Charlie Green, better known as CG5, is a popular neurodiverse musician.
Charlie Green, known by his 7.2 million subscribers on YouTube as CG5, is a neurodiverse 24-year-old musician who, in a recent interview with me conducted over email, told me he’s thankful for having the opportunity to “[make] songs that have accumulated billions of internet views and streams” all the while being in “the comfort of my own home.”
“I’ve grown up writing and producing music for 20 years of my life,” he said of being in the music business. “It’s all I’ve ever known.”
Green explained his decision to become a YouTuber and influencer is due in large part to what he described as the “internet communities that have transpired from internet content.” The people within these communities, he said, have been extremely supportive of the things they loved, Green included. He said he’s been an avid YouTube watcher “for a big part of my childhood” and dreamed of being in the same position that would see him become as successful as the other musicians he loved watching. Some of Green’s favorite artists include Connor Price and JVKE, with Green telling me he “[looks] up to their insane perseverance in their endeavors and I enjoy their music very much as well.”
Green, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at a young age, has used his neurodiversity to his advantage when making music. He didn’t have many friends growing up because “I was so drastically different mentally and socially from everyone else,” adding he didn’t know he was neurodivergent until a couple of years ago. Until then, he figured there was something broken—something wrong with him.
“What I know now, and what I wish for people with the same developmental differences as I knew, is that there is nothing wrong with you,” Green said. “You are unique and special, and you are never alone. You can still find your way in this world, no matter what. I promise.”
Green’s comments about community and his own social isolation are well taken. By virtue of his music, and the platforms upon which he shares it in YouTube and social media like Instagram and TikTok, Green has adeptly harnessed tech to make socialization (and self-expression) more accessible to himself. His story is a shining example of the good technology, specifically social media, can provide disabled people who otherwise would lack access to the wider world around them. His story is yet again proof that something as basic and fundamental as an internet connection can blast open doors for disabled people that were heretofore unbreakable barriers. As I’m often wont say in this column, this sea change is not trivial in the slightest; it’s of life-changing significance.
When asked about the technology he uses as a creator, Green offered a funny retort by saying “obviously I’m gonna need a computer to produce the music that I do.” In the beginning, however, all he had was a “cruddy laptop.” Decrepit though it was, Green made the best of it, telling me it was “all I needed to get myself started, and as long as I had access to the internet, that’s all I needed to be able to share my work with the world.”
Nowadays, Green uses his “big and very fast” PC desktop flanked by three monitors, adorned with a custom-made desk for his musical gear and a microphone. Green concedes he doesn’t need it all, but said they “certainly keeps things efficient with the way I have things set up.”
My conversation with Green is being published today coincidentally alongside the release of his latest single called “Forbidden Feeling.” In a press release, the track, co-written and produced by Grammy-winning producer and songwriter iLL Wayno, is characterized as showing “a more personal and pop-oriented side” of Green. The announcement noted Green has amassed 2.54 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
The official music video for “Forbidden Feeling” is available on YouTube.
Green is a proud self-made man, as he’s built his career “from the ground up.” It’s an accomplishment he’ll forever have gratitude for, saying “I wouldn’t change a thing about my life.” Green gushed about owning his own home, two cars, and his marriage earlier this month to whom he called “a wonderful woman” and “my beautiful cherry on top.”
“I took advantage of the opportunities I had placed before me and it has brought me to where I am today,” Green said.
Looking towards the future, Green is “excited” to embark on his upcoming international tour, telling me he’s jazzed to visit places he’s never been and perform in front of what he presumes are going to be “excellent crowds.” His tour will start in the States, but will take him abroad to cities such as Amsterdam, Glasgow, and Dublin. Green said he looks forward to the “magnificent opportunity” which lies before him.
Green said he has many long-term goals, which include “winning a Grammy or two” and is excited for everyone to hear the new material he has yet to release this year. “Yeah, I’ve got dreams galore,” he said.
