Chazn

Testimony A Musician's Story - Testimony

Chanz shares his Christian testimony. Chazn talks about being bullied by gangs and learning martial arts to defend himself. He talks extensively about his family’s non-profit Elijaha’s Heart, and how a movie starring Michal Ealy was made about his dad, and the importance of learning social media algorithms.

*The transcription of any lyrics and some of the interview content may not be entirely accurate. *

[00:00:00.060] - Gaelika
In this episode of Testimony: A Musician's Story presented by Sound Seekers, I talk to the multifaceted artist Chazn. Now Chazn shares his Christian testimony. He talks about being bullied by gangs as a kid. And I'm not talking about just like, oh, like he was bullied to the point of learning martial arts to defend himself and get himself out of life or death situations and how all of that brought him even closer to God. He talks extensively about his family's nonprofit, Elijah's Heart. Now, Elijah's Heart is a huge nonprofit in Nashville. They give food to people. We're not talking about a meal or two. They're giving two weeks, months worth of food to people they're apparently one of the largest organizations in the U.S. that does it. There was also a movie starring Michael Ealy about his father who created the nonprofit. He also talks about the importance of learning social media algorithms. This kid is a sponge and has learned everything there is to know about social media and has really worked it to his advantage. I am Gaelika Brown and this is Sound Seekers presents Testimony: A Musician's Story.

[00:01:26.830] - Gaelika
All right, well, let's go ahead and start with your first music memory.

[00:01:33.930] - Chazn My first music memory,

[00:01:35.620] - Gaelika
yes, there'll be a song, a music video, the first performance you saw was the first thing that you remember when it comes to music.

[00:01:44.930] - Chazn
Honestly, I remember I believe I remember old Kirk Franklin song my parents loved Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond and those gospel legends back in the early 90s and and. When I was two, my grandmother put me on stage and, yeah, they said they will always say that I would jibber jabber the words to songs, couldn't even really talk as good as they said hot because I was I was born in January. So by the time I was six months, it was hot. So they say I said "hot." But but the cool thing about it is I just love they just they always said I had that just that spark that that spirit of worship, you know, on stage. So so, yeah, when I was two, that was probably my. Yeah, I was other than hearing music and loving it at an early age, I remember being on stage, two.

[00:02:56.840] - Gaelika
And do you even remember what you did? Did you were you sing along to another song?

[00:03:02.130] - Chazn
Yeah. Yeah, I was. I was pretty much I can remember the song because I was to, but I have picked they they they have pictures of me on stage at church, in church and I did a couple of songs. That's really all I can remember really. But they have to get that picture because I get asked that a lot.

[00:03:29.700] - Gaelika
You definitely have to get that picture and then recreate it. Yeah,

[00:03:38.240]
Yeah, that's gonna be cold. I must do that.

[00:03:40.730] - Gaelika
And so where were you born and raised at?

[00:03:45.140] - Chazn
Well, I grew up here in Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee. I'm still here and, you know, we just this city's been growing when it comes to music. It's expanded exponentially on other genres other than just country. We we're one of the largest, if not the Christian music capital of the United States.

[00:04:15.740] - Gaelika

OK, almost CCMA music.

[00:04:20.300] - Chazn
Yeah, but we that's know the RMG guys live here. And, you know, my boys.

[00:04:31.010] - Gaelika
Is nobigdyl. Out there as well?

[00:04:32.630] - Chazn
I think nobigdyl. is out here. They Zante just moved out here, you know, Cannon's out here. Derek Minor is out here. So, yeah. So much of much of just a bunch of music out here our nickname is Music City. So we just grew up here and grew up in music. If I wasn't doing something in the play that my dad wrote or, you know, my my mom and dad were professional musicians. So my mom was a professional keyboard player. My dad's a professional saxophonist and he actually won and he was the first African-American. To win sex, I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was he he did it. He won alto and soprano saxophone and I think it was in college. He was the first African-American to do both. And, you know, they were when I was a kid, that's what they were doing. They were they were just ripping the world. They would play like 14, 14 churches a week.

[00:05:50.470] - Gaelika
So they were musicians but it was all in the Christian or gospel world?

[00:05:57.460] - Chazn
Yeah, my dad, he would get invited out to all types of clubs and different types of venues, but he would always say the Lord would put a roadblock in the way you're like, yeah, I would love to go, you know, play a little make a buck and make some extra money. And something would always happe.

[00:06:25.930] - Gaelika
And so did you also grow up in the church?

[00:06:32.230] - Chazn
Pretty much grew up in the church, and my dad actually got filled with the spirit when I was about seven, when I was about. I don't know about five, five to seven. He was, you know, learning the bugs is learning more about them. He grew up in the church too, but didn't know that it was more of a religion, you know. So I do remember just always being in church.So.Yeah,

[00:06:57.420] - Gaelika
OK, so. And you have any siblings?

[00:07:00.740] - Chazn
I do. I'm the oldest of eight. Yeah. I was the. I was papa bear when dad was gone.

[00:07:11.630] - Gaelika
So you grew up in a Christian household, two parent Christian household with parents as musicians. And were you guys, like, constantly in the church or was it just a Sunday thing?

