Chika

Born in Alabama to Nigerian-American parents, Jane Chika Oranika 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. The youngest of three sisters, she attended a Montgomery performing arts school due to her passion for slam poetry, but dropped out from 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 she traveled to L.A. for what was meant to be a two-week visit, but ended up permanently relocating. 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 its guest host, Lena Waithe. Alongside 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 of 2020, she released her debut Warner EP, Industry Games, which was preceded a month earlier by its title track. © James Wilkinson /TiVo