wasn’t who I truly was. So I made an effort to change and to breakaway from that life and I did. There are many people out there who are like the way I was, who need to hear about someone successfully making change and I’ve come to do it through rap music, the voice of the streets, the tool to move the masses.

I wish I could recall exactly the day I got started in this but I don’t remember. Many different things and events contributed to it becoming a part of my life. All I know is over the last 15 years I’ve been rocking mic’s, performing at various levels and have been making the music.

My music has been a picture of my life, and how I see the world. Like me, it has evolved from hardcore “thug” speak, to conscious, progressive and thought provoking song writing. Something to hopefully touch people and help make a difference. But it’s taken this long to reach a point where it is actually a viable product that people can embrace. It’s matured as I have and has become unique in it’s own right.

JOSHSAM: Tell us about Rebel Music Group.

CHILLIOUS: That’s my record label I recently launched in anticipation of the release of my new CD “Out of Many Comes One”. I feel it can be a company that can grow with me as an artist and we can focus on releasing only the most substantial rap on the planet through it. From myself and other artists that are making quality music.

JOSHSAM: Every time I visit www.chillious.com it seems to change, what’s the idea behind that? Who designed the site?

CHILLIOUS: I would be a liar if I said someone else designed it. I do it all. I taught myself. I needed a website, I did what it took to learn how to make one. It’s become pretty simple. The current one took 4 hours. I change the site to keep it fresh, and to continually improve upon it.

JOSHSAM: Your first SlamJamz release ‘It Gets Rough’ has some great original and inventive lyrics based around a theme that is so simple – don’t know if simple is the correct word – (the love of your mic) but makes the listener sit up and pay attention. How did that song come about?

CHILLIOUS: It’s an expression of my dedication to rap and finding my path. I struggled often with myself in the past over who I really am. All I heard growing up was ‘I am wrong for being a rapper’. So for many years I questioned myself. I finally decided that this is who I am, my destiny, to be an emcee. I can’t be a lawyer, doctor, etc., that isn’t what God put me here for. He put me here to move the world through music. So this song came out of my own personal, I guess you could say, accepting of who I am. No woman has stood by me like the mic has that is for sure.

JOSHSAM: I couldn’t help but notice the tattoo on your arm in the photos on your site. What does it symbolize?

CHILLIOUS: It’s an ancient yet eloquent form of Ethiopian writing. It holds deep meaning for me. My left arm says “Dejazmatch” which is an Ethiopian military rank that translates to “Keeper of the Door”, equivalent to a General, the man who would guard the door of the Emperor’s tent. My right arm says simply yet equally as meaningful to me “Ethiopia”. Only Ethiopians ever recognize it of course, and when they do they are quite shocked. But it gives them great pride to see and allows me to talk about some important things. Not to mention I love tattoos.

JOSHSAM: You come from the Bay area; I have a mental image of what that area is like but what is the reality?

CHILLIOUS: All different types of people and all different types of neighbourhoods all compacted into one area. You could have the richest street in the area right across from the poorest. You have every type of environment and person you can think of. Big city, suburbs, coastal, mountains, valleys, small town, the “hood” and so on all within close proximity. The only downside is the females aren’t quite as up to par as say those in Los Angeles or Austin when it comes to beauty. But that’s just my opinion.

JOSHSAM: You have a three single distribution deal with SlamJamz; tell us about your other two releases.

CHILLIOUS: I’ve put pure fire in your hands. The song “Directions” is about making a choice. That of being a part of the problems or part of the solutions in the world and you have the jam “Who Got The Flow”, which is a little bit less serious and more jumping. A song basically saying, “Hi, I’m here too, now step back cause it’s my turn to rock this”. Both songs had a lot of genuine sweat poured into them, something different that I know the people will enjoy.

JOSHSAM: Could you see yourself wanting to extend that deal, or is it still early days?

CHILLIOUS: I see this relationship with SlamJamz as an open door to hopefully many more great things. My interest is in getting my music out to as many people as possible in any way possible. Unlike some artists, I don’t make music for myself I make it for the world from myself. So I want to share it with the world. Whoever will help me best do that will be who I am with. I am looking to secure worldwide bricks and mortar distribution with someone as my next priority.

