Eugene Chukwuka Ekweani is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and producer who records under the name CKay. His music is a mixture of Afrobeats, R&B, and dancehall, which he labels "Afro-Futuristic." CKay released "Love Nwantiti" as a single on August 29, 2019.
"Love Nwantinti" is a love song with lyrics that are a mix of English and Igbo, a language spoken in Nigeria. The song title means "small love," a puzzling translation for English speakers as CKay's love for his girl is clearly not "small."
Many Nigerians know the phrase "Love Nwantinti" for being the title of their native singer Nelly Uchendu's 1976 hit tune. An Igbo folk song in praise of a local beauty, Uchendu rose to prominence upon its release. "Love Nwantinti" earned her the sobriquet, "Lady with the Golden Voice."
On February 14, 2020, CKay dropped the song's official remix as a Valentine's gift to his fans. It features two new verses by Nigerian singer-songwriter JoeBoy and Ghanaian afrobeat artist Kuami Eugene. The new version became a huge success in Nigeria, then in other African countries, eventually becoming a worldwide hit.
CKay recorded a series of collaborations with local artists for localized variations. The French version features French rapper Franglish; the Spanish, Puerto Rican reggaeton artist De La Ghetto; and the North African, Moroccan rapper ElGrandeToto.
"Love Nwantiti" originated as a freestyle laid down by CKay. The Nigerian singer told Rolling Stone he didn't write down a single word. "I was in my living room, making beats like I usually do, and I played the chords, built on them, and did my freestyle," CKay explained. "I recorded around midnight and I was really sleepy, so I decided I was gonna put words to the 'ah ah ah' part in the morning. Long story short, woke up in the morning and realized it was fire exactly how it was."
The song proved popular on TikTok, with users using its fluid sound for a variety of videos, including some that replicate TikToker Tracy Joseph's dynamic choreography on her viral clip.
The song topped the singles charts in several countries, including France, India, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.
You can probably tell that the word nwantiti is African in origin. And what it actually means, in Nigeria’s Igbo language, is “small love”. And truthfully, we don’t know specifically what such an expression entails in its native context, as it is apparent that the feelings the vocalist possesses for this addressee, i.e. his romantic interest, are in fact big.
So in that regard, this piece reads more or less like your average West African youth love song, i.e. one in which related terminology is being presented to us in both English (being that Nigeria is an Anglophone nation) and indigenous languages.
So for instance, let’s take a phrase like “I want to chop your nkwobi”, as found in the first verse. In the world of West African colloquialisms, the word chop actually means to eat or to have sex with a lady, you know, like you’re going to eat the lady. Meanwhile, nkwobi is actually a type of Nigerian food.
So maybe if a child heard this phrase, they would think something like the vocalist is asking the addressee for grub. But more mature minds would recognize it as CKay basically telling the addressee that he wants to sleep with her.
And so it is with Love Nwantiti, as this is a love that is definitely influenced by the singer’s sexual attraction to the woman he is singing to. In fact outside of touting his strong feelings for her, the main subtheme would be an appreciation of her looks, i.e. the addressee’s body. And in that respect, in traditional African fashion, CKay is able to celebrate that this woman doesn’t rely on any “silicon” or other types of artificial modifications to make herself sexy.
In Conclusion
At the end of the day, Love Nwantiti reads like your quintessential teenage love song, so to speak. Maybe at later stages in life, we come to appreciate our romantic interests for more than just looks. But in this present scenario, that’s what CKay relishes most about the apple of his eye.
CKay and “Love Nwantiti”
CKay is a Nigerian musician who may not necessarily be a big name, but he has had one solid hit, that being Love Nwantiti.
This song was originally released via a label called Chocolate City on 30 August 2019. However, it was actually a 2020 remix of the tune, that time around featuring fellow Nigerian crooner Joeboy and Ghanaian artist Kuami Eugene, that became an international hit.
For instance, it broke the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and topped the UK Indie Chart. And globally it charted in well over 20 nations, including marking the only time CKay has made it onto the Billboard Hot 100. In fact by the looks of things, as implied earlier the Love Nwantiti remix is the only track he’s ever dropped that charted.
But that said, as implied this may be a tune that the headline artist is going to be eating off for a long time to come. For instance, as of the writing of this post another remix of Love Nwantiti which came out on 10 September 2021, this time featuring two other artists (DJ Yo! & Axel), also blew up, i.e. going viral on TikTok.
Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah) was both written and produced by CKay. And based on his discography, he appears to have been in the game since the late-2010s.
Love Nwantiti, created by a Nigerian emo-Afrobeats singer, songwriter and producer Chukwuma Ekweani, popularly known as CKay, today stands as the most Shazamed song in the world.
WHAT IS LOVE NWANTITI? The song means ‘small love’, literally, in Igbo, which is also the language in which CKay sings the major part of the song. It was released as his second extended track from the album, CKay The First in 2019 by Chocolate City through Warner Music Group. But it took nearly two years for the song and its cover versions to hit the global audience. The story of that is as incredible as the song.
THE BEGINNING: The first time when the track grabbed attention was when the remix version featuring Nigerian Singer Joeboy and Ghanian singer Kuami Eugene went on air in 2020. The song became a huge success in Nigeria, West Asia, North Africa and many European clubs.
A REVIVAL: Love Nwantiti tasted success once again when a slowed down version featuring DJ YO and Axel took over the video-sharing app Tik-Tok in September 2021. Since then, it has been heard by millions of listeners across the globe. There are more than 3 million videos of the song on TikTok where music lovers have shared their version of the song. Even CKay, the original creator of the song, was stunned to find the song trending once more and this time, the world audience had its ears glued to his track. At first, he said he didn't believe it when his friend broke this news to him.
SHAZAM WONDER: Since September 11, the song has been ranked number one on Shazam's global charts, the music chart that tracks the most searched songs in the world. The song has beaten several smash hits including Justin Bieber and Kid Laroi's Stay, Elton John's remix of Cold Heart, global anthems from Lil Nas X, Ed Sheeran, J Balvin, The Weekend and more. At present, it is on the charts in 160 countries.
In India, Love Nwantiti has been ranked as number one by Indian Music Industry (IMI) International Top 20 singles which is a weekly record chart for best international single tracks. Apart from this, International music charts of France, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal have ranked it as the number one chart-buster track. Apart from all of this, there is another acoustic version of the song which was also an instant hit. Do listen and let us know in the comments below.