By 
From overcoming addiction and the loss of some of his most beloved friends and family members to raising vital funds in aid of charity close to his heart, Cookstown-based rap artist Chad Rooney is preparing to take to the stage for his hometown debut in March.
Known by his stage name of ‘Emcee’, the Tyrone-based rapper’s performance will be in aid of Autism NI, a charity he said ‘has done so much for his family over the years’.
The show is set to take place in Harry’s, Cookstown on March 20 from 7.30pm with donations welcomed in lieu of tickets.
“I have three sons, two of which have been diagnosed with autism and one who is currently going through the process towards a diagnosis,” he explained. “Autism NI is a charity that is close to my heart.
“They have done so much for us in so many different ways through the years, not only for the boys, but for us as parents.”
Speaking of how he discovered his passion for the genre, Chad explained how music has helped him through some of the toughest times in his life.
“I was always into music as my dad was a musician,” he said.
“I remember my cousin giving me a Naughty By Nature CD when I was younger and I was hooked.
“Following on from that, I got into the likes of 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Dr Dre, and that was it.
“It’s the only thing I have ever truly been obsessed with and, really, it’s all I know.”
positive impact
Chad explained how the music of these artists had a genuinely positive impact on his mental health over the years.
“Any time I felt depressed, I could stick a few tunes on and it would really help bring me back around,” he explained. “There were times over the years when I was close to ending it, so when I say that music saved me, I mean it.
“It was the only thing I could ever turn to in order to keep my head in the right place.”
As an ambitious young rapper, Chad often found himself free-styling at parties among friends. However, it was following a string of personal tragedies that he was inspired to take the next step towards establishing himself as an artist.
“My best mate always encouraged me to write down what I was free-styling, but I never had any real interest,” he said.
“Sadly, the same friend passed away a short time later, so the first time I ever put pen to paper, was to write a tribute to him.”
Having recorded his first track and performed in live, Chad never actually released it.
“I didn’t record it to be heard,” he explained. “I did it for myself. Writing and performing the track allowed me to feel like I was talking to him.
“It was therapeutic to feel like I could talk to my late friend through the music.”
Following the passing of his best friend, Chad also lost his grandfather, a series of events which he said caused him to ‘go off the rails’ as he spiralled into addiction.
“I went down a bad road and got hooked on a lot of nasty stuff,” he said.
“It got to the point where it was beyond a joke and I felt I couldn’t come back from it.
“Eventually, I started to get better, but in the process, another one of my closest friends passed away following a battle with cancer.
“That was definitely another struggle, and I felt like I couldn’t go through that pain again, but I pushed forward.”
Inspired
Having overcome such a profound series of struggles, Chad said it inspired him to write with a more deep and personal approach for the benefit of both himself and his listeners.
“If someone else can relate to what I write and find that it helps them, then that’s a bonus,” he said.
“People always say that music is the best medicine, and for me, it truly has been.
“It has worked far better than any tablets I have ever been prescribed.
“It’s the drug that I would much rather be addicted to.”
Having released a series of music videos to date, Chad is currently working on his debut album; carefully crafting and nitpicking through dozens of songs and ideas for it.
“I thought I had the album finished, but I have listened to it so extensively to the point where I am starting to take songs off it to work on new ideas,” he explained.
“I currently have about 80 songs saved on my phone – 70 of which I will probably never release.
“However, I have received good feedback on numerous occasions from friends of mine who have been urging me to get them out there.”
With his upcoming show in Cookstown in aid of Autism NI set to take place on March 20, the Cookstown-based rapper will also take part in an abseil for the charity on March 29.
“I’m terrified of heights,” he admitted. “But it’s all for a good cause, so I’m more than happy to do it.
“To date, I have raised around £1,500, so between the abseil and the upcoming show, I hope to raise as much as I can for a charity that, as I said, is very close to my heart.”
For more information on Chad’s music and to find a link to donate to his JustGiving page ahead of the abseil, you can
follow him on Instagram at:
emcee_official178
