CKay

Early life

Chukwuka Ekweani was born in Kaduna, north-western Nigeria, and is of Igbo descent from Anambra State. His father, a choir conductor at their local church, inspired his love for music. He learned piano from his father and later discovered the production software Fruity Loops through a friend. He began his music career in a band with two other members before going solo.

Career

After relocating to Lagos in 2014, he worked with Loopy Music and began collaborating with Chocolate City in early 2015. He released the promotional single "Bad Musician Bad Producer" on 6 May 2016, making its instrumental freely available for commercial use. A cover of that single by Kelly Joe earned him a special recognition from TNMA on 23 October 2016.

On 11 September 2017, he released the EP "Who the F*ck Is CKay?" through Chocolate City. His 2018 single "Container", produced by Tempoe and influenced by the South African gwara gwara dance style, became a breakthrough in Nigeria. On 30 August 2019, he released the EP "CKay the First", which included "Love Nwantiti".

A remix featuring Joeboy and Kuami Eugene followed on 14 February 2020. The song went viral on TikTok in 2021, charting internationally and reaching number 23 in the UK and his first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100. Additional remixes were released for North African, French, German, Spanish, East African, and South African markets.

Artistry

Ckay describes his sound as "Emo-afrobeats", focusing on emotional and romantic lyricism. He has worked in genres including Afrobeats, R&B, and dancehall. In 2019, he characterized his style as Afro-pop from the future (specifically 2056 A.D). His music has been described as fusing Afrobeats with pop and electronic music, and he has been listed among Nigerian artists sometimes mistaken for Alté singers.