Get to know New Zealand rapper Chaii, whose new Lightswitch EP is out now...
KEY TRACK: Lightswitch
LABEL: BMG
MANAGEMENT: Delete
INSTAGRAM: @chaii_music
WHO: Boasting Persian heritage, the rapper hails from New Zealand.
WHAT: Hard-edged, self-produced gritty clarion calls of irresistible beats, bendy sonics and Chaii’s own sharp words.
WHERE: Raised in New Zealand’s small Persian community, the Kiwi recently relocated to Los Angeles working with a “small crew” to create the visual accompaniment to her new six-track Lightswitch EP.
RAPPER GOES TO LA, ORIGINAL... This is a new West Coast story, as Chaii’s EP charts the fate of Persian creatives who moved to California after Iran’s 1979 revolution.
WELL, EPIC STORYTELLING IS KEY TO PERSIAN CULTURE Chaii certainly taps into Persia’s ancient and modern history. “I’m from the new generation of Iranian immigrants that are doing music outside of Iran,” she says. “When I initially travelled to LA, I felt like I was in the perfect blend of Western and Persian influences.”
SHE’S COVERING A LOT OF BASES Add oil painting (for fun) and stunt driving (for a New Zealand film) to her talents too. She’s a multi-media empire in the making.
