[music]

Kousha Navidar: This is All Of It. I'm Kousha Navidar, in for Alison Stewart. I'm here today and tomorrow, and Alison is back on Monday, and hey, thanks for spending part of your day with us. I'm so grateful that you're here. Before we get to today's show, I want to remind you that we've launched the All Of It Summer Reading Challenge. You have between now and Labor Day weekend to read four books. You can do it. I believe in you, but the deadline to sign up to receive a prize for participating ends this Friday at midnight, as in tomorrow midnight. Head to wnyc.org/summerreading for more information on the categories and how to sign up. Again, for more information and to sign up, just go to wnyc.org/summerreading. Of course, you can still participate at any time, but if you want a prize, the deadline is tomorrow, and that's in the future. Now let's get today's show started with some music from Chicocurlyhead.

[music]

Let's start today's show with a listening party.

[MUSIC: Chicocurlyhead: Modelo]

Kousha Navidar: That's Modelo from Atlanta-raised Panamanian singer-songwriter Chicocurlyhead, who has become known for his signature sound that incorporates R&B, pop, hip-hop, and Latin influences. Last month, he released a brand new EP. It's titled NEVERENDING ROADTRIP. It's a follow-up to his 2022 EP, DIADREAMER, where he showcased his ability to effortlessly glide over fresh beats and soulful melodies in both English and Spanish.

A profile of the artist in Remezcla says, "His music and live shows have connected with thousands of fans, and Chico continues to grow while keeping it real." NEVERENDING ROADTRIP is available to stream now, and Chicocurlyhead joins me in studio today to discuss the project and his career ahead of his performance at the Latin Alternative Music Conference Indie Showcase at DROM in the East Village. That's tonight at 8:00 PM. Right now, Chico is sitting across from me. Hey, Chico, welcome to All Of It.

Chicocurlyhead: Hey, hey. Thank you guys for having me today.

Kousha Navidar: Totally. Thanks for being here. You were born in Panama, but you moved to the US when you're around nine years old, right?

Chicocurlyhead: Yes, like, right on the ten mark, honestly, and yes, I moved from Panama to Atlanta, Georgia.

Kousha Navidar: What brought your family there?

Chicocurlyhead: It was a mix of everything. My mom's dream was always to live in America, first of all, and then the second thing was, she always wanted a better lifestyle for me and my brother. When it came to that, she was just like, "You know what? We're gonna leave," and she convinced me that it was only going to be like three months, and then, yes, three months turned into five years, and then six years, and on and on. Yes.

Kousha Navidar: Do you remember what your very first impressions were of Atlanta?

Chicocurlyhead: Yes. I was like, this place is cold.

[laughter]

I was like, this place is cold, because in Panama is a very tropical humid place. It was like, we have no cold. There's no winter in Panama. I was like, yes, this place is cold, and then the first mistake I made was losing my jacket at the airport before getting out, so yes.

Kousha Navidar: Lesson quickly learned.

Chicocurlyhead: Yes, very quickly learned. Yes.

Kousha Navidar: You know, in previous interviews, you've mentioned that you initially had dreams of becoming a professional soccer player.

Chicocurlyhead: Yes.

Kousha Navidar: Which is something you and I have in common, because I had that same dream. I'm sure many people did. What position did you want to play? Or what position did you play?

Chicocurlyhead: I played varsity since a freshman in high school, and I originally started off in the midfield as a winger. Then in high school, for some reason, I really liked defending, and I ended up playing left back. Then, slowly, the coach transitioned me into a center back, and I just ended up getting really good at defending, but I would say I can play really well the midfield, and defense wise.

Kousha Navidar: What side of the midfield were you?

Chicocurlyhead: I was in-- Well, I was back and forth. I was as a winger, and then I was playing like centro, a defensive midfielder.

Kousha Navidar: Okay, got it. How often do you still find time to play today?

Chicocurlyhead: Oh, I play every two to three days.

Kousha Navidar: Oh, really?

Chicocurlyhead: Every two to three days, for me, it's like a routine, and it's like a sign of discipline. Obviously, whoever knows about sports, you need a lot of discipline in sports. For me, it's more of a discipline. It's a habit, honestly.

Kousha Navidar: You know, that discipline translates pretty well to a music career.

Chicocurlyhead: It does.

