Chanel West Coast has turned heads thanks to her outlandish fashion sense, and at times,
she's made headlines for all the wrong reasons. But one thing's for sure: West Coast is constantly
evolving as a person and artist. Learn more about the stunning transformation of Chanel West Coast.
Born to a Los Angeles-living mother and a father who worked in the music business in New York,
Chanel West Coast was immersed in music at a young age. However, she was also tugged
between both coasts, as she explained in an interview with Fashionista, sharing -
"My mom is actually a heavy metal rock chick. I grew up listening to a lot of rock music,
and my dad is a DJ from here in New York."
That being said, bicoastal living served West Coast well,
and she became quite the city slicker at a young age, as she told In Touch -
"I took the MTA bus growing up. I'm very familiar
with how to get around all of L.A. on the MTA bus."
She added that her New Yorker father took the subway wherever he went,
which made her familiar with them as well.
Despite splitting her time between both coasts,
West Coast apparently had an affinity for Los Angeles, given her stage name.
"Yeah West Coast! So I was like 'see? I was like
'I got 'em throwing up west coast on the east coast'."
While some may assume that money
and fame came easy for Chanel West Coast, she wants to make it clear she wasn't born with a
silver spoon in her mouth. In fact, West Coast insists there were some tough times
during her early years. As she told In Touch, she didn't buy her way into celebrity, saying -
"I want people to know how hard I've worked, like to get to where I am."
Seeing as West Coast's parents were divorced, things were even harder, and there were times her
parents struggled, so it's no wonder she resents the notion that her life has always been easy.
Before the MTV star got her big break,
she had an adolescence that was far from traditional. In an August 2014
profile with LA Weekly, West Coast detailed some of the eyebrow-raising
details of her teenage years. For one, she was smoking marijuana by age 11,
most likely influenced by her mom who grew cannabis to pay the bills. West Coast also
spent time in smoke-filled nightclubs at a young age when she accompanied her dad to his DJ gigs.
Even as a teen, West Coast continued carrying on in her unconventional ways. She also found
herself spending just two full years at Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California,
before opting to be home-schooled instead. The bubbly blonde TV host everyone has come to know
and love didn't have a standard upbringing, but it didn't stop her from stealing America's hearts.
Some musicians have a huge impact on the world,
inspiring generations of followers, and that definitely was the case for Chanel
West Coast. The female MC was inspired by the late West Coast rapper Tupac Shakur . In fact,
she's gushed about him in a number of interviews. In October 2013,
she told Vibe just how impactful Tupac has been to her, revealing -
"My biggest influence is Tupac. He was a poet,
and listening to Tupac is what inspired me to start rapping."
Although the iconic rapper passed away in 1996, West Coast grew up listening to his music
non-stop. In fact, she may not have entered the rap game in the first place if it wasn't for him.
Between his music, and his book, The Rose That Grew From Concrete, West Coast flat-out fell in
love with Tupac's artistry. As she recalled in an interview with Las Vegas Magazine -
"It clicked in my head one day while I was listening to Tupac — I thought that,
yo, maybe I should write some poetry over some
beats and start rapping."
Many big stars adopt a stage name and Chanel West Coast put a lot of thought into hers.
Part of her stage name was derived from the actual name on her birth certificate,
and part was inspired by her love of California. She explained this in an interview with Pop Crush
where she compared her real name to those of big name pop stars through the years,
lamenting about how her birth name didn't seem to measure up.
"Britney Spears — that sounds catchy. Christina
Aguilera — that sounds catchy. My real, full name is Chelsea Chanel Dudley."
And in her opinion, that doesn't exactly sound like a hot rap moniker.
Fortunately her new name came about because of a happy accident. When
she was trying to name her MySpace music page, all of the "Chanels" were taken,
so she added West Coast as she's a West Coast rapper. From there, the name just kind of stuck!
Chanel West Coast is a force to be reckoned with all on her own, but she always brings
the laughs with her co-host Rob Dyrdek . It was thanks to Dyrdek that West Coast got her
start in reality television, and the two have had one hell of a journey through the years.
As InTouch reports, Dyrdek and West Coast reportedly met through mutual
friends in 2008. He quickly became a friend and mentor to the budding rapper, and eventually,
her MTV co-star. West Coast started out appearing on Dyrdek's MTV reality series Fantasy Factory as
his receptionist, but quickly proved she wasn't meant to be a behind-the-scenes character.
West Coast's quirky personality was a hit, and when it came time for Dyrdek to embark on his
next chapter with MTV's Ridiculousness, West Coast became the co-host. Sure,
she's made her own success, but Dyrdek has been a pivotal power player in her career trajectory.
Chanel West Coast is a multi-talented star, but if she had just one claim to fame,
it would be Ridiculousness. The first episode aired on MTV in August 2011,
and West Coast has been part of the cast ever since. As The Ringer reported,
the reality show became somewhat synonymous with the MTV network over time. West Coast
received major screen time, and wormed her way deeper into America's hearts with each episode.
