Grammy-nominated artist CHIKA returns with the audacious new single “TRUTH OR DARE” featuring Grammy-nominated rap luminary Freddie Gibbs. Bold and honest yet lyrical and resonant, the track showcases the 26-year-old’s rapid-fire flow and unique perspective. The music video captures the emotions felt from the music. Watch the lyric video above.
“TRUTH OR DARE” finds CHIKA exposing fakes, flakes, and hangers-on as well as taking aim at the music industry. “You know the industry cold and so you gonna do what it takes to survive,” she spits, before mocking misplaced priorities on the chorus: “New house, new whip, new clothes, new drip.” Although each lyric arrives as a declarative statement, within the bars are victories and vulnerabilities alike.
The unfiltered track is only CHIKA’s second new single since 2021, following the recent arrival of “Requiem for a Dream,” which explored trauma, anxiety, and the weight of expectations in a quasi rap-lullaby. That gem, along with “TRUTH OR DARE,” serves as the perfect reintroduction of the up-and-coming artist to listeners everywhere.
Though CHIKA hasn’t released a project since 2021, the impact of her previous work still ripples through the music world. Her 2020 debut EP Industry Games not only landed her on XXL’s coveted Freshman cover but earned her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. In 2021, she followed that record with Once Upon a Time, another EP that showcased her effortless storytelling and dazzling ability.
Now with “TRUTH OR DARE,” CHIKA delivers a single that demands to be turned up, showcasing the lyrical prowess of an artist that isn’t afraid to speak her truth.
ABOUT CHIKA:
CHIKA is a self-christened truth-teller, and she’s never shied away from that role — or the challenges that accompany it. The 26-year-old Alabama-born singer-songwriter and rapper caught the attention of a particular pocket of the internet when she began uploading her freestyles to social platforms like Instagram in the mid-2010s. With an immense display of creativity, she was championed early on by hip-hop greats Snoop Dogg and Diddy and, later, President Barack Obama. Her long-awaited debut album, Samson, nearly two years in the making, is a fully imagined body of work that reflects CHIKA’s penchant for commenting on the state of humanity and how she moves through it all. CHIKA’s initial EPs, 2020’s Industry Games, which earned her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, and 2021’s Once Upon a Time, featured her combing through her thoughts and presenting the most salient among them as fan-favorite inspirational tunes. Now, she describes her sound as “violently me,” massaging together a fusion of hip-hop, pop, gospel, soul, and theatrical influences. With features from living legend Stevie Wonder and Grammy-nominated rap great Freddie Gibbs, plus guest appearances by theater luminary Lin-Manuel Miranda, hip-hop icon Snoop Dogg, and Wale, CHIKA’s debut album brims with credits that speak to her present and future status in music. CHIKA has always been a limitless dreamer and a passionate communicator, and Samson offers outright proof of that.
