Kelechief 4,370

Kelechi began gaining ‘buzz’ with the release of his Loose Change(s) EP, in December 2014. It also caught the ear of Mountain Dew’s Green Label Sound with the EP’s single “Want,” winning its Open Call contest in March 2015 and netting $50,000 to fulfill his music dream.

Kelechi’s parents immigrated to Georgia from Nigeria in the 1980s in pursue of the American Dream, hence the title of “American Dreamville.” Growing up, Kelechi’s choice of music was heavily inspired by Nigerian rhymes and melodies until he came across Common. His parents intended for him to follow a steady career, but Kelechi was rapidly running out of energy to pursue a standard occupation.

They wanted a way more traditional career choice. When I was younger and making music into the wee hours of the morning they were like, ‘whatever’. But it became more a big deal in college when I dropped out.

On May 6th, 2016, Kelechi released his first studio album, Before the Quarter.