CHANEL WEST COAST

From Snoop, I've learned quite a bit. I learned that sometimes I need to keep my mouth shut. It's a long story, but definitely to sometimes keep my mouth shut. I also learned to always ignore the haters.

You just gotta be yourself and don't hold anything back just because you're a woman.

I'm trying to do different music, and I'm trying to be out of the box.

I think hip-hop doesn't give women as much of a chance as it gives guys.

I remember I rapped for a friend, and my friend really encouraged me and was blown away, like 'Whoa, that was dope!' Ever since then, I kept going.

I write all my own raps myself, 100 percent. And it feels good to be able to say that.

I feel like the red-headed stepchild of Young Money.

I would say Tupac influenced me the most to start rapping, but as far as a female icon that I've looked up to since I was six or seven is definitely Gwen Stefani.

I've been pursuing music since I was 14.

Coachella is a melting pot of cultures, vibes, style, and, of course, music. I look forward to it every year.

I grew up listening to a lot of rap music. My dad's a DJ from Brooklyn, and he's a very soulful guy, so he always spun a lot of hip-hop, and that's where I get a lot of my hip-hop influence.

I don't just rap - I sing and I dance as well.

Music is what I do pretty much all the time. I'm always in the studio. I'm always rehearsing for shows. Always doing shows.

Honestly, the biggest setback to my music career was people's perception that I was a reality TV star, not a rapper.

It's not easy to go from reality TV to being taken seriously as an artist, so I don't think I'll be doing reality TV again because of that.

When I was, like, 8/9, I was obsessed with Jonathon Taylor Thomas and the band Hanson.

It's hard being a woman in the hip-hop game, but I'm lucky to have good people around me who have had my back.

Just growing up and maturing has made my music so much better.

Many artists feel resistance on the way up.

I've been on shows that are very comedic and happy, and you really only get to see one side of my personality. They're not shows about my life or my music, or my struggle or anything like that. They're shows where you pretty much see me laughing and smiling all the time.

It's hard being a woman in this industry, period. A lot of the time, guys make you feel like you need to hook up with them - especially as an artist - producers and other artists trying to collaborate with them, they make you kinda feel sometimes you need to hook up with them or flirt with them just to make a song.

I think the only way to get attention is to act like a complete ignorant fool.

I've never been on a dating app, so I don't really know the difference between swiping left or right, LOL.

You can have opinions, but it doesn't mean they're right.

I always say that I want to be like 2Pac. If I were to die tomorrow, I want to know that I have enough music to put out for my fans for years to come.