Chase Shakur is an emerging star in the alternative R&B scene. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, he first began his career as a rap artist making his name on underground cyphers around East Atlanta. Eventually, he developed his “melodic and breathy sound” meldeding contemporary R&B production with vocals influenced by 90s R&B and rap-like songwriting.

He released his first project it’ll be fine which drew a lot of attention in the industry and gained him a loyal following. The album was the first installment to Chase’s trilogy, which he’d describe as “the long break up”. He followed up with it’s not you, it’s me and  “it’s not you, it’s me… its love" which each garnered him critical acclaim.

His latest project Wonderlove dropped on February 7th and he says it’s his best work yet. The highly-anticipated LP is a showcase of his vocal prowess and innovative production.

BET.com caught up with Chase and we spoke about his journey in music, his vision to impact the game, and his earliest influences.

“I grew up with a lot of people in the house. A lot of times I listened to classical music, or my folks were playing a lot of gospel music like Lee Williams and the Spiritual QCs. When I was a kid, he was my favorite gospel singer,” Shakur recalled. “I used to have a paper microphone, and my grandma would play the VHS tape. I used to watch them all the time.”

Shakur said he first wanted to be an artist during high school after being influenced by numerous artists on SoundCloud who sparked his creativity.

“In high school, I started listening to SoundCloud artists and that led me to R&B and I also met two of my best friends. When I was at Georgia State University,  I bought my own studio equipment and I started recording myself,” Chase recalled.

As Chase began to cultivate his artistry, he founded Forever N Septermber, a collective of artists of various disciplines. He noted how proud he is of the group which helped to produce tracks on his projects.

“Forever N Septermber is me and my three producers who crafted it. We were living and working in LA at the time for around two or three months working on the album. We had different producers come through like DJ Dahi, Rapheal Saddiq, and No I.D. We were working with them soaking up a lot of gems. We were just working and gaining knowledge.”

“With Forever N September, I wanted to create space for other creatives, to have a space,” he said. “For dreamers, it could be lonely sometimes and you can feel confusion after hearing a lot of nos. I want to experience a space where artists can have a yes at the door. 

Chase also shared how all of his hard work paid off when he signed with Def Jam, one of the premier labels in R&B and hip-hop.

“Def Jam found me through social media. My manager is big into social media and he was an influencer at the time and one of my videos went viral. After that, every label you came knocking at that door,” he said.

“It was surreal signing with Def Jam. At the time, they had a meeting with me. When I walked in, everybody kind of looked like me and that made me feel comfortable,” Chase said. Tunji Balogun, the CEO of Def Jam, is somebody that I believe in. He helped to craft modern R&B.”

Wonderlove is borrowed from the name of Stevie Wonder’s backing band and backup singers he deployed during his run of classic albums. 

“I like the idea of being infatuated with somebody. When I was on my first tour, I was listening to a lot of Steve Wonder, and a lot of his music is about being infatuated,” Chase explained. “I feel like that is what’s lost in R&B today. So I wanted to kind of bring that back with Wonderlove.”

Chase noted how Wonder’s aesthetic of love is the inspiration behind the new album.

“You know, when you listen to those songs now, it's so different from when you heard them as a kid. Being an adult, it has a different impact. With Wonderlove, I wanted to make something that you can always come back to and be able to share with your kids.”

When asked what he wants listeners to take away from Wonderlove, he said that he wants to be regarded as an authentic artist with longevity.

“I want them to take away that I'm going to be here for a long time,” he said. “You know, I'm saying my music is going to be here for a long time. And I'm going to keep making long-lasting music.”