In the dynamic world of performance, where music, gaming, and storytelling collide, William Blackrose shines as a singular talent. For The Vocalist, we delved into the life of this South African artist, a man whose creativity spans music, gaming, and comedy, all fueled by a relentless pursuit of self-improvement and authenticity. From conquering vocal cancer to mastering one of the world’s toughest video games, William’s journey is a testament to resilience, passion, and living in the moment.
A Life Shaped by Music and Reinvention
William Blackrose’s love for music was ignited early, a spark that grew into a lifelong devotion. “Music was my first love and is on my mind 24/7,” he shares, yet he’s quick to note that being a musician is a job, not a state of mind. His career took a pivotal turn during COVID, when he, like many artists, turned to streaming music from home. This forced him to master the technical side of performance—cameras, lights, editing, and broadcasting across platforms. But William didn’t stop there. His childhood fascination with technology, sparked by choosing an Atari 2600 over a bike at age six, led him to game streaming under the moniker Chill Will Arcade. Inspired by comedy legend Casper de Vries and the swagger of Elvis, he created five vibrant characters—Chill Will, Jo Gurt, Vaatjie Kaakie, Goofy Mc Gee, and Mr. Speed Wong—each adding humor and flair to his live music and gaming performances.
This versatility extends to his musical talents. William plays drums, harmonica, bass, guitar, and piano, often while managing cameras and responding to live chat, a skill honed through gaming. His proudest gaming achievement? Becoming a world-ranked player in Bloodborne, a notoriously difficult game, after eight months of memorizing thousands of locations and movements. “It’s not silly,” he says of the skeptics. “You use all your cognitive senses—hands, fingers, sight, voice, mind, and sometimes both feet.” This discipline sharpened his musical abilities, proving that his passions for gaming and music are deeply intertwined.
Living in the Moment
William’s approach to life is refreshingly pragmatic. “Stress is one of the most useless emotions,” he asserts. Instead of worrying about the future, he lives in the moment, using sticky notes to prioritize daily tasks. “If I can’t get it done today, there’s not much I can do about it,” he says. This mindset, honed over 30 years as a professional musician, allows him to turn stress into adrenaline, tackling challenges as they come. His mantra, “Things will happen while they can,” from Alphaville, reflects his belief that life unfolds as it should.
This philosophy extends to his downtime. Surprisingly, William avoids music in his free time, opting instead for podcasts, comedy, or tech talks through noise-isolating headphones. “I’m passionate about learning from people smarter than me,” he says, emphasizing his commitment to daily self-improvement. If a day feels empty, he returns to bed to “dream about tomorrow,” embracing the unpredictability of life.
Stories That Shape a Life
William’s cultural touchstones reveal the depth of his character. The Breakfast Club (1985) is his favorite movie, a “state of mind” that resonated with him at 14. Its five archetypes—Bad Boy, Princess, Athlete, Brain, and Weirdo—mirrored his own evolution. Literature also shaped him, particularly Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, with its poetic wit, and Stephen King’s Quitters Incorporated, a chilling tale of addiction’s consequences. The latter hit close to home, inspiring William’s own work-in-progress book, Calories, Drugs, and Rock & Roll, which chronicles his battle with addictions to food, nicotine, alcohol, and prescription drugs. “My addictions didn’t hurt me—they hurt everyone I cared for,” he reflects. His proudest moment? Accepting and forgiving himself, a milestone that outshines even overcoming vocal cancer.
Music, too, has been transformative. At 14, a chance encounter with The Smiths on a borrowed cassette changed his life. “I realized music was an unwritten language spoken in poetry,” he says. Five minutes after hearing their craftful lyrics, he wrote his first song, Run for Today. The 1960s and 1980s, defined by the electric guitar and Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer, remain his favorite musical eras, their innovations still echoing in his work.
A Life of Connection and Creativity
William’s hometown of Welkom, Free State, holds bittersweet memories. Devastated by natural disasters and later by greed and poverty, it exists now only in his mind’s “perfect traffic circles.” Instead, he finds home in the unconditional love of his pets—three cats, an African Ringneck named Nibby, and two Dachshunds, Milly and Coco. The recent loss of his beloved Abby, an 18-year-old Dachshund, underscores the fleeting joy pets bring. “If you want happiness for 15 years, get a dog,” he advises. “For another 15, get a Dachshund.”
His social circle is small, shaped by the transient nature of a musician’s life. Quoting Rodriguez, he describes his friendships as “16 solid half-hour friendships every evening.” Yet, his bond with his sister, an eccentric thinker like him, remains a constant. Family may be sparse—William has no children, and his legacy will end with him—but his pets and close connections fill that space.
A Multifaceted Talent
Beyond music and gaming, William’s talents are vast. He’s an accomplished magician, trained by his late friend The Great Martino, and a professional drone pilot, videographer, and voice-over artist. His work on the TV series King Cobra showcases his skills in filming, editing, and narration. In 1999, he founded South Africa’s largest online artist booking agency, a testament to his entrepreneurial spirit. These “hidden talents” reflect his refusal to be boxed in, a trait that defines his career.
William’s dream destination, Bora-Bora, symbolizes his vision of success—a place so exclusive it signifies “making it” in life. Yet, success for him is less about wealth and more about inner peace and effort. “Even if it fails, it won’t be for lack of trying,” he says. His favorite season, summer, aligns with his busy performance schedule, though he prefers its moderate warmth to scorching heat.
A Vampire of the Night
With a laugh, William calls himself a “vampire,” thriving at night when distractions fade. His biological clock, conditioned by decades of late-night gigs, peaks from 9 PM to 5 AM. A perfect cappuccino with two sugars fuels these hours, though he detests cold coffee and dismisses tea as “for sissies.” To unwind, he keeps it light, joking that his methods are “PG-rated.” Humor is a constant—each morning, he laughs at his “natural state” in the mirror.
William’s spontaneity shines in his boldest adventure: backpacking across Europe at 25 with no plan, catching a red-eye flight to anywhere. This fearless spirit persists, guided by intuition rather than rigid plans. “I’m too stupid to come up with this crap on my own,” he quips, crediting a higher force—God, the Universe, or instinct—for his path.
A Legacy in Progress
If he could dine with anyone, William would choose his future self, 30 years from now, to see if the journey was worth the struggle. His favorite quote from Einstein—“Only a fool runs into a wall time after time expecting a different outcome”—and his mantra, “Things will happen while they can,” encapsulate his approach: embrace the journey, learn from mistakes, and keep moving forward.
Behind the confident performer lies a man who admits to insecurity, navigating life one day at a time. For William Blackrose, life is about constant reinvention, whether through music, gaming, or storytelling. As he continues to write his story—both literally and figuratively—he invites us to live in the moment, chase our passions, and find joy in the journey.
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