Chukwuka Ekweani, known publicly as CKay, is the rising star in the ever-burgeoning Afrobeats scene. A multitalented artist, whether behind the boards as a producer or in front of the mic performing his self-penned songs, it is CKay’s single-minded vision that shines through. The self-defined Emo-Afrobeats star has and continues to soar up charts across the globe thanks to his first globally hit ‘love nwantiti’.
In 2021, CKay became the most streamed artist of the year and became the first African artist with two tracks on the Global Spotify Top 30 simultaneously. ‘love nwantiti’ has been certified platinum/multi-platinum in five countries, including the United States, India and Italy. The viral hit has also been certified gold in the UK, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. CKay became the first African artist in 50 years to hold a top 5 position on the UK Singles Chart for 4 straight weeks with ‘love nwantiti’.
CKay has continued to create a global presence with accomplishments such as the “most Shazam-ed song in the world”. ‘Emiliana’, followed suit and racked in global chart positions and currently has just over 340 million streams worldwide. ‘Emiliana’ peaked at #1 on the UK Afrobeats Chart, #2 on Shazam Top 200 (Afrobeats), and #1 in six countries on Apple Music.
CKay’s debut album Sad Romance was released on 23rd September 2022 and has since had over 380 million streams worldwide. The project featured established and emerging African talent such as Davido, Ayra Starr and Focalistic. CKay released the deluxe version of Sad Romance on 16th June 2023 which included four new tracks including ‘capture my soul’ featuring Joeboy, ‘nwayi’, ‘NNEKA’ assisted by Tekno and ‘HALLELUJAH’ with Blaqbonez. ‘HALLELUJAH’ charted at #1 on Apple Music in Nigeria – CKay’s first #1 in home territory.
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