Chanel West Coast Talks 'Ridiculousness' Season 10, Joining 'Love & Hip-Hop' [Exclusive]
Chanel West Coast and her MTV costars, Rob Dyrdek and Sterling "Steelo" Brim, will be seen in an all-new episode of Ridiculousness Season 10 on Friday.
Ahead of the new episode, Chanel West Coast took some time out of her busy schedule to talk about her career with MTV, her new role on Love & Hip-Hop: Hollywood, and her new music.
Enstars: When you first signed onto 'Ridiculousness,' did you think you would still be watching these hilarious videos almost eight years later?
Chanel West Coast: You know, I didn’t really know what I was signing up for, to be honest. Rob had asked me a week before the pilot if I wanted to do it and same with Sterling. He asked Sterling two days before.
I really didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t know it would be something that had this much longevity. But you know, America’s Funniest Home Videos was on for 25 years. So, hopefully, we go as long.
How has Rob Dyrdek impacted career?
Knowing Rob and just seeing how he works and seeing his hustle and his grind and his passion has been really inspiring. I’m a similar person. I’m very passionate about music and everything that I do and being around him pushed me to get better at everything and just to work harder.
When we're at the Fantasy Factory and all of his businesses were being run there, you could see him having meetings non-stop and I’m like, ‘I want to be like this one day, only the female version.’ He’s definitely an inspiring person to be around.
Looking back, did you have any hesitation to work with Rob Dyrdek after he contacted you on MySpace?
Yes. I’ve done music my whole life and that was always what I wanted to do and my focus and I knew that there was a couple of people in the past that had been reality stars and tried to do music and people didn’t really take them seriously. I was very worried about that.
But, at the time Rob asked me to be on his show, I was also broke and out of a job and had no money. So, I couldn’t really be picky and pass up a job. So I took the job and I was like, ‘I’m going to make the best out of this and see what happens.’
Who has been your favorite guest host on 'Ridiculousness' so far?
That’s such a tough question. I can say this because I’m sure many would agree… Snoop was one of our best guests. He was hilarious, not just on the show but on set all day. He was the funniest, chillest person to be around.
How did your role in 'Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood' came about?
A good friend of mine who I went to high school with, we were hanging out one day and he basically was like, ‘You know, I feel like it’s crazy you’ve been on TV this long but people still don’t really know you. People don’t even get who you are because of the type of shows you are on.
You need to be on something like Love & Hip-Hop.’ He had a connection on the show. So, he hit up his boy and they were like, ‘Come in and meet.’ And then the funny thing is, it’s a small world. One of the producers from Love & Hip-Hop is actually one of our old producers from Fantasy Factory. So I had that relationship already and it was a natural thing that happened.
Was it easy to expose your life to the reality show after being in the spotlight for so many years prior?
Even in Rob’s shows, I don’t have any say in editing. Being on Rob’s shows, he was my friend and I know that he had my best interest. He didn’t want me to look any other ways than how I really am. With Love & Hip-Hop, I was a little bit worried that they would try to portray me a different way than who I really am or something like that.
But, it’s such a big show and they have such a big following and I saw the success Cardi B had with it. Cardi B and I are similar characters. We are both funny and goofy.
That seems to be the disconnect I’ve had with my career… not being able to put my funny and goofy side together with my hip-hop side. With Cardi B, it seemed a bit more natural and easy for her. So, I was like, 'I’m going to see if Love & Hip-Hop works for me the same way.'
To see more of Chanel West Coast, tune into new episodes of Ridiculousness Season 10 on Friday nights on MTV at 10 p.m.
Her new single, "Everywhere We Go," is currently available on iTunes.
