He took it as a challenge to become a real MC. "I just started listening to beats every single day," says the rapper, who does not use his birth name. "I was a groundskeeper, and I would just walk around cleaning the pool and picking up trash, listening to beats and freestyling. I got really addicted to it pretty fast. It became an obsession."
His obsession paid off: This year, Cart3r released his second EP, Forever Lost, and by the end of this year, he'll have played twenty shows across Colorado and beyond. Next up, he'll be at the Black Buzzard on December 9, opening for JaLu.
This past January, the 25-year-old Cart3r, who was raised in Louisville, Kentucky, moved from Kansas City to Denver specifically to further his music career. "A lot of people don't know that the music scene here is huge. And it's been huge, but right now it's on the cusp of exploding, and it's about to boil over. It's a great practice grounds for artists who want to do shows, and it's a good in-between place for artists to actually travel," he says.
Cart3r had only been to Denver once before, but couldn't shake the feeling that he belonged here: "This is going to sound stupid, but I just felt it. I was in Kansas City looking for places to go, because it wasn't really working for me. I was getting my name out there, but it's not like Denver, where you get a lot of opportunities. This is where dreams come true to me."
Though he has heard plenty of artists in Colorado bemoan the lack of community, Cart3r says he's had the opposite experience. "I've never seen a community of artists work together as well as they do here. I think that may be the problem: The artists here just don't see it because they maybe haven't been to other cities," he explains. "I hear a lot that there's no networking here and people don't support, but since I've been here, even if you just look at my numbers, they've all gone up tremendously. Everything is on the rise, and it's all because of Denver."
Cart3r calls himself "a genuine music nerd."
Trey Karson
Besides recording Forever Lost, Cart3r spent most of 2022 focused on honing his performance skills. He came out of the gate swinging earlier this year with his first live show ever — at South by Southwest, no less. Although his set was successful, he struggled with anxiety leading up to his next show, in San Diego. But upon returning to Denver, he booked a show that changed everything. "I came back here and I got an offer from DNA Picasso to do [a show at] Your Mom's House," he recalls. "It was packed, like 250 people there. I killed that show. I was a whole different person than I was in San Diego. It was a switch."
He's now got nearly twenty shows under his belt, with several more to go before the end of the year. And seeing Cart3r live now — spitting bars through his curtain of locs with a cool, understated confidence — you would think he's been in the game for years.
In 2023, Cart3r plans to keep the momentum going. "I would like to drop at least three videos from [Forever Lost] to start the year. I want to drop at least ten singles next year. As far as performing, because that's what I'm really focused on, I want to do Mission Ballroom. I want to do Red Rocks. My biggest thing I'm working on right now is getting into Cervantes'. I want to rock that stage," he says. "I would do a show every day if I could. It's amazing, really. I'm truly blessed. I can't express that enough."
Now that he's found his confidence, Cart3r is a natural on stage.
Trey Karson
JaLu with Chris Cart3r, Teazy, Cole Hemstreet, YHB Kokoa, Wavyrare, Max Walter, and Seanny S Tone, 8 p.m. Friday, December 9, at the Black Buzzard, 1624 Market Street. Tickets are $15 online.
