Growing up, things weren’t easy for CHUCKIE. His early life was immortalised in the famous 1988 documentary Childs Play where he terrorised children as a knife-wielding evil doll… wait, am I getting him confused with someone else? The real life Chuckie (aka Clyde Narain) was born and raised in Paramaribo, Suriname, where he first discovered hip-hop and the love of manipulating music.
“Hip-hop has always been a great source of inspiration for me and it does influence my style,” he says. “When I play in a club I kind of do that with a hip-hop mind state. I like to scratch and cut during my DJ sets. Hip-hop also influences my productions. My record Let The Bass Kick sounds like a hip-hop record to me. I did some remixes for David Guetta and they are very hip-hop inspired too. That’s why I worked with guys like Lil’ Jon and Fatman Scoop on those remixes to add that little hip-hop twist to it! ‘No boundaries’ is the only rule I have – why limit yourself?”
When he isn’t producing atomic house records like Moombah, Let the Bass Kick in Miami and Aftershock, Chuckie runs the infamous ‘Dirty Dutch’ parties alongside established jocks Afrojack and Lucien Foort. The ever evolving event sees regular crowds of up to 10,000 jammed into sweaty halls celebrating the Dutch sound as one heaving mass.
“The concept is about the way I see clubbing,” Chuckie explains. “It started when I did a lot of ...
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Growing up, things weren’t easy for CHUCKIE. His early life was immortalised in the famous 1988 documentary Childs Play where he terrorised children as a knife-wielding evil doll… wait, am I getting him confused with someone else? The real life Chuckie (aka Clyde Narain) was born and raised in Paramaribo, Suriname, where he first discovered hip-hop and the love of manipulating music.
“Hip-hop has always been a great source of inspiration for me and it does influence my style,” he says. “When I play in a club I kind of do that with a hip-hop mind state. I like to scratch and cut during my DJ sets. Hip-hop also influences my productions. My record Let The Bass Kick sounds like a hip-hop record to me. I did some remixes for David Guetta and they are very hip-hop inspired too. That’s why I worked with guys like Lil’ Jon and Fatman Scoop on those remixes to add that little hip-hop twist to it! ‘No boundaries’ is the only rule I have – why limit yourself?”
When he isn’t producing atomic house records like Moombah, Let the Bass Kick in Miami and Aftershock, Chuckie runs the infamous ‘Dirty Dutch’ parties alongside established jocks Afrojack and Lucien Foort. The ever evolving event sees regular crowds of up to 10,000 jammed into sweaty halls celebrating the Dutch sound as one heaving mass.
“The concept is about the way I see clubbing,” Chuckie explains. “It started when I did a lot of bookings in Holland and the parties weren’t really how I wanted them as far as atmosphere, decoration and entertainment. So I started Dirty Dutch to do parties the way I wanted. Dirty Dutch grew really fast from a small club event to one of the biggest house events in the country. Apparently a lot of people could relate to Dirty Dutch where it came to a point people see Dirty Dutch as a lifestyle.”
Chuckie’s sound is a unique amalgamation of tribal, electro, hip-hop and tech, all compounded into a steamy club-friendly package, and with so much production work under his shiny Armani belt, fans will be excited to hear that he finally has an album on the way. “[My album] will be a reflection of the music I play in the club,” he says. “It will also reflect me as a person. I’m trying to blend all the styles that influenced me and make a record that is truly me. This album has to tell something about the musical journey I’m in.”
The juncture between success and superstardom is a problematic time in any artist’s career, and it is refreshing to learn that this rising star has his air force ones planted firmly on the ground. “When I’m not DJing or producing that’s the moment I take a step back and just look at what I’m doing from a distance. This is the moment where I try to improve what I’m doing. It’s really important to take a step back and assess things. It’s a really tricky game and you don’t want to be stuck in your own game. I’ve seen people becoming a victim of their own success. I don’t want that because at the end of the day it’s supposed to be and stay fun!”
I’m in Miami, bitch!
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