CHÉ WULAAM unveils his alter ego “Bushman” and multi personality in BUSH MELO: A Bushman’s rhythm

CHÉ WULAAM, known as the Bushman, is the embodiment of creativity in its purest form. He is not just an artist, but a multifaceted individual seamlessly blending his creative endeavors with his love for nature, business acumen, and entrepreneurial spirit.

Before immersing himself in music, he began his journey in visual arts. While in college, alongside his brother Young Gustavo, he co-founded a creative agency that would see him spearheading video productions for local artists and businesses in the Lehigh Valley.

As a creative director, he demonstrated an acute understanding of conceptualizing, shooting music videos, and developing marketing campaigns for a diverse range of clients, in beauty, fast food, and technology.

In addition to his creative and artistic pursuits, CHÉ WULAAM is a successful entrepreneur, co-owning SCHEUGENG CREATIVE, among other ventures.

He doubles as the owner of VirgMob Entertainment LLC, a record label and platform where his creative visions come to life.

In 2020, WULAAM took a pivotal step toward music, debuting with “Pullop.” With a signature sound encompassing Afrobeats, Afro-fusion, and Highlife, he quickly carved out a space for himself. Four years and a few projects later, CHÉ WULAAM presents a unique body of work, his sophomore Album, BUSH MELO: A Bushman’s Rhythm.

On the ten-track project, CHÉ WULAAM takes a step back and introduces his alter ego, Bushman, and his unique approach to music.

A perfect description of the sound on BUSH MELO: A Bushman’s Rhythm would be “Bush Melodiq,” which combines alternative music with highlife and Afrobeats.

The identity of Bushman is deeply tied to CHÉ WULAAM’s personal beliefs about healing. Having endured two surgeries and living with chronic injuries, he turned to nature for solace.

For CHÉ, the “bush” represents a place of healing, far removed from the conventionality of modern life. His lifestyle reflects his ethos: embracing organic, plant-based foods, and immersing himself in nature's restorative power.

Under the influence of nature, Bushman touches on the themes of hustle, love, and healing, determination. Just as nature thrives in harmony, CHÉ WULAAM drew strength from a collective of talented voices for BUSH MELO: A Bushman’s Rhythm.

These include Maeva Fuego, KiKi Celine, Savaga, Ess the Legend, Da-Pluggg, Emmyzain, LA-based Afro-Desi DJ SUDI, and his brother Young Gustavo.

GQ sat down with CHÉ WULAAM on his identity, sophomore album, and quadruple essence as creative director, musician, entrepreneur, and Bushman.

GQ: Is CHÉ WULAAM your birth name? If not, how did you come up with and what does it mean and represent?

CHÉ WULAAM: WULAAM is a shortened form of my ethnic name, Mawulorm, which means “God loves me” in Ewe. It is Wulorm changed to Wulaam. The spelling is inspired by the story of the fictional character Mulan.

She was unqualified to serve in the Chinese military because she was a woman, so she disguised herself as a man and did incredible things. Likewise, I felt unqualified to make music because I never thought I had the talent for it. I am just someone who likes to try hard and take risks.

CHÉ was given to me by one of my brothers, Bobby Wayo. I loved saying “shey” from the Nigerian slang “shebi” when I started making music, so he would call me Shey Wulaam and I changed it to CHÉ.

GQ: You have been working as a creative director, what inspired the addition of music to your creative endeavours?

CHÉ WULAAM: My brother Young Gustavo and I run a music studio and production house for artists and creatives in the Lehigh Valley. When the pandemic set in we had to take most of our studio equipment home due to the lockdown. Since we had this equipment at home we started experimenting with music and realized it was something we could add to our creative endeavors. I am a “SCHEUgENG Creative” and “SCHEUgENG” stands for “Savvy Crew Here To Enlighten U.” I strive to be savvy; I want to do it all or at least have the knowledge to create in all aspects of art.

GQ: What lessons did you learn as a creative director that has been helpful in your music career?

