CHAII is the genre-bending New Zealand/Persian rapper pushing a bold creative vision, and today, she shares her latest song and video for “Trouble.” The Frank Keys-produced, self-directed video is the third in a trilogy of visuals that she filmed in Oman and is her most emotional and personal song so far. “The song represents strength, having fun and having your friends and family with you,” notes CHAII. “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. Overall I aimed to keep the song and video light and fun, with deeper layers to it too.” Hear “Trouble” here.
“I wanted to capture my life as a kid who grew up in Iran,” adds CHAII regarding the gorgeous “Trouble” video. “She 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.”
“Trouble” follows her recently released videos for “Digebasse (ft. B Wise)” and “South,” her song that was featured by FENDI earlier this year (watch HERE). Both videos were filmed guerrilla-style in Oman with a small crew made up of friends and cast of locals as extras, and are the perfect introduction to the Persian rapper’s D.I.Y ethos both sonically and visually. CHAII delivers an electric on-camera performance and showcases striking styling set amongst a Middle Eastern backdrop that hints at where things began for her.
CHAII’s tracks channel southern-Iranian influenced drum patterns while her distinctive vocal delivers a dance floor commanding commentary on millennial social pressures. If the strength of her early tracks are any indication, it’s where this young artist is heading that we should be most excited about.
