Chow Mane - ‘keep making music’

By Tania Chakraborti

If you’re a fan of Post Malone, Mac Miller and Joyner Lucas and then you’ll no doubt love Chow Mane’s own unique brand of hip hop. There’s something really vibrant and compelling about his production, branding and overall vibe that can all be summed up as just plain awesome.

After listening to his 2019 Album SIMMERING, we were hooked. And his latest offering ‘Late Nites ft. Kitt Mae’, released this week is no exception. We chatted to Chow Mane to find out more about his music and what’s next in store for the Bay Area-based artist.

How would you describe your sound and influences?

“I listen to a lot of Bay Area artists, so I've been very influenced by the bounce, attitude and sound of my surroundings. Late Nites and the upcoming South Bay Summer project have a much more fun, lighthearted, and wavy sound than some of my past music. I can attribute a lot of my writing style to childhood favorites like Lil Wayne, Mac Miller, & Outkast, who I looked to for punchlines, flows & storytelling. Though I didn't produce Late Nites (shoutout to pavenb. !), my own production is currently mostly influenced by P-Lo, Wheezy, & maybe JuneOnnaBeat.”

We love your upcoming track Late Nites! How would you describe it? Would you say your musical style has developed a lot since you released SIMMERING?

“Late Nites was a pretty song to make. It's basically about getting unwanted booty calls at night from people you don't really want to see. It was one of the first songs that I had written for the upcoming South Bay Summer project, and I brought on San Jose's Kitt Mae to bring the song her own perspective on the topic. Both of us came with a pretty lowkey delivery, and the more raspy timbre of my voice complimented her soft, smooth vocals, especially when we harmonized.

I think with SIMMERING, I was experimenting with a lot of different sounds but not really focusing on one in particular. My music style since then has become a little more cohesive in terms of sound and themes I want to get across.”

Best piece of advice you have received so far in your career?

“The best piece of advice I've gotten was pretty simple: keep making music. Though networking, branding, and etc. are important, at the end of the day I'm making music that I want to make for myself and for people that can enjoy my sound. Making music consistently has helped me speed up my process, focus and break down my life experiences, and overall make me a better artist.“

Favourite TV show?

“That would probably have to be either Twin Peaks or Dragonball Super.”

Favourite pastime when you're not making music?

“When I'm not working on music I love cooking. Food has always been a big part of my life and culture, so experimenting with family Chinese food recipes and new dishes from different cultures has always been fun.“

Has anyone been negative about your desire to pursue music?

“Aside from hate that any artist gets from strangers on the internet, I would say that I do have a lot of peers and family that have pushed for me to spend more time pursuing and tailoring my music for overseas Chinese audiences rather than the US.

But when it comes down to it, my experience as an Asian American growing up in the Bay Area heavily influences my music and sound, so the music I make is more relevant for audiences here. But I do eventually want to explore the Asian market when I'm ready to have something to say there.”

How did you come up with the name Chow Mane?

“It comes from a few things. My nickname has always been "Chow" (from my grandma's pronunciation of "Charles"). I came up with "Chow Mane" when I was in high school, when kids would call me "Mr. Chow" (I think The Hangover had just come out) and I was listening to a lot of Gucci Mane mixtapes. When I decided that my first "official" releases would be centered around my Asian American experience a few years ago, I also thought Chow Mane was perfect since the "chow mein" dish was uniquely Chinese American, just like I was.”

Would you say living in the Bay Area has influenced your music a lot?

“I definitely think so. Growing up, my uncle put me onto Too $hort and Ant Banks with the CDs in his car. And I think the bounce in Bay Area music has always been what I gravitated more towards in music I listen to and in music I make. The Bay Area's also a place of diversity and a lot of different cultures going on at the same time, so I've been able to draw from different perspectives and people in my writing.“

How did you learn to produce?

“When I was in 9th grade I had a friend who introduced me to FL Studio. We actually used to make electronic music and recreate k-pop instrumentals for fun, but I eventually shifted over to making hip-hop beats for local rappers. And even though I've been producing here and there since the 9th grade, I had never watched a tutorial or video on how to use FL (I liked to try to figure things out myself), so I didn't learn very efficiently and it wasn't until maybe 2 or 3 years ago that I knew anything about engineering.”

Link to Late Nites here.