Chico has knocked Madonna off the top of the UK charts with his catchy number one single It’s Chico Time, has toured the UK as part of a sell-out national tour and even co-wrote, produced and starred in a BAFTA-nominated short film with his brother JC Mac called Winner Takes All. Not bad for a guy who started out life as a goat herder on the plains of Morocco.
There were humble beginnings for the charismatic entertainer. Chico [whose real name is Yousseph Slimani] was born into a loving family in Bridgend, Wales but at the age of two his father took him to Morocco. Here, he was raised by his grandparents on a small farm. “I had a beautiful, loving childhood,” explains Chico. “We were poor, but it was a very loving environment that was very traditional and very pure. It was us, nature and the traditions of a thousand years. We never struggled for food because we grew our own and lived off the land I’d even work on the farm herding the goats to help out.”
At 13, Chico returned to the UK to live with his father and complete his schooling and even at this age he was turning heads with his entertaining nature and charming personality. “I was hyper happy at school,” continues Chico. “I was an intelligent kid who couldn’t speak English, so I couldn’t express myself. I had to start from scratch and sit in a remedial class because I couldn’t speak the language and yet I was bright. It was a very frustrating time.”
His goal has always been to entertain, but there has been plenty of other work along the way. “I was a trainee hairdresser, a mechanical engineer, an electrical engineer and then I joined a dance troupe to raise money for my ill grandmother,” he reveals. “She had a stroke so I found myself supporting my grandparents and uncles in Morocco. I’d send money back to them every month without fail even if I didn’t have enough for my rent or my food.”