Chandlers’ Next Chapter: A Farewell, But Not a Goodbye
The artist blends serious bars and comedic routines. In advance of Chandler’s RVA Send Off show, he shares his next moves and what Richmond means to him.
By E. Jackson
I first heard about Chandler sometime last year when I stumbled across one of his TikTok videos. You can’t miss him—red beard, usually rocking a beanie or a hat that says, “Don’t ask me how I did it. I just did it. It was hard.”
The first time I saw him perform was at The Camel, and I was instantly drawn to his energy. Straight up—he’s just a cool ass dude who actually got bars. So when he announced departure from Richmond and “Chandler’s RVA Send Off,” I knew we had to sit down for a conversation.
Setting up the interview was a bit of a whirlwind. After some back and forth on the location, we finally landed on Happy Hour at Oak & Apple. We had originally picked a pretty dope Mexican spot, but it turned out they were closed on Wednesdays.
When I met Chandler, I was nervous. I hadn’t had much time to prepare, but I figured those nerves would fuel the conversation like a bat out of hell.
“Do you want to do the photos before or after?” I asked.
“Either. It doesn’t matter,” he said.
Chandler is chill. Seemingly quiet, but exudes confidence that makes you feel comfortable. So I opted for after — I figured we’d loosen up and get to know each other first. We chatted about The Richmond Seen and what we’re trying to do, and he was all in. Enthusiastic. Encouraging. He felt a paper like this was needed.
After our server, Taylor, set us up with some drinks, we started the conversation. It was 3:09 p.m.
At some point, hunger kicked in, and we ordered wings and sliders—both were fire. Chandler didn’t hesitate to dig in, and some of our best shots from the day have him mid-bite, fully enjoying the food. If you haven’t been to Oak & Apple yet, consider Chandler your “wing-man.
The Richmond Seen: So how did you do it?
Chandler: [Laughs] Don’t ask me that bro. I just did it. It was hard.
The Richmond Seen: You really put your foot to the gas as a rapper 3 or 4 years ago.
Chandler: Rap was the first thing I did way back, but as Chandler, I think I put my first song out a little over 4 years ago – but I mean, I’ve been rapping since I was a kid in the 757.
TRS: I feel like you’re a comedian first. It shows through your music. How do those two correlate in your music?
C: I like to think of myself as a rapper who is funny, not just a funny rapper. You know what I mean? Because I take it very seriously. And I think anyone who knows me well—who has seen the work I put in and the collaborations I’ve done—would tell you that I really know the genre. I consume a ton of it. If you look at any playlist I have, it’s 90–95% hip-hop.
TRS: Yeah, you’re not just a funny rapper. You got bars.
C: Exactly. I think there are funny rappers who are just funny but don’t necessarily have the skill to put words together and make a good bar. That’s not me. That’s just how I see myself.
“This is the BIGGEST venue and stage we’ve had together, and I have every INTENTION of making it the BIGGEST show yet in every way.”
TRS: Let’s talk about Richmond. How did you get start performing and recording as Chandler? Was there someone who pushed you to get in the studio and record a song?
C: It was an amalgamation of things. Like I said, I was in New York for 18 months, and when COVID hit, it changed everything. I never stopped rapping, even when I was in a band in college, doing plays and musicals, and working on sketch comedy. Rap was always inside me. I just had to figure out how to get it out in an authentic way.
When COVID hit, I was locked in my room for months, except for my roommates.I went on Sweetwater, bought a mic, pop filter, stand, audio interface—everything I needed.
Then, as time went on and things got a little better, I started thinking about moving back to Richmond because COVID was hitting us hard. I knew Lunch—he was friends with my sister—and I knew he was rapping down here. I had some friends in New York still in the scene, so my first songs were all collaborations. I needed help from close friends to get this off the ground and bounce ideas around.
It took about ten months to actually release the music, and then another ten months for people outside my friends to really notice and say, “Oh, he’s actually doing this.”
