Coming off her well-received debut EP Industry Games earlier this year, Alabama MC Chika returns with her first new single, the lushly-produced “U Should.” Building on the flirtatious energy of her early 2020 single “Can’t Explain It,” “U Should” finds Chika preparing to shoot her shot, singing and rapping over a string-filled beat that opens with a smooth acoustic guitar and builds to sweeping orchestral flourishes, mirroring the emotional roller coaster of a new crush.
Chika’s profile has risen considerably during the last few months, both as a result of her excellent EP and due to her social activism during uprisings against police brutality over the summer. She documented being detained at a protest in Los Angeles after slipping her restraints to retrieve her cell phone. She also called out other artists for exploiting the protests for personal profit. But now, the focus is back on her music — right where it should be, as she lives up to the potential that Cardi B declared in her with a confident co-sign.
Chika will also feature in Netflix’s upcoming superhero noir, Project Power. The film stars Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and premieres next Friday, August 14. The film follows an unlikely pairing of protagonists in pursuit of the same goal; the supplier of a drug that gives users superpowers for five minutes, but may result in dangerous overdoses that cause those powers to fatally backfire.
Press play on Chika’s “U Should” above.
Chika is a Warner Music artist. .