Kousha Navidar: You definitely need discipline there. When you pivot to the music industry, how did your upbringing influence your musical style as an artist?

Chicocurlyhead: It was an accident, I'll be honest, because I had nothing to do with music. None of my life, honestly. I've always obviously enjoyed music from a fan point of view, but I never, ever thought about doing music until a friend of mine, named Joshua, invited me to his house, and he was like, "Hey, some guys from our school are coming to my house to record music. I don't know if you want to come through and hang out."

Boom. I was like, "Sure, why not? I don't have nothing to do. It's a Sunday. Sure." Next thing you know, I'm over there and hour passes by, and they're like, "Hey, do you want to try to make a song?" I'm like, "Uh, sure, why not?" I don't know why I say yes, though, I still don't know why. Something was telling me like, sure, why not, let's do it. I made that song, and on the spot, I made a SoundCloud. I was like, okay, made a SoundCloud, did the step by steps, uploaded the song on SoundCloud. By the next day, that song had a thousand streams. By the second day, 2,000 streams, and then 3,000 streams.

At that time, obviously, SoundCloud was known for an explore page overall. It's not like Spotify and Apple music. People were just like listening to, and I was like, yes, this is pretty cool. I was like, yes, this is really cool. That whole summer, I just ended up with being with those friends, experimenting in music and just learning, and that's how I got into music.

Kousha Navidar: Okay, so let's take a few steps back from there. You go to your friend Joshua's house, right? There's a mic in front of you, and Joshua is like, okay, do you want to try it to sing?

Chicocurlyhead: Yes.

Kousha Navidar: Was it singing? Had you sung before that? Or was that--

Chicocurlyhead: I had never sung before.

Kousha Navidar: Really?

Chicocurlyhead: Maybe in the shower while having a bath. [chuckles]

Kousha Navidar: Did you just make up a melody on the spot? What was that?

Chicocurlyhead: Yes, I legit just made up a melody on the spot. I remember I was so like, what do I do? Then, I remember I didn't even have the headphones in to record. I just had like holding them and I could hear it, and I was just came up with the melody, and then filled in the lyrics as I was going. Then we didn't even mix the song.

Kousha Navidar: Wow.

Chicocurlyhead: No mixing, no master. I literally created the SoundCloud and uploaded the song.

Kousha Navidar: So the next day, you open up your laptop, you turn on your phone, whatever, and you see a thousand streams, I guess. How does that feel to see that so many people, strangers, were streaming your music?

Chicocurlyhead: I was like, this is pretty cool. I was like, is this how artists feel, or is this what happens when you upload music? I had no idea. I had zero idea. Then I just started experimenting. I remember during those months, I would watch videos on how to properly upload your music and distribute your music and just learn. I remember just watching so many videos for hours about learning, because I was like, this is pretty cool, and I didn't know anything.

Kousha Navidar: Let me ask you this then, and this might be a penetrating question, but let's say that you had opened up your laptop and that you had seen that it was not a thousand people that saw it, but like one or nobody saw it. Do you think you still would have wanted to keep going in music?

Chicocurlyhead: Oh, I don't know. That's a tough question, but probably not, because I had scholarships for soccer, and I played soccer my whole life, so it's very hard to leave something that you've done your whole life just for something that you're experimenting in and just trying for fun but probably not. I don't know, because even when I was doing music and everything was going good, I was still playing soccer because that was my plan. I didn't plan on changing my plan, so yes, and then at the end, I remember I waited till the last day to tell my coach the decision because I had multiple offers. I was like, I'm going to do music because something is telling me that I should do music.

Kousha Navidar: Yes, you were following the signs, I guess, all along the way.

Chicocurlyhead: Then he asked me. He was like, "Are you positive? Are you sure?" I was like, I'm not 100% sure, but this is what my mind, my heart is telling me right now, so that's what I'm going to do.

Kousha Navidar: Yes, it was a real leap of faith there. There was definitely data to say at least 1,000 people, 2,000 by two days.

Listeners, if you're just joining us, we're talking to Chicocurlyhead, the singer, the musical artist. The new project, NEVERENDING ROADTRIP, is out now. We're talking to Chicocurlyhead, Atlanta-based Panamanian singer. The EP again is NEVERENDING ROADTRIP. I want to hear some more of it. We're going to listen to a single from the EP. This song is titled Many Nights. Before we get into it, what inspired the title for your new EP? Can you tell us a little bit about the origin story of the song?

