‘A rap-artist, not a rapper!’ Go figure that out, as Chill expounds on the role she plays within the music industry, and the crazy road she’s taken to the top. Jayson Brizuela was warmed by Chill and survives hypothermia.
I'm famous for my bad temper. I'm crazy and I can be very physical when my temper sets in, especially when you push me too far. And 'chill' is a word that people have said to me many times over," says 22-year-old Audra Bio with a grin, explaining why she chose to call herself Chill when she became a rap artist several years ago.
The explanation could not have come at a more appropriate time. It's a warm, sunny, beautiful afternoon but she is surrounded by people going about their business of making her look good in front of the camera with smug expressions on their faces. The photo shoot had been delayed by several hours, and every one is pressured. Chill tries to break the ice by being extra nice.
"Chill out, guys," her smile and her eyes seem to be saying.
Wordplay aside, "Chill" has now become synonymous with sexy, young, cool, hip, funky, and even bad-ass, sometimes. Now considered as the biggest — if not the only — female rap performer in the local music industry, Chill has the hip-hop stage all to her own — for the moment, at least. And she loves every moment of it. 
To local music enthusiasts, especially those between 13 and 21, Chill is a by-word, what with the success she has achieved as a rap artist. Having released her second rap album Ego Maniacal under Sony Records only recently, Chill has been busy doing the rounds of shows, concerts, and promoting her album. Her fan base is so big that she even has to go to places as far away as Butuan to perform for her young audience. Fans who go to her concerts are driven into frenzy with the mere mention of her name. Once, a concert had to be cancelled because the stage fell apart after her name was announced and the fans all tried to close in on her.
So who is the lady with the microphone?
Chill, at the young age of 15, decided that it was time for her to be on her own. She had always been an independent person, and going back to live in her parents’ native country for the first time proved to be the perfect opportunity for her to start another chapter in her life. Showbusiness was the better — if not the only — alternative for the teener to earn money. And the pretty, milky white-skinned young lass who spent the earlier part of her life jetting all over the world with her art collector parents had no difficulty getting in. She played small, easily forgettable roles, in two even more easily forgettable movies. But admit it or not, those two movies made the big difference in her life.
"It was such a bad start. I didn't really want to be in the movies, but I had to survive. I had to prove to my parents that I could do it on my own. I just thought that I had to find a way somehow," she relates. The "way" earned for her P70,000. Just enough to start her off in her new life.
The real reward though was that she was exposed to the music industry — her calling, according to her. Oh, and it was also at this time when she met her former long-time boyfriend rapper Andrew E.
"Andrew and I were together for a little over four years and I learned a lot from him. He let me see who I should and should not be. But surprisingly, we fought a lot about music. I care a lot about artistry. I'm a rap artist and not a rapper. I didn’t want to poison something that was pure," says Chill. "You figure that one out."
Now that that part of her life has long been a closed chapter, Chill has a lot to look forward to in life and with her career. She feels that it's up to her to revive the once thriving local hip-hop music scene.
"Hip-hop is dead. It's dead because it's not growing anymore. There are no new groups coming out, and if there are groups out there who have the talent, record companies don’t sign them so they aren't able to make records. Which is sad. To me, hip-hop is more than just a form of music. It represents the type of person who wants to obtain success regardless of the consequences, which is how I see myself."
Of course, she admits to feeling wary of her future and that of her music's future in the country itself. But then again she believes that if you can't get the big thing, you should at least start with getting the smaller things. Eventually, she says, you'll get to your goal.
That's how serious Chill gets when talk shifts to her music. She talks of hip-hop ever so passionately. And hip-hop bashing is not something she would take sitting down. "I'm not a freak. I'd like to experience all forms of music and not discriminate against some of them. I have a lot of respect for bands like Wolfgang and Razorback, even if they're rock and I'm hip-hop. That's how you become a good artist," says she. 
Having been exposed to music at an early age, she learned how to appreciate all forms of music and tried to learn piano when she was but a little girl living in Iceland with her father. Later on, while living in Spain, a friend introduced her to hip-hop. They would watch MTV after school and that's when she got hooked. She never quite recovered since.
Chill's second album says many things about her. For one, it shows how much she has matured through the years. Her lyrics are deeper, her sound and her style more defined. "Before, I was a push-over. Like with the movies I made. Now you can't make me do what I don't want to do. I think I'm a stronger person now and I'm more focused. I'm also more open-minded." All these reflect in her second album, where she collaborated with many rock artists to give her sound a new edge. "It's not too good to be conservative all the time, which is how most of us Filipinos are. Sometimes we have to open our minds in order to grow. We must be constantly searching for ways to improve ourselves."
She may be doing just that right now, but still, bringing her "dead" form of music to a wider audience is seems a very daunting task — especially for a young lady who's doing it on her own. "That's okay. It will take some time before things will pick up, but I'm up to the task. The more you kick, the more I fight. The more you bring me down, the more determined I get. I don't let anyone kick my ass," she says, laughing.
From the looks of things and from the way her career seems to be going, it seems like there really is no need for kicking any behinds in the near future. Chill has finally reached that stage in her career when she no longer needs to be identified with a celebrity boyfriend to be famous herself. In fact she's way beyond that now and everybody knows it. At last, Chill is hot.
So chill out, Chill.
