The Stunning Transformation Of Chanel West Coast

Chanel West Coast grew up with glitzy dreams, in part due to spending time with her father, who was a DJ, in New York. According to her website, while she wasn't with her mother in North Hollywood, her dad would "bring his then eight-year-old-daughter" with him as he DJ'd local clubs. "I've always been around music," West Coast wrote on her website. "I knew it's what I'd do for the rest of my life. I didn't have a choice." She shed even more light in an interview with The Trend, explaining her ultimate goal: "I remember just dreaming of one day, my dad pulling out my record to play."

The time the MTV darling spent with her mother was unconventional, too. According to LA Weekly, her mom would grow marijuana "to help pay the bills." By age 11, she was immersed in a specific culture and "started listening to hip-hop and smoking weed."

It looks like now that West Coast is raking in the big bucks, all she ultimately wants to do is make her folks proud. "I make all of my music, because I want to be successful and make [my mom] proud," the Ridiculousness starlet dished to The Trend, then joked, "She's proud that I'm able to help her out with the bills and stuff."

Chanel West Coast is pretty lucky to have Rob Dyrdek in her corner — especially when she's known to have so many haters. As the aspiring rapper slowly started becoming friends with the former pro skateboarder through MySpace, he suddenly offered her a role in his new MTV reality show, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory. "She had, again on Myspace, talked to my cousins and they were like, 'She's so dumb, she thinks she's a rapper.' And then when I met her, I was like ... 'She's actually good at it,'" Dyrdek revealed to Medium. "I just asked her, 'Do you want to be a rapping receptionist at the Fantasy Factory?'"

However, it turned out Dyrdek's "rapping receptionist" did have some hesitations. "The first thing that crossed my head was, 'Is this going to ruin my chances of being taken seriously as an artist,'" West Coast told LA Weekly years later. Ultimately, what pushed the starlet in the MTV direction was simple: she was broke. "I never wanted to do reality TV," the Ridiculousness host dished No Jumper. "The day that Rob asked me, I remember I literally had like a little pile of change I scrounged up to go to In-N-Out." Truth be told, that's enough reason for anybody.

Nonetheless, this early MTV period saw a much more shy West Coast on TV, yet still led to some hilarious moments such as the time she rapped for John Mayer on the show.

Over the years, Chanel West Coast has made it very clear that she had an initial hesitation about getting into the reality TV industry. Nevertheless, it looks like MTV merely put her on the map, as she still got the chance to sign to Lil Wayne's label, Young Money, in 2013.

As West Coast told Billboard that same year, "I have so much music that I've made in the past two years. We already have so much music done and ready to go ... 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." Adding that she "lives in the studio," it must mean the Ridiculousness star's music career was en route to thriving, right?

Well, think again. Although West Coast's debut album was supposed to come out in 2014, the deal never panned out. As per TMZ, Lil Wayne reportedly never actually had a deal with the blonde starlet on his label, as his creative partner, Birdman, "refused to give the official sign off" — leaving West Coast in musical purgatory. "It's actually, like, really annoying," she told LA Weekly in 2014. "I feel like the red-headed stepchild of Young Money."

Although Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory was over, Rob Dyrdek himself was already onto his next MTV money-making machine, Ridiculousness. The viral comedy clip show first aired in 2011, and, at the time of this writing, is still going strong, with both Dyrdek and Chanel West Coast serving as co-hosts.

While many fans flocked to West Coast's bubbly persona, she, of course, had some naysayers, as well. In one particularly heated episode of Ridiculousness, the co-host found herself in a live TV argument with radio personality, Charlamagne Tha God, after he called her a "wack rapper." The result? West Coast immediately retorting with, "You can have opinions, but it doesn't mean they're right though," before adding, "Lil Wayne, who co-signed Drake and Nicki Minaj, is the same person that co-signed me. I won a BET award with Young Money. I got songs with French Montana, YG, Ty Dolla Sign, Snoop Dogg." While Charlamagne laughed, West Coast continued to flail, and the clip, of course, went viral.

A few days later, it surprisingly looked like the spat was all water under the bridge. "I feel fine, it's all love," West Coast dished to TMZ, adding, "We all get a little upset sometimes, a little insecure, and sometimes we lash out because of that ... It's all love, he's a funny guy, and, you know, he just boosted my views and followers."

Although her long-lasting gig with MTV shows no signs of stopping, Chanel West Coast is still trying to make it as a rapper — without the help of Lil Wayne. For the most part, the starlet has been releasing her music on her YouTube channel without much controversy ... until 2019.

In April of that year, West Coast released her new song, "Sharon Stoned" (get the joke?), yet found herself being sued by none other than Sharon Stone herself. According to court documents obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, "The song gratuitously and repeatedly uses the name 'Sharon Stone' in its lyrics." As the suit goes on, "During the Song, Defendant Dudley gratuitously repeats the name 'Sharon Stone' thirty-three times and the name 'Sharon' ninety-nine times," which to be honest, if you haven't listened to the song, sounds pretty hilarious. Along with drilling the actress' name into all our heads during the song's length, the rapper also recreates some of Stone's most iconic movie scenes, such as this one from Basic Instinct. 

West Coast fought back, and according to Page Six, claimed Stone was in "cooperation" with her to create the song and video. As she went on, she explained that the pair had meetings, conversations, and "even had [Stone's] own ideas that she shared with [West Coast] and [her] team for the collaborative on the video." At the time of this writing, the two are still working toward a settlement.

Although most of Chanel West Coast's interviews see the starlet talk about her love of rap, she's also hinted at being a crossover artist, too. Speaking about Gwen Stefani's crossover success from her beginnings in No Doubt to being a solo artist, West Coast dished to The Trend, "It's something I'd love to do. I love all types of music, I'd rather start with hip-hop and then maybe cross over into more pop-rock. I really aspire to be an artist like that that can basically do anything."

In August 2019, West Coast premiered a new song and video on her YouTube channel, "Anchors." Viewers and fans immediately noticed the higher production value, and most importantly, the starlet's transition into more radio-friendly pop. Her fans immediately wondered why the crooner wasn't turning to singing more in her tracks, so she addressed the goss in an Instagram post. "For those who always ask why I Rap and not sing more....well....I can write raps by myself in my d**n sleep lol. I cannot write singing songs as well. At least not melodies that truly show off my vocal range. So I teamed up with @kaydence & she helped me get MY feelings and MY story out by co-writing this amazing song with me." 

Considering the feedback of her new musical style has been positive, maybe West Coast should just keep doing whatever it is she's doing now?