[00:07:26.030] - Chazn
Well, due to music. It was kind of a constant thing because of selection of music. My dad knew, you know, obviously as a kid growing up, he didn't want his his kids listening to profanity and talking about drugs and sex and stuff like that, an early age. So gospel started really booming in the 90s. And so we just listened to gospel and, you know, it started to get new started coming out. And, you know, The Commission, I think was with Marvin Sapp and Fred Hammond like they started really booming and that my pops. He loved it. He would always play practice with the music, with the saxophone. So, yeah, pretty much a constant being in the church because of really music.

[00:08:26.670] - Gaelika
All right. And when did it connect with you, when did you personally get filled with the spirit?

[00:08:35.970] - Chazn
Well, I like to say two times because I got saved when I was seven. But. Obviously, no. When I was seven, I was a kid. I mean, so you go through that rebellious phase, you go through that teenage phrase, you know, you want to do what you want to do or you get influenced outside the house because I actually got. When I was about 10 concrete years first hit the double digits, we moved into the hood because my dad had a kidney transplant and he actually only has one kidney working. He has three kidneys to fail. The one that saved his life. Wow. My dad. Yeah, he has he actually has a movie called Unconditional about his true life story played by Michael Ealy. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,

[00:09:41.260] - Gaelika
Did that come out like a while ago? I think I remember that.

[00:09:48.450] - Chazn
Yeah, that's that's my pops. His name is Papa Joe Bradford, and yeah, he has a is true life story is called Unconditional. You can watch it on YouTube. It's free. But Michael Ealy played my dad and he did an excellent job. Pretty much everything you see when it comes to my dad. It's true in The Real Story.

[00:10:15.830] - Gaelika
How did he what about his story, um, you know, spawned, like a movie to be made about it?

[00:10:24.200] - Chazn
Well, what that tells the story or the producer and the director, millionaire guys sat him down at lunch because we actually have a nonprofit called Elijah's Heart. And I've been doing that for 17 years since I was 10 years when we moved into the hood. I'll get to that story in a minute. We started actually giving back in the hood while we were in the hood. We had no means they even give because my dad had to get on disability and his kidneys failed and could work. So we lived in the hood. $88bA month was the rent, you know what I mean? But to get back to the story, what sparked it was those guys, the director and the the producer of the movie there are like. We want to make a movie about you as my dad, he tells a story eating a burger, and he takes a bite of the burger, juicy, greasy burger. And he and when they said, I want to make a movie about the life story here, he always says the grease stops. He takes to bite, the grwase comes down. But the grease stop. I want to make a movie about you. So that's kind of what happened. The guys respect, you know, just our love for other people, especially our own people in our own backyard. We we partner with a lot of people. We're actually the largest door-To-Door giveaway and possibly the nation. But we know in the south region, we get similar trucks, loads of food, and we give anywhere from two weeks to a month's worth of food to eat home. And the biggest thing this year is feeding ten thousand homes three times this year here in Nashville.

[00:12:36.590] - Gaelika
It's more than just a meal or something for the day. Two weeks or a month. Yeah, yeah. That's crazy.

[00:12:43.970] - Chazn
Exactly. We give them groceries. We haven't called the Walk of Love and we have we, we have churches and artists and pastors and not other non-profits. We just partnered with everybody. My dad met the CEO of Wal-Mart like he knows the CEO of Wal-Mart and Walmart helps us in and you know. Feed the Children helps us and One Gen Away helps them

[00:13:12.290] - Gaelika Don'to get hurt.

[00:13:14.550] - Chazn
Uh,Oh, let me take this down (gutiar falls off the wall). But yeah, so that's kind of what sparked the movie. Just people seeing our work. And now we're just at a level where we can defeat our goal is to feed ten thousand homes at a time. We're going to get about really anybody to come out here in Nashville. You come out obviously is free. You just give it back to the community. We walk door to door. It's called walk. That's what sparked the movie.

[00:13:52.290] - Gaelika
It's called The Walk of Love? So Elijah's Heart is a nonprofit, but the Walk of Love is the actual, like food giveaway?

[00:14:02.490] - Chazn
Yes. The event that we do here. And we're going to have a celebration tied with their called. We're going to have what we call a spring jam. Summer jam in a fall jam there. I'll be performing and a bunch of other local artists and Christian artists will be performing to. also we get kids off the street and teach them how to worship and teach them how to pray and teach them how to dance and sing. And we have a performance. Have you heard of Rocket Town here in Nashville? Sure. It's a well known venue here. And what we do is we we have a big show and these kids get to actually be on stage all free of cost. We just we just want to keep them out of trouble and give them an outlet to spread their wings and get into music and figure out if they really liked it or not. If they do, we welcome the welcome movement. And we do dance. We do drama and we do sing.

[00:15:12.900] - Gaelika
And that's amazing, man. Right on. So, OK, but let's get back to how you actually gave your life to Christ.

