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THE STORY
Photo by Daniel Borremans
Leading with the story-telling element of classic Hip Hop while being as unorthodox as today’s Rap/Pop music, Cassie Chantel is a recording artist whose body of work cannot be categorized with generic labels. The tone of her voice defies gender and sexuality stereotypes with its ambiguous depth and transcends into her image. Known for embodying both feminine and masculine energy, Chantel gives a fresh perspective to the music industry.
Named Songwriter of the Year for the Vic Chestnutt award (2021) and Best Female Rapper for the Athens Hip Hop Awards (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018) Chantel is already considered a legend in her hometown of Athens, Ga. Her small-town support has tumble-weeds itself into international support with more than 300k streams across all countries.
Granddaughter of Folk singer Willie Hill, Chantel’s roots are poetic; starting her musical journey at 7 years old by way of freestyle poetry. By the age of 11, she was recording herself and sharing her music online and with close friends. She went "viral" before the term was coined, gaining more than 90k organic Youtube streams under her original stage name Hollywood at 18.
Teaming up with other independent artists and labels locally, Chantel was recording daily and doing shows on a weekly basis. It was in 2011 after teaming up with indie label GA PRO when Chantel was discovered through Youtube by producer Big Head Dez who had worked with platinum-selling artists like Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, Katy Perry, and more. With Dez’s resources, Chantel began her career in California as a ghostwriter for a rising label, Strictly Get Doe.
Gaining a bit of financial freedom, Chantel moved to Atlanta, Ga in 2016 where she quickly began to build her presence in their local music scene promoting her EP Free Vibes whenever she could. Sharing stages with Jack Harlow, Kodie Shane, Asian Doll, and more, Chantel’s Atlanta fan base began to exceed all other cities, becoming her new base and second home.
Today, Chantel is expanding her sound into several genres and expanding her musicality through music theory. Her latest performances have featured live musicians translating some of tribe's favorite singles into entirely new entities.