A man of many cities (Atlanta, most recently), Chavo has steadily been working on music for years. Working closely with super-producer Pi'erre Bourne, Chavo is a key member of Bourne's collective Sosshouse. The bouncy beats allow Chavo to glide with his catchy hooks and refreshing flows. Releasing his two projects Hood Luva, Vol. 1 and Mixed Emotions in 2019, tracks like "Michigan," "Convinced," and "Had a Feeling" have primed him for his big breakout.
Coming into the game with many family ties, Chavo looks to ultimately make music that his fanbase can get behind and eventually use his platform to venture off into other aspects of the entertainment industry.
We hopped on FaceTime to discuss his music, Sosshouse, Atlanta cuisine, and more. Check out our conversation below, and make sure to follow Chavo as he plans to release a project in the next month.
Howard Butler: Who is Chavo, and where’d the name come from?
Chavo: I got the name from a Wiz Khalifa song. He kept saying, “I’m Chavo Chasin,” in his earlier mixtapes; I think it was Flight School. I was obsessed with the name Chavo; it stuck with me. I heard Jim Jones using it in the same context - as a way to say he was chasing money. I was infatuated with the Chavo word; nobody was using it, so I ran with it.
Howard: I was unsure if it was an ode to Chavo Guerrero, and if you were a wrestling fan?
Chavo: No, not at all. I got that from Wiz and Jim Jones.
Howard: What part of Atlanta are you from?
Chavo: I’m not even from Atlanta; I’m from Boston. I moved from Boston when I was 15 to Miami, and then when I was 20, I moved out here. So, I’ve been out here for like 7-8 years.
Howard: With how expansive the hip-hop scene has gotten in Atlanta, are you able to tell where certain songs and sounds are coming from in the city?
Chavo: Nah, not really. There’s a lot of guys doing their thing out here and you wouldn’t even know that they were from here. There's just a lot of variety in the sounds.
Howard: What do you think separates the music that Sosshouse, and more specifically, the music that you are making from the rest of Atlanta?
Chavo: We’re bringing a fresh sound to the game; it’s a fun style. The industry is missing what the six of us in the Sosshouse collective are bringing. We all got different styles and flows; whether that’s me, Sharc, Bermuda Yae, Trill, Jelly, and JBillz out in South Carolina. This energy we’re bringing is something fresh and new for the game. I can’t wait for people to start to really finally hear it.
Howard: Do you guys have an end goal with Sosshouse? Is there a certain route you're trying to take?
Chavo: Not really. We all just collectively love music and we mean it. We all stay working, trying to put tapes out. They come out at different times in the year, but it's not purposely like that. It's just that we're all working at different times. When one of us finishes one tape, we put it out. When the next finishes theirs, we put it out.
Howard: Do you guys have an aspiration to get going on stuff outside of music?
Chavo: Yeah, I know P wants to do some TV shows with Sosshouse; he’s got some of that stuff in the works. He wants to do cartoons and stuff like that; P is big on cartoons. With me, I want to merge off into the fashion lane; there’s a whole bunch of stuff I want to do. I want to eventually act, too.
Howard: You're looking for creative control all around?
Chavo: Yes, exactly. I want to use this rap platform as a way to get into the entertainment industry in all aspects.
Howard: How long have you been in music for?
Chavo: I think I recorded my first song when I was seven, so it's been quite a while.
Howard: Where does the influence come for you to create?
Chavo: My father, for sure. He got me in the studio. He rapped, too. If he wasn’t in the studio and the industry as much as he was, I probably wouldn’t be here, either. If he was an electrician or whatever, that’s what I’d be into. It all started from him.
Howard: What do you like to do outside of music?
Chavo: I like watching sports; catching up on games and seeing how my teams are doing.
Howard: You’ve been watching the NBA Playoff Bubble, I imagine...?
Chavo: Yeah, of course. Go Celtics. I don’t really fuck with the webcam fans, to be honest. It’s all cool, though.
Howard: How would you describe your music to people who haven’t heard you before?
Chavo: I feel like my music is different; it’s a sound that’s not out there. I don’t sound like anybody, and nobody sounds like me. It’s a fresh sound.
Howard: What’s the first song you would tell them to check out?
Chavo: I tell them to check out "Had a Feeling" or "Michigan," for sure.
Howard: Are you a Michigan Wolverines fan? Because you say, “Cuzzo had on all blue, like he play for Michigan,”
Chavo: I like Michigan; I especially like their music right now. That’s the only people I’m currently listening to outside of Sosshouse.
Howard: Who’s your favorite rapper from Detroit right now?
Chavo: Babyface Ray; I got him on the remix for "Michigan" coming very soon.
Howard: Is that on the Chavo’s World project?
Chavo: I was supposed to drop it this month, but we're gonna push it back to next month because I got a few more songs I want to put on there. I was gonna do 12 songs originally, but I'm thinking about doing 16 to 17.
Howard: Is "American Deli" with Coi Leray the lead single for Chavo’s World?
Chavo: Nah, it’s just a single. It won’t be on the project.
Howard: How did working with Coi come about?
Chavo: That's my little sister. When she got signed a few years ago, we've always talked about getting in the studio and doing stuff. With our schedules, it never really was able to work out until recently. She came over to my house in Atlanta and she knocked it out. Pi’erre came over; we were all at my house and we did that in one of my side rooms. So, we knocked it out; it was a good song.
