Ckay Is Ready For His Second Coming

But that EP would only change Ckay's life and the arc of his career two years after its release. In 2021, "Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah),"the second song on the EP, found instant and inescapable fame on TikTok. It then became the first number-one song on Billboard's Afrobeats chart and the first Nigerian song to spend 52 weeks on the Billboard charts. It made Ckay an eight-times platinum artist and one of the crucial vehicles by which Afrobeats music found its global roots in the early 2020s. Now, more than six years after its release, Ckay is ready to share a rejoinder to it in the form of his latest EP.

Aptly titled Ckay The Second, this new EP, according to Ckay, is a continuation of the ideas and themes he generously explored in Ckay The First. Of course, he's no longer the person he was when he made Ckay The First. The trajectory of his life has shifted with dizzying speed, thrusting him to the forefront of Afrobeats music's expansion, along with the pressures and demands that come with it.

For this project, Ckay prioritizes live instrumentation, a key part of his sound. Here, he maintains the sonic architecture of his previous records. "I'll describe the sound as an advanced version of my signature emo-Afrobeats sound," he says. "I love live instrumentation. I love chords that make you vibe and feel something, as opposed to just making you dance. This EP is no exception. I dived deeper into the emo-Afro sound and took it a step further."

Born Chukwuka Ekweani, Ckay grew up in a home that nurtured his musical talents. His early days learning hymns and developing a prodigious understanding of music theory helped set him apart as an artist who understands the most technical rules of music and is unafraid to break them.

His music process is guided by instinct. There are no set formulas or patterns. "It could be anyway, you know," he admits. "Sometimes the lyrics come first, sometimes the music comes first. It all depends. Creativity is something you need to let free. You can't box or tie it down to the process. So I like to let the music flow regardless of the order, music or lyrics or whichever."

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A much-needed reminder

Although Ckay is one of the most important ambassadors of Afrobeats' global ascension, he's also the least recognized for it. It's an erasure that Ckay is deeply aware of but hasn't taken to heart. "I probably don't get enough credit for my contributions toward the advancement of Afrobeats, especially in the Nigerian space," he says.

Between 2021, when he blew up, and this year, Ckay's life has undergone an explosion that may have been too much for some to handle. He has scored hits with fellow stars likeDavido and received a Grammy nomination for his feature on Janelle Monae's album The Age of Pleasure. He released his debut album,Sad Romance, in 2022, and Emotions, a genre-bending EP, in 2024.

Ckay has also, according to him, grown a lot. The most important part of that growth has been the need to keep pushing and to draw persistence from an unbreakable spirit. "I would say my artistry has evolved. I've learned a lot more than I knew at the time," he says. "Me being more exposed and seeing the impact of my music on people thousands of kilometers away, I think that gives me a different perspective."

If Ckay The First was a statement in establishing his name and marking out his creative territory, Ckay The Second is a reminder of where he's come from and a window into where he's going next.

More than anything, Ckay hopes that people can relate to the experiences he lays bare on this EP. "I make music about my own experiences and my life. I feel that, as human beings, we're all connected and share similar experiences. So I would say I hope people see themselves in me basically when they're listening to the songs, and they relate to the experiences."