Survival is more than a chapter in Finesse Cobain’s story—it’s the foundation of everything he creates. After narrowly escaping death in a 2019 shooting and enduring a long, painful recovery, his life became defined by resilience, purpose, and an unshakable sense that he was meant to finish what he started. Years later, a devastating heartbreak in 2024 stripped him down even further, catalyzing a new era of radical honesty in both his sound and identity. In this interview, Finesse Cobain opens up about trauma, healing, emotional hip-hop, and the creation of Chosen—a project born from pain, rebuilt in truth, and offered as a lifeline to anyone who’s ever felt broken.
Can you share the story of your recovery after the 2019 shooting and how it shaped your music?
Recovery was a process. I had to relearn how to walk, and it took about eight months—sooner than anyone expected. The doctor originally told me she didn’t think she could save me, and after surgery, she thought I would be paralyzed. Before leaving, she came back and said I was a miracle. The hardest part was learning to be still, to slow down even for a moment. But that didn’t last long. After some months, as soon as I could move even a little, I was back outside, posted like I never left. I felt the people depending on me needed me at full strength. We had work to do and generational curses to break. That hope almost died with me. I told myself I had to survive to finish what I started. My music reflects everything I’ve been through and everything I’m still going through. In my songs, you don’t just hear the pain—you feel it. You hear the story of someone who was once broken but became chosen. Through resilience, pain was alchemised into purpose. That’s the reason I’m here. That’s where the real me lives.
How did the heartbreak in 2024 influence your approach to writing Chosen?
That heartbreak is everything you’re seeing, hearing, and feeling now. The sound. Chosen, the single leading into my upcoming project Nobody Knows… Until Now. Even the person I became. Every note, every lyric, every silence carries a piece of that pain. Chosen isn’t something I planned. It’s something that happened to me. Losing love stripped me down to nothing—no mask, no armor, no version of me left untouched. From that nothing, I rebuilt myself. Every song, every line is the aftermath of that moment, a window into what it feels like to fall apart and come back chosen.
What does “resilience” mean to you personally and artistically?
Resilience is waking up when you don’t want to be alive anymore and still choosing to create. It’s taking wounds that could bury you and turning them into art that speaks for those who feel unheard.
Who were your biggest influences while making Chosen?
My own pain. I didn’t chase inspiration. I let whatever I was feeling speak through me in real time. No filters. No pretending. Every note came from the rawest part of me.
How do you define emotional hip-hop, and what draws you to this style?
Emotional hip-hop is truth without armor. It’s exposing what most people hide. Heartbreak unlocked my creativity. It forced me to stop hiding, stop pretending, and start feeling—even when it hurt so much it almost broke me.
Can you describe the creative process behind your music videos and visual storytelling?
Everything I feel inside, I try to show on the outside. On the inside, it’s dark, cold, constantly storming. On the outside, people see a smile. There are so many others living with that kind of internal chaos every day. Part of my purpose is to shine light on that darkness. The visuals for Chosen follow the same story as the music. Losing someone I deeply loved. Apologizing one last time. Letting go. Then came the darkness—the depression, the isolation, the silence. That period created the person standing before you now, the identity I rebuilt from the shadows.
How do you handle the vulnerability of sharing such personal experiences through music?
For a long time, I ran from it. I disappeared from music because I didn’t want the world to see how broken I was while fighting extreme depression and still showing up every day giving 100 percent. It became overwhelming, almost paralyzing. But hiding was killing me more than being honest ever could. So I stopped running from the pain and became it.
What was the first line or idea you wrote for Chosen, and how did it evolve?
“I took the E out of emotion.” That was the moment I decided to go numb and turn emotion into motion, pain into purpose. That line became the blueprint for the entire project.
How do you see your sound evolving over the next few years?
I’m only getting better. I already have at least five different flows people haven’t heard yet. My sound shifts with my emotions. Sometimes my alter ego takes over, and when he’s in control, I let him speak. Every new sound is another layer of the story I’m telling.
What message do you hope fans take away from Chosen and your music overall?
You are chosen, never broken. When you feel like you don’t have a reason to keep going, look at me and remember—if you die, I die. We are one. OVN isn’t just a brand. It’s a bond.
Are there any particular artists you hope to collaborate with in the future?
I’m open to collaborating with artists who create from real emotion and lived experience, where the music feels more like a confession than a performance.
How do you balance mainstream appeal with staying true to your underground roots?
I don’t chase trends. If the truth connects on a mainstream level, that’s organic. But I’ll never dilute my story just to fit a formula.
How did your previous struggles with identity and self-confidence shape the themes of Chosen?
Depression made me feel like I didn’t know who I was anymore. When that relationship ended, it felt like everything ended with it. But in reality, it was the beginning of something greater. Chosen is about finding yourself after losing everything.
What’s been the most surprising reaction from fans or listeners so far?
They’re paying attention. They’re piecing things together—every detail, every symbol. There are certain truths you have to listen for. That’s what my upcoming project Nobody Knows… Until Now is about. I take listeners by the hand and lead them deeper into the void as they learn who Finesse Cobain truly is. Maybe then, I’ll finally be understood.
Beyond music, how do you channel your story and experiences into other aspects of your life or art?
My purpose is to help as many people as I can. Whether it’s through music or a one-on-one conversation, if my story saves someone’s life or gives them hope, then everything I went through meant something. I want them to know: You are chosen. Never broken.
