Ferdinand Ekechukwu
With musical influences from the likes of Alicia Keys, Burna Boy, Teni, and to the more recent, The Cavemen, fast rising Nigerian singer, Chinanu Onuoha who goes by the prodigious stage name, Africaine is stepping into the chunk of the new generation of young female artistes to reckon with. She has released her song titled ‘One Chance’ as well as the acoustic version, as the lead. The two-pack single was released on November 26, 2021. The song is a prequel to Africaine’s first project which will be released early next year.
Africaine hopes to make her mark in the music industry with this new single and the subsequent full project in the works. She chose her name after discovering that it signified “African Woman” in French, a perfect description for a singer who is constantly inspired by and pulls influence from Africa. She admires artistes with a different approach to music, who truly work on their craft and treat music as an art, as that is how she herself envisions the music process.
The 21-year-old independent artiste residing in Massachusetts, USA draws her bigger inspiration from the more established acts. Although she was raised in a Christian conservative background which saw her primarily listening to gospel music in her early years, her discovery of artistes such as Wizkid, Wande Coal, and the legendary Fela awakened her romance with Afrobeats.
Her choir background resulted in her being compelled to learning the piano, which educated her on musical structure, while also giving her a profound understanding of composure, patterns, and lyricism. While working as a backup singer for a gospel artiste, Africaine crossed paths with a producer who encouraged her out of her shell, launching her career as a solo artiste. In 2019, Africaine, who went by the name ‘Chi’ at that time, released her debut single, ‘Love for Free’; an RnB track which saw the singer experiment with her vocals.
However, due to difficulties with some of the people she was working with, she found herself back at square one in January 2020. She started from scratch: invested in equipment, learnt how to record, taught herself to produce by watching YouTube videos. Africaine was born from this period of struggle and self-discovery, as she ditched RnB to follow her true musical passion for Afro-fusion. Her passion is to merge soul and afrobeat into its own unique genre and become the next new face of African music at large. Her single ‘Jaiye’, an electrical and sultry afro RnB track, released in February/2021, is a feel good song about experiencing love for the first time. ‘Jaiye’ is the Yoruba word for “enjoyment”, and that’s the feeling the song cultivates. Africaine embodies vintage nostalgic vibe throughout the song, using soulful elements like tribal percussion and lead guitar.
