Courtesy: The Brandon Gonez YouTube channel
Juno Award-winning artist Keshia Chanté sat down with Brandon Gonez and had a deep dive conversation about what it was like growing up in the music industry at such a young age, her hometown, working with Bow Wow, friendship with Drake and ghostwriting for other artists.
Growing up in the music industry
Keshia Chanté started working in the music industry at 13-years-old and was signed to a major label. Her first music video, Bad Boy, was released in 2004 and since then she has released record hits like, Been Gone, Shooting Star, and Table Dancer – just to name a few. “We were getting added to radio stations that didn’t play R&B, networks that weren’t interested in R&B either and it just started to move from there,” she said. She also explained there were obstacles being an artist at a young age and getting her name out, but thanked the DJ community for playing her music.
“So, I’m just so grateful that happened and if it weren’t for the Canadian industry wrapping their arms around me I wouldn’t have a career still 22 years later,” Chanté said.
Hometown from Ottawa to Toronto
Chanté pays homage to The 6ix because she says there would be no Keshia Chanté without Toronto.
“I identify with Toronto. I always say Toronto is where I’m from. I say that not to disrespect Ottawa cause they gave me so many morals and values that I hold to this day and it’s a great place to grow up, but Toronto had so much culture and it made me feel like I belonged somewhere,” she said.
The artist continued by sharing her high school experience growing up in Brampton, Ontario and said, “It was nice being in Brampton because there were so many people that looked like me in Brampton and it was nice to go from people that looked like me only in my family to a school which is like bare people from every island and I was like ‘Wow I love it here,’ I felt so like home!”
Bow Wow hazed Keshia
Chanté and Bow Wow began hosting BET’s 106 & Park in 2013. However, Chanté said Bow hazed her at the start. She says the feud started when she was 16 and says Bow wanted her to be his lead girl for his music video, Shortie Like Mine. But things took a turn when he asked Chanté if she’d like to come by his hotel and she responded no. The R&B artist says, “The day of, I show up. Bow Wow (has a) trailer, Chris Brown has a trailer, Angela Simmons has a trailer, Keshia Chanté has a trailer and I’m like ‘OK.’ So, I go into my trailer, my team shows up, ‘We have bad news, Bow doesn’t want you to be the lead girl of Shortie Like Mine anymore. He brought in Angela Simmons.’”
Years later the two came back together to host 106 & Park. She says he wasn’t happy to be working with her.
“When I walk into his dressing room and he saw it was me he was mad as hell. He didn’t even acknowledge me and I was like damn this is going to be really hard.”
She goes on to say they did a few test runs of the show and he kept “hazing” her. They finally settled beef once she says Drake came on the show to announce Chanté would be the new host for 106 & Park. Since their hosting days, Chanté said he’s her homie, she loves him and they’re still friends till this day.
Drake and Keshia’s friendship
Chanté says Drake and her go way back. She says they’re both from Toronto, only children, bi-racial, both upcoming stars and considered him her first industry friend. Chanté reflects on their conversations, witty emails he used to send to her and always knew he would be successful.
“I always believed in him to the level that it is, I love it but I think for me he’s still Aubrey to me at the end of the day,” Chanté said.
She goes on to say, she’s very protective over him and that she’s had experiences with people trying to take advantage of their close ties but says it never slid with her.
Unreleased music and ghostwriting tea
Gonez asked Chanté if she would ever go back to the studio and she responded yes. She went on to explain the amount of music she has made but has not been released. Not only is the Canadian R&B artist creating her own music but she also spilled the tea on her behind the scenes contribution to music.
“You’d be surprised the people that have me come into the studio session. I’ve ghostwritten for different artists; rappers, singers, yeah, I love it, it’s so much fun.”
Gonez then jokingly asked Chanté if a petition needs to start for her to release her music and she agreed.
The “Does He Love Me” artist, embodies the motto, never stop, never settle with her several successful endeavours, including singing, TV hosting, founding her haircare line Kair and so much more.
To view more hot topics discussed between Gonez and Chanté head over to The Brandon Gonez Show YouTube page and check out the full episode here.
