The Art Of Appreciation - C.H.A.D’s Perspective
“I feel very privileged because I’ve just consistently been representing myself authentically through my art, and people still fuck with that”
Shot By Vuyo Polson
Styled By Zizela Damon
I was first introduced to the art of C.H.A.D through his 2024 release, “CÖUNT ØN ŸŌU”, alongside Chaise Williams. I remember instantly gravitating toward the energy of the track - the chemistry, the atmosphere, and the effortless performance all pulled me deeper into Chad’s artistry.
What made that memory even more interesting is that this was before VERVE properly existed. At the time, I had no idea our paths would eventually cross at an event hosted at One Park, where Jeriah and I shared a brief interaction with the young star before going our separate ways. Even then, I knew a proper conversation with the gifted virtuoso was inevitable.
That moment finally arrived on an overcast evening at his home in Woodstock, accompanied by the presence of his adorable pet Rottweiler. What followed was a deeply insightful conversation that explored everything from his origin story to the unwavering passion that made music feel less like a choice and more like destiny.
Below is only half of the conversation.
Who is CHAD and what was growing up like for you?
“I was born in George. My mom and I moved up to Pringle Bay, so my earliest memories come from there. However, I got into this really odd scenario where my mom couldn’t take care of me, but somebody else could.”
“It was through a friend that I met that I would spend a lot of time with. Basically, it got to a point where I was living with them. So they basically adopted me but unofficially. We kept it in the family, though, it’s not like I lost contact with my mom. But yeah, when I was six, is when I got adopted by two men. One was American and the other Scottish.”
“From six, is when I moved to Woodstock, and I went to Rondebosch Boys Prep. I didn’t attend the high school; instead, I chose to go to Groote Schuur and graduated in 2018.”
Why’d you decide to make the move to Groote Schuur?
“I realised early that I didn’t want to be involved with that whole “boys” culture. The issues we were having at Rondebosch, just as a kid of colour, was crazy, bro. It was all the hair rules and stuff that didn’t have to do with education that became such a priority for them.”
“It was insane, man, and I just thought to myself that this wasn’t for me. The institutional semi-racism and the subtle battles that you face, and also having only twelve other people of colour in the grade was crazy.”
“But I grew up with my dad with that American ideology, and I told him that I just couldn’t do it anymore. My brother loved the whole “boy” culture stuff, so he thrived in that environment.”
When did the art of music approach you?
“I came from a background where freestyling was the thing, bro. A lot of people in the States can freestyle. I feel like storytelling is the root of most people. Most black people, like myself, are storytellers and we have shit to say, you know?”
“That’s when the inspiration became art, and it grows into something else because you’re telling a story. I thought it was normal, and it was all fun, and we’d have battles at break and stuff. One of my friends, who was an incredible beatboxer, his name is Lebo, he and others would throw me in a circle, and I would just do what I do. It got to a point where my homies, for the first time, told me that I could spit and needed to make money from this.”
“I didn’t know what they meant, but they told me about freestyle battles, which we killed. We really killed that shit, bro. And that’s how I actually got to make my first song. Someone saw me rapping at one of the parties, and they hit me up the next day telling me he was a producer who I actually went to Prep school with, but we were just never homies back then.”
What’s the story behind that first song you made?
“We did our first song called “Ten Toes Down”, and that came out in like 2016/2017. That was my first time ever recording, seeing the vocal processing being done, and everything behind that.”
“I was already fascinated by all of it. This was something dope. The final break came when I lost my phone…or someone stole my phone. I realised the most tragic thing about it was all the music I had on that phone. So I started making my own music and asking other people for their phones, and I’d record myself on those phones and immediately get it on my laptop.”
“I was at hostel from Grade 9 to Matric, so I would always start singing in the showers in the morning till it got to the point where people knew my songs, bro. They would always be asking me when I’d be dropping. That was crazy because I hadn’t even recorded that shit.”
“This was the SoundCloud era, which was a free platform, so shoutout to SoundCloud, man. But music making for me naturally grew from trying to make it for myself and trying to put it together for myself. And one day, I had this blessing of my one homie, Jason Winde, who I didn’t know at the time, but we started properly cooking together because he went to Rondebosch High School, so he had heard from people at Rondebosch. They told him to hit me up, which he did.”
“He hit me up and told me that he’s an instrumentalist, and he plays everything with a bit of music production, but he hadn’t worked with a vocal artist before. He wanted to work with especially a rapper, and he saw my content, which made him want to do something together. Honestly, when we finally linked up, we made a song in like 10 minutes. That was “Sandy Sea Shores”. That was actually the first song I had ever written.”
“I always told myself that I would wait till the day that I could find the right person to properly take a song from my mind and make it into something I have always pictured. This was before I knew how to do sound engineering or anything like that. It only took five years until I met Jason, and we cooked everything perfectly. Our chemistry in the studio is palpable. That’s when our music relationship started, and since then, we have never stopped cooking.”
