Chali 2na

With his unmistakable baritone voice and six-and-a-half-foot charm, Chali 2na has established himself as one of hip-hop’s most celebrated and charismatic personalities. Known for co-founding music groups Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, he's collaborated with some of the industry’s biggest names. He’s also an established visual artist and a genuinely lovely human.

Tierney White had a chat with him ahead of his gig at Bustard Town this month.

Chali, thanks so much for your time. You’re coming to Darwin – how did we land on your radar?
I mean, you know, my theory about all of this thing when it comes to music is that you go where you’re wanted, and I’ve been to Darwin – in the 20 years we’ve been coming to Australia – maybe twice? I just remember it being on the map with Jurassic for sure, I’m not sure if it was on any of my solo ones, but I definitely remember coming down there at least once, at the very least once. So, I’m happy to go wherever anybody wants me to come, especially if it’s to perform, and it’s an appreciation of the art that I do.

Your bio says you’re a painter that can rap – not the other way around. Can you tell us a bit about your artwork?
As long as I can remember I’ve been a visual artist, I can’t remember a time where I wasn’t attracted to being able to pull off something visual. I can remember a time when I was with all my cousins – I have several, I have a huge family, okay, let’s start with that – and my cousins would come to hang out and my mum and my aunts and friends and everybody would want to hang out, too. They’d want to get us occupied, put us in the same room, put us in front of the TV, and give us a bunch of, like, construction paper, pens, and markers.

I’d find myself sitting in front of the TV with a big piece of paper and just start drawing and stuff, I can remember that, from as long and as far back as I can remember, so that alone was a love that I had for anything artistic.

When hip hop came along, I was instantly attracted to graffiti. I mean, I love the music and everything, but it was kind of commercial for the lifestyle, if you feel, the culture, but I was instantly attracted to anything visual.

I learned how to rap eventually just playing around with poetry and looking at it as audio art, you know what I mean? But I wasn’t as serious about it as I was about painting until these opportunities came where, you know, hanging out with fellas doing demos turned into real job opportunities [laughs].

That’s the dream! [laughs] We have some amazing street art here in Darwin, you gotta check it out! So, you’re a founding member of Jurassic 5 and also rock band Ozomatli but having huge success as a solo artist. What’s that journey been like for you?
Well, I will say, it’s always better, in my opinion, when you’re in congregation, if you feel me, with a bunch of guys able to pull off something that is extremely attractive – audio, visual, both – you know what I mean? That being said … I always think it’s better, and the product comes out better, when you have more minds.

But I will say, as a solo artist – being with Jurassic or being with Ozo, or being in both groups at times – where, sometimes, my ideas didn’t fit … I would either swap the two or have this overabundance of work that I could just try to put on different things.

By the grace of God, I was attracting a lot of solo work, and when I say solo work, I mean a lot of collaborations – people calling me to collaborate on a track. So I just had this work in me, and I think after that, because I was really eager to get all of this stuff out, no matter the cost, so to speak, I wasn’t really trippin’ on putting anything out negative in the work because it definitely wasn’t where I was coming from, but I did like the fact that I was being approached by all these outlets and I could do all this music.

It was fun to do, and eventually when I was given the opportunity to do a solo project for the first time, which was Fish Outta Water, I wasn’t really thinking about it like solo, I really wanted the group to prosper … I’m saying this I guess because it’s easy to take care of yourself, right, to know kind of what you like … It’s a harder process as a solo artist, but I feel like, at the same time, it’s more rewarding when the thing that you’re creating becomes something that people like. Sorry, that was a long answer!

No, I get it – thanks for taking the time to explain it, I really appreciate it. And how does it feel, decades later, to still be doing what you love and still having so many show up for you?
Blessed. I feel blessed. I’m extremely grateful and I look at people like BB King who went until they couldn’t anymore, and I’m wondering if that’s what my path is? I don’t know, I’m willing to accept it if that’s what it is [laughs]. I’m happy that we get these opportunities, I’m happy to have some of my closest friends working around me … I feel blessed. I can’t really put it any simpler than that!

Yeah, why over complicate it? And for those that haven’t had the pleasure, what can punters expect from a Chali 2na show?
Lyrical acrobatics for one, songs, if you’ve ever heard anything that I’ve done you’ll get to actually see it live. We come from the era where being clever meant everything, we come from the era where your show speaks louder than anything you may say out your mouth in an interview, so for me, I like to entertain.

You’ll see a plethora of the different genres of music that I’ve touched, with the school of hip hop, education that I have [laughs] so to speak, right? Also, it spans my career, it’s also like a masterclass, but it’s a celebration of hip hop.

Well, I think something you’ll find a lot of us Darwin crowd doing is hitting the dancefloor, and your tunes lend themselves to that. Any plans while you’re in town?
You know, I’m not certain if we have a day off the day before or after, but if we do, I’ll be there for two days … Usually I would try to link up with the local graffiti artist and do something, so if you know someone?

I do. I know the person, I’ll put you in touch. And you gotta try a laksa and visit a crocodile while you’re here, too!
Are you serious? Okay. [laughs] I will be bringing my camera, that’s the stuff!

Charli 2na
WHEN TUE 10 SEP | 7-11PM
AT BUSTARD TOWN
COST $35
INFO bustardtown.com

^{Header & Thumbnail: Photo: Jorge Sevilla}