Chaaz Lepaul Quigley

Chaaz is an American rapper, singer, and activist from Dallas, Texas. A bright and creative child, he began to write intense, metaphysical poetry at at the age of 11. His mother had been adamant that his education be well-rounded and he spent many of his early years in libraries. He is a self-described "bookworm".

While attending a local after-school program in 1992, he encountered an ambitious, young dance teacher who the kids called "Ms. Erica". She once told him "I'm gon' be famous and all y'all can be famous too - if you work hard and act right." Five years later, he would see his former teacher release the critically and commercially-acclaimed, Baduizm. Her successes inspired him to pursue a career in music.

His debut solo mixtape, "1443: I <3<3 You", is set for a Spring 2009 release. In a phone interview when asked about the project he stated, " This is original shit from me, and me doing some things with the music of artists I really admire." When asked the sound of the project he explains, " Who knows? I don't. I grew up on soul and hip hop, everything in m world changed when Joni (Mitchell) entered my consciousness, and then my friends started throwin' electronica and Bjork and shit at me. I never made any attempt at musical reconciliation because I never felt I needed to. Though everything I do is in the hip hop vein."

Activism/Influences

He is very active and well-known in the Dallas LGBT community for his advocacy of gay youth empowerment and the promotion of safer sex, especially in the African-American community. His lyrics often reflect this stance and his life as an openly gay hip-hop artist and activist.

He considers Joni Mitchell to be the greatest songwriter of the 20th century and cites her as his "patron saint of song". He is also an admirer of the work of Björk, Erykah Badu, Sinead O Connor, Van Morrison, Yoko Ono, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Nina Simone, Lauryn Hill, and Prince.

References

External links

* [http://profile.myspace.com/chaazchaazchaaz Chaaz] at MySpace