031 AWARDS 2020 Hip-Hop Artist of the Year, Chadwick Cochrane, has released his debut album, Cerulean and it’s a sonic and lyrical dream.

The Waterfall-based artist, who goes by Chadwick J – produces a quality and effortlessly melodic project that has you calmly bobbing your head to the laidback, eclectic instrumentals that has featured some amazing bass guitar (especially on Star Gazing featuring Gabrielle Simone).

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Chadwick accurately describes his music as, “Positive & Conscious Hip-Hop music, with fusions of Poetry, Pop and Jazz available for all ages, colours and beliefs. Groovy enough for you to bob your head to and potent enough for it to leave a message.”

His debut hit single, W.A.I.S.T has been played on East Coast Radio and is arguably the best song on the 10-track project.

Chadwick raps and sings beautifully on the single with back-up vocals from his sister, Gabrielle Simone – who features regularly on the album.

“My sister, Gabrielle Simone, was the female vocalist on seven of the tracks which added a beautiful dimension and colour to the songs. Thankfully, being my sister, we understood each other’s sound and what we collectively wanted the outcome of the songs to be,” he said.

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The album is mixed wonderfully and flows like the Indian ocean on a warm afternoon. The song, Ocean, rounds up the theme of the album wonderfully with it’s oceanic euphemisms and Chadwick explainsed the name of the album and why he wants listeners to dive deeper when listening to his music.

“Cerulean is an artistic term and was the main theme of the album. It means a whole range of blue colours from the sea to the sky and beyond to the heavens. Which is exactly what this album is about. It can be enjoyed purely on the surface but the more you listen to it, the more you get to dive much deeper and discover some beautiful things about life and yourself.”

Releasing your music on a digital platform is the wave in the industry, as digital migration has forced artists to celebrate their streams instead of selling CDs and getting radio play – but there are plenty of musicians who enjoy hearing their music on a commercial platform like radio,

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“Hearing my (W.A.I.S.T) song on radio for the first time was a dream I had from a little kid. I remember driving home from work and it started playing on East Coast Radio and all my friends and family were phoning and messaging. It was a surreal and amazing experience.”

Chadwick also has some impressive streaming numbers, “The album came out digitally on the 14 February 2020 and has been streamed 30 000 times on Spotify alone so it’s probably x2 of that from YouTube, Apple Music, Deezer and other streaming platforms.”

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