Shining brightly with his exceptional thematic flavors, Kansas City rapper JAntho CHO has created a powerful impression in the global hip hop community with his gritty conscious rap numbers. He has recently dropped a supremely enigmatic and exhilarating rap number called ‘Ego Death’ rich in a versatile rhythmic pattern that breathes life into his blissfully gritty rap delivery.
The music video of the track amplifies the impact of the lyrical articulacy bringing forth his power-packed performance. Well, we got an opportunity to sit down with JAntho CHO for a chat to get to know about his unconventional thematic approach in detail.
He revealed exciting information about his works and his upcoming projects:
Hello JAntho CHO! Thank you so much for letting us do this interview with you and congratulations on the success of your exceptional music video on YouTube.
Q: So tell us a few things about yourself?
Ans: My name is JAntho CHO, I am a recording artist from Kansas City, MO. My birthday is October 24 which I call “CHO Day.” I’m an enigma, multi-talented, and very passionate. I’m a Scorpio, which is the sign of sex, death, & transformation.
Q: What is the subject matter of the song ‘Ego Death’?
Ans: The subject of Ego Death is just that, having an ego death, a complete loss of subjective self-identity. Shedding your ego, shedding of the material, the psychical, to be able to embrace, & grow in the spiritual & metaphysical.
Q: What is the inspiration behind the soundtrack?
Ans: I made DMT (dimethyltryptamine) in 2016, wanting to find answers to life and trying to widen my spiritual knowledge and further my journey to help build upon my “CHO Movement.” When I took it, it was an immediate outer body experience, I had an ego death. It took me to realms and dimensions I couldn’t even fathom. It showed me a lot about myself and about the world in all totality that changed me forever. Because I’m the sign of sex, death, and transformation, the latter two play a big role as I’m able to connect with the spirit world and have developed ESP strongly since starting my journey. Also being that in order to be reborn, or become new, you have to “die” or shed your old self or old ways to become new or be reborn. I have three levels of transformation, Scorpio, Eagle, & Phoenix. Rising from my ashes, being the reborn Phoenix who has had this massive ego death, has shed his other two forms to reach his full complete being.
Q: What message do the song and the music video convey to the listeners?
Ans: The message in this song imbues a young man in his vulnerability as he reflects on a few moments and situations from his life that has been brought to life in his ego death. I believe a lot of people have questions about who they are, what their purpose is here on this earth, or where their life is going, & may even fear thinking about or asking themselves these things. Most people aren’t aware of the many forces and energies that factor in to life and the duality in all things.
Q: How do you imbibe spirituality into your music?
Ans: I actively study and carry out spiritual practices. The work I do spiritually helps evoke my music being that’s what it’s mostly centered around. It’s like me making my own mantras or chants I can either use in my spiritual work or something I can simply meditate to.
Q: How your music distinguishes from the works of other contemporary artists?
Ans: The music I make is unique. It’s very lucid & psychedelic. It’s revealing too on many levels being I’m bringing to light a way that, from start, how psychedelics can provoke questions of self exploration, to how can one use psychedelics to better their lives, to how how does psychedelics and spirituality correlate? To our purpose on this earth and beyond, to why it’s imperative to know thyself & know how to maneuver in this world. To psychology and the correlation between psychology and spirituality, to the correlation between psychology and psychedelics. I pull from so many aspects that have deeper correlation between themselves in these metaphysical aspects and bring them together to view them as one.
Q: When did you first start your musical journey?
Ans: I first started my music journey being so young and in love with music from the instrumentation, to writing it, to performing. I taught myself piano at a young age and in 5th grade began playing percussion in my school band. From then to right before I got into high school I became so knowledgeable and influenced by that experience and learning the foundations of music began writing music myself. When i got into high school, my freshman year I recorded my first song and it grew from there. I eventually became so well known in my school and city, that I started connecting with producers out of state and country that made beats that I liked and built relationships from there. Around that time is when I started taking psychedelics and the rest is history.
Q: Which musical forms influence your soundscape the most?
Ans: Definitely the instrumentation. My mind is complex and always running so I like various sounds, weird, trippy, sounds. I have many layers to me so what catches my attention most is the feeling a beat gives me which tells me how to create within that. I have synesthesia so it definitely plays big into how I create music.
Q: Which artists have inspired you to create music?
Ans: I first got inspired to make music by Lil Wayne. As I studied hip-hop so young I took interest in 50 Cent as well & JAY-Z, Biggie & Pac. When I started making music and first started trying to figure out my artistry in high school I started listening to Kendrick Lamar before he blew up & he’s been one of my biggest influences and inspirations. When I started taking psychedelics and becoming more developed in my artistry is when I started listening to Chance the Rapper, Tyler the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, Joey Bada$$, & Mick Jenkins. They really helped me understanding life, in many forms of spiritual aspects and real life shit I was going through at the time, they really helped me get through a lot.
Q: Can you explain what CHO Music is in detail?
Ans: CHO Music is my sound, it’s my influence. From a music standpoint, I mix rap/trap, r&b, blues, jazz, rock, with psychedelic, and it’s very unusual. Sometimes it’s dark, sometimes it’s uptempo, inspirational, and sometimes it’s all one and it’s in your face. You can’t escape it. It consumes you. It becomes you. From a subject standpoint it’s psychedelics, mixed with spirtual matters, mixed with real life, stuff that people relate to, stuff that goes on daily, to universal matters, to history, black history, from a black business owner’s standpoint. To relationships, to psychology to how everything works together in this universe and pokes at questions and thoughts of human life, who we really are and where we come from and are going.
Q: Are you working independently or with any production house or recording label?
Ans: I am independent, I own my own record label “Cloud Committee Entertainment.” I am also signed under management and partnered with a company called “Guerrilla Guild Media Group.”
Q: Are you working on any project right now and what can we expect from you in the future?
Ans: Currently I am working on a few different projects and ventures. I recently released my debut album “CHOLo” with my friend and producer D-Lo the Doctor who produced the entire album, we’re in the midst of completing our deluxe version of the album soon. Since it is my birth month I have this theme called “oCHOber” which highlights a whole month I dedicate to my fans and my music. Aside from the deluxe CHOLo album I also have a project in the works it is my sequel tape “Cloud 180 2” as I have released “Cloud 180” in 2017 and have grown and developed since, I am bringing forth new ideas and topics I started to uncover in Cloud 180. I am also working on my upcoming studio album as well. I’m working on my own merch which we are starting up as we speak.
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