Chanel West Coast Speaks About Her Music Inspiration

On why she sometimes writes her tunes, Chanel said, "I wanted to make a song that expressed my true inner feelings at the time… Wanted people to see that even people with money and nice things aren't always happy." Music has always been personal to the America's Sweetheart singer, so she uses it as an outlet for expressing her emotions.

When she wrote The Middle, she'd recently lost her mother and the lyrics helped with "being aware of where you are in life right now and not feeling perfect all the time."

Chanel's first single Dance On My Own credits Canadian singer-songwriter Darryl James and Swedish producer Dragan Roganovic. Chanel, who started her music career back in 2009, wrote the first track on her debut album Actin' Different with Finatik, Zac, and Midian Mathers. In The Clouds was co-written by Rich Skillz, while underground ISM and Douglass "Dougie" Ford joined in writing 40 Yard Dash.

Keep scrolling to find out what she said about her music style and her inspirations in the industry.

Chanel insists she doesn't fit into a genre, unlike most mainstream artists. Think Doja Cat instead of Megan Thee Stallion because she said, "I don't really have a genre of music that I like more than another one." True to her words, Chanel's albums and mixtapes combine rapping with other ventures and genres like trap, pop, and vlogging.

Her musical inspirations are Tupac and Lil Wayne, whom she worked withfor a short period at the beginning of her career. Chanel also cited Gwen Stefani as an influence for her singing style is so different from others in her era.

Last month, Chanel released a new single with fellow artist Lil Nicky called Time and Space. In the song, she explored a unique sound by singing with autotune. Before its release, she urged her fans to pre-save the song on streaming platforms after thanking them for the undying support over the years. Chanel then performed the song during her Rolling Loud set in the same month. She's also been taking to her social media to promote the song, including using it for a 2021 wrap up video.