Ferdinand Ekechukwu
Talented Penthauze’s star, Akinbi Bamidele Brett known by his stage name ‘Cheque’, ahead of his forthcoming debut album has released a senseational follow-up to his last single ‘Call me Baby’. Featuring indigenous hip-hop figure, Olamide with the song ‘LOML’ (Love Of My Life), Cheque gained massive popularity after releasing the hit track “Zoom” as part of his Razor EP project (his second body of work and his first under Penthauze) last year and followed it up with a super collaboration featuring Fireboy in ‘History’. Cheque seems to be showing how much he has evolved as an artiste and how he is constantly upping his craft.
On ‘Love of My Life’, these two artistes bring their A-game to play with Cheque and Olamide complementing each other in the most dynamic of ways. Cheque takes his fans to the top of the ninth with this song and they are definitely picking up what he’s putting down. This evocative love story rendered in the beautiful trademark Cheque voice, has the 26 year old Ondo State native put up his umbrella providing this much needed shade for music lovers. ‘Love Of My Life (LOML)’ is out on all digital platforms. Cheque signed to Phyno’s Penthauze Music in February 2019.
Before then, he was signed to Cruel Station alongside Fireboy [then DML]. The contract earned him and DML an apartment before it expired in the final months of 2017. DML and Cheque then moved in with a friend who owned recording equipment. DML became Fireboy DML and then an YBNL artiste in 2019 and Cheque found his confidence before joining Penthauze. These days, he thinks that he’s also partly Igbo because he’s affiliated with the very Igbo Penthauze, but he’s Yoruba. He says, “I’ve been hearing it since I was attending OAU and I don’t really take it seriously – I never did. But I’m Yoruba.”
Convincing his parents that their bookworm boy was going into music was hard, but they’re more confident these Penthauze days. As much as Cheque has more things these days, it’s still about the music and not the money. One day in the middle of 2018, Cheque got a random DM from Phyno. His excitement waned after he didn’t hear from Phyno again for a couple of months. Phyno came back with more enthusiasm and vim, and Cheque signed to Penthauze in February 2019. “I wasn’t making Afro-pop – I was rapping – so I didn’t think someone of that magnitude was going to reach out. . . I felt validated,” he said.
A couple of days back, the Nigeria singer-rapper, announced his debut album. It is set to be titled ‘Bravo’ and it will be released on September 24, 2021. This will be his third body of work after 2020’s Razor EP, his first EP on Penthauze and The S.O.O.N EP, which he released under the moniker, Kyle B in 2015.
The announcement followed after he released ‘LOML’ featuring the legendary Olamide. On his Instagram page, he wrote that, “My Debut Album “BRAVO” Out Sept 24, 2021. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Thank you for always staying with me, I hope you love and appreciate this album like I do… Brvao is Here…” The album will be released under Penthauze and Empire Distribution.
