rodney chrome

THE RODNEY CHROME EXPERIENCE

Written by Trystan Calado

Rodney Chrome, a 20-year-old Black queer artist that grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, currently resides in New York City, where he attends New York University. Through his art, Chrome unapologetically breaks boundaries, taking aspects of timeless R&B and sprinkling in electronic influences to create a sound that gives you a glimpse into a futuristic, chromefilled world.

Before pursuing music, Chrome grew up expressing himself via dance at a company called “Dance Dynamics.” Dance rehearsal was a highlight for him; a safe haven. However, he always knew he had a special place for music.

“For my 12th birthday, I got my first microphone,” Chrome recalled. “And, every night, I would sneak into my mom’s closet [to use it]—’cause mine wasn’t big enough to record.”

Music became a fun pastime through which he could express himself by writing songs and simply communicating his love for singing by using his little mic. His mother recognized his “The art of understanding passion for music bloswho you are within a world soming, knowing deep that throws every societal down that he was becompressure at you, to ing an artist in his own specific way. conform an image that limits your full potential After discovering his love as a queer individual.” for music and allowing that love to grow, he began in general, the visualizations and to recognize his potential as an photos that connect with his music artist, to a point where he knew are very pleasing and always carry he had to make music what he did such a bigger meaning. for the rest of his life.Then, Rodney Chrome was born. With finding inspiration at such a young age, too, one’s identity plays There is an abundance of artists such an important role in deterthat can make you feel infinite, and mining the stories and experiences listening to their music can inspire one decides to share with a bigger you in ways that help articulate audience. For Chrome (being a your taste and build who you are. Black queer artist), the commuFor Chrome, Beyonce is one of nities he is part of are like family, those artists, and her self-titled groups of like-minded individuals album was a monumental influence that can navigate with him through on his early career. “I’m a very via world that is not the most acceptsually driven artist,” Chrome says. ing of artists like him. That said, his “So, studying [Beyonce’s] videos identity is evident in his craft. such as ‘Haunted,’ ‘Ghost,’ and After long vicious days ‘Superpower,’ made me feel a rush in class, Chrome finds relief in I couldn’t explain, but now, I underheading to his friend’s dorm and stand it was my body gravitating to sharing various beats they made, what would be my calling.” You can collaborating and freestyling to see see her influence in his craft, but, the various lyrics they can spit on

the spot, evident of the fun songwriting can be for every artist. In these accepting, loving environments, Chrome feels comfortable with the ability to express himself, which helps elevate him into the best musician he can be.

“It’s so beautiful when I can just vent to my friends about the same struggle of feeling like we’re all running in the same place or no one hears us out and them knowing exactly how I feel as a Black creative,” Chrome explains. “We all hold each other accountable and make sure that none of us are slacking, and that we are always moving toward something much bigger than ourselves.”

Last month, Chrome released his first studio album, QUEER PRESSURE. This album gives a glimpse into his struggles as a Black queer individual in the South.

“It’s the project that I wish I could’ve heard as a kid,” Chrome describes. “I wanted to open the dialogue of every emotion associated with the anxiety and pressure for these unheard voices, while creating a record people could listen to and acknowledge that someone finally understands where they come from.”

Chrome is very expressive lyrically, and his music carries raw emotions and ideas (including themes regarding sex, love, and insecurity) that can resonate with the Black queer community. Through his lyrical genius, Chrome takes your hand and guides you through his experience with baby smooth melodies and dreamy vocals that make it feel as though you are watching a nostalgic VHS tape. He gives you no choice but to dissect every emotion that is carefully tucked into every bar with soft, yet harsh tones regarding the world he wakes up to every day. Throughout QUEER PRESSURE, Chrome utilizes an abundance of voicemails that recite stereotypical phrases many queer youth might hear from people close to them.

Being a Black queer musician, Chrome has faced various obstacles his whole life and including such real conversations about the struggles Black queer artists go through in this album really makes it a mirror for his Black LGBTQ+ audience. It’s as if the album is a trail of breadcrumbs and they’re slowly picking up pieces of themselves as they listen.

The vulnerability Chrome shows is one of the most admirable qualities an artist can have. In facing these harsh realities, this isn’t just helpful to those who can relate to his struggles, but it’s eye-opening to those who are not able to relate.“- So many times, I lacked self confidence because, growing up, I never felt like I had someone who looked or expressed themselves like I did within not only the industry, but my community,” Chrome says. “I know that the music I am making serves a purpose for so many people who look and feel like I do. I come from Little Rock, Arkansas, I am Black, and I am also queer. That mixture in America is one of the least successful combinations that you could be given to someone.”

Rodney Chrome is an artist that puts a magnifying glass on the Black queer expirence. Through beautifully transitioned songs, he is giving pieces of himself to a world that may not be able to understand him. His music, in that sense, feels like a love letter to his Blackness and his queerness—as if he is taking various entries from a lifelong diary of hurt, pain, and love to help his listeners if they also have that hollow feeling of not seeing themselves represented in a world full of potential. QUEER PRESSURE, in that sense, is an album for Black queer children all over the world, to remind them that there is always a place in music for them. “I know that I have to keep creating so that one day, the same kid that feels the exact same feelings of denial that I once did has someone like myself to look up to and say ‘you know what, life might be tough right now but if Rodney Chrome can make it to where he is, then I damn sure you can do the same.’”