ARTICLE: Time to Unbox Chidinma Ekile – In her there is More

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Slightly over a year ago news broke out about Chindima Ekile’s signing to Ezeetee concept. Prior to this, there were lots of speculations following the sudden deletion of some contents from her social media platforms and stamped by an hiatus.

Thumbs flexed and tongues wagged with many speculating the end to her musical career,others opined she was either properly settling in an engagement, planning a wedding or getting ready to being a mum, of course all inference hinged on her closeness to musicians Kizz Daniel and Flavour at the time.

I have been an ardent fan of chindinma and maybe a silent crush (smiles) from her days at the famous MTN project fame. Chidinma is one of the best gifts from Nigeria to the world. She has the vocal strength,music prowess, stage charisma and artistry that meets the world stage standard.

Chindima warmed her way into hearts of many from her MTN project fame journey and afterwards became a darling favourite with her songs ranging from the popular kedike to Emi ni baller and Jankoli. Miss Kedike as she is fondly called made hits alongside beautiful collaboration perhaps in what most would tag as her previous music life.

Well let’s move on with the reason for this opinion piece..

The news of her signing sparked boundless joy especially among the Christian community as many saw a “prodigal” daughter’s return and others thought she’s about to push the gospel of the kingdom with her creativity perhaps rightly so with the weight of the fan base she had amassed.

I was super elated and looking forward to lots of hits but that expectation was probably amateur as her label have got a totally different plan for the brand. Starting from a name change which in my opinion is entirely unnecessary but I can’t question the decision of the label and her investors as I believe they definitely have reasons for their decisions and actions.

Chidinma opened her new chapter with the song Protocol Breaker, a song I would say performed averagely considering her social media presence and followership. I also think sentiments surrounded the song release hence the level of attention the song got. As one who have diligently followed her music career, my expectations about the unveiling were quite high but were they met?

Is chidinma struggling to find a footing or is her musical expression suffering limitations because of the new terrain? I’m not sure how to answer these questions hopefully other music enthusiasts will help in this conversation.

 

Let’s take a quick run down of her previous gospel centric songs..

If No Be God released as a single in 2016 is an infectious sound and a banger that can play anywhere and anytime. You can’t differentiate that sound from songs we call secular…

Love me a beautiful love sound, that can appeal to everyone and anyone. The South African vibes infusion just makes it breathtaking.

These are just a few of her typical sound. In a build up to this, chidinma has a few records that are christocentric but follow me as we journey into her “new life”.

In 2021 upon her new deal she released Protocol Breaker currently seeing over 4million streams. This number is good but could be better. Following through her other releases and EP, the numbers are not there to show she is getting the needed attention or raking in some good financial returns.

Anyways, all the aforementioned are not the reason for this piece, come with me as I hit the crux of the matter…

From her EP New Season, The deluxe version, osuba and a few others the streaming numbers are way below 3million.

Chidinma’s recent collaboration drew my attention to her untapped potentials. This left me with a lot of questions yet again. Could there be a reason for her current style of music?
Did you guys listen to her new collaboration? Check it below.

Chindima has the capacity to capture millions of youths with her sound for Christ. Does it mean that an afro pop gospel can’t sell? If the intention is to get her to churches I still think she is a big sell following her afro background and brand identity.

Do we have label A&R do their due diligence before, during and after sign up?

If I can get the ears of her label, my suggestion would be let Chindima do her. Intermittently she can infuse on slow songs (worship) as we often refer to it but I think she’d flourish more within her strongest niche.

Chidinma is a world standard brand and the right time to let her do this thing she is good at is now.