I'd rather be busy, working non-stop, than being bored at home, you know?
Chanel West Coast
Just growing up and maturing has made my music so much better.
I'm a girl, and I like girly things even though I'm a tomboy also, you know?
I just wanted to express myself and put out music of how I'm feeling - give back to my fans and gain new ones in the process.
You just gotta be yourself and don't hold anything back just because you're a woman.
I've been on shows that are very comedic and happy, and you really only get to see one side of my personality. They're not shows about my life or my music, or my struggle or anything like that. They're shows where you pretty much see me laughing and smiling all the time.
I'm really excited about 'Love & Hip Hop.'
You don't ever have to feel pushed into anything.
These people that watch our MTV shows, they're not music fans. They're people that are lazy on their couch and want to watch funny videos or whatever.
When I first started rapping, I was like, 'I'm gonna be, like, the female Eminem.'
I've been on MTV for so many years. They're so stupid and, like, disrespectful and rude.
I feel like the red-headed stepchild of Young Money.
It's hard being a woman in the hip-hop game, but I'm lucky to have good people around me who have had my back.
I think hip-hop doesn't give women as much of a chance as it gives guys.
I write all my own raps myself, 100 percent. And it feels good to be able to say that.
You can have opinions, but it doesn't mean they're right.
Music is what I do pretty much all the time. I'm always in the studio. I'm always rehearsing for shows. Always doing shows.
I don't think a lot of people know what a real artist I am. I don't think they know I write my own music.
I don't just rap - I sing and I dance as well.
I would say Tupac influenced me the most to start rapping, but as far as a female icon that I've looked up to since I was six or seven is definitely Gwen Stefani.
My real, full name is Chelsea Chanel Dudley. In my opinion, Chelsea Dudley does not sound like a rapper. So I was like, 'You know what? Imma drop both of those names and just go by Chanel.'
I grew up listening to a lot of rap music. My dad's a DJ from Brooklyn, and he's a very soulful guy, so he always spun a lot of hip-hop, and that's where I get a lot of my hip-hop influence.
I'm trying to do different music, and I'm trying to be out of the box.
From Snoop, I've learned quite a bit. I learned that sometimes I need to keep my mouth shut. It's a long story, but definitely to sometimes keep my mouth shut. I also learned to always ignore the haters.
Many artists feel resistance on the way up.
I'm just - like, I'm just very over the whole superficial life and world we live in.
I think the only way to get attention is to act like a complete ignorant fool.
When I was, like, 8/9, I was obsessed with Jonathon Taylor Thomas and the band Hanson.
I've never been on a dating app, so I don't really know the difference between swiping left or right, LOL.
I know what it's like to have guys make you feel like you need to flirt with them or be sexy or hook up with them or something, and you don't have to do those things. You just have to be strong and stand your ground.
It's hard being a woman in this industry, period. A lot of the time, guys make you feel like you need to hook up with them - especially as an artist - producers and other artists trying to collaborate with them, they make you kinda feel sometimes you need to hook up with them or flirt with them just to make a song.
I've been pursuing music since I was 14.
It's not easy to go from reality TV to being taken seriously as an artist, so I don't think I'll be doing reality TV again because of that.
I always wrote poems when I was a little girl, and I loved hip hop music, and I kind of just started writing poems over beats, and that's when I started rapping.
I remember I rapped for a friend, and my friend really encouraged me and was blown away, like 'Whoa, that was dope!' Ever since then, I kept going.
I always say that I want to be like 2Pac. If I were to die tomorrow, I want to know that I have enough music to put out for my fans for years to come.
My biggest influence is Tupac. He was a poet, and listening to Tupac is what inspired me to start rapping.
Coachella is a melting pot of cultures, vibes, style, and, of course, music. I look forward to it every year.
Honestly, the biggest setback to my music career was people's perception that I was a reality TV star, not a rapper.
