Reading this article may be the first time you’re hearing about budding musician Chika, but we can guarantee you that it won’t be the last.
The 23-year-old Alabama-bred, LA-based rapper/singer/poet and activist dropped her seven-track debut EP Industry Games via Warner Records on Friday (March 13) and is quickly becoming one of today’s most influential voices for the next generation.
Touching on issues affecting young artists and overall youth culture, Chika’s first body of work paints a vivid picture of her self-made success, trials and aspirations via deft wordplay and a rapid-fire flow over hard-hitting beats. With nimble flows, socially-conscious rhymes and soulful hooks, there’s not one track on Industry Games that you can’t vibe to or relate to in some way. It’s no wonder why Billboard praised her as “one of the most honest stars in music!”
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What really sets Chika apart from her peers are her live performances. Luckily for us, we were invited to a special showcase at Public Arts in New York City last month where the 23-year-old previewed songs off Industry Games for the first time.
“No one has heard any of these songs yet,” Chika told the small audience filled with friends, family and music executives.
Kicking things off with her fiery track “Industry Games,” Chika meticulously planned the short set to not only show off her versatility and range, but who she really is with personal stories behind each song. Her soulful “Songs About You” is her favorite song since she got signed to Warner Records, while “Crown” was the first song she wrote after her viral video in 2016. A crowd favorite was “Balencies,” which Chika says is the best way to get to know her and is inspired by her Balenciaga sneakers.
In an industry overrun by masculinity, Chika’s a breath of fresh air. She’s an advocate of intersectionality and she embodies the current wave of feminism.
Listen to Chika’s debut EP Industry Games below and let us know what you think of Chika’s music by leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post.
