CHLOE VEE BLENDS BEATS, PAINT, STYLE

By Nosipho Mabuza (Intern)

MANZINI — She raps, she paints, she designs—and she does it all with fearless flair. Nkosephayo Chloe Vilakati, known on the streets and on stage as Chloe Vee, is quickly becoming a name you can’t ignore.

At just 23, Chloe is carving out her own lane in music and fashion, blending rhythm, paint, and denim into an unapologetic celebration of individuality. Whether she’s behind the mic or a sewing machine, her creative energy is impossible to miss.

“I want to make it big in the music industry,” Chloe says. “And I want to design my own performance outfits when that happens. These two passions aren’t separate—they fuel each other.”

Before the street wear and streaming dreams, Chloe was just a kid making doll clothes and experimenting with beats on a Nokia 3310. In school, she sharpened her skills in poetry and debate, setting the foundation for her lyrical and visual artistry.

Now, she’s a self-taught powerhouse navigating the music scene with genre-bending tracks that span Afro-pop, R&B, Naija, trap soul, and hip-hop. Her biggest influence is artists who’ve made it on their own terms. “Russ really inspires me. No manager, no label—he makes his own beats, videos, everything. That’s the kind of independence I admire.”

When she’s not in the studio, Chloe is immersed in design. A fashion design graduate from Ngwane Park TVET College, she’s pioneering a style she calls Aesthetic Street Style—a gritty, gorgeous blend of abstract painting, mixed fabrics, chains, and hand-drawn details, especially on denim.

“I draw and paint directly on clothes. Sometimes I’ll stitch in random objects or quotes—whatever speaks to me. I want my designs to start conversations, to make people smile or think.”

Her pieces, like her music, are bold and unfiltered. Inspired by hip-hop and the colorful chaos of Manzini, she’s all about standing out, not blending in.

“Manzini taught me to be different. I express that through my tattoos, piercings, and what some call ‘weird’ fashion—but I love it.”

Self-employed and building her brand from the ground up, Chloe knows the hustle well. While funding and visibility are on-going challenges, she credits her progress to relentless passion—and social media.

“Sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated, but I remember why I started. I’ve built an audience online, and that keeps me going.”

So what’s next for her, she won’t give too much away, but one thing’s for sure—Chloe Vee is just getting started. “Always be ready to be surprised. You never know what I’ll do next,” she says with a grin.