He’s AZ Chike & His Moment Is NOW!

To say a lot has happened to AZ Chike in the last year would be a vast understatement. Born Damaria Kayshawn Walker, the South Central, L.A. rapper’s career goes back to the AZCult, a hip-hop collective formed in 2013. He would go on to tour with Shoreline Mafia, perform at Rolling Loud and in 2017 release “Burn Rubber Again,” a track that is up to 25 million SoundCloud streams and counting. While more recordings and tours would follow, in the last year his career hit another level: He was featured on Schoolboy Q’s “Movie” and performed with him at L.A.’s Roxy (one of his favorite venues), El Rey and The Fonda; in June he popped up at Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out: The Ken & Friends Concert” at the Kia Forum where he performed  “Light It Up” with Rucci; and, not least in any way, he appeared on Kendrick Lamar’s massive hit single “Peekaboo” from his No. 1 album GNX released in November.

That by itself would be hugely impressive for any artist, but in the past month AZ Chike’s star has grown even brighter. Chike signed with Warner Records coming over with Tim Hinshaw of Free Lunch and just released his a banger, “WhatX2,” last week with an incredible video featuring baby goats (get it, GOATs). And Lamar performed “Peekaboo” at the Super Bowl halftime show on its way to going platinum.

Here, Christine Simmons sat down with AZ Chike to find out all about Chike’s moment of incredible successes, how it all came together, his West Coast bona fides, his touring plans for summer, his favorite venues, what lies ahead and more about those baby goats.   

He moves differently. In my 20+ years of working in business of entertainment and sports, I have often found that those who are patient, those who operate in abundance and not scarcity, those who have an unwavering belief that today’s opportunities, will most definitely not be their last opportunity, more often than not reap the biggest rewards.  I recognize this patience, belief and intentionality in AZ Chike. Unlike many artists on the front end of their meteoric arc, once his contract with Atlantic Records ended, he patiently waited for the universe to do its thing so he could do his.

He is about THE ART. I have consulted for and mentored many artists and entertainers in my career, young and old. Those that are most successful have these key factors: an unwavering belief in themselves, a no-nonsense approach to their career, an awareness that they have a legacy to build and leave and last, but most importantly, they know that their legacy starts and stops with their ART. When I asked this “soon to be 30-something” what he wants his legacy to be, without hesitation, he simply said “THE ART.”

He has an old soul, with a Cali credo, an eye for film and fashion all while keeping his foot on the necks of his competition. Artistically bridging generations through bangers, fits and aesthetics, while staying relevant and at the top of the charts is a magic formula that is definitely more art than science. Few in any genre, especially hip-hop are able to transcend, much less do so with the authenticity we Cali Kids know and love. Chike is most definitely the Cali Kid ready to take on global stages, literally and figuratively.

He only surrounds himself with people who have an undeniable faith in his success. Every superstar I have had the honor of knowing and/or working with ALWAYS states that the key to their success is their team. Brilliant minds and additional perspectives are inevitably the key to that very superstardom, Additionally, believing in dreams that most would deem crazy is another common trait in that predetermines excellence. Similarly, Chike said, that if they folks around him did not predict the success he is seeing today when they first encountered him, they can “opt out.”

DAMN. Wouldn’t they regret that now.

HE IS AZ CHIKE AND HIS MOMENT IS NOW!

It couldn’t be scripted any better, but for maybe a Samuel L Jackson narration. Pollstar got the chance to speak to AZ Chike 48 hours before he was about to take the stage at the Novo theater in downtown Los Angeles.  

Pollstar: It’s great to meet you and to set this up: I am a Cali girl born and raised. I’m a hip-hop head, and I’m loving this moment. Watching you evolve from “I’ve been here” to now, and showing everybody, who AZ Chike is, on a global stage, has been beautiful to watch. Let’s dive in. You just signed with Warner Records. How is that? You’ve been in the game for a minute and had huge tracks like 25 million streams for “Burn Rubber Again,” what are the emotions you’re experiencing in this moment?
AZ Chike: I know, it’s been a lot happening at one time. Even outside of the Warner stuff, but I’m soaking it in. I feel like everything leading up to this was preparing me for this moment. So, it doesn’t feel like it’s out of left field. It feels like this is supposed to happen. I’ve said in interviews before, it is scarily aligned. But it feels great to be at Warner. It’s a great look. It’s a real team. I have a lot of experience already, but I’m still learning a lot of new things with them. We just did our first project together, which was the single, “WhatX2” … I’m loving it.