So how did you continue developing your craft as a musician?
“So funnily enough, it’s similar to your story dropping out of BCom and switching studies. I was actually doing fashion design at CPUT. I just needed to do something to get my mom off my back. I continued doing that until COVID hit us in 2020.”
“I had a great time, but I also realised that this wasn’t for me. I met a lot of amazing friends who are still great friends of mine to this day. Them and the process made me realise that I was still passionate about making music because I was trying to make merch. I wasn’t trying to make a new denim jeans because that was what they were doing; they were fashion designers. They were all about the runways and that sort of stuff, which I wasn’t really into. They told me how much I genuinely fucked with music.”
“So because of COVID, I eventually dropped out. I knew I needed to take this shit seriously, and I saw an open day at Cape Audio College. I spoke to my parents, and they told me how good I was at making music, and they were understanding. They knew I had been doing this independently, and I had never asked them for any help. So it was that thing of just learning the whole thing.”
“Everything just took off from there, and I started in 2021 and graduated in 2024 with a sound engineering degree. It was a dream come true, bro, and it feels like it all happened in a flash. I even ended up being student of the year when I graduated, which I didn’t even know was a thing. But my heart was in it, and I have so much love for that place that I even still have a key to their studio.”
“But the requirements there were high. You needed 80% to pass. There was no time for fucking around. So, every time I’d achieve my goal of reaching those deadlines and marks, I’d reward myself by hitting the studio and making music. That was my way of using that as an outlet to be as creative as I could possibly be. During those two years, I made 24 songs. And I’d keep working on it until next thing you know, I have a project.”
It seems like Cape Audio College really taught you everything necessary about the world of music. Not just making sounds itself but the other aspects of being a musician too.
“Yeah man. They taught me about the music business, music marketing, registering yourself, and making sure that your music is 100% yours. You've got to learn everything about your rights and everything you need to monetize your product. I got to learn that my art and I is a product.”
“That’s when I decided to start investing into the music. I was making music videos, and people started naturally reaching out. When people naturally reach out, it’s always easier. I feel like I have the internal drive to do everything myself, regardless if I have only haters or not. But when the world brings people into your sphere that also see what you’re doing, it’s easier, and that’s how they get you opportunities like getting featured on TRACE or Cape Town TV.”
“It’s cool because you always think people aren’t watching. You’re really serving yourself, and this is your soul food, and if people resonate with that, that’s amazing. But at first, I’m always making this for myself, and I try to enjoy it as much as I can.”
“It’s crazy that people are enjoying the music like this, and it’s crazy how I’m learning throughout the process and seeing myself grow throughout the process.”
You speak so passionately about your art and the journey you took to discover and appreciate being a musician.
“Bro, the universe has been providing for me for so long. Anyone who knows me and asks how I am knows I’ll tell them that I’m blessed. I really am, and it’s a blessing for people to be seeing you in a space.”
“It’s also a blessing that people still value art as something that is worth paying for. As we grow into a more digital era, it’s quite amazing that people would want to hear from your experience alone. I think that sense of value is crazy because people could just use AI, know what I mean?”
“But they’re like nah. They’d rather fuck with me and my story. I resonate with that. It’s a blessing that people still value art and music to that degree. They’ll buy your music, they’ll pay to see you at a show, and they’ll buy that merch.”
“The whole journey has been crazy. It's been ten years now. I’ve been in this game for ten years now, and it’s crazy to believe that. It felt like a flash, but I was able to achieve a sound engineering degree because of it. I’ve built a personal profile, and I’ve got a whole catalogue.”
How would you say your sound has evolved since you started making music?
“One thing I always tell people is that if you like my music, you like me. My music is so relative to where I am visually. If I could turn each song into a mirror, they would all have a different frame. It’s the same reflection, just a different version every time.”
“Sometimes I’ll listen to my old stuff, and I’ll have things that are R&B, things that are Boom Bap, and things that have piano instrumentals on them. Yoh man, I realised I was so sad back then. But I was so sad back then, and I articulated that well back then. It was my way of releasing at the end of the day.”
“I’m not that version of myself anymore, but I can still see that version of myself when I look in a mirror. You’re looking at different reflections of yourself. There’s times when you’ll have that cocky song. Those were the days when I just wanted to talk my shit. I had songs where I wanted to let people know I can actually sing, you know? Just in case they didn’t know.”
What’s the support from your circle been like?
“I’ve had crazy support from my family because they invested in my dream. They invested in my vocal lessons since I was that young. Every time, from like the age of seven, if we’d go out and there happened to be an opportunity for me to perform, my dad would push me to go for it.”
“When we were eight years old, they’d ask us what we wanted to be, just as a shot in the dark. I told them I wanted to be an entertainer. I wanted to be a performer because I enjoyed seeing what people were doing, and I wanted that. My brother wanted to be a professional tennis player, and he continued to go on that journey because he was amazing at it.”
