Nigeria’s newest rising star, Superboy Cheque, just released the music video for his single “Loco”! The track comes off Superboy Cheque’s debut EP, Razor, which made major waves throughout Africa this summer.
A testament to Superboy Cheque’s nuance and style, “Loco” is a smooth Afrobeats-tinged bop that illustrates his newfound love. Set with lush gardens and modern, romantic lighting, Cheque and his love interest groove to the Tempoe produced tune in some of the freshest looks I’ve seen in 2020. It’s effortlessly cool, just like Cheque.
At the heart of Cheque’s music is the duality of Afrobeats and hip-hop, which you can hear in full on “Loco.” Throughout the track, Cheque transitions from syncopated Afrobeats flows to melodic hip-hop cadences that bounce just as much as they glide. This ebb and flow proves the power of his rhythmic inclination, he can manipulate beats to capture any essence and it’s all done with unmatched subtlety.
“Loco” is a highlight from Razor which is home to “Zoom,” a hip-hop influenced track that evolved into one of Nigeria’s biggest hits of 2020. Racking up over 20 million streams across platforms, “Zoom” reached #2 on Nigeria’s all-genre Apple Music Chart. The track also reached #2 on the worldwide Audiomack chart (10M+ total streams), peaked at #4 on Ghana’s Apple Music chart, #3 on Sound City Africa’s Top 20 chart, and #3 on Nigeria’s Shazam chart. Cheque recently earned a New Artist Spotlight from Apple Music Nigeria, who also named Cheque as New Artist of the Month for November 2020. Only scratching the surface of his talent, Superboy Cheque is more than ready to assume his destiny as Nigeria’s next all-genre force.
Signed to Penthauze, Nigerian rapper Phyno‘s music label, 25-year-old Cheque has already reached #2 on Nigeria’s all-genre Apple Music and Audiomack charts, #4 on Ghana’s Apple Music chart, #3 on Sound City Africa’s Top 20 chart, and #3 on Nigeria’s Shazam chart with his single “Zoom.” The trap ballad (which is catchy whether you listen to the original or acoustic track), evokes the emotional street music of Lil Durk and Roddy Ricch under the trappings of a melodic Afrobeats flow. Despite crossing over effortlessly into the world of rap, Cheque’s second highlight single “Satisfied” is proof enough that you can still turn up to his music during an Afrobeats set at an Everyday People party. Fusing hip-hop with Afrobeats came naturally to Cheque, as he has spent his years as a fan of artists like Drake, Wizkid, Polo G, Burna Boy and more (and was even roommates with Fireboy DML!); but, what might be a surprise is his appreciation for country star Luke Combs and Canadian rock legend Bryan Adams. Cheque’s ear for dynamic lyricism and cross-genre production gives him an extra edge when he steps into the booth.
Watch “Loco”: https://youtu.be/Z44nx7P52JQ
© 2020, Seth "Digital Crates" Barmash. All rights reserved.
