CHI: "I Just Want Everything to Be Beautiful"

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British-Nigerian musician and Mowalola muse CHI grew up in Cheltenham, a regency spa town known for horse racing and literature festivals. CHI left her childhood home for university and eventually landed in London, where she first emerged as CHI VIRGO. Under that moniker, she released a neo-soul EP (Under the Moon, 2020) before pivoting to a bolder sound with I’ve Seen the Lizard People (2023)—an eclectic EP that weaves club electronics into indie angst. Last week she dropped a summery, ballad-banger hybrid called “Life of the Party,” the first single from debut album, Premium Beauty (2025). Sitting outside the blue walls of De Beauvoir Deli in Hackney, CHI and I caught up before her evening studio session.

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Cassidy George: Your performance of “Psycho” at COLORSXSTUDIOS in Berlin recently came up on my algorithm. I looked you up because I wanted to save the song, but then realized I had already liked many of your songs on Spotify.

CHI: Oh my God! I need to know which ones.

CG: “Funny Funny,” “Peru,” “It’s A No From Me,” “London Tipton Remix,” “Spiderwick,” “Solar Plexus,” “The Answer.”

CHI: That makes me so happy, because “The Answer” is genuinely one of my favorite songs of mine. I feel like it’s slept on.

CG: A lot of your lyrics really represent the power dynamics and mind games that happen in relationships. Obviously, it’s blatant in “Psycho,” but you also do this well in “The Answer.”

CHI: I don’t think I’m toxic per se, but I think a lot and I like to analyze people. I’m a heavy communicator in relationships and I want to understand everything someone could possibly be going through. That’s why I think the lyrics come out the way they do. The main topics I write about are relationship dynamics and my mental health.

“The Answer” was big for me. I wrote it when I was in one of those relationships where you just don’t really understand what’s going on. I also couldn’t understand why I was sticking around when I clearly deserved better.

CG: If you’re the kind of person who’s very goal-oriented and generally able to make things work, it can be very hard to let go of things or people, whenever there’s even a shred of hope.

CHI: For sure. And I like to see the best in people, which is also a little bit of a toxic trait. I fall in love with potential and the idea of something, and then I try to help make that happen. And I’d say that, generally speaking, I’m quite good at making things happen! Getting it all down on paper is kind of like therapy.

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CG: Back to the COLORS show. Who made your outfit? The Union Jack shirt—was it latex?

CHI: Yes, it’s latex, and was made by the one and only Mowalola.

CG: Of course. I thought so. But she doesn’t sell that—it’s custom, right?

CHI: Yeah, it is. When I found out I was doing COLORS, she was the second person I called.

I’m quite naked a lot of the time—not intentionally—but in this case, I didn’t want attention to be on the fact that I wasn’t wearing anything. I wanted people to really listen to the song.

[Mowalola] showed me some sketches of things she had been working on, which were these miniskirts with flags on them. Then she showed me a picture of a flag polo and said, “Let’s make it latex to keep the sex." It still had a hint of it, which I love!

CG: How did you two meet?

CHI: I met her at a Drake concert in 2018. I was living in London and hadn’t made loads of friends yet. My manager invited me to see Drake—it was actually my first concert ever. I met her there. She told me she was Nigerian, and I was like, "Oh my God, me too." Then, in 2020, she asked me to model in her Dazed campaign.

I definitely like to be around people who inspire me, and when I met her, I found her crazy inspiring. I love all of my friends in London—we all kind of push each other to be the best we can be.

CG: You mentioned you’re often quite naked in your videos or content. But there’s something very specific about your styling. You definitely show your body, but never in outfits that are traditionally appealing to the male gaze. It’s clear that you’re always wearing what makes you feel good.

CHI: 100%! Growing up, I knew what I liked, even if I was in a sheltered town. But I didn’t necessarily see it unless it was on MTV. I spent a lot of time figuring it out; going to charity shops and cutting things up. I don’t ever try to mimic, and nothing I do is for the male gaze. I think that’s why it feels so authentic.

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CG: You named your last EP I’ve Seen the Lizard People. Does everyone now think you’re a conspiracy theorist?