[00:15:24.060] - Chazn
Yeah. Yeah. So so, yeah, when I was seven, I was. I felt. I felt, Jesus, I didn't know what it was, and I was like, what is this feeling? And then I would see my mom praying or whatever the emotion or whatever, and then just break down in tears or whatever, like, mom, why are you sad? She's like, no, I'm happy. Tears of joy, you know? I'm like, I want that. And then I go to church and I see people will get healed or I'll see people have a miracle happen. It's like, I like that, too, you know? And then I found out it was Jesus Holy Spirit, you know, and just learned more about God. I was like, I don't want him in my heart. So that's what happened when I was seven with my mom basically walked me through this in his prayer. And and and we figured out I mean, I figured out that Holy Spirit feels amazing so early age. So when I was a teenager, I moved into the hood. Like I was saying, we that's where the contrast were different, because towards that end of the old house that we were at before, my dad had to go on disability. I don't know about three year period where I was really like, yeah, I love Jesus and then we can go into consecration, which basically just fasting from a bunch of, like, stuff we we don't just want in our house, just stuff that just doesn't sit well with our heart, you know what I mean? Fasted from that type of stuff, just trying to get closer to God, learn more about God, you know, daily devotionals, worship it and all that good stuff. And we move the same with the same mindset. And now I'm Hood. And at that time it was the number one were the number that was number one in murder rating . And and there were shootouts on the streets, down Bloods, Crips, G's everywhere. And as soon as I go outside. It's a it's a huge contrast of obviously Christian Jesus all this good stuff to leave the house, step out the door, everybody's cursing, prostitution and all types of stuff, that as a teen, as a 10 year old, I have never seen before.

[00:18:09.800] - Gaelika Yeah. Yeah.

[00:18:11.120] - Chazn
Ah, again, the new guy. I'm trying to fit it in now. I'm finding out the streets as a whole society and you've got to survive, you know what I mean? They just chew you up. And I was always the shortest guy, so I had to fend for myself a lot. Yeah. I've been, I've been, I've been jump multiple times, been attacked with knives. I've been held at gunpoint. I almost got jumped by about 40 dudes. Long story short, his brother is one of the head honchos of the Bloods. Tried to, you know, his his his little brother. We were playing football, just backyard football. It's little teenagers. And long story short, he comes out, I'm sorry one of my earpods almost came out a long, long story short, he got mad at me. I gave him a good little hit playing football. So tackle football. So I hit him and I'm like, get tackled. He fumbles. I get the touchdown. We're have the kids Rush versus me. And he's twelve at the time. I'm ten or eleven. He tries to beat me up. And at that time I was learning martial arts. So at that time I was, you know, YouTube was just getting big. So so teaching myself these online courses. OK, so.

Yeah. So long story short, he didn't win, next thing you know, the streets talk. So I'm hearing so-and-so is looking for you so so looking for you. And I find out this kid's sixteen and I'm like eleven.ten. Eleven, you know what I mean? And this sixteen year old has been you know, he's been drugged and he's been in the game for a minute. So he's got a bunch of goons and I run into him and it's forty dudes. So long stories. And one of them is a nineteen year old kid that literally played in the NFL. And so that was, that was so not to get into more detail. I don't know how I would keep it PG. Oh my God. Got me out of that.

[00:20:39.320]
You can go more detailed. Don' need to keep it PG, because I don't know how your little behind got out of that situation. The Youtube martial art skills that you did, like what?

[00:20:52.790] - Chazn
OK, ok. So OK. So what happened was my dad. So we live we live on the hill and the housing bubble at the bottom of this hill and and we were at the top of the hill and in the street, kind of went up and wrapped around, kind of like a country like this. So I'm at the bottom of the hill and I have my house is way at the top, probably like 16 houses up. And I see all these dudes rushing like like like like me, like .So I'm playing football, having fun as kids and the blood starts coming over and I'm like, oh Lord, what is this? And then I recognized that he was he was kind of like in the front, but his brother was in front of him. Now before this, I ran into the brother, the oldest brother. He was like, Oh, we'll get you. I'm like, I don't want to I don't want no problems. Your brother kind of attacked me, you know, and he was like, I don't want to hit it. I'm will get you. But then I find that I see him again. We're playing basketball. I'll be his team at basketball three times. He's pissed I leave before we get into a fight. Yeah, well, this time he finds out we're playing football again. They're rushing at me and I'm like, oh, lord. So my my I got most of my dudes on my team. Left me.

[00:22:31.280] I'm Sure you.

[00:22:34.640] - Chazn
But I only have like five dudes with me. And I tell two of my friends, no, we'll give my dad a run. And so they take off, they go get my dad again. It's like sixteen houses up by that time there. I don't know. I would just say about fifteen hundred yards away, all the newsroom. And I'm like just backing up, take it easy. You know, I just, you know, just nice and easy, nice and calm doing what they was trained me to do. Just diffusion. Yeah. I don't want to fight all these. Plus, I'm shorter than most of them, you know, so, you know, just chilling out. I see two dudes go. So we're on the back of the house. So these are the houses and this is the back of the house. Two dudes went around the houses to to get behind.

[00:23:35.600] - Gaelika Wow.

[00:23:36.860] - Gaelika
So, so next. So long story short, this is a really long story. So long story short, I'm backing up and I feel this huge do like a wall. Just stop me from walking. I'm like, what in the world? And I turn around. I swear he was about six four, 19 year old, 19 year old grown teenager like where you going? Oh, my goodness. And I just instinct in this area is they I took his knee out, he falls and I trip him in the process and all the dudes are like. Whoa. So they start getting up. Mommy, get up on me more. I'm like, no, no, no, stop, stop, stop. Every time I feel somebody, I take them down really quick and I'm like, come on, don't look at me. Are you taking them down? Every time someone come at me, I'm just get out the way. Yeah. I don't want to fight. I don't want to fight. You know, I remember looking back to see where my dad was coming. And I remember I turned and turned away just briefly, I turned back around, I see they're all in my face again. I'm like, Oh, Lord. So long story short, this this is 30 minutes. Just trying not to just avoid getting jumped. Yeah. My dad, my dad, I hear footsteps and hollering and my dad's rushing full speed in his car and I just see all the kids is like, oh,

[00:25:12.780] - Gaelika So your dad is Fat Albert?

