Two ‘chaps’ too many - Confusion as dancehall artistes have similar names

Two dancehall artistes are performing under similar sounding stage names and both camps admit there is some confusion for fans.

Both pronounced 'chaps', Chappzs has been on the radar over the past five years, while Chxpz, a newcomer, recently garnered a hit with his single Box Milk that has amassed more than a million views on YouTube.

"It has started to cause some amount of confusion and maybe a little animosity in the streets between supporters of the artistes," Chappzs' road manager, Jimbo of T3M Music, told THE WEEKEND STAR. He opined that Chxpz's management team should consider a rebrand.

"Our artiste has been building and growing the brand and he has been actively using the name since 2015. The spelling was originally Chaps when his first official song, Makavelli, was released. Then to add some uniqueness he has changed it to Chappzs," he said. "Both artistes are releasing music within the same genre, and having the same name is likely to be a problem. It limits the artistes."

Chappzs had a successful end to 2022, making his Sting debut and receiving resounding applause at Eastern Extravaganza held in the Mountain View community where he was raised.

"I've been mainly focused on compiling a good body of work and 2022 was a good year. Going forward, as me a prepare fi release my EP, Rank Up, I want to avoid any conflict of any kind," said Chappzs of the situation. He is urging Chxpz to consider renaming himself before he expands his catalogue, as "I have seen where it is confusing".

"Still I'm not planning to change my name ... me never plan to and not going to," he said.

But Chxpz's management team is also firm in their decision to continue promoting his brand as is. Dwayne Griffiths, producer and owner of Simple Boss Records, who is part of Chxpz's team, said that while both artistes are doing dancehall, they appeal to different markets.

"A little confusion may be circling in the atmosphere, on social media, and it's being heard. But Box Milk would have definitely made persons more interested to find out who the artiste is and the spelling is not normal for any of them. However, their music is different. Chxpz does not do 'choppa music' and not gonna do it ... he is catering to an international fanbase and right now we are working to familiarise the audience with the brand, sound and style," Griffiths said.

"We don't intend to change his name. We haven't gotten any vast remarks about it causing any confusion, though it can. Artistes can perform and exist with similar names if both of them have different spellings," Chxpz's co-manager Shania Lawrence maintained.

- S. L