KiDi is one of those new generation of artists like his countryman Kuami Eugene, or Joeboy and Rema from Nigeria, who have really hit the big time this year.
He’s had two hit songs, Excitement and Say Cheese, the second of which was remixed by the legendary US producer Teddy Riley, and his debut album, Sugar, scooped album of 2020 at the VGMAs – the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards. He told the BBC:
“2020 for me has been phenomenal, amazing. I know it’s hard to say with everything going on around the world, but I keep saying that with every dark cloud there’s always silver linings.”
He added: “Enjoyment is so huge, Say Cheese is so huge. I’m just happy to have a lot of hit songs because it means I’m doing something right, people are listening, people appreciate, when I step on stage they’re vibing with me, so it’s a blessing for me.”
Say Cheese was released in lockdown but that didn’t hurt it. It became a sensation on social media with people all over the world posting their videos to it.
It’s not surprising that it hit the spot with the Insta generation, given the lyrics of the chorus: “Say cheese, take a picture, say cheese take a picture…”
KiDi got lucky earlier in his career, back in 2017, when Davido jumped on his song Odo:
That was only my second hit, and to have a global superstar like Davido jump on it, it took me from being just a kid that was coming up from Ghana to being the kid to watch, because everyone was jamming to that song.”
But credit where credit is due, there’s a reason Davido wanted to collaborate: The kid did good. Odo is a very fine song.