[00:25:19.310] - Chazn
He's not Fat Albert he's he's he's five, six, seven, you know, a buck 50, you know, I'm saying. But he has a very big voice. So you just see everyone like, what the heck, who's that? And I feel like because they're kids. Because they're teenagers, that father figure, that grown man coming down full speed. Kind of like deterred everything. Now, mind you, I'm prayin. Now,

[00:25:48.950] - Gaelika of course,

[00:25:49.730] - Chazn
I'm one hundred percent praying. lord, where my angels at, I love you God. where's my protection? Jesus, please cover me and get me out of this situation. So my dad comes down for some reason. They stop attacking me and they're just like they just leave. My dad's like my dad, you know, obviously, he's like leave my son alone. back up, call the police. Although I know mostly because at that time we were again, we were getting kids off the streets, no feeding people. We were we were teaching that we were starting to really a street choir almost called Unity Choir. So my dad knew most of their moms and dads. So he's like, I know most of your moms and dads, you know, but you know what I mean? And then they just leave. And and and and we'll get home and my dad says like I'm proud of you, son, you know, whatever. But but to to wrap this up. That's that's what I had to deal with from going from Christian, you know, trying to be good, trying to learn love, trying to learn unity, humility, purity, all of these traits of Jesus as soon as I step out the door.

[00:27:19.740] - Gaelika Yeah.

[00:27:20.850] - Gaelika
Gangbanging, you know, saying, you know, everything, just drugs, all it. So wrestling with that, my flesh was like, this is cool. Just just dabble in this and dabble in that. And then, you know what I mean. And long story short. Ta ta ta ta. That I learned how to wrestle with my sin and wrestle and come back to Jesus like when I fall. I learn it's not the end of the world. At that time, the church was kind of like evolving to what it is today at that time, early 2000s. It was more so if you sin you are going to hell or you got to repent and hope you don't go to hell. So I'm thinking, oh, man, I might be going to hell now. Jesus I need I need I need you to be. And just learning more about grace will about rgace, not works, I'm saying Jesus came down and took all the burden on his back. He took all that beating for our sins. He died for our sins. You know what I mean? And learning that I'm already forgiven. And that is a relationship, not a religion, is we're not we're really not trying to, you know, oh, no, we like when we messed up. Look at all. No, God, no. He's going to get me. It's more like you don't want to hurt his feelings. It's about the heart. You know what I mean? I had to learn that as a young boy, because even though I didn't really dabble into many, much drugs, you. Sexual activity is what I did dabble in, and I'm talking about a very early age kids younger than me and who dabbling in sexual activities, all types of crazy stories about their fathers and their mothers and molestation and stuff like that. And it really hurt my heart to really think about it now. But but just being a product of your environment, it's
normal. It's normal in those in those environments, you know, to me. So when we moved out of the hood, finally, I still had that resiting. I mean, so so just finding Jesus within. Really hardwire. I like the way you people. Why are you looking at me like people are wired the race the a way my parents and my parents, they have excellent parents. I kept so much from our parents when we have because I'm an adult now. So we have talks like talks like this all the time. Why would you want to do that? And I just kept so much because I knew my parents loved me so much that I didn't want to endanger them because I was friends with drug lords and friends with with kingpins and stuff like that. And I did some jobs for new, you know what I mean? And in you know, just if I would get threatened all the time, if you tell anybody to go kill your friend. We know where you live. You say we know you know me, so as a teenager, kid is just you're not telling your parents. So let's say they come for your parents, you know what I mean? But Jesus kept me through all of that, and no one can tell me God got a room. I've been held at gunpoint many times and literally blacked out and everybody's on the ground. I'm like, God is too real. You can't tell me. I tell people this. Tell everybody is too real to even be questioned, you know? Yeah, that's. So to answer your question, I know pretty well, but that's kind of how I found

Jesus and to to really hit the hit. Hit the nail in the coffin. What really got me out of that, no lust of the eyes of the flesh was my daughter. My I got I had I had my girlfriend at the time, not my girlfriend at the time, pregnant. And we had been wrestling, you know, I know I've known her since I was ten. And at the time I was like 18 or 17 like that. And in and long story short, we were like, OK, we're going to get right with God. We're going to focus on Jesus, be better people, you know what I mean? And we would do that. But then because of us not really letting people know what was going on. Excuse me, and the church shunning away so much of our feelings, so we didn't know at the time, but we were meant for each other, like I'm. Obviously, I'm married to the mother of my daughter and now we have five kids. Yeah, you know what I mean? But at that time. I really I strongly believe if we were taught right, certain things would happen. But again, I don't regret anything because God has a plan.He has a master plan.

[00:33:41.890] - Gaelika
But when you say being taugh right word, what do you mean in regards to being taught right?