Fans ate it up after it premiered. Variety reported that during a stretch of 168 hours on
MTV during one month, Ridiculousness comprised 113 hours of programming. So being an integral
part of the show, it's no surprise West Coast has stayed with the network for so many years.
While Chanel West Coast was largely influenced by Tupac,
she spent a large part of her career working with another great: Lil Wayne. The rapper
signed West Coast to his Young Money record label, instantly taking a liking to her beats.
After joining Weezy's roster in 2013,
West Coast told Billboard just how much it meant to have him as a boss, explaining -
"He gives you the freedom to do what you want and be creative,
and then he gives his official approval later on."
With so many artists vying to get on Wayne's radar,
West Coast also reflected on how her music won him over.
"I went to Miami, played him my music. I played him a track and he sat back and said,
'Man that sh*t was stupid.'"
Sounds harsh, but West Coast knew that he meant it in a positive way, adding -
"As soon as he said that, I knew I was in."
As Chanel West Coast's career gained traction, she leveled up her squad;
the TV host soon found herself kicking it with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
"I only roll with the baddest, OK?”
For one, she was seen schmoozing with Paris Hilton and her crew on multiple occasions.
In an interview with LA Weekly, West Coast talked about how much she loves the heiress, saying -
"Paris always throws the sickest parties. She's literally the most
down-to-earth, coolest person ever."
West Coast's friendship with the heiress isn't her only high-profile relationship; West Coast
also formed a friendship with Snoop Dogg. While some may say that their bond is an unlikely one,
they wound up running in the same circles due to their music careers. In fact, the two rappers
even recorded a song together; they released their collaboration "Put in Work" in July 2013.
Chanel West Coast's first big public
romance was with another musician. The rapper dated Scottish singer Liam Horne
from April 2014 to July 2017, according to In Touch. During their relationship,
there was rarely a time Horne wasn't on West Coast's arm at red carpet events.
While West Coast didn't talk about her relationship in the media very often,
the couple had no problem gushing about their romance on social media,
and fans became used to their PDA-heavy snapshots.
They say to never mix work and pleasure, but West Coast and her man did everything together,
including joining forces on her 2015 mixtape Waves. West Coast
has always been the utmost focused on her career,
but she had no problem sharing the spotlight with Horne for three romance-packed years.
They say all good things come to an end, and that includes Chanel West Coast's romance with
Liam Horne in July 2017. West Coast confirmed they were done for good in an interview several
weeks later with the Daily Mail. The chat marked the first time she'd spoken out about the split,
and she explained why she was looking forward to being an independent lady, telling the outlet -
"I'm single and focused on my music career."
It seemed to be perfect timing for the romance to fall off the rails, though;
that same summer, West Coast embarked on a new reality TV journey with the show Love & Hip Hop
When asked if she has any reservations about being on the reality TV show, she said simply -
"I fear getting into any further drama because I'm really not a dramatic person."
While she claims to not be a dramatic person,
there have been several occasions when she found herself in the midst of a media scandal.
In August 2015, TMZ reported that West Coast was arrested outside Los Angeles nightclub 1 Oak. To
make matters worse, West Coast allegedly kicked a cop as well. It didn't sound like a pretty scene,
at least not according to eyewitnesses who were there. One person even made a citizen's arrest,
and held West Coast down until authorities arrived. According to law enforcement,
West Coast got into a fight with a woman inside the club. Naturally,
she was kicked out of the party, but then proceeded to fight security outside.
Unfortunately, this wasn't West Coast's only run-in with the law. In September 2020, she
was caught on camera screaming at police officers who tried to shut her birthday party, the Daily
Mail reported — which just so happened to take place during the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak... yikes.
Chanel West Coast is quite the fashion
maven — so much so, she's even created some of her own designs. As she told Seventeen,
West Coast fell into the fashion design line of work unexpectedly, recalling -
"It's crazy. At first they wanted me to model for a different line,
but the father company decided that they wanted me to do my own line."
As for the name of her first line, Valleywood, Chanel explained the backstory -
"The reason it's called Valleywood is because
it's for a valley girl in the Hollywood scene and lifestyle."
More recently, West Coast dabbled in the streetwear industry, churning out tie-dye sweats
with a brand called The LOL Cartel. According to the brand's Facebook page, their motto is:
"Live out loud, Laugh out loud, Love out loud."
After years of releasing one-off singles and collab tracks, Chanel West Coast finally put
out her first full-length album in October 2020. It may have taken some time for the
record to get off the ground, but she went all out for her first major project.
In a press release obtained by Complex West Coast explained the title of the album, saying -
"I called this album America's Sweetheart because
it's an oxymoron and contradicts the perception that many have of me."
West Coast was apparently feeling philanthropic upon her album's release, as she donated part
of the proceeds from streams to criminal justice reform organization REFORM Alliance.
It's been more than a decade since West Coast first embarked on her music career,
but with the release of America's Sweetheart, she's just getting started.
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