Pulse Torch Vol. 5: Meet ChuXChu, the American-born Nigerian artist with dreams of making hits

He knew that he wanted to come back to the US, obviously for the quality of education.. So he moved back to America to attend college at a Business School in Massachusetts where he studied Economics and started working in Finance right after his tertiary education.

Somewhere along the way, he realized that he wasn’t just a music fan anymore, but wanted to dig deeper into his passion and actually put his voice out there. He hasn’t looked back since then.

On May 14, 2021, he released his debut EP, LoveStruck and it was distributed by NotJustOk Distro.

A few days ago, Pulse Nigeria had a conversation with him where he disclosed the origin of his name, how he found music, his aspirations and his inspiration.

You can read the chat below;

Pulse: What inspired your stage name?

ChuXChu: I used to go by Chu-Chu, which is short for Chukwudi (my first name), but I recently changed my stage name to chuXchu (still pronounced Chu-Chu) and added a twist to it this time around [laughs].

ChuXChu: I changed my stage name for a few reasons. Chu-Chu is a pretty common name in the eastern part of Nigeria, as well as some Asian communities. I didn’t want that to affect me long term, especially as my music starts to take off.

Secondly, people couldn’t really find me online due to the fact that I shared the same name with one of the most popular Indian channels for children’s Edutainment (Educational Entertainment).

After thinking about it, I decided to tweak it a little bit and add a mysterious ‘X’ to provoke some curiosity. I actually like it now and when you search ‘chuXchu’, you’re able to see my music catalogue.

Pulse: How did you find music?

ChuXChu: Now that I think about it, I’ve always loved music and I definitely got that from my dad. That being said, never in a million years did I think I’d be putting my voice out there to the world. [Laughs] I was comfortable being a ‘shower singer’.

There was a point in my life in 2018 where I was going through alot and I just needed some sort of release and therapy. I would go to my friend’s studio in New Jersey – shoutout Hoodini – to chill and watch him make records.

One day, I decided to find a beat and give this music thing a shot. Trust me, I couldn’t even believe all the melodies that came out of my mouth – it felt so organic! You would think I had been in the game for a while.

Pulse: How did music become a career?

ChuXChu: Before anything else, music is my passion and I’m at the stage where I’m learning a lot of my sound and craft. Still trying to find balance between my ‘9-5’ and music. It’s crazy, I would work super late then head to the studio right after work till early hours of the morning before going back into the office again.

I wouldn’t do this if there was no passion, trust me. For now I’m just having fun with it and we’ll see where the journey takes me! I definitely see something huge coming out of this.

Pulse: When would you say you found music?

ChuXChu: Great question! Definitely as a kid growing up. My dad listened to everything from Jazz to Hip-Hop to R&B, so I got the love for music from him. But as I said earlier, I never planned on being the artist or putting my voice out there until a few years ago.

Pulse: What does your music sound like?

My music is a fusion of Afro-pop, R&B, and Dancehall to sum it all up. I try to experiment different sounds fusing the Afrobeats element into different genres. I’m on a mission to pioneer this AfroR&B movement

Pulse: You make love-filled music, why?

ChuXChu: I was raised in a very loving home and I learned about the importance of being vulnerable about feelings and emotions right from a very young age. Something I might not necessarily talk about on a day-to-day basis so I use my music as an outlet.

I’ve gotten DMs where people have said I helped them get through a break up or someone using my music as a soundtrack for their wedding/proposal. That being said, there’s so much more about me, on a more profound level, that I can’t wait to share with the world.

Pulse: What inspires your music?

ChuXChu: A whole lot to be honest, but I’ll keep it short. Love, Family, Peace of Mind.

Pulse: Do you ever get tempted to leave Nigeria and back to the US?

ChuXChu: I’m actually based in the US right now, but I shuttle back and forth between Nigeria and US. On the flip side, I do get tempted to move back to Nigeria, but it has to be for the right opportunity to be honest.