Ikechukwu Onunaku, known professionally as Ikechukwu and Killz is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He was a cast member in '' The Wedding Party'' and '' The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai''. Onunaku was born in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...

to Nigerian parents but was raised in

Lagos, Nigeria Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

. He moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

after completing high school at

King's College, Lagos King's College, Lagos (KCL) is a secondary school in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was founded on 20 September 1909 with 10 students on its original site at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only male students ...

. He returned over a decade later to Nigeria shortly before the release of his first album ''Son of the Soil'' in 2006 which featured the smash hit ''My Name is Ikechukwu. Son of the Soil'' was followed by ''Life and Times of Killz Volume 1'' which featured production by

Don Jazzy Michael Collins Ajereh (born 26 November 1982), known professionally as Don Jazzy, is a Nigerian record producer. He is the founder and the CEO of Mavin Records. Don Jazzy was co-owner of the now-defunct Mo' Hits Records record label with D'b ...

and an appearance by DBanj and

Wande Coal Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe (born 18 October 1985), popularly known as Wande Coal, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Early life Wande Coal was born on 18 October 1985 in Lagos Island, Lagos state, Nigeria, to Chief Ibukun Olufunto and Omolara ...

and frequent collaborator

Naeto C Naetochukwu Chikwe, stage name Naeto C, is a Nigerian rapper, Afrobeat artist and record producer. Early life He was born in Houston, Texas and is of Nigerian origin. The Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha appointed Naeto C, as his Speci ...

. His hit single "My name is Ikechukwu" from the ''Son of the Soil'' charted at No.1 in the East, in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

and

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

for 21, 6 and 5 weeks respectively. His third album ''The Alliance Reconstructed'' featured other hits like "Critical", and "Now is the Time". His other singles include "Bu Lie Oto, B.A.D.A, Carry Me, Balabala." He made his debut on the big screen in a short feature written produced and directed by Walter Taylaur's ''The Wages.'' It went on to garner critical acclaim, selected for screening at AFRIFF 2014 and subsequently winning best short feature at the AMVCA'S in 2015. Following that with a major appearance in the Ndani-produced ''Gidi Up'', Ikechukwu secured a major role in the blockbuster '' The Wedding Party'' in 2016. In 2017, he returned to the cast of the sequel ''

The Wedding Party 2 ''The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai'' is a 2017 Nigerian romantic comedy drama film directed by Niyi Akinmolayan. It is a sequel to '' The Wedding Party'', which was released in December 2016. Principal photography for the film, which was ...

'' In 2019, Ikechukwu released another single, ''Nnukwu Azu''. In September 2019, Ikechukwu made a post on his

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

page, alleging that he was pulled out of an Uber taxi, bundled into a police van and beaten by the operatives of the Nigerian Police Force. He said that he was taken to an ATM and forced to empty his bank accounts. He married British model Ella in May 2021, originally from Imo state and daughter of a Nigerian politician.

Nominations and awards

*Best New Artist in Africa at the 2006 Channel O Spirit of Africa Video Awards. *Revelation of the Year at 2007's Hip Hop World Awards *Best Lyricist on the Roll, and Best Rap Collabo with

for ''You Know my P'' at 2008's Hip Hop World Awards *Best Afro Pop Act of the Year and Best Music Video for Wind Am Well NEA Awards (2008) *Won best video MTV MAMAS, (2008) *Won Channel O Best Male , (2008) *Won Channel O Best Male West Africa (2009)

Filmography

*''The Wages'' (2013) *''Gidi Up'' (2013) * ''Gbomo ''Gbomo Express (2015) *'' The Wedding Party'' (2016) *'' The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai'' (2017) *''When Love Comes Calling'' (2019) *''Powder Dry'' (2019) *''City Crimes'' (2019) *''By All Means'' (2019) *''

Òlòtūré ''Òlòturé'' is a 2019 Nigerian crime drama film directed by Kenneth Gyang from a screenplay by Yinka Ogun and Craig Freimond. It stars Sharon Ooja, Beverly Osu, Ada Ameh and Blossom Chukwujekwu. Premise ''Òlòturé'' tells the story of Òl ...

'' (2019) *''Men Money and Marriage'' (2019) *''Your Excellency'' (2019) *''The Little Black Book'' (2021)

Albums

*''Son of the Soil'' (2006) *''Life and Times of Killz Vol. 1'' (2008) *''The Alliance Reconstructed'' (2010) *''Hard'' (2019) *''Soft'' (2019)

References

External links

Artist Ikechukwu at Music.Apple.ComSpotify
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onunaku, Ikechukwu Nigerian male film actors Nigerian rappers Rappers from Lagos Igbo music People from Manassas, Virginia Rappers from Virginia 21st-century Nigerian male actors Nigerian male singers 21st-century Nigerian male singers Igbo actors

Nominations and awards

Filmography

Albums

See also

References

External links