Tchakalla Anthony Romeo—known professionally as TCHAKALLA, formerly Gunboi—is a platinum-certified producer, rapper, and loopmaker who operates on both sides of hip-hop’s creative divide. Born in New York, raised in Virginia, and initially breaking through in Germany, he’s produced major placements for Migos (“Racks 2 Skinny”), Young Thug & Gunna (“Slatty”), Future, and Destroy Lonely. While his production shaped mainstream trap, his solo work under TCHAKALLA—released through his own GUNWORLD label—lives in alternative rap territory with albums like FLOWERS FOR DEMONS, MEMORIES OF MERCURY, and PRACTICE WHAT U PREACH. Now based in Los Angeles and increasingly leaning into his birth name, TCHAKALLA is reclaiming his identity and defining the next chapter on his own terms.
SNQLX: You were born in New York, raised in Virginia, broke through in Germany, and now you’re in LA. How did those places shape who you are?
TCHAKALLA: I feel like being born in New York instilled a deep cynicism in me; something has to be REALLY cool for me to think it’s cool, and most things really aren’t that cool.
Virginia definitely gave me the boredom to even pursue music, and in that environment I felt like I never really fit in, which is something I carry with me to this day that makes me use music as a solace and place to be understood.
Germany definitely was the place where I realized the power of music and art and made me respect my own talents more and realize there was a purpose for me worldwide.
SNQLX: What did that international beginning in Germany teach you that you wouldn’t have learned staying in the US?
TCHAKALLA: Definitely the importance of art as a craft regardless of how much money you’re making and that Hip Hop and Black art had a worldwide purpose of educating and integrating the stories of the oppressed to the world and changes how people interact with black people and the oppressed in general.
SNQLX: When you moved to LA and posted about sleeping on the floor, you said “comfort is the greatest enemy to a fulfilling life.” What were you chasing in that moment?
TCHAKALLA: To be honest I was more comfortable then than I am now lol. I was honestly chasing change and just trying to truly expand as an artist. I felt like in Germany because I was an “other” I could never break into the industry the way that I wanted to.
SNQLX: Your Instagram still says @gunboi, but recent releases credit you as TCHAKALLA or Tchakalla Romeo. When did you start leaning into your real name?
TCHAKALLA: I started dabbling with it in 2023/24 but I took it seriously last October after getting sober.
SNQLX: What does reclaiming your birth name represent for where you are now?
TCHAKALLA: To be honest I feel like with GUNBOI only a specific type of listener would really respect my craft as a musician and with my real name I can step into my truth of being a composer more.
SNQLX: Does TCHAKALLA feel like a different version of you than Gunboi, or are you just introducing people to who you’ve always been?
TCHAKALLA: TCHAKALLA is Gunboi and so much more to be honest. Gunboi isn’t always TCHAKALLA though. I definitely feel like im introducing people to who I’ve always been.
SNQLX: What does it mean to you to have people say your full name when they talk about your work?
TCHAKALLA: It means the world to me to be honest. I feel like I can finally be respected in the same way as my favorite composers or artists outside of Hip Hop where aliases are common. I feel like I can be a FINE ARTIST now lol.
SNQLX: Your solo work lives in alternative rap territory. What does “alternative rap” mean to you?
TCHAKALLA: Honestly it doesn’t mean anything. I think I make HIP HOP I just pick alternative rap because algorithms need that specification and my music definitely contains elements of rock and other things in them.
SNQLX: Your loops sound like “mysterious films or video games that have great music but no one has seen.” Is that still the world you’re building as TCHAKALLA?
TCHAKALLA: Yes but in a much much different way. GUNBOI is more electronic whereas TCHAKALLA is more analog. TCHAKALLA is a much more raw experience so it’s more of a guy playing a mysterious film score or a guy writing music for a video game no one has seen rather than the end result itself…if that makes sense lol.
SNQLX: Albums like FLOWERS FOR DEMONS and PRACTICE WHAT U PREACH feel emotionally specific. How does stepping into your real name affect what you’re willing to say or create?
TCHAKALLA: To be honest with TCHAKALLA I’m probably expressing the same things but in a way people will actually listen. I feel like most people don’t listen to what you’re saying when you rap it in autotune lol.
They just want to hear you talk about drugs and violence and if you’re not they stop listening. I cry when people actually listen to Gunboi lyrics because I was saying some real shit.
SNQLX: When you produce for other artists now, do they work with Gunboi or TCHAKALLA? Does that change the energy?
TCHAKALLA: TCHAKALLA is always making the music just sometimes it’s GUNBOI but GUNBOI is always TCHAKALLA. TCHAKALLA is not always GUNBOI though. The energy never really changes but in collaboration unless I get 100% control then its GUNBOI.
GUNBOI is a producer and being a producer you compromise to fit a vision. TCHAKALLA is a fine artist and that’s only true when I have 100% control which is very rare.
SNQLX: As TCHAKALLA, what’s the version of success that matters most to you now?
TCHAKALLA: 1 Million Monthly Listeners on Spotify is my tangible music goal that sits in the art gallery of my mind right now. I also want to have a dope live show but I’m more of a composer than a performer so live shows do scare me.
SNQLX: What do you want TCHAKALLA to be known for five years from now?
TCHAKALLA: I want to be known as one of the great Black American artists in the lexicon of great Black art. I want my art to be seen as revolutionairy and uplifting.
SNQLX: Is Gunboi a chapter you’re closing, or is TCHAKALLA the expanded story that includes everything Gunboi built?
TCHAKALLA: GUNBOI will always exist. I still do my twitch streams as GUNBOi the producer. TCHAKALLA is the expanded story of me as an artist. I don’t think I’ll release music as GUNBOI anymore but I’ll always produce and offer materials to artist and producers as GUNBOI, but as an artist presenting my voice to the world, that will always be done musically as TCHAKALLA from now on.
SNQLX: What’s the temperature of the music you’re making right now?
TCHAKALLA: I have a lot of warm music and a lot of cold music but mainly they’re reflective and somber…Honestly I dunno what you mean by temperature hahaa
SNQLX: What does it feel like to make music where your real name is attached to every word and every risk?
TCHAKALLA: Like I’m finally a real artist.
SNQLX: What’s a quiet fear or doubt that pushes your work forward rather than holding it back?
TCHAKALLA: That nobody is really listening to what I’m saying.
SNQLX: When someone listens to a TCHAKALLA song, what do you want them to take with them?
TCHAKALLA: Confidence and Motivation
SNQLX: If you could talk to the version of yourself who first started as Gunboi, what would you tell him about becoming TCHAKALLA?
TCHAKALLA: I would tell him to not even bother with GUNBOI and go straight to TCHAKALLA. Your art doesn’t need a filter and you need to express the full breadth of your creativity regardless of genre.
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