[00:33:47.470] - Chazn
I believe that we were taught. Yeah, I believe if we were taught, you know, it's not the end of the world if you fail and sex is a good thing if it's done properly, because the biggest thing as a young boy, as a young teenager and growing up and trying to be a man, trying to learn what it means to be a man, a good man, God, I have these hormones. I have these drives. I have I want I want a partner. But I don't know I don't know where to I don't know what to do with that. Yeah. So the church is like just bottle it up. Look, we're going to talk about it now is a lot better. But back then it was like the bottling up. We talk about it and then it's like you bottled up so much it's going to explode eventually, you know what I mean? And and and I really and again, I was I was wild as a teenager not knowing what to do. But when it came to came to my girlfriend at that time, my wife now, she was always special and I always came back to her. So if I learned that, you know, we just need a court. We need to do this, Godlee, we there's there's ways we can actually you can actually be in love with her, be whole, you know what I mean? And that's what I didn't learn. And again, I was afraid of my parents again, which I don't. I want everyone to know that just just just just you need it. You need to let people know something. You don't need to keep it in yourself. If you go and do something, tell fatherly figure a motherly figure tell an OGsget the word out and say, get some counseling. You know what I mean? Because because again, me bottling up my feelings and stuff like that, just trying to really figure it out myself didn't work.

[00:35:59.510]
I mean it never does.

[00:36:00.030] - Gaelika
That's why I needed Jesus. And I never does or does. So you failed and God birthed a huge gift because God used that failure to change my life, because, again, I was I was a fool. I was a harlot so I was just, you know, didn't know again, didn't know what to do with my feelings and stuff like that. I didn't know what to do with these hormones. And the church saying this is bad, they're bad. But when I do act out my feelings, it feels good as well as pleasure, blah, blah, blah. I don't understand why are they saying this is bad when it feels good? But then I get this conviction like, oh, this does feel bad, you know what I mean? Like whenever something does get too far. Oh wow man this does feel bad. So I was just confused and God used my daughter to start a full blown 180 turn turn to swear to Christ. I was like, first and foremost, I'm not going to be like my friends and some of my my homies in the hood who get somebody pregnant and leave or get somebody pregnant. It's like I can handle it. Oh, no, I'm just not going to do with it, you know? I mean, I just never I never understood that. I mean, I never understood that. And I didn't want to be that guy. I wanted to be a good father. I wanted to be I had a good example. My dad didn't have a good example. So he wanted to be a good father. And his dad left him on Christmas Day.

[00:37:43.370] - Gaelika Oh, my God.

[00:37:45.260] - Chazn
I told my dad. See you at Christmas is a sad story, my dad, he waited as a kid for a long time thinking

that his dad, he waited till Christmas, didn't see them, then he kept waiting after Christmas. And it's just those type of stories. It's like, I'm not going to be that guy. I will be the best father I can be. And before I married, my wife and my daughter was born born. I was I was I was over there house all the time. You know, I took care of my daughter. I tried my best to be if I could be there, I was there, you know, even though, you know, at the time, God didn't say she was my wife. So long story short, Guy comes to me and says, this is your wife. And God uses that whole transformation to really just spark a strong foundation of purity and humility and how to be a really Godly man. You know what I mean, so when I do fail, I know I have a foundation to fall back on.

[00:38:57.300] - Gaelika
OK, so you end up marrying her. So basically during the pregnancy is pretty much when you gave your life to God and as an adult.

[00:39:08.370] - Chazn Yeah.

[00:39:09.630] - Gaelika
You guys get married and you end up having five kids total. You come from eight. Are you trying to get to eight. Are you good with five.

[00:39:19.420] - Chazn
Honestly, I have four boys again. I have a guy changed my life with my daughter. Since then I have four kings and honestly, I want another little girl. I'm a sucker for babies. I have I just have a son. And his name is Dariusz Joshua. And he's he's little. He's in my heart. I don't know if you can hear him crying now, but he's he's tiny little baby. And I love babies. I mean, so I don't have a number. Again, I don't like to put a cap on or something like that God should have the control over. So yeah. I don't. Yeah. I don't know.

[00:40:02.310] - Gaelika
And how would you say God's presence looks like in your life personally outside of music.

[00:40:09.430] - Chazn
That's good. I would say ever present because as a martial artist. We're taught to be one with whatever for our goal is, and my goal is to be closer to God every day. So if that's my goal. I need to become one with God. I need to be one with the Holy Spirit. You know what I mean? I need to be in unity. In my union is holy. I'm in holy matrimony. So that union is one under God. So we're all one. So I would say that is ever present in my current life.

[00:40:56.480] - Gaelika
And have you since gone to an actual dojo non YouTube, Dugal, where you learned all your martial arts?

[00:41:10.130] - Chazn
Yes. Yes. So eventually I did I did go I attended a bunch of schools, actually ended with this school called the Elite Meet Martial Arts, but this was called martial arts or something like that. But they had a bunch of martial arts in there, basically in the my school mixed martial arts school. And we did we did grappling with the striking. We did take down self-defense weapons training. We learn Krav Maga, taekwondo, kickboxing, morti, jujitsu, judo, all that stuff. So I've got a Blackburne actually have ten black belts. I'm a martial arts fanatic right now and bunch of gold medals, bunch of world tournaments and championships and with a lot of the beat, a lot of famous UFC fighters, militant fighters in these tournaments. So yeah, I actually teach now.

[00:42:13.400] - Gaelika
So, OK, you got a lot going on. So how did you get started into music?