You talk about alignment. It’s almost divinely lined up, with all these things that are happening [Chike’s smile in this moment is infectious]. It’s as if you got the best strategy and PR people in the game to create the blueprint … that’s literally what’s happening for you right now. So, talk about each of those tent pole moments that all point to the fact that all the energy is in your favor.
These are some HUGE moments. I’m just grateful, and I’m blessed to have, the right people behind me to push that. Even the reaction to me watching the Super Bowl … it got like 10M+ views across TikTok, Twitter, Instagram. That shit got two million in the first 20 hours on TikTok, bro! So, I don’t know, it feels great. And I feel like it all started last year, in March, with School Boy Q and the track “Movie.”  I still went through some things that spring, ups and downs, you know. But from there the Pop Out (Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out: Ken & Friends Concert on Juneteenth at The Kia Forum) happened. After the Pop Out, Kendrick called me. Then GNX happened. Then Warner happened. Then the Super Bowl happened. … it’s A LOT. Not too much to handle but I’m soaking up the moment. I think the greatest thing about it is my come up is not a secret. The fans and the people who support me get to share this moment with me. I’m a firm believer in anything is possible. I never stopped. If I would have listened to a lot of people leading up to this point, I probably wouldn’t have been as prepared for when Kendrick called me. I never stopped, because I know what I got going on. I know n***s  can’t f**k with me. It’s only divine timing. So, yeah, the greatest part about all that alignment is that the people get to see it and experience this with me and that lets them know it’s not fake. It can happen to anybody if you’re really ten toes down.

West Coast music and rap always has been about that authenticity. It’s always been about the grind. About bringing our people with us. And like you said, people have been able to watch and be on that journey with you and now you’re getting the platform that it deserves. With Warner you will be able to showcase that exponentially. What is your interpretation of this moment for West Coast rap finally getting the recognition and the respect that it deserves… well…again?
I agree. You know, everything has its time. Some things phase in, phase out, but like you said it’s always there. I feel like this is a great moment for the West Coast, and it’s shedding light on all the other West Coast artists people don’t think about [being from the West Coast].  The Billie Eilishs, the Doja Cats, Tylers, people like that and they are HUGE artists! So, I think it’s going to unite shit more. It’s going to give the West Coast more room to do different sounds as well as stay rooted into what we got going on. I saw an interview with my boy Problem [JasonMartin]. And he made a crazy point. He said, When Future does an album, you don’t be like, “Oh, that’s that down south shit.” No, you just be like, this, “that it’s a banger! It’s a crazy album!” But when West Coast artists do it, they be like, “Oh, that’s that West Coast shit.” You get what I’m saying? I feel like that that moment is gonna soon phase out thanks to Kendrick, shedding light, during one of his biggest moments. I think there’s a lot of opportunity right now. It’s really just up to the artist.

I love that. I love that it’s going global. And it, it’s not being pigeonholed into being just West Coast. To your point, it’s just bangers, It’s just good music. Now let’s talk about live performances. Obviously, Kendrick killed it at the Super Bowl. But when you perform, what are the small venues that you love where the energy is ridiculous, and then, what is that dream global stage that you can’t wait to rock?
I always fuck with the Roxy. The Roxy is turnt. Those are, like, real intimate, and I’ve sold those out probably, like, three times. That’s amazing. The Echoplex was cool too. I want to do Webster Hall in New York. I think that’d be crazy. I watched Shoreline Mafia do that, and that shit stuck with me forever. Seeing the Webster Hall like that was amazing. And it’s the opposite coast so to sell that out and really rock out…that’d be crazy.

As far as Global stages, you know, I would love to perform at an award show. I think that’ll be amazing. I love what Doechii just did at the Grammys. That was insane. So, something like that would be dope. And then, you know, always the Rolling Louds. I do it this year again. It’s like my eighth Rolling Loud. But the only thing with this one, it’s a lot of momentum. So it’s going to be crazy. I get crazy at every Rolling Loud. There’s not a Rolling Loud where I don’t get crazy at, where I don’t jump in the crowd. And where I don’t damn near strip naked! It always gets crazy at Rolling Loud bro and I love that. Shout out to Tariq [Cherif Co-Founder/Co-CEO Rolling Loud]. He always shows love and he knows what I bring to the table. So rolling out is always good as well.

When we look at what in the video that you just shot for “WhatX2” what was your process? I know you had some dope ass folks that helped work on that video as well. But for you, what did you want to showcase … with the baby goats and classic old school car? It was fire, it was old money meets new artist. But what was your vision for it?
“WhatX2” itself was just a fun record. I didn’t even think this was going to be like the head of the spear. I did, “WhatX2” a week after I did “Peekaboo.”  I did those songs very close to each other. There were a lot of symbolic things in there [the video]. The goats have obvious reasons. And I chose the smallest goat I could get. [The baby goat]. I do feel like, in a sense, the torch is being passed. And I know Kendrick didn’t put all those West Coast artists on GNX just for that to be the moment. He wants us to blow. He wants us to get on the mainstream level. And then, of course, like you said, old money, you know? And the car matched the fit. I got the damn slacks, with butter ankles, with the with the penny loafs on.  It just went with the fit. Was the aesthetic, and some things just come along together, just naturally.

