Born of
Cherokee and
Sac-
Fox descent in
Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, Hampton is the only child of Bill and Kenyan Hampton and is a 5th generation
American roots soul singer. He has been singing since age 2, and by age 15 signed his first recording contract with
Disney's
Hollywood Records. Hampton has performed his music on stages all over the world, as well as appeared on
MTV,
VH1,
E! channel's
The E! True Hollywood Story,
A&E's
Biography, and starred on
serial television shows such as
Fox's
The X-Files and
HBO's
Big Love, among others. As co-founder of the
Buzzfly Records record label with producer
Mike Vizcarra, Hampton has had the freedom to write and perform with some of the most celebrated musicians in the industry. Hampton began his career as a student of the
circus arts, working in childhood as a professional clown and later becoming a trained juggler and fire-spinner. In the mid-1980s, he made his acting debut in a guest appearance on the Oklahoma City-area version of
Romper Room. Shortly after, Hampton won a small role as a mischievous little boy who called himself "Ben Dover" in the
independent slasher film Offerings. In 1988, Hampton and his parents answered the casting call for a
Disney-produced TV movie, one that was to serve as a reunion of the original 1950s
Mouseketeers from the
Mickey Mouse Club. The project, titled
Why? Because We Like You, was looking to cast a crop of new child Mouseketeers to join the elder ones in the film's plot. Hampton was chosen as one of the child Mouseketeers, but the project would soon go through many changes. Rather than producing the project as a TV movie, Disney decided instead to turn it into an actual revival of the original
Mickey Mouse Club series for
The Disney Channel, featuring an all-new child cast of Mouseketeers. With that, Hampton and several other children selected for the TV movie were retained to star on the forthcoming
The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. He appeared on the show initially for four seasons between 1989 and 1992, before returning to the show as a co-host (with former castmate
Tiffini Hale) for its final season in 1994–1995. However, Hampton remained contracted to
The Walt Disney Company and to
The All-New Mickey Mouse Club during the seasons he did not appear on the show. Near the end of the second season in 1990, the producers of
MMC sought to assemble a
teen pop group in light of the current popularity of
New Kids on the Block. Wanting to extricate such a group from the
MMC cast, the producers chose Hampton, along with cast members
Damon Pampolina,
Albert Fields,
Deedee Magno and Tiffini Hale, to compose the new pop act. A viewer voting contest would soon name the group
The Party. Hampton went on to release four albums with The Party on
Disney's
Hollywood Records, charting five hit singles on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart. The remake of the
Dokken track "In My Dreams" was the highest-charting single, reaching #34, and is perhaps the best known hit from The Party. Hampton has acted in several serial television shows and feature films and has been vocalist of
rock bands
Buzzfly and
Close Enemies, as well as a solo artist. He has been employed as a performing artist, mentor, and performance coach, mentoring and grooming talent at a leading
Performing Arts school in the
Los Angeles,
California, area; he held residency as Music Director for two of the school's locations. Hampton has shared the stage with some of the biggest talents and names in the entertainment industry. His music has been produced by
Dr. Dre,
Snoop Dogg, and
Teddy Riley. Over the years, he's appeared with film stars including
Ryan Gosling,
Keri Russell,
James Van Der Beek,
Shannyn Sossamon,
David Duchovny, and
Jessica Biel, and music artists including
Justin Timberlake,
Christina Aguilera,
Britney Spears,
Tony Lucca,
Taylor Dayne,
Color Me Badd,
Davey Johnstone and
Nigel Olsson of the
Elton John Band,
Tom Hamilton of
Aerosmith, and guitar icon
Slash of
Guns N' Roses and
Velvet Revolver. On May 16, 2007, Hampton independently released his first solo effort album, the eight-song
Something to Believe EP, on his own
Buzzfly Records label. On August 20, 2010, Hampton independently released his second solo effort album, the four-song
Drugstore Girls EP, on his own Buzzfly Records label. The
cover model appearing on the EP is
American model, actress, and former
adult film star
Kendra Jade Rossi. Hampton enlisted
Orlando, Florida-based
Serenade Entertainment Group (SEG) to secure a series of live shows and on-air in-studio radio appearances to promote & support the EP. Beginning in October 2010, SEG set Hampton upon a tour of the southeastern U.S., opening with an intimate club performance in downtown Orlando, where he offered an "up close & personal" extended set performing solo acoustic and as a trio, being joined by musicians
Matt Adkins &
Jay DiBella who later signed on as performing tour support. Beginning 2011, Hampton served as co-creator and producer of the live concert performances of children's recording artist
Riff Rockit, the alias & character of singer/songwriter
Evan Michael. Hampton additionally served as a writer and voiceover artist on the 2013 direct-to-DVD release
Riff Rockit: The Power of Music, in which he voiced the character of Ben Jammin. To provide additional voices for the project, Hampton hired a few of his former
The All-New Mickey Mouse Club co-stars, including
Damon Pampolina,
Deedee Magno Hall,
Marc Worden, and
Rhona Bennett. In 2014, Hampton teamed with
Boston-area
rap artists
Reks and
Dutch ReBelle for the recording of the hip-hop single "I Can't Breathe", which featured Hampton on vocals, Reks and ReBelle on rap verses, and production by
American Antagon1st. "I Can't Breathe" addressed the then-recent cases of
racial profiling by police, namely the infamous incidents that occurred in
Ferguson, MO, and
Staten Island, NY; it is the latter event that inspired the song's title, as victim
Eric Garner was recorded to have spoken the phrase "I can't breathe" as he was apprehended by police. Accompanying the song's somewhat graphic music video, Hampton states on his website, ''"In light of the recent police violence and the need for our press to feed the fire. This was made to start conversation, promote understanding & healing, and awaken the blind. This is three artists' views on the feelings felt after so many have needlessly fallen."'' Released March 20, 2015, the well-received single reached #7 on
iTunes hip-hop/rap charts within a week of its debut. On April 12, 2019, Hampton released a
cover version of the
P.M. Dawn song, "
I'd Die Without You," performed with vocal collaboration from former bandmate Deedee Magno Hall. On May 28, 2021, Hampton released the digital-single, "Nobody," executive-produced by Hampton himself. In late-2023, Hampton was recommended to be the vocalist for the newly-formed powerhouse rock band Close Enemies, featuring
bassist Tom Hamilton,
guitarists Peter Stroud and
Trace Foster, and
drummer Tony Brock, bringing together an exceptional lineup of seasoned musicians with a bold focus on original music. In January 2024, Hampton flew to Atlanta, GA, to audition for the band, putting his voice on the existing song demos, and was soon after asked to officially join the band. September 2024 found Hampton publicly introduced as fronting the
supergroup. Media promotion for the band stated, ''"Close Enemies features dynamic vocalist Chasen Hampton, whose rich musical background adds depth and character to the band's sound."'' On October 11, 2024, the band had their live performance debut in Nashville, TN, and on January 17, 2025, released their debut single, "Sound of a Train," and in early 2025 began touring. Another four music singles followed throughout 2025, with a full album debut intended for a late-2025 release. ==Personal life==