TRS: How was growing up influential to your music career?
C: I always point to this one moment—it started when I went to Hilton Elementary for a year. It was a magnet school, and part of the program was that if you got into art or choir, you had to do them. Everyone had to audition for something. I ended up in show choir, and I was like, “Wait a minute. I’m kind of good at this.” I was in fourth grade thinking, “Oh, shit!” That’s when I really started recognizing that music was something for me.
That experience in public school really started shaping me, pulling something out of me. I still spend a ton of time down there because I have friends in the area. One of my producers lives there—he’s one of my best friends. When I was in high school, I’d go down there for things like Hampton Teen Center, TV 47. They used to do ciphers in the Sunken Garden at William & Mary.
Everything is an amalgamation, you know? Life in general—it’s about taking all these little bits and pieces from different experiences to shape where you are today. Every day, I feel like I’m winning because I’ve taken everything from my past to make it right for today. But that’s a hard mindset to maintain sometimes.
Smoked Chicken Wings dipped in Blue at Oak & Happy during Happy Hour
TRS: You mentioned moving around a lot as a kid. How were your parents influential in your journey? If they had been more restrictive, maybe you wouldn’t be the Chandler you are today.
C: Music was always in the household. I grew up at a time when channels like CMT, VH1, and MTV actually played music videos in the mornings. That was always on before school. If it wasn’t that, it was WBTV before Pokémon came on.
My parents had a big influence on me in terms of exposure to music, but they weren’t musicians. I didn’t have any immediate family who did music, theater, or comedy. I was definitely the first to pursue it in any real, not-passive way. It made sense because of the household I grew up in, but it was still a shock to people that I had this potential.
TRS: I love that. I wish I knew you when I was a kid. It’s all about the people you meet along the way.
C: Exactly. I got lucky with some friends at a young age who had similar interests. And honestly, growing up in the 757, the famous people from that area are often Hip-Hop and R&B artists. The people you hear about—Timbaland, Missy Elliott, The Clipse, Pusha T—they all came from there.
As I got older, I started to appreciate that lineage more. Seeing those artists succeed, knowing they came from my area, made the dream feel real. It made me think, “Oh, this is something I could actually do.”
TRS: Let’s shift gears and talk about what’s coming up for you. You’ve got a big show on February 22nd. Where’s that happening?
C: At The Broadberry.
TRS: What can people look forward to with that show and the collaborations?
C: I think the most exciting thing that you can feel in the room at a Chandler show is this familiar feeling. Everybody’s having fun. Nobody’s there because it’s a good idea to be there. Everybody is there because they wanna be there and they genuinely have love and appreciation for music. You can feel it in the room.
“Every day, I feel like I’m WINNING because I’ve taken EVERYTHING from my PAST to make it right for TODAY.”
So, I think that’s the most appealing thing about the shows. But past that, if you are a fan of the music—of any of our music—it’s extremely elevated because these are extremely fire live performers.
It’s gonna be nothing but love on that stage.
TRS: So who’s on the bill?
C: Tough Luck’s gonna get up there and spin. If you’ve seen Tough Luck spin, he always curates the best vibe. Then we got Zuri – obviously, as good as any rapper—if not better—in this fucking city. And after Zuri, we got Kaay, then TMA. OZ—who is, you know—if you haven’t seen OZ, he’ll just blow your fucking mind. The first time I ever played with him was at that Camel show. Blew my fucking mind.
And then, of course, the homie that—if he ain’t on the bill, he’s there — Lunch $pecial.
TRS: Def excited to attend this show! Richmond has a strong underground scene. How has that helped your growth in the last three years?
C: Well, I’ll tell you the biggest thing is that—and I love it—nobody gives a fuck about these viral moments. You know what I mean? And I always, wherever I’m at, want to feel a part of the music scene, you know what I mean? I never try to separate this internet motion from the scene. I’m gonna utilize this to help the scene, not keep them separate.
