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Interview: Q&A

Canadian artist Charmaine talks Warner Music Canada debut “Bold”

Charmaine

Bursting onto the scene is Zimbabwe-born, Canadian hip-hop newcomer Charmaine, with her début single “Bold.” The braggadocious banger is her official Warner Music Canada introduction and is accompanied by a colorful music video, showcasing her unique style as well as her confidence and charisma.

“You can literally create your own genre if you want to and alot of us go for what’s popular but sometimes what’s not popular is actually the greatest thing so just be different.”Charmaine

At first glance, you can see Charmaine challenging society’s status quo and in her own way sends a statement of what it means to be able to do it all while being a strong independent Black woman. She wants to welcome listeners of all backgrounds to consider the experiences of self-discovery, growth, reclamation, culture, healing, and most importantly fun.  

Charmaine

Charmaine [Photo: Instagram)

“I want people to feel like they can do anything, be anything, they don’t have to pretend to be something they’re not. I want them to step into their own power,” Charmaine says while speaking about the new single.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Charmaine to talk about her come up, background, music, and what’s next.

Check out the Q&A below along with the new single and video “Bold.”


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Q&A: Charmaine

HipHopCanada: How old were you when began writing music?

Charmaine: I’m 25 and I started writing music when I was seventeen. So yeah, it’s been a minute now.

HipHopCanada: Who would you say influenced your sound and approach to making music?

C: I feel like it’s a little bit of everything because I grew up in Nashville, so I have alot of southern influences in my stuff too. On top of that, I listen to all genres, so it’s a little bit of everything to be honest.

HipHopCanada: Is there any specific artist from Nashville that influenced you growing up?

C: Not Nashville but from the South. it was Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz, Dem Franchize Boyz and Lil Scrappy.

HipHopCanada: Between writing, performing or recording which is your favourite to do?

C: To be fair, I haven’t really performed anything so I’m not sure how that feels but I think personally I love creating music especially since my whole team is amazing. We all get along so well, its like one big happy family.

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HipHopCanada: How has being a mother in the industry affected your artistry?

C: I think that the one thing I can say, is its brought a desire to work really hard, like super duper hard, just because I know I’m not just taking care of myself anymore, I’m taking care of him.  

Charmaine

Charmaine [Photo: Instagram)

HipHopCanada: That’s dope. Talk to me about your debut single “Bold.” What inspired you to write something that sounds so different than what we hear out here?

C: “Bold” was one of the last records we did during the period of when I was in the studio. I came into it as a singer because that’s what I did initially. We did the singy-song which is great but then we decided to try something a little bit different. I was already on the trappy-rappy side along with the singing, so we just went for it and it came out amazing.

HipHopCanada: What has it been like to be signed to a major record label?

C: I honestly have been enjoying the process so much. I was a little bit scared, because naturally you hear artists complaining about their labels and how they feel trapped and all these things, but I feel like I got blessed to have one of the most amazing label families I could’ve possibly gotten. They make everything so much easier. They don’t suppress my voice in any way. They’re fricken amazing!

HipHopCanada: One of my last questions for you is, if you could give a piece of advice to any upcoming musician what would that advice be?

C: I would say… it’s okay to be different, you don’t have to follow the blueprint of the sounds that are out there right now. You can literally create your own genre if you want to. A lot of us go for what’s popular but sometimes what’s not popular is actually the greatest thing, so just be different.

HipHopCanada: What can the hip-hop community expect from you in the near future?

C: I can definitely say they can expect some real fire ass music because we’ve been working so hard and I’m so excited. There’s nothing coming out of Toronto that sounds like what I’m doing.

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Artwork for BOLD by Charmaine

You can follow @__iamCharmaine on Instagram.


Written by Remi Louis Harris for HipHopCanada

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