Howard: How do you want to be remembered post-music? How do you want your legacy to pan out?
Chavo: Honestly, I just want to be known as a dope artist. I want it to be undeniable. Everyone should have something good to say about Chavo’s music. It doesn't even have to be all of my songs, but as long as they like some of my songs, a good majority would be cool.
Howard: What's your go-to order at Ruth's Chris? I’ve heard you mention that place a couple of times.
Chavo: I’m not going to lie to you, man - the Stuffed Chicken. That's something the females get, but I fuck with Stuffed Chicken. It’s fire.
Howard: What's your favorite place to get food in Atlanta?
Chavo: I love Chick-Fil-A, especially their breakfast. The Chicken Mini's go so hard.
Howard: We were talking about the Bubble earlier; Lou Williams stopped at the famous Atlanta gentlemen's club Magic City to get the Lou Will Lemon Pepper wings. Are the wings there really as good as people have been saying? Many people have defended Lou.
Chavo: Magic City's food is good as fuck; their chef is good. A few clubs out here, like Blue Flame, have dope chefs. Blue Flame’s chef's name is Kelz and he has a few restaurants in the Metro-Atlanta area. Blue Flame is a strip club primarily, though, but yeah, these clubs out here have great food.
Howard: Was "Michigan" your favorite video to shoot, or do you have one that you liked more?
Chavo: "Michigan" was probably my favorite to shoot. The beat just does something to me, man. We actually shot it last minute with this guy Wavylord. We actually went to high school together, so I knew him before this whole music thing. When he saw I was working with Pi’erre, he reached out again so we could work, and we actually have a couple more visuals on the way together. He’s done 2 or 3 for me that are going to be on Chavo’s World. Wavylord actually does all of Kodak Black’s stuff. He’s Kodak’s videographer; you already know it’s free Kodak.
Howard: In the video for "Still in a Meeting," I saw that you were repping that Jesus Shuttlesworth jersey. Is He Got Game one of your favorite sports movies?
Chavo: For sure, that’s a classic. I fuck with White Men Can’t Jump and Above The Rim. Those are classics, as well; those are my joints.
Howard: Outside of the sports genre, do you have any movies you’ve seen recently that you would recommend?
Chavo: I just saw a movie with my girlfriend; she took me to a drive-in. We saw this scary movie about this guy with an Airbnb; he kills all the people staying at his Airbnb. Shit was dope as fuck, and it ends where there will definitely be a part two. The Rental is what it was called.
Howard: You’re a fan of movies, do you read often or get inspiration from books?
Chavo: I’m not going to lie, I need to read more. I prefer watching movies and stuff like that. I used to read a ton when I was younger. Getting older and becoming more surrounded by technology makes it harder and harder. It’s easier to live without picking up books, but you should never stop picking up books. I need to get back into it, for sure.
Howard: Your song "Left Right Wrist" samples the 1950s song "The Old Dope Peddler". Another Atlanta native, 2 Chainz aka Tity Boi, used that for his intro on his song called "Dope Peddler". He’s an OG in the city and came before this rap renaissance we’ve been seeing over the last few years. When considering the founding fathers of Atlanta’s trap scene, who would go on the Mount Rushmore of Atlanta?
Chavo: For Atlanta, it’s hard. For the last ten years, it’s got to be Future and Thug, for sure. You got to include Gunna, too. Future, Young Thug, Gunna, 21 Savage. If we did the last twenty years, it would be Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, and T.I. Over the last ten years, they took over and really brought that new sound.
Howard: In a lot of your videos, you rock tons of BAPE heat. Is it safe to say that that’s your favorite brand?
Chavo: In the last 30 to 60 days, I've probably spent $15-20,000 on BAPE. I know it's not a lot, but it is a lot.
Howard: What else have you been rocking?
Chavo: I like Commes Des Garcon. I love Nudie Jeans; I don’t really wear any other jeans. There’s also a dude out here called Lee Woods who has his own clothing line, and I wear a lot of his hoodies and stuff.
Howard: Tons of artists would go crazy to work with Pi’erre Bourne. Who are your favorite producers that aren’t P?
Chavo: Me and Cardo Got Wings got a tape on the way called Chavo Got Wings. I don’t know if you know The Renegades, Reezy, and Mev, but they produced a lot of songs. They produced Young Dolph’s "Get Paid". Reezy just recently produced "Lottery" for K Camp. They got a lot of songs; they’re in my list of top producers. And for sure, legends like Scott Storch and Dr. Dre.
Howard: Let’s say that you have a hypothetical album coming in a year. Who do you want it featuring, and who do you want behind the boards producing?
Chavo: Of course, I need Pi’erre behind the boards. For features, I would love to do a song with Young Thug. It’s just whenever the opportunity presents itself, and I know it will. My cousin, Strick, is signed to his label YSL. Thug is honestly the only one I'd want.
Howard: You got a birthday later this week?
Chavo: Yup, we going to the strip club. It’s on the 11th.
Howard: Any shoutouts you want to give?
Chavo: Shoutout to my pops. Shoutout to my sister Coi Leray; she just dropped her EP, you got to go stream that. Of course, shoutout to the whole Sosshouse collective. Shoutout to Pi’erre. I want to shoutout the fans. I want to shout you out for taking the time out of your day to talk to me and put me on.
Comments