[00:42:23.690] - Chazn
Again, so I grew up in music. I come from a huge music family, even when we get together now, the

old heads of our family are like, let's sing. So even even a lot of people in my generation who don't know how to sing, who don't want to sing, have to see it is a family thing. So I got into music again at an early age, but I got serious. I was 10 again when I moved into the hood. We didn't have much. So my parents actually had a couple of music softwares. And at the time they had the software called Fruity Loops, which is called F.L. Studios now. Yeah, yeah. You know, I'm talking about now. So yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I've had I had Fruit Loops three like that, like one of the earliest. Oh this one's on an old computer. But what we can afford video games and I might have had the say Genesis. But you know, as a kid growing up, we didn't have we didn't have cable, we only had local channels. So again, not having much music was always there. So I got serious when I was 10 and I had my first professional gig for tea and started interning around 14 15 in the studio.

[00:44:03.440] - Gaelika
So you started off producing then?

[00:44:07.340] - Chazn
Yeah, actually. Well, technically, no. When I was a kid, I had the music theory, you know, classically trained. I played keyboards, I learned early age 10, I learned drums 12. I picked up the guitar and 16, I picked up the bass, OK? And and every now and then I'll dibble and dabble with just where the instruments like, you know, woodwind brass, just random stuff. But my primary guitar, keyboard, bass I'm looking at right now, I'm sorry but in OK, so again I started to get serious almost 10 miles by the age of 14. It was like, OK, I can actually make money off this. I could actually make a living. I don't have to have a nine to five. I will have to do a job I don't really love just to make just to get by, really. I mean, so. Yeah, there's no question.

[00:45:15.770] - Gaelika
So and then does that mean you were pretty much always making Christian music to grow. I'm sorry. What were you always making Christian music then.

[00:45:27.770] - Chazn
Oh pretty much. Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. Always with the focus of honoring God and worshiping him and everything you do, even if you're not saying Jesus, you're you're honoring him and everything you do. And by honoring him, you don't want to do something that he doesn't like and and then say, you know, this is I don't believe you should do something that God don't like. And they say, God, this is for you, that don't that don't make sense to me. You know, it's good to thank God. But I'd be like this to you guys. I love I love all these drugs and so on. And, you know, I was tempted, obviously, to go cycling multiple times. I've had multiple DUIs just laid. Here you go. You can if you if you do if you do this, then you done it. It's like it's like you really you really like giving away a lot of rights, given away a lot of your heart, a lot of your soul just to, you know, be on a contract that is to be on the label or be secular, really to be high, you know. So yeah.

[00:46:53.420] - Gaelika
And I mean, your social media game is like on point and marketing like where? Is that all you do you have a team like how does this come about?

[00:47:07.830] - Chazn
It's all it's all me. I literally I'm a research nut. I research all the time. And a lot of people view me as a sponge and call me a sponge, because for the law, ever since I was a kid, I love to learn, but it has to be something that I love in school. I didn't really I wasn't. I was really good at things, I love the school, but I like, say, English, for instance. I know English. I know how to talk. I'm not going to be teaching English. So I don't feel if I don't feel like doing it is like an am I? But when it comes to learning, I love to learn. So I've done so much research and marketing and and social media in all the outlets and all of the different algorithms and stuff like that. And I'm learning more and willing to learn more. Yeah, I view myself as a sponge. I don't believe you can learn too much, you know what I mean? And to flip that to the Christian Christian scope, I don't I don't believe you can be too close to God, you know. I mean, I don't feel like you ever made because because heaven is when you made heaven is the holy of holies. That's when you're literally one hundred percent God's presence. Only you would think of physical bodies. Can you handle God's presence? You know what I mean?

[00:48:44.540] - Gaelika You can't look at him, so.

[00:48:46.760] - Chazn
Yeah, you know what I mean. So. So yeah. So. Yeah, so basically, what was the question? It was all about the social media and marketing. I mean, this part is basically just a sponge

[00:49:06.330] - Gaelika
as an artist, as an independent artist. How important is it to learn the social media, marketing and algorithms and things are constantly changing, but how important is it to stay on it?

[00:49:19.710] - Chazn
It is actually very important. And again, as an independent artist is all about marketing. It is all about networking and connecting and knowing the right people sometimes. Honestly, because you can be. The best person in the world, but if no one always do, they see a talent. So if you're independent, you have to go out and reach out. And, you know, I feel like my approach is love. I come with love first. Everybody knows me, knows I come with love first. And and I don't even come with you. All this work on me, I come as rose in God organically has is like do a song or has me work or mix somebody or produce somebody or just put some guitar licks on someone's song or something like that then, then that's that, that feels more natural to me. Again, I've been on tours with some of the biggest artists in the industry or I'm friends with most of the biggest hearts in this industry. I don't ever name drop. And just like so I don't I just like kind of just organically or make things happen, you know what I mean? I feel like he tried too hard. We're kind of putting yourself in the way of God's plan. Yeah, I feel like we can easily just take over and try to be God and just take over. You know what I mean? I'm will make it happen. I'm a I'm a do me, you know. I mean. Yeah, exactly. And it's a fine line of waiting on guy and moving on what God wants you to do. And that's what I've been learning as a as a grown man, as, as a father, as a as a mentor to a lot of kids and teenagers and stuff just just growing and just being a sponge and just always learning with the social media. I just find little tricks. Like, again, I have multiple out. A lot of my social media friends aren't aren't just music. It's it's martial arts people. It's people from my Largent's heart background, a lot of people that we've helped, a lot of people that see me locally. I've been actually doing shows locally long before I actually release music. I kind of did it the opposite way, but I didn't feel like just because I don't have music now. She stopped me from ministering in person, you know what I mean? If I can change one life with one of my songs or one of my one of my, you know, just just music, period, and I feel like my goal is accomplished. You know what I mean? I feel like God put me on this earth to inspire the music. And and I don't care if one person hears a care of a million people. I mean, I'm a I'm a I'm a rock out for Jesus. And hopefully if you work with the music that we rock together

[00:53:01.430] - Gaelika
and you have a song coming out, "Fight" with Zay Hill. Let's talk about that song that you have coming out.

