Chae Buttuh is a dirty south, dirty mouth’d sex siren on her upcoming mixtape, “HoFi: A Collection of Glam Trap & H*e Hymns”, available via her SoundCloud and bandcamp on July 31st and Spotify and Apple Music August 4th. The title is exactly what you should expect to find on the mixtape, lofi trap bangers and ballads that touch on the joys and headaches of being a sexually liberated fem. The raw recordings and sensual chants make the playthrough a sonic-bathhouse: dark, hot and steamy. Listen to the intro track H*eism (A H*e’s Prayer) and don’t forget to recite it before each Jack’d hook up.
I had the honor of interviewing the lovely Chae Buttuh, check it out below.
How do you best identify your sexual orientation & gender? What city do you rep?
I identify as a queer heterosexual, black, trans woman. I don’t like to rep cities, mine hasn’t done much for me, but if I had to rep a city I’d say The Internet.
Are there issues in your local scene that prevent you from feeling a part of it?
No issues in the local scene. I live in Greensboro, North Carolina. The queer music scene is cute, but more focused on synth and punk bands. There’s support, but no real love for hip hop or avant-garde hip hop, if you know what I mean. North Carolina hip hop, outside the queer scene, is mainstream driven or on some fake woke sh*t, so I just don’t bother. I’m southern and from NC, but my music is far from it. So, I tend not to claim a city because people like to associate your music with the city and with that stupid bill NC passed, you won’t find me repping anything NC for a while.
Have you personally been affected by the bathroom bill?
No. I don’t let things like laws affect me. Who would I be?
Photo cred: Nathan Grice. Styled by Ghetto Supa Star
I love that. In HoFi, I definitely heard a punk, DIY spirit throughout. What influenced the sound?
You’re spot on. All my music prior to the Daddy Issues era (Raw, HoFi, tba..) was recorded in a studio. Before ever releasing music, I would record on my computer. It was fun. Going to the studio with time and money being involved made making music less fun. I wasn’t creating like I knew I could because I was so focused on time and money. So I met this guy named Love and Basketball (a rapper in my local scene) and his music was so fresh and he records out his bedroom. We’ve become good friends and he’s helped me with my new sound. I was like if I can make good studio music, I know I can make good LoFi music. Well, old Gangsta Boo/3 6 Mafia and MIA inspired the sound. I wanted something raw, unmastered, not too crisp. For me, if I can master that, I can do anything. Master the art of making good lofi music that is.
As I understand, this is the first era in your discography that you’ve been openly trans and transitioning, has that impacted HoFi?
Yes it is. It has definitely impacted HoFi. Since transitioning and coming out as trans, I’ve been so happy. One reason is because I’m able to truly be myself now and how I’ve always seen myself. I’ve always seen myself as a sex symbol, but I’ve always shied away from it because I never felt comfortable as a “boy”. I’m sure to many I’ve come off as awkward, but that’s only because personally, I felt awkward living in a body as a gender that I’ve never related to. Imagine knowing you’re beautiful, but looking in the mirror and not seeing the beautiful person you know you are. So, I had to swallow my fears and finally take the next step, which was transition. Transition into the woman I’ve always been. Since transitioning, I feel sexy. I feel comfortable to express it because I’m not looking like some man. And it shows a lot in HoFi. HoFi is nothing, but sex served soft and c*nt.
Have you noticed a difference in how the world treats you now compared to when you were male presenting?
A huge difference! Straight men love me. It’s funny because my main fear was getting constantly disrespected. But I actually get respected more. It’s weird.
Probably because you look like a snack and they are hungry dogs. What song of yours would be the best introduction for new listeners? What’s your favorite track from Hofi?
Yea that too. My favorite tracks from HoFi are Cool Whip and Baby It’s Okay.
Do you have any upcoming shows? What’s your live show like?
I’ll be in New York from July 30th – August 4th for music and promotional business. Looking for gigs now for when I’m there. There is footage on my YouTube and some on my Instagram page, but as soon as I get some new footage those will be taken down. I need more visuals that express my new journey/life.
Follow Chae Buttuh on twitter @ChaeButtuh, Bandcamp and SoundCloud to hear the new and past projects.
If you are a queer musician and you wanna talk to me and premiere a track, hit me up @SusVice on Twitter or at [email protected].
