Meet Chicocurlyhead: The Teen Shaking Up Hip-Hop With His Panama-Meets-Atlanta Flow
Panamanian-American singer Chicocurlyhead is impacting both the hip-hop and Latin music worlds with his unique flow. He was born in Panama and grew up in Atlanta, so he proudly represents both sides in his music. That bicultural swagger comes through in his new music video for “Dame Más de Ti.” In an interview with Latido Music, Chicocurlyhead talked about staying true to himself in his music and his latest hits.
Chicocurlyhead first generated buzz with his Spanish freestyle “Adorarte.”
Chicocurlyhead first made an impact with his very first recording in the studio. After following some friends to the studio, they encouraged him to hit the booth where the 17-year-old spit the freestyle “Adorarate.” That was his first taste of singing in Spanish.
“I dropped that song on Soundcloud 30 minutes after I made it and the next day I already had 1,000 plays,” Chicocurlyhead tells mitú. “That’s how I started making music.”
With “Plata,” Chicocurly embraced his Spanglish flow that’s putting him on the map.
In 2019, Chicocurlyhead started to blend the influences of his Atlanta upbringing with his roots in the Panama. Like Cardi B, who embraces both her cultures in her music, he’s following suit. His first bilingual release was “La Plata.”
“I’m half,” Chicocurlyhead says. “My father, he’s American. My mom, she’s from Panama. I was born in Panama. When I got here [Atlanta], I was like, ‘This is me.’ I want my music to represent me as an artist and where I come from and the cultures I’ve been around. It’s the perfect mix.”
Chicocurlyhead lives up to his name with his head full of curls. He’s proudly Afro-Latino in his music that can seamlessly fit on both Anglo hip-hop and Latin playlists.
“To a lot of people, I might look Black,” Chicocurlyhead adds. “To a lot of people, I might look mixed. To a lot of people, I might look Hispanic. It doesn’t matter because it all matches together for me. [It’s] my culture, my music, and my style.”
Chicocurlyhead is starting to blow up thanks to his latest hit “Modelo.”
While in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicocurlyhead spent his time in the recording studio with his producer. They recorded a trio of singles that he started dropping in 2021. The second release “Modelo” is the one that’s starting to blow up.
“That was my first time being played on the radio,” Chicocurlyhead says. “I got love for the platforms on both sides. For example in Spotify, I got added to Radar US Latin and then I got added to the Radar US playlist. It’s like a perfect balance I would say to both cultures.”
“Dame Más de Ti” is the perfect example of Chicocurlyhead’s bicultural sound.
“Dame Más de Ti” is the latest release in that trilogy. Now that Chicocurlyhead won over the girl in “Modelo,” he’s a smooth operator in keeping her by his side in Spanglish. His dream collaborations reflect his bicultural sound, ranging from Travis Scott, Post Malone, and SZA to J Balvin and Sech. Chicocurlyhead promises that there’s more music on the way.
“My goal is to inspire people and to give people hope,” he says. “If someone like me is able to do it and work their way up, then you can do it. Just be yourself without caring what people think. At the end of the day people just want what’s real.”
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