ON OUR RADAR : Afro-Pop’s Rising Star Cheque [@CHEQUE]

who: cheque @superboycheque

genre: afro-pop

where: okitipupa, ondo state / ondo town, ondo state

After weeks of teasing new music on social media, Superboy Cheque is finally ready to share his glorious new EP titled ‘Chequemate‘, with the world. The project reveals Cheque at his versatile and captivating best, as he skilfully weaves a genre-melding sonic tapestry of afrobeats, R&B, hip-hop, dancehall and everything in between, all held together by his magical voice, irresistible flow, relatable songwriting, and vibrant performance prowess.

Bethel: Tell me about the creative process behind ‘Chequemate’ and how did the collaborations influence your creative process?

Cheque: When I was making ‘Chequemate,’ I didn’t drop music for like a whole year or one and a half years. My last album was in September 2021 and I just dropped ‘Chequemate’ this year, so I was out for a while. When I wanted to do ‘Chequmate,’ I felt like reintroducing myself a little bit. That’s what was in my head to do. The features that I got on it, Fireboy and Crayon – Fire is like my brother, and we would make a lot of music together, and with Crayon, I just love that he was a happy fellow when he makes music. I wanted to tap into that energy so I called both of them. The selection of the EP was like a preamble.

Bethel: ‘Shine,’ the opening track of your EP, and carries a message of overcoming tough times. Could you share more about the personal experiences or inspiration that drove you to create this song and how you hope it resonates with your listeners?

Cheque: My music is out there a lot, but I am more of a low-key guy. In a lot of places, there’s so much hate, there’s so much sadness – sometimes I can’t even relate. It’s unbelievable to me, and the struggles in Nigeria are crazy now because people are just trying to make it every day – they struggle so hard. So that song is like a mouthpiece in my mind. Crazy things are going on. RIP my brother, Mohbad.

Bethel: Between your debut album, ‘Bravo‘ and your latest EP ‘Chequemate,’ what would you say has been the most memorable moment that defined you as an artist?

Cheque: My mom had an accident and that hit me in a way that made me become a man, in the sense that it just turned me into something else. I just stopped recording for a while. I had all the ‘Chequemate’ songs, so the moment that you’re talking about are songs that I recorded after this happened to my mom, which nobody has heard. So, that’s why I’m saying this is very defining for me; it’s a very critical point. It changed my life completely, and though I have not put out the music yet, I intentionally put out ‘Chequemate’ to make sure that I could just prepare.

Bethel: ‘God Bless Me’ is very different in style to the other tracks. Are there any genres that you would like to experiment with?

Cheque: The only genre I don’t think I’ve ever done in my life right now is Country music. I have songs that I’ve not released. R&B songs, I have Afrobeats, I have Trap… I almost said the name of my next album. My next album is the start of me.

The kind of artist I am, I have a cool range of my vocals so it gives me the ability to hop on anywhere. I love to experiment a lot; it makes the music more fun for me. So, ‘God Bless Me’ was very natural for me. I have a lot of other music like that. So the only genre I’ve really thought about doing is Country.

You can listen to his ‘Chequemate’ EP below and discover more from GUAP’s Music section here!