Chika (rapper)

Chika first gained widespread attention following an Instagram post from November 9, 2016, the day after the 2016 United States presidential election. In the video, she covers herself in pale foundation, saying “African-American? Never felt that, never heard of that, never tasted that, never smelled that.” Early in 2017, she created the #EgoChallenge, using the Beyoncé song of that title to promote body positivity and self-love. That year she also released a Pride-themed remix of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” as well as a poetry EP.[5][6][7]

In 2018, Chika went viral for a freestyle addressed at Kanye West over West’s own Jesus Walks beat. The freestyle concerned West’s support for Donald Trump and caught the attention of Jada Pinkett Smith, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Erykah Badu.[8] She later released a freestyle dedicated to Nia Wilson.[9] In August 2018, she featured on Rachel Crow’s single “Coulda Told Me.”[10]

Chika released her debut single, “No Squares,” on April 2019. The following month, at the invitation of guest host Lena Waithe, she performed the track and “Richey v. Alabama,” another of her songs, on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[11] The song dealt with the state of Alabama’s 2019 abortion bill and was named for a friend of Chika’s.[12] That summer, she signed a deal with Warner Records.[13] Chika released two more singles as a lead artist in 2019: “High Rises”[14][15] and “Can’t Explain It (feat Charlie Wilson)”.[16][17] That year, she also featured on JoJo’s “Sabotage" which reached number 18 on the Billboard US R&B Digital Downloads.[18][19]

In December 2019, Chika announced that she was working on an EP titled Industry Games.[20] On January 23, 2020, Chika confirmed the title and posted snippets of music from the EP, telling followers the release was two months away.[21][22] She released the EP’s titular single on February 18.[23] The EP was released on March 12, 2020.[24]

In May 2019, Chika featured in a Calvin Klein #MyCalvins advertisement,[25] also writing poetry for the brand’s S/S 2019 campaign.[13] That same year, she participated in a Business of Fashion panel at Paris Fashion Week and posed for the December cover of Teen Vogue.[3][26] She was recognized by Business of Fashion as one of the top 500 people shaping the fashion industry in 2019.[27]