CHIKA

A singer, rapper, and actress, CHIKA fuses R&B and hip-hop — dealing with themes such as social injustice and body positivity — in a unique vocal style that can be simultaneously rapid-fire and fatigued in tone. Her debut, 2020′s Industry Games EP, earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist; she also took home an NAACP Image Award for Best New Artist. Following her appearance in the film Project Power, she released her third EP, 2021′s Once Upon a Time. In addition to issuing new songs of her own in 2023, like “Requiem for a Dream,” CHIKA collaborated with Freddie Gibbs on the joyous single “Truth or Dare.”
Born in 1997 in Alabama to Nigerian-American parents, Jane Chika Oranika grew up the youngest of three sisters. Given her passion for slam poetry, she attended a Montgomery performing arts school, but she later dropped out of the University of South Alabama after a year. From 2016 onward, various viral social media posts helped position her as an observant and insightful lyricist and performing artist, while 2017 saw her issue the poetry album Full Bloom. Early the following year, CHIKA earned millions of online views of her freestyle critique of Kanye West, which used the beat from his 2004 single “Jesus Walks.” A few months later, she guested on “Coulda Told Me,” the third single by X Factor contestant turned actress Rachel Crow.
In January 2020, CHIKA traveled to L.A. for what was meant to be a two-week visit but ended up becoming a permanent relocation. By April, her debut single, “No Squares,” was available and she made an appearance at Coachella to coincide with its release. Next, she performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! after receiving an invite from his guest host, Lena Waithe. Along with the single, CHIKA used the opportunity to perform a no-holds-barred rap criticizing the Alabama state abortion laws.
A deal with Warner came through and led to the release of the June 2019 single “High Rises,” followed by November’s “Can’t Explain It,” a collaboration with former Gap Band leader Charlie Wilson. CHIKA’s biggest success to date came when she guested on JoJo’s “Sabotage,” a slice of funky, downtempo R&B that reached the Top 20 of Billboard’s U.S. R&B Digital Download chart. In March 2020, she released her debut Warner EP, Industry Games, which was preceded a month earlier by its title track. The set earned her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. That same year, she acted in and contributed a song to the Netflix superhero drama Project Power.
In March 2021, CHIKA returned with her third EP, Once Upon a Time. That year, she delivered a fiery verse on McClenney’s mellow R&B track “Too Much Sun in LA.” She returned in 2023 with several new songs, “Requiem for a Dream,” “Demigod,” and the Freddie Gibbs collaboration “Truth or Dare.” ~ James Wilkinson