Az Chike is giving new artists a masterclass in how to make the most of every opportunity as an up-and-coming artist.

Born and raised in South Central, Los Angeles, Az Chike–born Damaria Kayshawn Walker–has been grinding nonstop since dropping his debut album, Rich & Ratchet, in 2019.

He’s been rapping since 2013, working several jobs after high school before quitting in 2015 to pursue making music full-time. He and his friends formed the group AzCult, a four-member hip-hop collective, around the same time. In 2017, he released his first solo song, “Burn Rubber Again,” which went viral and racked up millions of listens on SoundCloud. Shortly after, he received a co-sign from Shoreline Mafia, released his debut mixtape, My World, and later toured with the LA-based Hip Hop group.

After years of putting in the work, Az Chike’s career started to transition to the mainstream world in 2024, when he made an appearance on Schoolboy Q’s album, Blue Lips. Just a few months later, he was featured on Kendrick Lamar’s project, GNX, introducing millions of people to his name on the breakout track, “Peekaboo.”

Kendrick tapped a lot of local LA talent for GNX, but while some artists have complained about their careers not taking off following their features, Az Chike hasn’t had the same problem. A feature on arguably the biggest rapper in the world’s album can be just what a smaller artist needs to catapult their career to a whole other level, and that’s exactly what Az Chike has made sure of while capitalizing on his “Peekaboo” momentum. Back in February, he signed with Warner Records and released his debut single, “Whatx2.”

One of the reasons Az Chike stands out is his willingness to be vulnerable. A lot of fans have fallen in love with his persona on TikTok, watching the candid moments he posts both with his team, and by himself talking to the camera.

The rapper was especially candid about just how badly he wanted to perform with Kendrick during his headlining shows at SoFi Stadium during his Grand National Tour, posting an in-depth video about his emotions leading up to his big moment. Though a lot of the hip-hop industry is still heavy with flexing and keeping your cards close to your chest, Az Chike opened up about the lengths he went to in order to secure the performance, even leaving Lamar multiple voice notes to let him know how badly he wanted to take the stage with him.

It’s only been a year since Az Chike appeared came out at The Pop Out, Kendrick Lamar’s Juneteenth performance that lit up the Kia Forum with dozens of special guests. A lot has changed for the rapper in those 12 months, but it’s the work he put in before that separates him from a lot of other artists in the game.

During an interview following his Rolling Loud performance earlier this year, Chike opened up about how he kept going before seeing success like he has this past year. According to the South Central native, not seeing results wasn’t discouraging for him because music is what he loves, so it’s not about how many fans he has.

“You know, this is something that I’m really passionate about and something that I really do. So it wasn’t a get rich quick scheme, or I wasn’t trying to be the most popular or nothing like that. Like I do this because I love it, so just because it’s not going my way, it doesn’t mean it’s gonna make me stop and I find the light in everything,” he told Revolt. “So even to the outside, if it might not seem like, oh, it’s not going like this, or he not seen like that, to me, I was great, like, at any point in my career, I can promise you, I thought I was the s**t at the time. I knew [there] was work to be done, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t, like, down and out about it. So, you know, again, it’s just, it’s just my passion. It’s what I’m doing. It’s what I do. So regardless of the matter, today, tomorrow, 10, 20, years from now, it’s still gonna be with me.”

As for what’s next for Az Chike, all eyes are on his upcoming album, which he recently said on Instagram is 86% finished. In the meantime, fans are still hoping for a “Peekaboo” music video–but he has plenty of visuals to hold us over until then.

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