[00:53:11.960] - Chazn
Yeah. So that's another bro's from social media that we just we have a bunch of mutual friends and some that kind of happened organically. You know, I was you know, I had just finished my album, which was released in January, the first solo album I've ever done. And he was he like some of the he liked the music and he was going on the album. OK, so. Yeah. Show Love, it's all platforms. So you want to and again, it's not just, you know, hip hop. I even have a hip hop worship song. That is where I literally just pour out, you know, my my heart and soul. And so I know a lot of singing, a lot of rap too, you know, so that's all. But they feel like they're you know, he was rocking with the music. We have a lot of mutual friends again, and we just we like still a song, let's do some music for whatever. And that's what we did pretty much the most, really, all the music. And he gave me a verse and it's coming out March twenty sixth and I'm excited. I might even tie in a sparring match where I actually fight like a professional fighter or amateur fighter, because the song is called Fight and it's in the goal is to fight to win this. It's one of those songs that's that's a never give up song, you know what I mean? Especially now that, you know, we're literally still in the pandemic and it's literally been a year of being

in pandemic rules, you know what I mean? And and people are down and out. And again, I just feel like God uses God wants to use me and obviously does other people, too. But my goal is to inspire people to learn music. So it's a Bangar, but it also has a message to, you know, and the message is to fight to the end. Don't quit. No matter what's going on around you. There's always light in the tunnel, you know what I mean?

[00:55:42.250] - Gaelika
And then you have Spar, which is your brand name.

[00:55:47.320] - Chazn
Yeah, so, yeah, I just I literally just started that and it's in the words I kind of just put a little little teaser and hopefully I will get a bunch of what you got a bunch of people with me and we're going to start shooting out, merge and doing a bunch of promo vids and we're going to really get the ball rolling this year. So, I mean, do you want to tell us more about what exactly sparked is what's the brand, what it all encompasses? Well, yeah, it's it's. Sparks fly, the goal behind for, again, I'm a martial artist, and it is kind of the Musong fight where we were, this a group is to call explanations or whatever, but it is a group of anomalies that in just something, an outlet that people can tie to if you tie yourself to it or feel connected to it. Where? We're literally sparring in life in an respiring, we're wrestling with certain things, we all wrestle with our own things, and the goal is to inspire people through whatever their hardships or whatever their you know, people are dying and left to right from covid and other things. And I've lost I recently just lost my grandmother, my dad's mom. So around around my birthday, I actually had COVID I couldn't even go to the funeral. So it was tough. And then I actually. I believe God gives me these songs and God actually inspires me to my own music, I know that I don't want to sound for anything like that, but when I when I listen back to what I believe God gives me to help other people actually helps me, too. And, you know, I. I'm not trying to get anybody else to tie themselves to that, I'm not myself to do that to me. I'm not a hypocrite. I I believe in everything that I'm teaching me. That's pretty much "Spar", you know. All right.

[00:58:26.380] - Gaelika
I'm sorry. My grandma is she's actually here. Hold on. OK, what I'm trying to do this interview is trying it like 15 more minutes, OK? I'm sorry, hold on right there, you good? Grandma, I'm trying to do this interview 15 more minutes, OK? OK, I'll put on your Westerns, OK? Was.

[00:59:14.580] - Mother Brown
You got my Western. We've got a wide open. This screen looks so funny. Wyatt Earp look a little dot with my glasses you got. Why why you look so darl Wyatt. What's wrong with this TV? But what's wrong with this? Hello,

[00:59:40.270] - Chazn
I on a horse. I'm on a horse.

[00:59:44.270] - Mother Brown
You show is a funny looking Wyatt Earp. And why are who is your child?

[00:59:50.740] - Chazn
My name is Chaz mam. And Mr. Chad. My name is. I just forgot. I just forgot my cowboy hat.

[01:00:00.010] - Mother Brown
Oh, OK, Chad. And what what are you doing? Talking to my grandbaby, huh? , man, what are you doing, talking to my grandbaby, who who is you will see

[01:00:12.590] - Chazn
I'm sorry, ma'am, I'm I'm a I'm a music artist that loves Jesus.

[01:00:17.400] - Mother Brown
Oh, you love Jesus. You loved aloud. OK, OK. And you make music. What music you make?

[01:00:23.550] - Chazn
I make inspirational music, hip hop, no worship, whatever you like with

[01:00:28.860] - Mother Brown
hip hop.What? I mean, I got my hip replaced a few years back. I can't stop don't can't hot with this hip. I mean I don't, I don't understand what. What is this hip hop.

[01:00:42.820] - Chazn
Well, it was kind of like the number one is this is just the number one genre right now.

[01:00:52.540] - Mother Brown
that's that that that rap stuff. OK, yet we used to call it skatin. Your poll, you want to come up with new names for old stuff, but it was just scan, you know, it was good news, also good news. Now, I don't know, a lot of skat. Never said I could scan. I was about the hymns, the hymnals. No one you can can you do a little scary, skinny, skinny schatzker for me.

[01:01:27.520] - Chazn
Oh, look, I have some news. Well, let's go to the debate, as long as you skatin for the lord is skatin for the Lord?

