By Vanessa Obioha
By now, the Afro-pop and RnB singer Kholi is a familiar name on the music scene, particularly after the release of his EP ‘Tatu’ early in the year before the coronavirus upended the world. The four track EP like his previous singles have received great reviews, attesting to the unique talents of the singer born Chukwuemeka Okolie.
The only son of his parents, Kholi evinced a keen interest in music at an early age. He sang in his local church and with time, comfortably entertained his friends and four siblings with his songs. He would later learn to play musical instruments such as keyboard and drums.
Though he studied Business Administration in Renaissance University, the artiste who was born and raised in Jos, Plateau State, never veered off from his true passion. He relentlessly continued to work on his music career, writing and producing songs which were released but garnered little attention.
However, fate smiled on him in February 2017 when popular DJ Gospelondebeatz noticed him at an event. The Flux Factory’s huncho asked to see him and hinted of his interest to sign him to his record label. The following year saw Kholi release his first official single ‘Showa’. The single which was released on September 14, 2018 featured Afro-pop artiste L.A.X and was produced by Gospelondebeatz . The visual of the song was, however, directed by Paul Gambit. On November 18, 2018 Kholi was officially announced as a Flux Factory artiste.
Kholi was one of the participants in the #Davidofreestylechallenge where he emerged in the top ranks with over 10,000 views on Twitter, 19,000 views on Instagram and was listed in the ‘Top 10 Jams of the Week’ by popular internet sensation Tunde Ednut. After so much buzz and demand for the release of the freestyle, Kholi finally dropped it as an official single on March 18, 2019. The video was shot by Deji Kale.
Since then Kholi has constantly been hitting different milestones in his musical career. In August 2019, he featured the Mayor of Lagos, Mayorkun on a single, ‘Hadiza’. Due to the success of the song, Kholi had to perform the song at the 2019 Big Brother Naija house with Alternate Sound.
In a recent chat, Kholi, who revealed his stage name was derived from his surname, said that his music is inspired by music superstars like Wizkid, Davido, Wande Coal, Bruno Mars, Tory Lanez and a host of others.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic that has halted activities in the entertainment industry, Kholi disclosed that he’s been working on some projects that will see him collaborating with some of the heavyweights in the music industry.
“Fans should expect a single from me soon,” he concluded.
