URBAN NEWS WAREHOUSE PRESENTS TO YOU "CHELS"

Name? Chelsey Banks
Hometown? New Orleans, LA
Alias? Chels

What was your influence for you to start rapping? like some rappers had it rough growing up some people just needed a new hobby, and some just wanted to stay out of trouble...what is your story?

Believe it or not, [Lil] Romeo and [Lil] Bow Wow. Those two were poppin at the time I was coming up. I was nine years old when I first heard of them both and at that age was when I made up my mind that I wanted to rap. Just the fact that they were so young inspired me. They always made me feel like 'i can do it too.' My goal was to lift people up with my music. That was always that main thing. As I got older, I started listening to the Talib Kweli's and the Nas'. It sort of molded me. I'm not from the hood, but I'm not from the suburbs. I came up in a middle class home. Rapping was never just a hobby. A long time ago I made up my mind that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. And I've been working at it ever since.

Influential artist in your life?
Lupe Fiasco, Nas, Blu, Colin Munroe, Common, Mos Def, Pharrell, John Lennon, The Marleys..just to name a few.

where does the style of those artist and yours meet?(like how are they similar)

The lyrics, the lyrics are very important to me. Lyrics are way more important than the beat to a certain extent in some cases. The lyrics can make a beat actually sound better depending on the delivery, word-play, etc. Those artists I mentioned lyrics' are powerful. Words are powerful period. Words can leave you inspired, hurt, sad, happy, etc. Those artists rely heavily on lyrics. Some of their albums changed my life because their words were so powerful.

Style of music?
Hip Hop/Soul

Soul...do you rap about personal experiences or is it just knowledge that you release?

I rap about almost everything. From personal experiences, to other people's experiences, to knowledge, to the weird things that's in my mind on a day to day basis. I'll make a whole story about a stick on the ground and make it make sense. That's what makes it fun.

REACH THE SKY

THE WAITING ROOM

Your style of music is way different from most female artists but that's a good thing, because you will be known for something you created. How do you look at that image that the average female rapper gives all female rappers? Like some rap about sex and wants to be this sex symbol to boost they sells or image do you feel that affects the image of female rappers as a whole? (LOL I know its long but I just never heard any female rapper address that)

The music industry is male dominated. You really have to be careful about how you want your first impression to be, especially as a female rapper because we're a minority. It'll be more easy to pick at us. It's a very hard question to answer. It sort of does affect the image as a whole because on the outside looking in, there are more mainstream female rappers who are sex symbols. People rarely get a chance to see the opposite of that. I can only speak for me, though. I can't speak for the sex symbols and such because I'm not that. I can't tell you why they do the things that they do because I don't know what goes on in their minds. I look at what I'm going to leave behind. I think about the respect and love I have for myself and everyone else. I think about my friends and family and people who I don't even know who are going to listen to the words I say. All I do is stay true to myself. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that I did otherwise. I love shattering the stereotypes anyway.

Who would you like to work with?
Lupe Fiasco most definitely and The Marleys.

The Marleys would be very legendary....any female rappers you favor? I can see you and Lauryn Hill doing a crazy joint !

Wow. I can't believe I forgot about Lauryn. Now that would be a dream come true. Oh, and there's this female emcee from Brooklyn named Nikki Ntu. She's pretty dope.

Mixtape coming or out?
Coming. It's been a long time..coming. Been workin hard. There's no title yet though.

What's next for you?
Getting shows in and just grindin.

Do you have an booking email for the people to contact you?
chels.the.arteist@gmail.com

myspace url?
http://www.myspace.com/    chels504

Favorite brand of kicks to wear?
I love Blazers.