Ckay, the sensational singer and songwriter, released his debut album, Sad Romance, on the 23rd of September, 2022. “I specifically dropped the album in Nigeria for sentimental reasons”—he explains on the eve of the album’s release.
Chukwuka Ekweani, aka CKay (pronounced as “Cee-kay”), was born on the 16th of July 1995. He is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and record producer born in Kaduna, in the north-western region of Nigeria. His active presence in the Nigerian music industry dates as far back as 2014.
He released 2 EPs, Who TF is Ckay, and Ckay the First, in 2017 and 2019, respectively, under the Chocolate City label. In 2019, he also released his international hit single “Love Nwantiti” under Chocolate City. On March 29, 2022, the song debuted at number one, following the launch of the Billboard Afrobeats chart. On May 9, 2022, it became the first African song in history to surpass one billion streams on Spotify. However, he is currently signed to Warner Music South Africa and Atlantic Records.
CKay has personally coined his sound and describes it as “Emo Afrobeats.” He creates a perfect blend of sounds and romantic & emotional lyrics in his songs. The past year has been a huge success leap for the 27-year-old artist. His songs have broken several records across continents.
However, over the years in the industry, he has worked with several top artists both within Nigeria and internationally. He has worked with Davido, Amaarae, Focalistic, Oxlade, and KiDi, among many others. He released his long-awaited debut album, Sad Romance, a week ago.
Sad Romance Tracklist
Ckay features Ayra Starr, Davido, Focalistic, Abidoza, Ronisia, and Mayra Andrade on his new album. He also worked with producers like Sarz, Charlie Handsome, and many other creatives on this project.
After the huge milestones his single Love Nwantiti hit, Ckay finds himself on a global platform and has been creating an imprint for himself across continents. He has been touring and expanding the frontiers of Afrobeats globally.
When asked “What’s the new assignment for you on this new album, on the Afrobeats to the world movement?”, Ckay responds- “With this new album, my assignment is basically showing people the story, my music comes from real-life experience. Sonically, I just want to fuse different elements into it.”
SAD ROMANCE OUT NOW! ENJOY
— 𝑩𝒇. (@ckay_yo) September 23, 2022pic.twitter.com/qTUNbu2mP9
Ckay also describes the most intentional thing about him as making music for the world. Even though people in Nigeria can understand him, his lyrics, and lingo, He wants people around the world to feel it and vibe to it. Isn’t that the beauty of music?
Enjoy the vibe and versatility of Ckay’s sound and lyricism on Sad Romance here: CKay – Sad Romance (lnk.to)
Check out Soot Africa’s review of Sad Romance here on our Exclusive column