“My dad put me into positions early on to not get stage fright, which I only realised recently. At the time, I used to dread it, and I remember times of going to Ratanga Junction, and now I’m having to do karaoke. I’d just want to go on the Cobra ride, but now I’m performing. But now, there is no stage fright.”
“From my perspective, it’s the best place to be so that I can see everybody else. You all see me, but I see all of you as well on stage( if the lights aren’t too bright). So many things have aligned, and it was perfect timing for me. The seeds that I planted years ago are trees now, and those trees are starting to grow fruits of their own. Now it’s really time to eat those fruits, bro. Even this interview is happening at the perfect time because everything for me is perfectly timed.”
What’s your overall experience of being a musician been like?
“People often talk about the process, and I feel very blessed because I’ve seen a lot of people in the industry shapeshift in order to feed into a certain market. I feel very privileged because I’ve just consistently been representing myself authentically through my art, and people still fuck with that.”
“My music isn’t exactly club bangers, and it’s not the most commercial stuff either. It’s not really 100% niche, but it is an acquired taste for a lot of people. These days, there’s a lot of bubblegum music. And because the market is so saturated, people’s attention spans are getting smaller. Just asking them to watch a three-minute music video is a struggle. In three minutes, they could watch twenty TikTok reels.”
“It’s been an interesting experience, though. I’ve been loving growing in the field. You saw my room, where I cook up my music. The creative process is always evolving. Sometimes it used to be easier, and sometimes it really used to be hard. But I do feel like the music is always pouring out of me, but there are moments where nothing pours, bro.”
So how do you overcome those creative blocks?
“It’s definitely one of the hardest challenges I've had to face. Recently, my brother passed away, and I couldn’t make anything for about three or four months. It took me a while, and I was trying to figure everything out.”
“I kept blaming myself for not trying to be creative, but because the music that I make is so close to what I feel, I realised it was more of an avoidance from it. I didn’t actually want to put that stuff on the mic. I wasn’t actually ready to put that on the mic. I was almost scared to hear what I was going to say. As much as I am in control, when you’re in the flow of things, you can sometimes surprise yourself. I wasn’t ready for that for a long time, bro.”
“It was only at a later point that I was ready to talk about it. The first song that I made after that was a track called “I Don’t Know”. It was funny making that song because for weeks I was struggling to come up with anything to say, I couldn’t come up with anything. I forced myself into a position to record, find an instrumental, and make a beat, and it was so frustrating. I had nothing.”
“But one day it just hit me. Why don’t I just make a song about not knowing what to do? Once I gave myself that grace, the song happened in like ten minutes. It was such a great feeling, and I thank that song so much. Every time I listen to that song, I get reminded of how long I had that blockage for, but that’s a classic example of how you can grow through your music.”
I’ve really enjoyed and appreciated this chat. I feel like you’re a person who isn’t pursuing this career for the glitz and glamour. You’re doing it purely because you enjoy the art of music making which is special.
“And how cool is it that people are enjoying it too? I’m always tripping on that bro. You guys have no need to love it so much, but you do anyway. You have no need to go so crazy, but I appreciate all the love. It’s always a trip knowing people like it as much as I like my music. And I’ll never take that for granted.”
“Some people choose different things to spend their money and time on. Some artists might demand it and think that’s what they’re owed. They think people deserve their attention. I’m never like that. It’s always something that I take as a gift when people take the time to listen to or watch my art. To me, that’s a part of your life, and I don’t take that lightly. Even if they don’t enjoy it.”
“Most of the time, people go into the experience with an open mind, and I haven’t had anyone have bad experiences. I’m always open to constructive criticism. It’s like body dysmorphia. You go into the gym every day, and you don’t normally see the gains, but the homie you started going with four months ago will look at you and tell you how much your body has changed.”
“Sometimes you need someone who hasn't listened to your shit, and it’s coming from a different perspective, who may have something constructive to say. I like that because they wouldn’t lie about that.”
“And I have a really good foundation of people whom I can ask for advice. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it's to always ask for help, bro. Put your pride aside and just ask for help. Especially if you understand that you’re not where you want to be.”
“With this whole experience, I didn’t intentionally go into doing this wanting fans. It’s not that I didn’t want fans, I just wasn’t looking for them. Naturally, it just comes as you go. There are creators, and there are consumers. Consumers need something to consume. Creators need someone to create for them to consume. We need to work to feed off of each other.”
“That’s why I find the support, the following, and the community as everything to me, man. It’s everything, bro.”
Leaving this conversation gave me a lot to reflect on. As much as we at VERVE have managed to accomplish, we rarely take the time to truly appreciate just how far we’ve come as a brand. Speaking with Chad reignited that feeling for me - a reminder of the passion, purpose, and love that inspired this journey in the first place.
For that, I’m genuinely grateful to him.
Be sure to tap into the art of Chad, available across multiple streaming platforms, and support the journey of a truly gifted Capetonian creative.
