A.Chal

A.CHAL was born in Peru and lived there for 4 years before his family moved to Queens, New York. His mother was from rural northern Peru while his father grew up closer to large Peruvian cities.[4] He began rapping at age 12 and later started making beats and writing songs with a friend at the Museum of Science in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2010, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a songwriter and producer.[2]

A.CHAL released his debut EP, Ballroom Riots, in 2013. The album found some success, which he parlayed into a publishing deal with Sony ATV.[2][4] He then spent two years out of the public spotlight before beginning to release a variety of singles in 2015.[2][6] One of those singles, "Round Whippin'", was debuted online on The Fader and then followed up with a world premiere on Zane Lowe's Beats1 channel and supported on OVO Sound Radio.[6][7][9] As a result of this publicity, A.CHAL was named one of Pigeons & Planes best new artists of 2015.[8] He also performed at the Interview Magazine event during Coachella that year.[2][3]

In February 2015, he released the single "GAZI", which he co-produced with Count Justice.[2] In September 2015, A.CHAL released another a single, "Vibe W/U", which was first publicized by A$AP Rocky on Twitter.[6][7][9] In 2016, A.CHAL performed at the Day N Nite Fest.[5] He also released a few more singles before self-releasing his debut studio album, Welcome to GAZI, in June 2016.[4][7] He has since premiered the official music video for "Round Whippin'" with Complex.com[10] and been featured on tracks by Ro James,[11] Stwo,[12] and Tess.[13]

In March 2018, A.CHAL signed with Epic Records.[14]

A.CHAL's music generally fits into the hip hop and R&B genres. USA Today has described his music as falling somewhere "in the negative space between Hip-Hop, R&B, chillwave, and pop music."[9] A.CHAL himself has described his music's genre as soul.[4] His sound has also been characterized as "sedated", "hazy", and "almost-psychedelic".[2][8][15] Remezcla has called his voice "sultry, sparse, and desperate".[2]

Lyrically, he largely discusses anecdotal experiences. Writing about his 2016 album Welcome to GAZI, Jules Muir of Pigeons & Planes noted that A.CHAL attempts to cut "to the core of many of society's ills and triumphs by tapping into a deep well of personal experiences and anecdotes."[6]

• Official website