One of Barack Obama’s top musicians of 2020, Chika, invites you into her fairy tale with new EP Once Upon a Time. The Grammy-nominee, activist, artist, and actor’s first project of the year gives us six new tracks, including a collaboration with B.J. the Chicago Kid, “Fairy Tales.” Over relaxed beats, Chika recreates childhood stories because it’s “imperative a narrative reflect what’s up in my hood.” “Let’s make a couple hits for all the kids that need a symbol,” she raps in “Fairy Tales.” “Let’s remind ’em that they matter / The media can chatter / And peer into their lives to form statistics like we data.” Her first release since her debut EP Industry Games in March 2020, Chika turns up the tempo in tracks like “Cinderella, Part 1,” where she recounts that fateful ball from the perspective of everyone, including the haters. Chika’s fast-paced, articulate, and meaningful raps are just another example why she deserves her Best New Artist Grammy nomination. This Sunday, March 14, Chika is up against Ingrid Andress, Phoebe Bridgers, Noah Cyrus, D Smoke, Doja Cat, Kaytranada, and Megan Thee Stallion. It’s Chika’s fairy tale, but her music is giving us all a happily ever after.