Let’s talk a little bit about your team. You know, you referenced them earlier. And one of the things, whether it’s your team that surrounds you professionally, or whether it was that squad that was with you while you were watching the Super Bowl, those around you are so important. When we talk about the folks that are helping you, what do you look for?
The most I look for is understanding. I’m very transparent about what I got going on. I don’t go into things blindly. And I always give people the opportunity to either tag along on this journey or you can opt out. But there’s going to be moments like this, where you’re gonna be like, ‘Damn I wish I stuck around”. My day to day is Stella [Estelle “Stella” Mata – Management (day to day + touring)]. She’s really been with me the longest, so I definitely gotta give her flowers. She’s lived with me and she’s seen this shit unfold and she understood. What I really look for is – are you going to believe in me as much as I do? Because if not, it’s not going to work because you’re not going to register the shit I be talking about. If I would have told you a year ago, “Hey, I’m going to be on two of the biggest albums of 2024, my verse is going to be rapped at the Super Bowl. I’m going to sign a seven-figure deal with Warner.” You’re going to be like, n****, what? Shut up. What are you talking about? But if you believe in me, you’re gonna be like, ‘I already knew that,” right?

So what I look for the most is for somebody to believe and understand this don’t happen overnight. But just know you got a dog on your hands. I don’t stop. I don’t want to do nothing else. I got enough passion to where it makes me mad.  We just added Ali B. (Alexandra “Ali B.” Bianchi – Management, marketing + operations) in September. Ali is relatively new. After I did fashion week in New York, I want to change, you know, I wanted to be more than what I was. This was before I knew all this shit was going to happen. I wanted to be more. I paid her with my own money to make sure that I was able to show the growth of all that I had going on. And of course the Warner team. I’m fresh with them, but it’s all love. And I’ve said this in another interview … alignment … you know, like I didn’t know Yash (Yashar Zadeh – VP, Media & Strategic Development), but he told me he already been up on me since “Movie.”  Shout out, Tim (Tim Hinshaw – Free Lunch Agency). I met Tim at the Pop Out. I didn’t even know who he was. His first words to me were, “What’s up, Chike? I said “What’s the deal?” He asked, “You still at Atlantic.” (I used to be assigned to Atlantic Records). I said no and we wrapped the conversation. The next I heard from him he asked “Who do I get in contact with? I want to bring you to Warner.” I bullshit you not. This shit is like a movie. Those are some things that hit deep, very.  I’m very vulnerable and a sucker for good friendship.

I always think it’s good to celebrate the moment because it’s a huge ass moment… with that said, what’s next?
Next is the album, man, I literally start working on it tomorrow. And just creating these bigger sounds. In a sense, this, next album will be my good kid, m.A.A.d city (Lamar’s 2012 sophomore album), you understand what I’m saying? You want to do it while the gun is still hot with all this attention and eyes. I’ll really stepping up my creative level. And I think that that will waterfall into everything else, because I love fashion, I love film, but the music is the foundation. So, when I better that, everything else is just going to fall in line. I’m big on music videos and the roll out and building a world for the album to bring people in. So, I guess I’ll say the album, fashion and a little bit of film.

We talked about Rolling Loud. Any tour we can expect anytime soon?
I’m going to do Rolling Loud and then I do Papas & Beer right after that. I know for sure. I know for sure we’re doing the GNX dates in L.A. on (Lamar’s) GNX tour. Depending on how that goes, I don’t know. The plan was for me to tour in June. We got the dates. We got the venues. But if they tell me, “Hey, do the rest of the GNX tour,” I’m doing it!! I’m doing the rest of that! So it’s between the GNX Tour and my own tour. My own tour is supposed to start in June, a month after the album drops in May. I just talked to Kendrick, the day “WhatX2” dropped. I talked to him that morning, and the way he was talking, it was like, “Okay, you ain’t performed my verse on the biggest stage for no reason, right?!”  He’s a very calculated dude. Like, the rest of the world knows. Peekaboo just went platinum yesterday. So, yeah that’s the plan, right now.

So who are your baby goats? Who are you checking for?
That’s a good question. That’s a really hard one. Because all the people I know, for the most part, they’re like my peers. I think I’ll give it to 310babii. That’s little bro.  He definitely did something incredible for the West Coast. Huge record, you know, Platinum dolo by himself. You know, he did something amazing.

What do you want your legacy to be?
Just letting the art live. [Being] very creative, and having integrity and, keeping things … music. Leave the monkey shit over there.  I mean, no gimmicks or nothing like that. I want people to love me for me.  I want the entertainment to be the cherry on top. That’s what I want it to be, bro. Just always letting the art live. Reaching new levels. As much as possible.  Being creative. I just can’t stress that enough. I need that to be what it is. And, of course, just handle your business. Grown man shit. Leave the circus shit alone. That’s really it, for real.