Grammy-nominated rapper Chika has announced her retirement from the music industry.
The 24-year-old star – who was in contention for Best New Artist at the 2021 Grammy Awards – has decided to step back from her music career due to the impact it was having on her mental health.
In a statement, she told fans that “the mental toll being in the industry has taken on me is not something you bounce back from easily.”
Cardi B reached out to the young rapper encouraging her to reconsider her retirement.
She tweeted, “Take it as this ,Is the devil trying you or God testing your faith .I have won and accomplished so much and yet people try to strip everything I work hard for yet I have to think to myself do I quit & let people laugh for me being weak or get them mad by winning?”
Chika has featured on tracks for the likes of JoJo and Stevie Wonder, she also found a fan in Snoop Dogg, who asked her to write him a song.
He told her: “I’m here to tell you I f*** with your music. I love your s***.
“I play it, I enjoy it. I wanted to tell you that. I didn’t want to, like, let you hear about it. I want you [to] hear it from me, from the Dogg’s mouth.”
Chika is known for being vocal about political and societal issues and was detained by police at a Los Angeles protest over the police killing of George Floyd last year.