US-based Nigerian singer-songwriter, Kemkem popularly known as Nkan, is celebrated for her ‘Kosmopolitan’ genre.
Beyond music, the creative entrepreneur, actor and major stakeholder at TheatreMania Africa Festival (TAF), was dubbed the “Golden Voice of Africa” in the early 2000s having conquered America and West Africa with her art.
Fresh from the euphoria of her 2025 EP, Surulere, Nkan’s new single, California Love, has now returned her to the spotlight to continue her mission of creating soulful, message-driven music.
Released on February 27, California Love, a blend of Afrobeats, jazz and highlife, perfectly timed for Valentine’s, showcases Nkan’s ‘Kosmopolitan’ sound and marks a pivotal moment in her illustrious music career.
Moving away from the high-energy percussion of past hits like Pepepe, California Love, which is available on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, accompanied by a vibrant lyrical video, utilizes lush, atmospheric production to highlight the artiste’s vocal range. The track explores themes of long-distance romance and the bridge between Nkan’s Nigerian heritage and her time in the United States.
Defining the song’s emotional core, Nkan said: “Music is a vessel for truth and emotion. With California Love, I wanted to capture that specific warmth you feel when love transcends distance. It’s about the memories that keep us glowing, no matter where we are in the world.”
The singer also revealed the spiritual origins of the track, citing a prophetic connection to the title. She submitted: “California Love is a very personal and spiritual story for me. I’m deeply spiritually inclined… A few weeks before I relocated to the United States… the song California Love by Tupac kept playing repeatedly in my head. I would wake up singing it, even though I hadn’t yet decided which state I was moving to.
“Fast forward to my flight to the U.S., I was asleep on the plane, and just before the arrival announcement, I heard California Love again in my spirit. I woke up smiling. Two months after settling in Oakland, love found me, and that experience became the story behind California Love. Releasing it during Valentine’s season feels natural because California Love is a love letter: to Oakland, to distance, to destiny, and to love that crosses cultures.”
The track solidifies Nkan’s status as a talented and visionary artiste, with music critics commending her ability to fuse traditional African rhythms with contemporary soul, earning her top spot on the 2026 ‘Artistes to Watch’ list.
On the contrast between the new single and her previous project, Surulere, Nkan said California Love was composed in 2017, but the emotions tied to the story remain just as real today.
“There’s a particular line in the song that takes me to another realm emotionally, it often brings me to tears when I hear myself sing it. That emotional space was very different from Surulere. California Love comes from a softer, more vulnerable place rooted in personal experience and intimacy,” she concluded.