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CMU Approved
Approved: Chaii
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 23 June 2020
Newly signed to BMG for both recordings and publishing, New Zealand-based rapper Chaii is set to release her debut EP next month. Titled ‘Lightswitch’, the release has already been pre-empted by three tracks with a trilogy of videos shot in Oman.
Following ‘South’ and ‘Digebasse’ comes new single ‘Trouble’, which reflects on the rapper’s childhood in Iran. “It was time to not only write a song about growing up in the Middle East but also show a glimpse of my childhood through a music video”, she says. “Overall I aimed to keep the song and video light and fun, with deeper layers to it too”.
Expanding further on the video, she goes on: “I wanted to capture my life as a kid who grew up in Iran. [The character in the video] does all the awesome activities I did as a kid in Iran: playing soccer in the streets, bike riding, walking by myself, listening to music on my cassette player, climbing trees, swimming in the river… Filming it was very surreal, like going back in a time capsule and revisiting my childhood. I wanted to simply show a glimpse of my childhood, who I was and who I grew to be. You just never know where you’ll end up in the world and what you’d be doing”.
Commenting on the company’s new signing, BMG Australia’s Managing Director Heath Johns says: “I cannot over-emphasise how excited we are about Chaii. She is one of the most talented and charismatic artists I have ever met, and she has a powerful message that BMG will help amplify and take to the world. Chaii has arrived boldly to this party with the ‘Lightswitch’ EP and she’s not politely knocking, she’s kicking down the door”.
‘Lightswitch’ is out on 10 Jul. Watch the video for ‘Trouble’ here:
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