Chicocurlyhead: Yes, like the title of the EP, honestly, it sums up the whole project on these are things, these are situations, these are moments, people that inspire this project. These are things that I'll never forget, and they'll never leave me. It'll always be with me. That's why it's called a NEVERENDING ROADTRIP, because it kind of feels like a cycle that just repeats itself over and over and over. I think many people have been in that position in different ways where it just feels like it'll never really end, so that's why it's called a NEVERENDING ROADTRIP.

Kousha Navidar: What's the origin story of Many Nights?

Chicocurlyhead: Many Nights? This is about a person that I really, really care about, and I hadn't seen this person in a very long time. Before making this song, I didn't know. I struggled to express myself, and I suck at expressing my feelings. This was the song that I was like, yes, you still have some work to do, and personality wise about how to express yourself properly. This song was basically that. It was like a recognition of that.

Kousha Navidar: Let's listen to a little bit. Here's Many Nights.

[MUSIC: Chicocurlyhead: Many Nights]

Kousha Navidar: That was Many Nights from Chicocurlyhead, and in the song we just heard, and in a lot of your music, you seamlessly switch between Spanish and English. What's the secret to you for performing in both those languages?

Chicocurlyhead: I'm still trying to figure that out myself, but honestly, it's just the lifestyle I've had. Spanish being my first language, and then English being my second language. It's something that I never thought I could even do because I remember first time I arrived, I was like, yes, I don't know how I'm going to learn this language. I struggled pretty hard that first year, for sure, in many ways. I remember after that first year, I was like, I really want to learn English. I tried my hardest to learn really good, and I will focus in my classes really well, and people are shocked about that. I'm like, yes, that's the crazy thing. I am shocked about that. I still don't know how I'm able to do it, but it just happened on its own, and I always give the example. I remember when I would think in Spanish, and now I don't think in Spanish. I could only think in Spanish.

Kousha Navidar: Do you dream in English now, too?

Chicocurlyhead: I do. I do. Then the Spanish thing is like, every Latina mom at home has one rule, and that's Spanish at home.

[laughter]

There was no way I was going to forget Spanish in any way. When it came to my music, I was like, yeah, this is who I am. My mom is Panamanian, my dad's American, and I was like, this is who I am. I'm both. I always said, I was like, I want to be that voice for that teenager, that person who doesn't just feel connected to just one culture but to another culture. That's what I represent with my music, honestly.

Kousha Navidar: A lot of your songs are about love and relationships. How's the idea of romance fascinating for you as a singer-songwriter?

Chicocurlyhead: I think for all of us, right? Love can be like such a complicated thing, or it can be a beautiful thing, too, and a bad thing for others, but I just speak from the heart. I speak from my experiences, and I speak in a way that I feel like it can connect with anybody without necessarily being a specific thing in the relationship. I speak in a general way with people are like, yes, I know what he's talking about. I felt that before, or, I'm going through that now.

Kousha Navidar: You're also a father to a four-year-old. What effect has being a parent had on the music you make? Do you share your music with your son?

Chicocurlyhead: Of course. He actually picked a song out for this EP that came out on NEVERENDING ROADTRIP, which is Keep It Pushing. He's the reason why I put that song on the project, because he loved it so much. He would ask me to play it all the time, and I was like, kids tend to react to lullabies and very catchy rhythms in music. The way he's reacting to it, it's really catchy, and that turned out to be one of my favorite songs from the project, honestly.

Kousha Navidar: Really?

Chicocurlyhead: Yes.

Kousha Navidar: Well, that's good, because we're not gonna hear it now, but maybe there's going to be a surprise at the end of this segment, but for now, I'd love to listen to another one. The song is titled Copa De Vino. Can you tell us about the lyrical inspiration behind this song?

Chicocurlyhead: Yes, so, this song was definitely inspired by Panama. The rhythm in Panama is very afro-ey, very reggae-y. I wrote this song while being in Los Angeles with a good friend of mine named Rafa. I call him Rafa. I remember following up the message behind Many Nights, which was, I need to figure out how to properly express myself when I need to. Copa De Vino was the follow-up for Many Nights in a way that, again, expressing myself to that person, the proper way that I need to express myself.

Kousha Navidar: : Well, let's listen a little bit of it. Here's Chicocurlyhead's Copa De Vino.

