Sad Romance, Nigerian CKay’s debut album released last fall, has been celebrated on every dance floor where afrobeats are loved. Chukwuka Ekweani (real name) was already known in the afrobeats movement, multiplying Eps and singles since 2016. The voice of this crooner of another kind is relatively weak at first glance, but this 27-year-old guy sings or chants while coating his phrases with a sensuality to any test. His grooves unfold in slow or medium tempos, the lasciviousness is always at its maximum. What CKay suggests is made to dance, to chill out, to exult, to enjoy, everything that allows to reach the immediate wellness. It is not complex and it does the job, whatever the posture of the music lover. These afrobeats are certainly contagious, this Nigerian version of reggaeton or cumbia offers a singular look, which is exactly the same as in Colombia and oter Latin American countries including the Caribbean. Here we are really in globalized Africa, the nusoul / R&B flavor and local flavors are mixed with these afrobeats, a very pop saxophone is invited on the synthetic patterns imagined by CKay and other beatmakers invited, the Cape Verdean singers Mayra Andrade and Ronisia are among others featured to express themselves in Portugese Creole and even in French. This is African pop that will become even more so, as many songwriters and producers from there have already achieved international fame. So… we can imagine that the MTelus will be quite full on July 1st, in the context of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and it will be the same this spring, on May 13th, Grosse Scène Loto-Québec, 9 pm, in the context of the Santa Teresa festival.
