Boogie Down, BX, The Bronx–or whatever you call it—is where you could find Chris Chambers in the ‘80s. Back then, the Mount Saint Michael Academy student grew up in the era of Calvin Klein, Levi’s, and Jordache—and can’t forget the suede Pumas or leather bombers.

Picture it: when the Caribbean kid whose family hails from Jamaica was asked by his teacher what he wanted to be when he grew up, his response was “rich.” This comes as no surprise when you dive into his family’s “we don’t buy apartments, we buy houses” ideology, a new proverb told to him when he was looking to purchase his first place in Brooklyn.

After grade school, Chris attended New York University to study journalism because he thought he’d be a newscaster for ABC or NBC, but little did he know the universe had other plans. To this day, the seasoned publicist who really did secure those two GQ covers for Drake and has represented Chaka Khan, Future, Jill Scott and more, still cherishes his time at NYU, and smiles as he recalls spending time in The Village and saving up his money so he and his friends could dine at Indochine to spot Kate Moss.

In the span of a decade after graduating, Chris went from assistant to vice president of Arista Records to senior vice president of media relations and artist development at Sony before founding his namesake agency The Chamber Group. 17 years into it, his client roster includes Usher, Naomi Campbell, Mariah Carey, Erykah Badu, Pusha T, Big Sean, HBO and more.

Here with us is the PR Veteran who has never let his career define him opens up.

When you decided to pursue a communications/journalism degree at New York University, what was your long-term objective?

I became interested in public relations when I had to complete a required PR workshop as a junior at New York University. After the workshop was over, we had to intern, and everyone was fighting for the few spots at ABC, The Post, or The Daily News, which made everything very competitive.

I got an internship at Set to Run, a boutique firm run by Leyla Turkkan, thanks to the communications department at NYU. The agency was working with Atlantic, Def Jam, Sony, and all the major labels at the time. I shadowed the publicists on press days, learned how to write releases, and more. After that internship, I still had a year of school to complete; however, the firm would call me in for special projects, and they offered me a job after I graduated. All of this is to say that by the time I graduated, I was already working in public relations, so I had no time to pursue a journalism career.

You established The Chamber Group in 2006. Describe how this came to be.

I was Sony’s senior vice president of artist development and communications prior to my launch. I left because I knew I needed a new challenge. Steve Stoute once told me that I was “bigger than the artists, and you need to move on,” as I recall. The Sony team made it clear that they still wanted to work with me as I prepared to leave if I wasn’t ready to go in-house right away. I was in interviews with Ralph Lauren, MAC Cosmetics, and others primarily in any setting other than entertainment.

Sony offered me a consulting deal, and that’s how the Chamber Group was launched. I took Usher, OutKast, and my assistant with me. Jill Scott was a first client of that Sony deal. With this backing, I was able to get an office, and it all started coming together. In all honesty, I’m not sure how things would have turned out without that cache. I wasn’t even planning to start my own business; everything just fell into place.

I read that “you weren’t interested in representing artists anymore” in a 2011 Black Enterprise feature. Yet here we are in 2023, and you shared the Vogue Cover photo of Erykah Badu on social media. What changed?

I continually strive to challenge myself, and when I said that I was emerging from the music business and stuck on wanting to tap into film, television, and fashion. In all honesty, I was spoiled in the music industry by working with “artists” like Toni Braxton and Prince.

Instead of how things are operating today, in which we are crafting ideas and creating an artist’s vision because they do not have one, I am used to artists telling me or the team what they want and making it happen. Working with people like Erykah Badu and the like with creative vision is beyond.

You explained why you left the corporate world to start your own business in that same Black Enterprise article. Is running a business all that it’s cracked up to be?

It is not, no. Every day is hard, but it is worth it because it is yours. I also get to determine the path I want to take with my career and my business. And I love the freedom to work with clients whose vision is synergistic with mine.

How have you been able to stay in business?

