A.CHAL | |
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Background information | |
Alejandro Salazar | |
Alejandro Chal | |
Born | Peru |
Genres | |
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2011 | |
Labels | Gazi World, Epic |
Website | Official website |
Alejandro Chal (better known by his stage name A.CHAL)[1][2] is a Peruvian singer-songwriter and producer.[3][4] He released his first EP, Ballroom Riots, in 2013.[4][5] His debut studio album, Welcome to GAZI, was self-released in June 2016.[4][6] His single, "Round Whippin'", was premiered by Zane Lowe in 2015.[5][6] He has performed at the Day N Nite Fest.[1][2][4]Pigeons & Planes named him one of the best new artists in 2015.[7]
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.[3] 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.[1]
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.[1][3] He then spent two years out of the public spotlight before beginning to release a variety of singles in 2015.[1][5] 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.[5][6][8] As a result of this publicity, A.CHAL was named one of Pigeons & Planes best new artists of 2015.[7] He also performed at the Interview Magazine event during Coachella that year.[1][2]
In February 2015, he released the single "GAZI", which he co-produced with Count Justice.[1] In September 2015, A.CHAL released another a single, "Vibe W/U", which was first publicized by A$AP Rocky on Twitter.[5][6][8] In 2016, A.CHAL performed at the Day N Nite Fest.[4] He also released a few more singles before self-releasing his debut studio album, Welcome to GAZI, in June 2016.[3][6] He has since premiered the official music video for "Round Whippin'" with Complex.com[9] and been featured on tracks by Ro James,[10] Stwo,[11] and Tess.[12]
In March, 2018, A.CHAL signed with Epic Records.[13]
A.CHAL's music generally fits into the hip hop and R&B genres. USA Today has described his music as falling somewhere "in the negative space between Hip-Hop, R&B, chillwave, and pop music."[8] A.CHAL himself has described his music's genre as soul.[3] His sound has also been characterized as "sedated", "hazy", and "almost-psychedelic".[1][7][14]Remezcla has called his voice "sultry, sparse, and desperate".[1]
Lyrically, he largely discusses anecdotal experiences. Writing about his 2016 album Welcome to GAZI, Jules Muir of Pigeons & Planes noted that A.CHAL attempts to cut "to the core of many of society's ills and triumphs by tapping into a deep well of personal experiences and anecdotes."[5]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
US | US R&B/HH |
US Rap | ||
Welcome to Gazi |
|
-- | -- | -- |
On Gaz |
|
-- | -- | -- |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US R&B Airplay [15] |
US Rap Airplay [16] |
US Rhythm. [17] | |||||||||||
"Round Whippin'" | 2016 | -- | -- | -- | Welcome to Gazi | ||||||||
"To the Light'" | 2017 | -- | -- | -- | On Gaz | ||||||||
"Matrix" | -- | -- | -- | ||||||||||
"Love N Hennessy" (solo or featuring 2 Chainz and Nicky Jam) |
50 | 24 | 20 | ||||||||||
"Perdóname" | -- | -- | -- | ||||||||||
"Cuánto" (featuring A$AP Nast) |
-- | -- | -- | ||||||||||
"--" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ARG [18] |
ECU [19] |
MEX [20] |
URU [21] | ||||||||||
"No Promises" (Youth Is Dead featuring A.Chal) |
2014 | -- | -- | -- | -- | Non-album single | |||||||
"Out at Night" (Stwo featuring A.Chal) |
2016 | -- | -- | -- | -- | D.T.S.N.T. | |||||||
"Endlessly" (Tess featuring A.Chal) |
-- | -- | -- | -- | Tess | ||||||||
"Primavera" (Soso and Hansaa featuring A.Chal) |
2017 | -- | -- | -- | -- | Non-album single | |||||||
"No Te Pegas" (C.Tangana featuring A.Chal) |
2018 | -- | -- | -- | -- | TBA | |||||||
"100 Grados" (Lali featuring A.Chal) |
19 | 53 | 38 | 8 | Brava | ||||||||
"--" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |