Today we’d like to introduce you to Chipelo.
Hi Chipelo, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a Salvadoran-American artist from Maryland performing under the name Chipelo. Music started as something I loved doing, but over time it became something I realized I wanted to to take seriously. I grew up around a lot of different sounds and influences, and eventually started developing my own style that blends different genres together like reggaetón, hip-hop, R&B, hip-hop, afrobeat, just anything I like really.
A big part of my journey happened while I was in college at Towson University. I was balancing school, music, performances, my fraternity, work, and figuring out who I wanted to become. I graduated with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing, and I think having both the creative and business sides of my brain has shaped the way I approach being an independent artist.
Over the last few years, I’ve gone from releasing songs to trying to build an entire world around Chipelo. I started taking dance and live performance much more seriously, working with choreographers and dancers, shooting music videos, organizing events, and finding more ways to get my music in front of people throughout the DMV. I’ve performed at colleges, festivals, nightlife venues and community events. That growth also led me to create Calle Cuatro Entertainment, LLC. Right now, it serves as the company behind a lot of what I’m building independently, but my long-term vision is for it to become something bigger that can create opportunities for other Latino creatives as well. I still feel like I’m at the beginning of my journey. My goal is to become one of the artists who can represent El Salvador on a global stage while showing that an artist coming out of the DMV can compete at that level too.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not lol. One of the hardest parts of being independent is that there isn’t really a blueprint telling you when you’re doing the right thing. I’m the artist yes but I also have to think about marketing, content, budgets, rehearsals, performances, visuals, networking and everything happening behind the scenes, it’s a lot to keep track of, and it all falls on me, so I spend time doing administrative work when I would rather be having fun creating.
There have been songs and videos I put a lot of time and money into that didn’t perform the way I hoped. There have been events where things went wrong and I had to adapt in real time. There are also moments when you look at artists performing in arenas and think about how far away that feels when you’re still building everything yourself.
One of my biggest personal struggles has actually been patience. I’m extremely ambitious, and sometimes that makes me feel like I’m running out of time or that I should already be further ahead. I’ve had to learn that you can have urgency without rushing your growth. I can’t speedrun becoming the artist and performer I want to be, but I can make sure I’m constantly getting better.
I’m also reaching a point in my life where pursuing music seriously comes with bigger decisions. How far am I willing to go for this? Will I eventually have to leave home, the people I love and everything I’ve built here to give myself the best opportunity? That’s actually something I’ve been writing about recently. There’s excitement in chasing a dream, but there’s also sacrifice, uncertainty and sometimes loneliness that people don’t always see.
At the same time, those struggles have made every small win mean more. Seeing strangers sing my music, watching a video unexpectedly take off, having people come to a show because they discovered me online, or getting another opportunity to perform reminds me why I keep going.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m an artist first and foremost. I write and release my own music, but I’ve also become known for my performances and the content I make around it. Social media has played a huge part in getting my music in front of people, and I’ve been lucky enough to have a few TikToks and Reels go viral and introduce me to audiences who probably never would have found me otherwise.
Performing is probably the part of being an artist that I love the most. I don’t want to just get onstage, sing my songs and leave. I love dancing, choreography, interacting with the crowd and figuring out how to turn the music into an actual show. I grew up watching artists like Michael Jackson and eventually artists like Rauw Alejandro, so I’ve always been drawn to artists who make you feel like seeing them live is a completely different experience from just listening to their music.
At the same time, my writing can be pretty vulnerable. I was a really insecure guy growing up, and even though I’ve changed a lot, that person still comes out in my music. I write about heartbreak, insecurity, regret, love, ambition and sometimes just not knowing what I’m doing with my life. I think that contrast has become an important part of who I am as an artist. I can make something really personal and vulnerable and then get onstage with dancers and have the time of my life performing it.
One of the things I’m most proud of so far is the music video for my song “UN CHANCE MÁS.” We filmed it around DC, including DuPont Circle, and brought together dancers from UMD Phunktions along with other friends and creatives I’ve met throughout my journey. It was one of those projects where I could see the type of artist I’ve imagined becoming starting to exist in real life. There are definitely bigger things I want to accomplish, but I’m proud of how much we were able to create independently with the people around us.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was almost the complete opposite of the person you see today. I was really shy, quiet, skinny, and insecure growing up. I always wanted to be something more, but for a long time I didn’t really have the confidence to put myself out there. I was always creative though. When I was a kid I would make stop-motion videos with my LEGOs, write stories and illustrate my own little books, write poetry and draw all over the margins of my schoolwork. We didn’t have much money when I was young, so I used to draw action heroes and cut them out, then draw the backside and I had my own custom paper toys to make because we couldn’t afford real toys. I loved dancing when I was younger too, but at some point I stopped doing it. I was also a huge Marvel and sci-fi kid and obsessed with space. Honestly, in another life I probably would’ve tried to become an astronaut. Eventually I reached a point where I got tired of being the shy kid and decided I was going to force myself out of that bubble. I got into theatre, started teaching myself guitar and piano, got back into dancing and slowly became more comfortable performing and putting myself in situations that scared me. A lot of the things that are a huge part of my life now are things younger me probably would have been terrified to do.
Looking back, music almost feels like all of those interests finally found somewhere to meet. The kid making videos became interested in directing visuals and making content. Writing stories and poetry became songwriting. Dancing became performing. Even drawing and imagining different worlds probably plays a part in how I think about the visual side of Chipelo now lol. I always wanted the spotlight, but I was too scared as a kid. Through theatre I gained confidence and it pushed me to be on stage like I always wanted to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chipeloandcrew.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_chipelo/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChipeloOfficial/featured
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/chipelo_official
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@_chipelo?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
