Rapper CHAII can't believe she's clocked the most Tūī nominations
The Persian-Kiwi has earned five nominations at this year's Aotearoa Music Awards which she says is "crazy".
With whip-smart lyrics, intricate layering and heart-thumping rhythm, Persian-Kiwi CHAII has been turning heads for the last five years.
On Tuesday she was named as the most nominated artist in this year's Aotearoa Music Awards alongside Stan Walker.
CHAII earned nominations for Album of the Year and Best Producer thanks to her first full-length album Safar. She is nominated for Single of the Year for 'We Be Killing It' and Best Video Content for her self-directed music video ‘Nights Likes This.’ She is also up for Best Electronic Artist.
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Her music blends rap and hip hop with her Persian roots.
CHAII, whose offstage name is Mona Senai, went full time with her own music in 2019 after many years behind the scenes in the industry, she told RNZ’s Nine to Noon.
“I think it was at like the 10 year mark, I was like, OK how long am I gonna put my music second and put other projects first? I love working on other people's projects, but I said, this is my chance to do my stuff now.
“And I wrapped up everything I was working on and started going full time with my music, and within a few months things started happening."
Her EP Lightswitch was her first release as CHAII in 2020.
“And one of the songs off there just took off on Facebook, of all places. And from there, there was just a lot of eyes on me and the project."
From there “everything aligned,” she said, and major label interest followed.
“BMG was like, we love what you're doing, we don't want anything of that to change. You've got such a specific sound and we want to be there for you for years and years ahead.
“And that's something rare from global labels to hear.”
Her first full-length album Safar, released last year, mines her Persian musical heritage more deeply than her previous work, she said.
Her husband Frank Keys, with whom she co-produced the album, “just nailed it in the head” she said.
“It blends slowly, slowly through the album. It becomes more and more Persian. So, the songs, whether it's instrumentally, whether it's lyrically, whether the language slips into there and it just switches up.”
CHAII with her husband and co-producer Frank Keys.
EVAN XIAO
She was amazed at the number of AMA nominations she received.
“I was honestly expecting zero nominations. Me and Frank both were not expecting any. So to go from not expecting any to this - it's crazy.”