So, I mean, it’s been crucial for me because if I can’t have that, like I said, familial, communal feeling, it almost feels pointless to me. Like, what the fuck—I would’ve been spinning tires if I hadn’t been welcomed back with open arms. I’m forever grateful, because now I feel like I have the confidence I need to be able to take the next step. Hopefully create a kind of pipeline to further up north and be able to bring some of the people that I’ve worked with down here, out there, and vice versa.
I want it to feel like this ever-revolving door.
TRS: So, New York—are you going there to do music?
C: I think it’ll be beneficial for the music. That’s definitely one of the main reasons. But I’ve got a partner as well who is trying to go back and extend her career further. So again, an amalgamation of everything.
TRS: Everything in our past leads us to where we are now.
C: Yea, for sure. I’m definitely at a place in my life where I’m trying to make very intentional decisions.
TRS: I’m not gonna keep you too long, but I do wanna know who your favorite MC is, just in general. I don’t wanna know about Richmond. I ain’t trying to start anything.
C: Smino. But I’ve been bumping Doechii crazy. I was watching the Grammys, and I was like, I am so glad they did not fuck this up because there was a clear answer there. Smino has just been my guy for a long time. I think I discovered him in probably 2018, shortly after blkswn came out. I just think he’s super good and underappreciated, honestly.
I’m going to see him in June, I think. In Philly.
TRS: I’ll be up there in June – I gotta go see Kendrick.
C: [Laughs] Dude, I bought too many tickets to too many fucking things. You know, it’s the season where everybody starts announcing tours and stuff. I should’ve fucking known he was gonna do something I actually saw Kendrick in 2013 after good kid, m.A.A.d city for $25.
TRS: That is crazy.
C: Yeah, he was playing at William & Mary, and Big Boi opened for him from OutKast!
TRS: That’s legit.
C: He was just a dude who had a great album at the time. good kid, m.A.A.d city is one of the best albums in my opinion, but when we saw him, it was just him and a DJ with a TDE sticker. No extra lights, just the rig lights. He played his hits—”Backseat Freestyle,” “Swimming Pools”—but in between, you could tell some people didn’t fully know him yet.
TRS: That’s crazy.
C: Yeah, at the time, he was just getting big.
TRS: If this is your sendoff show, what’s the message you want to leave to Richmond? To the artists, the creators?
C: Keep going. I think we have built up so much momentum, and when I say “we,” I mean the whole city. It feels like an unstoppable force. I’m not stopping. Richmond, Virginia—that’s always gonna be a part of my thing. I never want to see this music scene go backward. I feel like this could be one of the biggest music scenes in the world. It’s already nationally recognized across different genres.
TRS: That’s real. Are there any artists in Richmond you still hope to collaborate with?
C: Yeah, I mean, all of the people on the bill, obviously. I have songs in the vault with Cain, with Ducttape Jesus. We’re all in and out of the studio all the time. If someone from Richmond hits me up to collaborate – it goes to the top of my priority list because that’s what it’s about—pushing the scene forward.
TRS: I feel like this show is gonna be the start of a next wave in the music scene.
C: Yeah, every month, it’s just been building and building. And now, we have this show with phenomenal artists. After this, people are gonna be like, “What’s the next show? How do we top this?”
TRS: Yeah, it’s such a diverse group of MCs and musicians. It’s gonna be hard to top.
C: They’ll do it, though. They always do. I’m just excited. It’s agony waiting for the show to get here. This is the biggest venue and stage we’ve had together, and I have every intention of making it the biggest show yet in every way.
TRS: As we close out, is there anything else you want to leave the people with?
C: I love Richmond. And I hope they always know that. I have a lot of new music coming—I don’t know when this will run, but I have three songs dropping in February, and we’re already working on more.
Chandler’s RVA Send Off witht he family happens on Feb. 22, 2025 and tickets are available to purchase here.