[MUSIC: Chicocurlyhead: Copa De Vino]

Kousha Navidar: You mentioned Rafa, and collaboration in your music is really important for this EP. You worked with your producer and engineer, Rafa Alvarez, who has worked with artists like Kaytranada and Kehlani. What was something unique that he added to this project that you really liked?

Chicocurlyhead: Rafa always has this touch of giving an opinion, an idea, and just to try it out. Rafa has picked up my voice and my sound really well over the last few years that we've worked together. I think what was key to this whole project was the genuine conversations that we were having in the studio, which helped with the whole topic of me expressing myself. I think he made it very easy for me to express myself in the studio. That made it very easy and comfortable to make these songs honestly.

Kousha Navidar: What kind of preparation did that look like before you even entered the studio? Were you journaling? Were you doing collaborations with him over Zoom? What did it look like?

Chicocurlyhead: We spent like two weeks in LA together, just like talking and working together, and just doing regular things, going out to eat, and stuff like that. Those things don't happen very often, honestly, with a lot of artists and producers. Me and Rafa have developed this relationship where we always experimenting and always trying. We make it so genuine that it doesn't ever feel like we're working. It just feels like we're two friends making music. Again, he's a big reason on why I was able to express myself the way I was in this whole project is honestly thanks to him.

Kousha Navidar: Wow. For you, what does your approach look like? When you talked about going your friend Joshua's house, you said just started humming a melody, but is that how it is now? Do you start with lyrics ever first?

Chicocurlyhead: Yes, I have, honestly. I have started with lyrics a couple of times. I believe on Many Nights, I started with lyrics. That was like one of the rare times where I started with lyrics, but everything else, yes, I start with melodies and hummings, and try to get a feel, a vibe of the beat, what we're working on, and then from there, yes, I pieced it together, honestly.

Kousha Navidar: Yes, yes, yes. I'm looking at the clock. We ought to wrap up here. I'm wondering what's the most significant lesson you've learned in your music career so far, and what advice would you give to aspiring musicians?

Chicocurlyhead: Definitely what I would tell anybody, even if you're not a musician, honestly, it's the only thing that really, really matters is how good of a person you are to people. That's what really matters at the end. Forget fame, forget the attention. It's not worth it if you're not a great person because people will look at you disgustingly. If you're a great person and you have great things going on for yourself, that's even better. The only thing that really matters is how great of a person you are in general.

Kousha Navidar: Is that something you would say you learned from the start or through the collaborations that you've done along the way? Has it just solidified in your mind?

Chicocurlyhead: I think that's always been in me, even while playing soccer, is just a great person. Just how great of a person you are to people.

Kousha Navidar: Yes.

Chicocurlyhead: That's what I've learned in this young life of mine.

[laughter]

Kousha Navidar: Why is beyond your years? You know, I'd love to go out on a song from the EP, NEVERENDING ROADTRIP. This song is titled Keep It Pushing. Saved it for the end. Seems like it's the best song to save for the end. How does this song describe this moment in your career?

Chicocurlyhead: This is everything. This song was to remind myself to always keep going no matter what. For you out there that need some inspiration and motivation, this song is for you, honestly.

Kousha Navidar: What do you think was about it that resonated with your son?

Chicocurlyhead: I think the energy behind it, too. He just like, I remember seeing his eyes lit up every time he would hear it, and he was just jumping and acting like if he was performing the song. I think he's probably going to love music as he gets older, honestly.

Kousha Navidar: Yes. Would you love it if he became a musician?

Chicocurlyhead: I would support him in anything he does, but if he makes music, then amazing. I can help him even more.

Kousha Navidar: Yes, exactly, or soccer. [laughs]

Chicocurlyhead: Or soccer, yes.

Kousha Navidar: We've been talking to Chicocurlyhead. His new EP is titled NEVERENDING ROADTRIP. We're going listen to it, but before we do that, we're going to say thank you. He is currently in town for the Latin Alternative Music Conference Indie Showcase. That's tonight at 8:00 PM at DROM in the East Village. Chico, thank you so much for joining us.

Chicocurlyhead: Thank you guys for having me here, honestly. I'm just grateful.

Kousha Navidar: It goes both ways. Let's listen to Keep It Pushing. Here it is.

[MUSIC: Chicocurlyhead: Keep It Pushing]

 

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