The Come Up X Chris Porter
Chris "C-PO" Porter torched summer 2017 with the release of his EP, Summertime Po, which included his hit single "You Remind Me." Since then, the record has topped the Apple Music and Spotify charts, in addition to being the #1 Shazam'd song in Dubai and ranked #25 on the urban music charts in Germany. However, this isn't the first time Porter attained global success in music. In 2015, everyone caught wave of his single "The Water Dance," when he decided to add Mr. Worldwide, aka, Pitbull to the track. "The Water Dance" became a Vine sensation and popular dance both nationally and internationally. The viral hit expanded to an even bigger audience when Porter teamed up with celebrity choreographer, Tricia Miranda, in LA for the music video. Today, the video has over 25 million views while the song is still being played in countries all over including features from organizations such as the NBA, NFL and ESPN.
The Come Up
Born and raised throughout different parts of New Jersey, Chris Porter was exposed to not only a diverse community of people, but also music. The mix of sounds included Spanish (Bachata), Asian tech, EDM, pop and hip-hop which influenced Porter to begin producing music in 2010. Young and grinding for the come up, Porter produced an entire album from his mother's garage he titled Music, If Possible which featured popular track "Hold it Down."
Later in 2015, Porter signed to Life on Planes records owned by DJ White Shadow—known for producing Lady Gaga's Born This Way and Artpop albums. DJ White Shadow was able to make the connection for Cuban American rapper, Pitbull, to feature on Porter's viral hit, "The Water Dance." "We wanted the song to be bigger and have a worldwide tune, so we figured Pitbull is Mr. Worldwide," Porter stated. After experiencing the success from the collaboration, the Jersey rapper is determined to resurface his single "You Remind Me" with a feature from Barbadian pop star, Rihanna.
Porter's determination plays a heavy part in his success thus far. Yet, his inspiration comes from Pharrell Williams (American rapper, singer, songwriter and producer). Similarly, Porter began his rap career as a producer and looks to continue producing not only for himself, but for other artists as well. He considers Pharrell one of the best to do it, yet Pharrell is still free. By free, Porter means the multi-talented artist is original in what he creates, he is not forced to create a certain record for a crossover or because a label is forcing him to. Porter also mentioned that Pharrell works on his own time where there is no pressure applied. "I want to be free to create and go with the universe," Porter stated.
Well just like every other journey, with the come up obstacles and challenges arise. For Porter, his biggest challenge was comparing himself to other artists in the industry. "I was always struggling to find out who I am to other people," Porter shared. "I had to be realistic with myself and step back to ask 'why do people like you?' 'why do you make people laugh?' 'what do you look like?'… find your 100 percent self and everyone will love you for everything you do because it's you!"
Continuing to learn from experiences and doing what he loves, I asked Porter to share one quote that motivates him to get out of bed every morning or one that motivates him to keep trying when everything else fails. Porter shared a quote from Gary Vaynerchuk, "you're gonna die." Porter explained that we all know death is the eventual result of living so each day you spend alive should be like it's your last. "Wake up, put in the work, anything you want to say, say it, anything you want to do, do it. Have fun and go get it now while you're still here."
What's Next?
This past year, Chris Porter celebrated his birthday with a live performance and video release party in his home state of New Jersey. Come January 2018, we can expect a similar lituation as Porter plans to host a birthday bash releasing a single from his new project--which he hopes is completed by April 2018.
Additionally, after his New Jersey VS Everybody movement, Porter expressed his interest to be move involved with fashion and reveals that he is hoping to coordinate a deal to collaborate with Reebok in the near future.
For more information regarding Chris "C-PO" Porter visit his site, but don’t forget to download Summertime Po on Apple Music, Spotify and Soundcloud. Follow Chris Porter on Instagram @thisischrisporter!