[01:01:40.930] - Chazn
Oh, yes. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.

[01:01:42.700] - Mother Brown
Are you OK? Yes, that's that's all am man. And so you can put it on and and you telling other people about the Lord, you ain't just holding the Lord and for yourself.

[01:01:53.740] - Chazn Yes. All right.

[01:01:57.070] - Mother Brown
I don't know what's what's going on with my grandmother. What what is her name, you you've got a game like game like let me get Gaelic a back up on hand put on my Westerner's for real.

[01:02:10.130] - Chazn Nice to meet you.

[01:02:11.830] - Mother Brown You too baby.

[01:02:13.660] - Chazn All right. You be blessed.

[01:02:23.830] - Gaelika Sorry about that,

[01:02:26.250] - Chazn
your grandma was awesome

[01:02:28.880] - Gaelika
you know, she's a she's a funny lady, knows a lord well,

[01:02:35.530] - Chazn
and that's good.t hat's good.

[01:02:39.880] - Gaelika
So how would you say God's presence looks like in your life musically?

[01:02:48.410] - Chazn
Ah. I always find I always believe that there can be room for improvement, so if I were to rate it, I would say above eight or nine, I would never give myself a 10. But my goal is to be a 10. My goal is to, you know, every song I do, somebody has an attachment. Someone has feels basically captures what I want them to hear, what I want them to connect with.And even if you don't believe in God, I want you to at least feel them. I want you to feel Jesus in my music to where you're like, OK, I don't believe in God, but what about feeling even me that leaving me that door like, yo, I could let you know what you're feeling if you want to. If you want to hear you want to listen, that that thing you're feeling is kind of the Holy Spirit. And we worship we're bringing down the kingdom of heaven. You want to talk more about it? We can talk more about it. You know what I mean? So that's that's my goal. So I would say about a nine seven nine.

[01:04:03.150] - Gaelika
And now that you've gone through this whole interview, who would you like to see me interview?

[01:04:11.180] - Chazn
Oh. I mean, you interviewed a lot of people, I would like you to see it, but did you interview them? Well, I guess you did interview Canon.

[01:04:26.200] - Gaelika
And it's been a while. Do need to do another recent Cannon. But I have.

[01:04:32.290] - Chazn
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You usually just chopped off his hair. You couldn't he couldn't keep up with bro. He couldn't keep up. So you got to top it off. But I don't know. I mean. I mean. I'm trying to think of someone that will answer their phone.

[01:05:09.920] - Chazn
have done Dereck Minor yet? A

[01:05:11.950] - Gaelika
long time ago. And I kind of need to do like an RMG refresh. I did Byron Juan last year, OK? But like all the Dereck Miners and the Cannons, it's been a while.

[01:05:27.150] - Chazn
Yeah. OK, what about. Well, I mean, John, Keith you doing, John Keith, I did I go, I go. Well. I know somebody probably not knowing his name is Aaron Dews.

[01:05:52.180] - Gaelika
I haven't done anything, you know what, I actually tried reaching out to him and I have not heard anything with these artists.

[01:06:00.730] - Chazn
I'm sorry. I try to be I try to be set apart. I try set because no, nobody was the phone. I got a lot of numbers that they don't answer and then maybe hit me up. No chance where you were. And I'm like, I see this. They I'm sorry, but I've tried to be set apart. I, I appreciate.

[01:06:23.860] - Gaelika
But I won't I will take your suggestions and jus I will try even harder. You recommended. Will you actually answer.

[01:06:36.670] - Chazn
Come on, come on, come on. Get Aaron over here. He's good. He's funny too so you know there.

[01:06:46.240] - Gaelika
Is he out in your area in Nashville.

[01:06:50.110] - Chazn
Yeah he's out here with the covid. I've been trying to link up with him but covid in lack of communication. Maybe he's working too as well as me. But he's out here. He's out here in Nashville to just try and grow his brand. And, you know, him and his dad. Guess I'm going on. It's pretty cool, like a studio gig or something like that. But, you know, he's posted on it. But there seems to be pretty good audiences. He's funny may. He's he's got a good story. All right.

[01:07:25.720] - Gaelika
Well, I thank you for taking the time to sit down and talk with me.

[01:07:30.280] - Chazn
Thank you. Thank you for having me. And also, your grandmother is even more awesome.

[01:07:37.240] - Gaelika
Thank you for allowing me to play with that, trying something new so you're the first person I tried that with

[01:07:45.310] - Chazn a I'm number one.

[01:07:47.410] - Gaelika
Yeah. You seem like I love the comedy and I can experiment with that, so.

[01:07:52.840] - Chazn
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. For show. For show. I love come and I come from a play background. My dad wrote plays like I told you.

[01:08:00.490] - Gaelika That's right at the top.

[01:08:03.280] - Chazn
OK, yeah we do, we do a whole bunch of comedy stuff and then eventually I do want to dibble that way and it's impacting on down the road.

[01:08:18.700] - Gaelika
Hey, what's up? Thank you. Thank you for listening to the show. Thank you for watching the show, however you consumers. Thank you. Please subscribe to the show and if you really enjoy the content, please leave a review. It really does help with the ranking of the show. And if you want to go an extra mile, share the show, share this episode. And for all things, testimony, visit testimonystoreies.com until next time. I'm Galika Brown, the music lover, constantly seeking positive music.