A. Chal Bank to Himself

In 2021, Alejandro “ONE. Chal” Salazar walked away from everything he thought he always wanted.

By then, the Peruvian-born singer-songwriter and producer was signed to Epic Records under Sony Music for three years. He established his hazy, rap-meets-R&B sound on bilingual releases like 2016's Welcome to Gazi, of 2017 In Gaz, and of 2018 Exotigas, his first under Epic. People quickly recognized him as a forward-thinking, inventive new voice, which led to features with French Montana and ASAP NA$T.

He also had hits like “Love N Hennessy” and “000000,” which today have more than 40 million and 68 million Spotify streams, respectively. “Love N Hennessy” reached the top 20 on Billboard's Rhythmic Songs chart in June 2018. Later, 2Chainz and Nicky Jam appeared on the remix.

But despite the success, Salazar was beginning to feel that he was losing control of the creative direction of his work. “To be honest, I would listen to '000000' and it would feel like I was listening to a Justin Bieber record,” Salazar says. “I cared about having 'hits,' but if the people around me weren't seeing what I was seeing, I had to take a few steps back before I lost my power.” As popular as songs like '000000' were, they led to bigger questions about what he wanted to say in his music: “One day, one of my friends said to me, 'Damn, you've got a lot more depth to you than that. that I put out there. I wish the world knew it.' That really hit me.”

After the 2021 project Away from Gaz, Salazar decided to part ways with his company. “It was a joint decision,” he says. “I was thinking about how I'm going to age as an artist, as opposed to just milking Latin hymns. The music I submitted during that time was a combination of how I felt but also really trying to please my label and my managers.”

Salazar went on a creative journey to reclaim his autonomy, a process that led to his introspective, unexpected new album Espíritu. But to figure out who he wanted to be as an artist, he had to start all over: He was born in Lima and grew up in Trujillo, a coastal city in northwestern Peru. moved to Queens, New York with his parents when he was five years old. Although he spent much of his teenage years growing up in Boston, he attributes much of his musical versatility to Jackson Heights, the melting pot of Queens where he was always surrounded by a multitude of cultures. “My family played a lot of Andean flute music, with guitars and huayno, and then I came here and heard rap, R&B and rock music for the first time,” he says.

Salazar started playing music when he was in high school. His stage name, “A. Chal,” is a tribute to his younger brother, Icchal, who died shortly after birth following complications. The name 'Icchal', from the indigenous Quechua language, is also a mountain his father grew up on near Peru.

After leaving his label, Salazar took a two-year hiatus to re-inspire and figure out what was next for him. He lived in Los Angeles, but began traveling the world and spent time back in Trujillo, connecting deeply with his roots. In the meantime, there was a lot of uncertainty. “I've run into people who met me in 2017, '18, and they're like, 'Are you still making music?' says Salazar. “I would feel like I had to explain myself because I'm trying to prove to people that I'm still worth it. I'm still fine.”

Now, he's ready to remind the world exactly who he is. Espíritu, his new 14-track album, is his most intentional yet. “This project lays the foundation for this new chapter of mine,” he says. “I'm starting from scratch.” On it, he draws from everything from rock to New Wave, tipping his hat to acts like Peruvian proto-punk band Los Saicos and Mexican band Caifanes. Tracks like “Walk On Everything” and “Saico” offer a whole new perspective on Salazar, showing his musicality and versatility now that he's free to pursue the sounds he likes.

But most importantly, Salazar honors the ancestors and the spiritual rituals that shaped him as an artist. “My spirit is what drives me right now. I'm talking to people from a spiritual place in this project, especially from the mess I'm in, leaving the label, moving around the world, trying to get back to New York, trying to figure out how to do this in my own. The only thing that grounds me is my spirit,” he says of the meaning behind the album's title. “I was giving you a vibe before – this is more than that, now it's me.”

Deliberately set to have no features, Espíritu it's a testament to his evolution, with the visuals and production choices embracing his Peruvian nationality more than ever. “The essence of Indigeneity is the contact with the sun and the moon, a shamanistic atmosphere, it is naturally in me. Whenever I approach music, I naturally look for it,” he explains. It's also the first time he's shown his face on the cover of a full-length LP. “Now you can see my face, the Peruvian flag on display [on the cover of one track], like now you know things about me. I was giving you a vibe before, this is more than that, now it's me,” he says.

He's taking a chance on himself — no team, no management, no label. AJ Ramos, YouTube's head of Artist Partnerships for Latin Music and Culture, has known Salazar for the past eight years and seen the multiple transitions in his career. “From being an independent artist to being signed to a major label and coming back as an independent artist, he's matured,” says Ramos. “He understands that no one is going to go harder in his career than him.”

And Salazar is going all in: He's currently planning a North American tour in the spring. No part of him regrets betting on himself. “I don't know what will happen after this. Maybe everything goes wrong, maybe not. I can see it in my head though. I see the future and it's good.”