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Chika revealed when that crying baby backlash “almost killed” her, Ari Lennox and Stevie Wonder had her back but urged her to “just apologize” and “get off the Internet.”
Source: DAVID SWANSON / Getty
Before the release of Chika’s first album, Samson, she talked to Rolling Stone about navigating the music industry, viral fame, and her admitted struggles with mental illness. She also explained the similarities to the hard-headed biblical figure whose strength became his biggest weakness.
‘Samson’ is an impressive testimony to Chika’s (@oranicuhh) psychological and existential crises — plus her resolve to survive in spite of them.
We spoke to her about it all: pic.twitter.com/5krfvFde0J
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) July 28, 2023
In Chika’s case, the same creative, raw expression online that made her famous almost took more than her career.
“I feel like people used that moment as a reason to dog pile. It was completely blown out of proportion,” Chika said.
“I’ve always been a very vocal and creatively worded person. When everyone’s in a good mood, everyone understands that I’m being hyperbolic, but when it’s this thing where there’s a hill to die on, people will take the sh*t that I say and make it literal so that they can make a character indictment,” she said, adding that speaking colorfully is an occupational hazard.
SAMSON: THE ALBUM pic.twitter.com/2pgxhGLJ3c
— CHIKA ? (@oranicuhh) July 28, 2023
As BOSSIP previously reported, Chika took to Twitter in June to vent about crying toddlers on a red-eye Delta flight.
“To the lady next to me who thought it would be a good idea to buy yourself and your twin infants first class seats on a red-eye flight, who just woke me up by bringing your screaming bastard to OUR seats to soothe her, I just bought $34 Wi-Fi at 4 a.m. to call you a stupid b*tch,” she impulsively tweeted.
Twitter dragged the hyperbolic and harsh rant and when T.I. and Tiny Harris’ daughter Zonnique Pullins came forward as the mother of one of the toddlers, all hell broke loose. Chika doubled down after Zonnique confronted her.
“And that’s why it’s STILL f*ck your kids. I complained (rudely) for a real reason. You and your busted-a** nanny just chose to be trash & lie on the internet. Again, choke,” she said.
See more of Chika’s words on the crying baby drama and Stevie Wonder on the flip!
Chika Talks Baby-gate, Says Ari Lennox And Stevie Wonder Told Her To “Get Off The Internet” And “Apologize”
Source: Emma McIntyre / Getty
The Alabama rapper doesn’t care what the internet has to say but hits differently when famous friends like Stevie Wonder, who appears on Samson, check her for wilding out.
“He’ll check me when necessary,” she told Rolling Stone. “When you have an icon like Stevie Wonder tell you, ‘Hey, girl get off the internet real quick,’ I don’t give a f*ck about what Instagram and Twitter are talking about ’cause they don’t know me like he does.”
In Chika’s DMs, Ari Lennox urged her to apologize for “being hyperbolic.” She remained unapologetic because artists are “expected to perform contrition” even when it’s not genuine. On “Prodigy,” she rapped that “she will not live in apology” like she used to do for existing.
“I’m not going to sit around and tell myself that I’m a horrible person because people want me to,” she said, admitting she’s “still growing.”
@oranicuhh one last thing I’m in love with Prodigy im here for this cyberpunk hip-hop. Plane Jane is a vibe, Awards you said some real shit the girls might be mad. ? Mad I relate to that song so much. #Hiphop #Realhiphop #SAMSON #Chika pic.twitter.com/BlwWmwO622
— Beeri734 (@BeeRi28) July 28, 2023
Chika, who was in the throes of a manic episode and suicidal ideation leading up to the flight, still feels that unleashing her feelings online instead of in person was a “victimless” crime.
“I was on the way home to my parents the day before I had hit my therapist and was like, ‘Yo, for the first time in a year, I have had a suicidal thought.’ That’s the day I flew out. It just so happened that there was a celebrity child involved. I didn’t know they was f*cking famous; I just knew that the baby next to me was kicking me and screaming, and I vented about it like a regular person,” she explained.
“I do this victimless thing in the midst of a mental health crisis that I’ve been open about, and I’ve talked about, and then the entire world is like, oh, this person is vile.”
Chika is the next coming of Lauren Hill. #Samson solidifies it for me. She’s picked up that torch and is SPRINTING with it! Very much her own artist, unlike anything we’ve had, but the traces of Lauren’s spirit are present.
— Myles Warden (@ReallyMighty) July 28, 2023
Many comments had no sympathy for Chika, claiming scrutiny comes with the territory of fame. For Chika, dehumanizing backlash and “no room for empathy” came long before her fame simply because of how she looks.
“You’re plus size, dark-skinned, vocal, and not apologetic. It’s even worse for you. At that point, I had no real reason to even approach anyone else with grace when I don’t get handled that way. If I tell people what I’m going through, they’re like, ‘Oh, she’s using her mental health as an excuse.’
This is actually a good solid masterpiece. It was raw and ear-pleasing. You did something special with this one. .@oranicuhh Chika “ Samson: The Album” #SAMSON #chika pic.twitter.com/WEWHN82AI0
— ? ? ? (@DejohnLamar) July 28, 2023
Although some comments had compassion for Chika’s mental health struggles, she said, “There was no conversation about what it looks like to be in a manic state and not to have slept for 48 hours” before the crying child was the last straw.
“There’s a lot of moving parts there that people wanted to ignore in order to have a different conversation, so I allowed them to. If I were to have read into it any further, it would’ve killed me, and it almost did,” she admitted.
So ultimately, just let that conversation happen and let people think what they want to think because who I am is going to shine through all of that sh*t anyway.”
On Samson, Chika shines in the company of stars like Freddie Gibbs, Snoop Dogg, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and her “big brother” Stevie Wonder. She crafted her first album like it might be her last, in case her greatest strength seals her fate like Samson.
What do you think of Chika’s debut album Samson?
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