I built a solid reputation of “doing the work” thanks to all I had achieved prior. I didn’t have to look for clients, knock on doors, or try to get people to work with me. I was already 15/16 years into my PR career at this point, and the business came to me and continues to come to me.

“I’ve never been one to “sell myself” – I just let my work justify itself with real evidence, and I don’t express that in that frame of mind of “you ought to know me.” However, in the past two decades I’ve been able to accomplish much. Ms. Badu was on the March cover of Vogue Magazine, I launched the careers of Drake and Future, I worked with D’Angelo and Prince, and have booked SNL multiple times. I’ve worked hard to keep my clients “fresh” and to put them in impactful and atypical spaces, which is one of the many reasons I was at the forefront of taking my clients to Europe for fashion week.

Chaka Khan, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Mariah Carey and Vanessa Williams are on your roster. Can you discuss the differences between working with Legacy Acts who are not in their “Prime” anymore vs. those who are?

It is still a learning process because working with the Chaka’s, Mariah’s, and even somebody like Erykah, who’s been in the game for around 25 years, yet still has such a thrilling career. As you mentioned, these legacy acts aren’t doing as much – they pop in and out, and you’ll see them on special occasions; they come and go, but it’s still fascinating. Working with Chaka Khan was incredible because she didn’t rest on her laurels. She was open to fresh opportunities that weren’t available when she first started in the business. She welcomed and embraced new things and that’s every publicist’s dream come true.

The Chamber Group has also worked with Valentino, Netflix, HBO, TODs, Chris Paul, Pat McGrath Labs, Naomi Campbell. Couple that with Future, Drake, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, USHER, and Lee Daniels I’m left wondering how you’ve been able to manage all the different needs and wants.

It’s the team… I have an extraordinary team, and the clients are divided among them. I set the direction of a campaign then my team steps in to execute the vision.

What advantages do non-celebrity clients receive from working with The Chamber Group?

We have strong relationships with the media across the board. We carry out conventional PR. Outside of celebrities and personalities, we consistently work with fashion houses, beauty brands, and arts & culture institutions. The Chamber Group is a brand architecture firm. That’s why we can work with Netflix, HULU, and HBO. After developing their strategy internally, they will hire us to manage all national media or supervise the campaign’s television component.

When the Oscars slap happens, as a seasoned publicist, what do you do? How can you calm things down?

There had to be a moment of silence to process what had transpired in front of the entire world because this was a global issue before either side could address the media. I wouldn’t have changed much because bringing it up right away would have intensified it and extended the conversation. This was personal on both sides, so an apology to the public and the community for allowing your emotions to get the best of you in front of the world.

Can you recall the year or moment when you realized you knew what you were doing as a publicist? Like, “I got this, and I can make this happen because I know what I’m capable of?”

Funny thing is, I still wonder if I’m doing it right. Every moment and day are unique. There is always a wave of wins and challenges. Based on my relationships, I realized that I was at least in a solid place in my career. When I noticed that certain people took my calls, responded to my emails, and wanted my opinion. I thought, “Okay, I’m here, I’m not going anywhere” that was probably the time in my career when I felt the most secure.

You’ve been at it for over 2 decades. Does the Chamber Group cease when you retire?

No! The company will live on without me, and it should. Yes, it’s my child, and it’s been amazing to watch it evolve and progress from where it started. I had no idea that 17 years later, the company would still be around. This is my legacy, and I want to go on without me; the thought of that while I’m off retired on an island somewhere makes me feel so good.

Lastly, I’d like to learn what you want people to know about you and your journey.

I hope that people will take the time to realize that the journey was not as easy as it appeared. Numerous people have commented, “You make it look so easy,” which surprised me because, as you pointed out, it is a difficult task. It has been a journey that is not as difficult as others, but it has its challenges. Managing public relations and building a business are two distinct jobs.

When people look at the company or me, I hope they see that success didn’t come overnight and that I was committed and stood my ground even when I would say, “I don’t want to do this anymore.” I’m proud of myself, and I had to learn to not wait for others to recognize that but for me to see my own success while being grateful and thankful.