Don’t ask Chandler how he did it. He just did it. It was hard.

After years of performing shows and racking up millions of views and shares across social media for his song “NOTHIN’ TO IT,” Richmond rapper Chandler Matkins is saying goodbye to Richmond. He’ll be hosting a send-off show at the Broadberry with friends and collaborators such as Lunch $pecial, O-Z, TMA, Kaay Taurus, Zuri, DJ Tuffluck, and Fellaair.

We talked with Chandler about his music career, feelings on going viral, and why he says he can never truly leave Richmond behind.

Style Weekly: First off, where are you going and why are you leaving Richmond?

Chandler: I’m moving back to New York. I lived in Richmond from 2014 to 2018 then moved to New York with the intention of becoming an actor. I was there for 18 months and then COVID happened. Everything was shutting down, so I decided to take another stab at music and moved back to Richmond. I spent the last couple years here growing and things obviously went pretty well on social media for me—much better than I could have ever thought. It’s opened up a lot of opportunities, and I just ultimately realized I was ready to move back there.

How do you see your career growing once you get to New York?

There are a lot of people in New York that I’m already working with, be it artists, producers, or publishers. While I was building a following here in Richmond, I was also attempting to do it there. I’m really looking forward to being able to perform there more and doing more touring. But I’m also really excited for the ability to potentially further a pipeline between New York and Richmond and be able to bring in people I know and show off the amazing music scene we have here.

Obviously, you going viral on TikTok had a huge impact. Is social media something you plan for to hopefully gain traction?

It’s odd for me because I’ve been making music so much longer than social media being used to promote music. I was actually on TikTok doing more sketch-related things before I even started putting music out, and garnered a little bit of traction doing that. But the viral moment was almost a year ago now, and the way it initially happened was so not representative of my catalog. With the line “Don’t ask me how I did it. I just did it. It was hard,” I didn’t hear it the same way that everybody else did when I first recorded it. It was just how I was feeling that day. It took on a life of its own and the next thing I knew, it was like, oh, now I’m seeing this! It really goes to show that you never know how you’re going to impact people’s lives, and how your words can be taken in and out of context.

A lot of artists feel like they now have to become [social media] content creators on top of their artistic work. What are your feelings on that?

I won’t lie and say that I always love it. I mean, I don’t. I don’t think anybody does. It’s very draining. But it’s also not for everybody. Richmond reminds me all the time that the way that I’m doing it is not the only way to do it. This music scene is super diverse and the people in it have succeeded in different ways. For me, I’ve always made music with the intention of being in a room with people hearing it and having a good time. I don’t always feel like my music has to say something. I just want to evoke an emotion. Social media, for me, turned out to be the way to reach those people. I don’t think my way is the only way to do things, but it’s definitely one of them.

What can people expect from your last Richmond show? Any surprises you want to share?

I wanted to do this last show as an amalgamation of my last couple of years here. I wanted the bill to be filled with not only the people that I’ve collaborated with, but also the artists that have really become close friends to me. That’s why we called it a send off “with the family.”

I’ve played a lot of shows with these folks over the years, Lunch $pecial in particular. Having him by my side for this last show is extremely special. It’s just really cool to see how we’ve both grown. Fellaair will be on guitar with me that night during my set. He played in [Chandler’s previous band] Big Mama Shakes with me a decade ago. Tuffluck is not only one of my best friends but has produced a ton of my records and has been my DJ for years. From start to finish, this whole night just came together and everybody was available to celebrate what the last couple of years have meant to all of us.

I do have a song coming out the day before the show that will really shock people and maybe blow some minds. I’ve been telling people to be prepared. I think it’ll be really exciting.

Do you see yourself coming back to Richmond someday?

I could totally see myself coming back. I never want Richmond to feel like I’m using it in any kind of way. It’s not like I’m going to go to New York and start repping New York as if that’s where I’m from. I’m going to be the guy from Virginia that came up and brought his friends and other members of the Virginia music scene along with him. But I’ll be back here for shows and to record stuff. I’ve made lifelong friends and collaborators here and that ain’t changing.

Chandler’s RVA Send Off with the Family takes place at The Broadberry on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. $15 in advance, $20 at the door.