CHI: To be honest, I don’t get the conspiracy thing so often! I just meant that I’ve seen it all in this life—even the lizard people. I do love a good conspiracy though! I’ve definitely had a gander at the “lizard people” ones.

CG: When you chose that title, were you coming out of a difficult period? Like, one that made you feel as though you had “seen it all”?

CHI: It wasn’t necessarily difficult. I did the most experimenting I had ever done in the years I spent making that EP. It wasn’t just with music but also in life in general, with people, with partying, and with how I dressed. I feel like I lived 1000 lives in those two years.

CG: Maybe I’m mistaken, but I thought I heard some Riot Grrrl influence on your last project?

CHI: Oh, for sure. I was feeling very angsty. I had just come out of full-time modeling and influencing. The transition to music is hard—there’s stigma. Maybe it was my own insecurity, but I felt like people didn’t take me seriously. Even though I started making music first, I remember how, during interviews, everything was always about “modeling, modeling, modeling.” I didn’t want the music to feel pretty or put together. I wanted it to be raw or like a release. After I finished that project, I was like, “OK, now let’s figure out my actual sound.”

CG: So now you’re on your thousand-and-first life. What’s the theme of this current chapter?

CHI: This one feels good though. Good and stable. My debut album is called Premium Beauty, and that sums up the era I’m in right now. I just want everything to be beautiful.

CG: I feel like I’ve come to appreciate beauty way more with age. When I was young, I was perfectly fine with everything being ugly and fucked up. I think I even preferred it that way.

CHI: Literally! Lately, I’ve gotten really into smelling flowers. I was recently on a walk with a friend and she was like, “Why are you doing that?” And I said, “Just give it a sniff! Isn’t it great?” [Laughs]

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CG: Last year you shared an amazing photo of you holding two doves. Was that for an album or single cover?

CHI: It was for the music video for “Peru.” I actually shot that video three times. The first one had AI doves in it, but it was hectic so I scrapped it. I love animals and using them in imagery, and whenever I think of Peru, I imagine birds flying.

CG: Where does one get a pair of trained doves nowadays?

CHI: I was in Houston at the time, and there was a guy there with a bird farm. He taught me how to hold them. At first, I was a little scared. I have a lowkey phobia of birds and things that fly, like bees. I just don’t understand how they work! The doves were a little wriggly at first, but then they relaxed and everything was fine.

CG: Is there one animal that you most identify with?

CHI: Maybe not spiritually, but I do have a favorite animal. I recently went to an animal café in Korea called Meerkats and Friends, because they also have raccoons. I love watching videos of them online. They look like little bandits! But when I met one in real life, I was completely shocked. They’re huge! I have a photo of one sitting on my lap. I’m actually not even sure they’re still my favorite animal.

CG: Your debut album is coming out soon, right?

CHI: I’m so excited, I can’t even explain. This project finally feels like me. When I first started, I was making neo-soul, which was a trend in the UK at the time. Now I’ve found a pocket unique to myself that feels very authentic and comfortable.

“Life of the Party” is the first release. Even though the title sounds fun, what I’m talking about [in the song] is a bit sad. I used to go out when something bad happened, just to forget—it was a form of escapism. Many people do that, but it can take a while before you actually realize what you’re doing. I still love to get loose occasionally, but now I do it for the right reasons—to dance, not to avoid bad feelings.

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CG: Did that transition happen organically?

CHI: With everything I do, I reach a limit at some point. Once I realize something doesn’t feel good, I pivot. The hardest part was not alienating myself and dealing with FOMO. Now my party is at home. My motive is puzzles.

CG: Is that some new British slang I don’t know yet? Or do you mean actual puzzles?

CHI: No, I actually love puzzles! I’m doing The Kiss by Gustav Klimt at the moment, 1000 pieces. Last week I did The Last Supper, also 1000 pieces, in two days. Very satisfying.

CG: Do you do them alone or with friends?

CHI: They try to help but they don’t really understand why I’m doing it. [Laughs] It reminds me of the puzzles my dad and I used to do at Christmas. It’s therapeutic.

CG: The only other people I know that love doing 1000-piece puzzles are my grandparents, but they’re 97.

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