Since the release of his highly-anticipated singles “Falling for you (feat. Buju)” and “One In A Million”, chuXchu has established himself as one of Afrofusion’s top rising stars. His first EP is out now, and helps define a real brand for the young artist, whose goal is to “fuse elements of Afrobeats with other genres such as rnb, hip-hop or pop.” The title of “Luv Struck” says a lot about the mood of the project and the mindset chuXchu was in when composing it: “Definitely in a loving state of mind I would say! I just wanted to use this project as an outlet to express my feelings and emotions while being vulnerable and inspiring people to do the same. It’s something I wouldn’t necessarily do on the day to day, that’s why I try to use my music as an outlet. And the project was definitely inspired by true stories. I try to be honest, to let my heart speak 99% of the time.”
The 5 tracks on Luv Struck are all romantic serenades addressing a half-fictional, half-real muse that the listeners will easily relate to. However, there are many ways for a singer to express his love, and chuXchu has dipped into his various musical influences to realise his amorous declaration. “Numbers Don’t Lie (feat. Ayo Jay)”, for example, has the typical Afrobeats up-tempo rhythm, while “I Need You (Right Time)” seems to fuse Afrobeats with American Pop and “No Pressure” feels like an rnb classic. “I’ve definitely been in my RnB back lately,” Chu admits laughing. “With this project I just wanted to express myself without limiting myself to that Afrobeats sound. I just wanted to show my range and versatility as an artist and create music that the whole world could relate to.”
ChuXchu’s international vision for his sound stems, in part, from his own cross-border perspective. This US-based Nigerian artist has seen a broadening of his artistic goals since moving to the US: “Being based in the US while being a Nigerian artist is a gift and a curse. A gift because the inspiration you get from being here is definitely different and you’re able to use that as an advantage. It’s a different mindset but ultimately, I’m a firm believer that if your music is good, it will get heard wherever you are. One con is definitely not being on ground in Nigeria to connect with listeners and to market my music more. I feel like if I had the opportunity to be based in Nigeria, it would be a whole totally different ballgame from a marketing perspective. But I’m still blessed to be where I am and I’m just passionate and happy that my music is cutting across borders’.”
Besides pure passion, what prompts chuXchu to blend Afrobeats with his favorite genres on the new EP? “A lot of people know my music from my previous releases but didn’t associate the sound with the name and with the brand. So I’m just trying to change that, fix that, get people to know who I am. I’m also hoping this EP brings more opportunity to collab with all the different talented artists across the continents who are passionate about fusing the Afrobeats with other genres of the world.”
Luv Struck available on all platforms.
Listen to ChuXchu in our Songs of the Week playlist on Spotify and Deezer.
