On the surface, CKay’s guitar looks fairly typical — an acoustic/electric cutaway in obsidian black. But it carries a hell of a story: It belonged to the Nigerian Afrobeats star’s late uncle, a reggae artist who passed away of cancer in his twenties.
“He couldn’t live his dreams, basically,” CKay reflects in the below video, explaining that his uncle was operating in the wake of the Nigerian Civil War. “It’s kind of emotional for me. So, every time I hold this or play it, I kind of remember him. It feels like I’m living both my dream and his dream.”
In the newest episode of It Goes To 11, a video series in which musicians share stories behind their gear, watch CKay open up about this family heirloom — and reveal which smash-hit single he wrote with it.
Photocredit: Ken Vii/Pause Magazine