CHÉ WULAAM: I feel like the business aspect of being a creative director is what has really helped push my music. If you show up everyday your creativity gets better but the business side is what pushes it to the masses and creates a sustainable environment to be able to create. Visualization and being able to bring ideas into being through videography has also branded my music in a unique way.

GQ: Tell us about your alter ego, Bushman. At what point in your life did he emerge or did you notice the personality, Bushman?

CHÉ WULAAM: Bushman emerged a year after I started making music. It was what I wanted to be identified as. I wanted to change my lifestyle completely to heal the physical injuries I had. Bush signifies green, plantation, nature, and although people in Ghana call you bush if you are unkempt or have no courtesy or manners, I seek to redefine what Bush means when associated with an individual.

GQ: How would you describe Bushman? And what is the difference between CHÉ WULAAM and Bushman?

CHÉ WULAAM: Bushman is an analogy for someone who strives to live a life of simplicity and peace. One who is mainly plant based and experiments with God’s plants for healing. One who is spiritual and not religious. CHÉ WULAAM is my artist name and Bushman is my alter ego if I should say.

GQ: Tell us about your emotions and mental state when you were creating Bush Melo?

CHÉ WULAAM: I was working at ADP, an HR and Payroll company in Pennsylvania when I was creating Bush Melo; I sold payroll.

Anyone who works in sales for a billion-dollar corporation knows the hustle and bustle that comes with it. It is a highly result-driven environment where you have to deliver or risk getting fired. It kept me on my toes and improved my communication skills.

I would record Bush Melo late at night after selling payroll during the day. Songs like “Bushman Rising,” “Mutu,” “Kinkin,” and “Pla Cebo” are all centered around hustling for money, grinding and not stopping for anything.

Once Bush Melo was done, I resigned from ADP and moved to Omaha to help establish our family businesses. So, the album paved the way for a new start and gave me a great sense of freedom.

GQ: Songs on Bush Melo such as “Kinkin” “Zuki Vibes” and “Mutu” have interesting titles. Are these titles linked to culture? In what other ways do you showcase your culture through your music?

CHÉ WULAAM: Kinkin draws inspiration from Runtown’s hit Kini issue, which in my opinion helped shape Afrobeats. Zuki Bike is just a shortened form of Suzuki Bike. Mutu is a shortened form of Mutumina which means friend or my guy in Hausa.

Culture plays a significant role in my music especially when I sing in local dialects. I also reference a lot of experiences growing up in the streets of Tema in my music so my experiences in Ghana before I moved to the States are highlighted greatly in my art.

GQ: Your music is quite unique and distinct. How easy or difficult was it to come with such a unique sound and stay true to it?

CHÉ WULAAM: My style is raw and has no structure to it. It is like a blank canvas, and I am just creating. It has not been easy building my sound because I only started making music five years ago and I still struggle sometimes to come up with melodies.

I want to be as versatile as possible. I do not want to be boxed in a genre so I experiment a lot with my voice and delivery. I love doing it so I do not see it as difficult I just see it as challenging, like a puzzle you know.

GQ: You said you find healing in nature. If someone has gone through a heartbreak or major disappointment, what natural remedy would you recommend for them?

CHÉ WULAAM: One of my managers in ADP called Sean always used to tell me to control what I can and let the rest be as it is. You can only control what you can and if something is beyond control let it be as it is.

The self is the utmost priority and you must love yourself first before others. Taking care of you is your responsibility. Heartbreaks and disappointments are a part of life but you do not have to let them break you. Eat healthy, exercise regularly, rest and read to nourish your mind.

GQ: What are your plans for the rest of the year?

CHÉ WULAAM: My plan is to continually market my released catalogue to keep building a fanbase that doesn't mind spending to get access to my art. We are still building an army of bushmen and it will take a while but we are on it. I also plan on releasing a lot of new music backed with visualizers.

Words By Paatakyi Richardson