7 / 5, 2019

Off the Top: DET | Amber Chene

Elhadji Mare

Elhadji is a Creative Content Strategist & Writer @ StockX




Here at StockX, we stress authenticity in everything we do; it’s our M.O. With authenticity being one of our pillars, we only align ourselves with people who share our values, and Amber Chene is as real as it gets. The Detroit native is an artist, model, and self-proclaimed muse who lives and creates by on her own terms.

From her days of writing poetry as a kid, becoming a member of the Detroit music collective, Shadow Temple, co-founding her up-and-coming music group ModernDay, and producing her upcoming debut mixtape “Golden Ratio,” Amber Chene is constantly creating and keeping herself busy.  Her tenacity and drive are rooted in family, especially her grandfather, who is a longtime NAACP member. Check out our interview with her below to learn more about this multi-talented individual, and keep your eyes peeled for our forthcoming video with Amber discussing her recent Nike collab.

The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. 

StockX: Please introduce yourself, whatever you want people to know about you. 

Amber Chene: Well my name is Amber Chene. I’m an artist and a muse. I’m a designer. I’m a feminist. I’m love, you know. I try to do everything to represent love in every aspect whether it’s chilling with my family or creating music. I just try to show love throughout my life. 

Amber Chene

Where did you grow up? 

So my parents weren’t together for most of my childhood, so I kind of moved back and forth. I grew up on the west side of Detroit. Then we moved out to the suburbs. I moved to Dearborn for a little bit with my mom. We’ve also pretty much lived in all of the suburban areas of Detroit. Also, I lived in New York; I lived there for a little while too. I was all over the place as a child because my family was heavy into real estate. I kind of was like a little traveling kid back and forth from my grandmas to my dad’s house to my mom’s house. But I spent the majority of my time on the west side. 

Wow, you moved a lot growing up. Do you have a particularly vivid memory from your childhood?

I had a really great childhood but my mom and my dad weren’t super close. They fought a lot. So that was my most vivid memory: them arguing. It was traumatic for me and I actually have a little PTSD from it. I was happy when they separated because it was more peaceful. I think that that was one of the main reasons why I got into writing.

What is your first memory of music? 

I started getting into music at a young age. We were so into hip hop and we would watch “Yo MTV Raps.” I remember it being [channel] 142, I remember the exact TV station and I would watch it and check out their gear. I thought the ’80s and ’90s rap stars were so cool. I was so infatuated with L.L. Cool J and Tupac.

My best friend since childhood, Leah, her brother was in a rap group called E.B. Leah said, “Yeah you should start rapping and I’m gonna sing.” I was already writing poetry so I started rapping and we made our first little song. This was in middle school, like the sixth or seventh grade.

Amber Chene

You mentioned that you are trying to create a hub for artistic people, would you explain that a little more? 

Me and my girl want to create spaces for queer people to come in, party or hang out, smoke, whatever you want, in safe spaces where people can feel comfortable to be themselves. It was so hard for me to be myself. I get verbally abused to this day, and my mom and I don’t have the best relationship, because of my queerness. I have a super churchy mom, she’s super religious, and that’s what I deal with to this day. Music and writing was a way for me to express myself and get all of that hurt out; I was able to express myself because, with my mom, I never felt like I could talk. That’s just a little bit of my trauma and my vulnerable side.

I’m also a returning citizen. A lot of people don’t know that but I was a victim of the system. Mass incarceration sucks, especially for queer black women. But I’ve flipped it, it doesn’t define me but it actually has empowered me to grow and want to help and talk to other people that are victimized by the system. It’s an issue that I feel like we need to talk about more often. 

How would you describe your style?

The best way to describe my style is “genderless.” I do not think about male or female when it comes to my clothing. I feel like everything is spiritual. Who are you to tell me how to cover my soul, you know what I mean? However I’m feeling that day is how I’m feeling, but I have my days when I want to be more feminine. I have my days where I want to be more masculine. I don’t want to label it because I’m constantly changing. I’m constantly growing so I can’t tell you how I’m going to dress. I don’t know.  

What kind of sneakers are you into? 

Everything, literally everything. I went from being a cheerleader to a basketball guru and that helped grow my interest in sneakers. When I was younger, there was this white pair that I wanted and they were sold out everywhere, but they had one pair left in the Fairlane [Fairlane Mall in Dearborn, Michigan]! I was so happy. Then I was searching for a red pair and so on. Like it became a chase. It’s crazy but sneakers are huge for me.

Amber Chene

How do you view your work in comparison to other musicians?

I’m not trying to be anybody else and I am not trying to put myself under any label. I am undefined and I don’t want to be compared with anyone else. I’m constantly growing; I’m constantly changing. I don’t sleep. I’m just trying to create my own lane and create my own genre and sound and that’s been my major focus for years. 

Do you have any Detroit musical influences?

Definitely Dilla, of course! And all of my Shadow Temple people, for sure. But Dilla is the man, I love that conscious rap. It’s extremely original and organic. I like things to be organic. 

What’s Next for you?

The ALBUM! I put in two years worth of work and I have been just grinding. Every song tells an experience. If you listen to the lyrics, you’ll understand my life and where I’m coming from. That’s what the “Golden Ratio” is all about. I’ve gone through multiple paradigm shifts in my life just to get to happiness and that what I want the people to take that message away from this album.