Chuck is one of my biggest influences, so I owe him a great deal as does the entire industry and that is why I am here with my best songs on SlamJamz.

JOSHSAM: There is positive theme throughout your songs and on your web site (I notice the quote from Haile Selassie I). How long has it taken you to get to this frame of mind?

CHILLIOUS: It’s taken many years to make the transformation. If you listen to me, you can probably hear I have a hardcore essence to my sound. I used to spit more profanity than Eddie Murphy. But I came to the realization that music is one of the single most powerful influences on humans. To continue along a path of negative music and senseless talk is to do a disservice to people. I know that any song has the potential to catch on and be a hit across the world, and when it does, I want it to be saying something lasting. Something that makes sense and is relevant to the common struggle, something people talk about for awhile and for once in a positive way as well. But the music in no way is light or fluff. It’s harsh, and it’s hardcore, in your face music, just with positive intent.

JOSHSAM: Tell us a little about your album ‘Out of Many Comes One’.

CHILLIOUS: It’s a 5 song CD that’s shaping up to be a rap classic. It’s nothing but hardcore yet conscious rap over blazing tracks. No filler and no stupid skits to puff up the CD. Just high quality original music. You’ll be moving from start to finish I guarantee it.

JOSHSAM: Put The Guns Down, from you album, has some harsh stories in it about the effects of people being involved with guns, how much of that is from your mind and how much is based upon real life?

CHILLIOUS: Everything I write is based off reality, be it another’s or mine. In this case the stories are things that have happened to other people. Yet they are stories that can happen at anytime. That is what makes it hit home so hard.

JOSHSAM: Your sound is very upbeat and incorporates some very catchy hooks, who crafted it?

CHILLIOUS: The music itself for all songs except “Put The Guns Down” (which I produced), was created by Benoit Babin aka Othentic (www.othentic.com). Each track had its very own way of being birthed, but overall it was crafted or massaged based off my vocal flow. Some of it was made prior to the vocals being laid as well. He’s an extremely talented producer based out of Canada. He deals with a more diverse selection of music, which comes out in my songs.

I wrote and performed all of the lyrics and vocal melodies in each of the songs.

JOSHSAM: How did you get hooked up with SlamJamz?

CHILLIOUS: I used to be a featured artist on Rapstation.com, one of Chuck D’s websites. I eventually emailed Chuck with a link to one of my songs, and he emailed me back a month or so later. He asked for some of my singles for his label SlamJamz, I accepted and over time we came to an agreement and here I now am.

JOSHSAM: On U Don’t Know Me, I Don’t Know U (UDKMIDKU)… you state that you do it for the kids, do you think that rap to a large extent forgets that some of the listeners are kids or is that something rappers shouldn’t concern themselves with?

CHILLIOUS: I don’t rap for children per say even though they too may enjoy it, here is what I mean. We need to get back to issues, like the kids. What can we do as artists to make the world better for the kids, not ourselves. You’re a fool if you create music and you think it doesn’t influence people or affect their lives. Not everyone can talk issues and change, but this type of music needs to be as equally available to people to embrace and more so. The consumer has been crying out for it for a couple of years now, yet the industry is slow to give it to them. So I’m bringing it directly to the people. Folks are tired of living in strife in these tough times and seeing million dollar cars being constantly flaunted in their face on TV, in EVERY SINGLE VIDEO.

What happened to originality? Doing something different? Must each song and video meet a certain template of wackness? People put too much blame on those running the shows however. It’s the artist’s lack of balls to make better music and stand behind it that needs to be attacked and resolved. How is it resolved? At the store counter by the consumer, but they need to have other options available to do it. Artists need to stop talking about passing the Courvoisier and start talking about something more important and that’s what I do.

JOSHSAM: I have been listening to your mp3’s from your web site most of the morning and I can’t recall hearing any swearing in any of the songs, is that deliberate?

CHILLIOUS: I only use profanity if it’s absolutely necessary to fit the story. I strive to write something that has some real meaning, something that took thought. I could write 1000 raps a day if I incorporated swearing into most of it. But to go beyond the obvious, is what we have to do. However if you talk to me in person, I’m known to swear my ass off. Just not in the music.

Thanks. Chillious

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