As an aspiring singer-songwriter whose parents are both medical doctors, CKay’s biggest risk was not to leave his family and friends in Kaduna to chase his music dreams in Lagos. It was making a song whose chorus has no words but only an “ah ha han ha ha” chant and expecting it to be a hit. The song “Love Nwantiti” was meant to be a freestyle, one he recorded late at night. Tired, he thought he’d write a proper chorus in the morning. All this happened in his living room—not a recording studio.
In an interview in Lagos, CKay said, “Lagos is the place to be; all the media, brands, and record labels are in Lagos.” He is a true Nigerian, having traversed the three major ethnicities. He is from the east, grew up in the north, and made his musical money first in the west. Fast forward to 2022, and the song had over one billion streams on Spotify. This is an icing on the cake for the song that made it to the number one spot on Shazam’s global charts, blowing up charts in the US, UK, Europe, and Asia and being considered the most streamed Afrobeats song of the moment.
What about the likes of Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Davido? These are award-winning singers with personal tales of struggles, hard work, and massive collaborative projects with international artists, but they didn’t shatter global sales quite like CKay. “The concept of younger artists getting more ‘Shazamed’ as it is now is not new,” he argued. “It is just another episode in the cycle of life. You will notice that over time, people who trend are at the forefront of what is popular. In the past, it was cartridge, cassette, vinyl, CD, or whatever it might be. If you are younger, chances are that you will take advantage of technology because technology will take you higher.
Insightful write up. A must read for all Boyfriend FC.
Nigerians.!!! Please For Heaven Sake ..👇🏻 Give that your Tithe and Offerings and all manner of seeds sowing to your aged parents or your jobless brother or sister Becus They ar the one that need it the most and not the Pulpit bandits Please Nigerians .... 🙏