CHIKA Returns With Her Most Personal Work Yet on New EP Wish You Were T(Here)

CHIKA’s long-anticipated return arrives with quiet force. Two years after releasing her ambitious 2023 debut Samson: The Album—a project featuring Stevie Wonder and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Grammy-nominated artist has resurfaced with Wish You Were T(Here), an eight-track EP shaped by reflection, loss, and emotional clarity.

Where Samson expanded her world outward, Wish You Were T(Here) turns that world inward. CHIKA carries the full lyrical weight of the project herself, choosing introspection over marquee collaborations and grounding the EP in themes of grief, self-understanding, and transformation. It is a deliberate reset—one that broadens her artistry without chasing her earlier acclaim.

Speaking with VIBE, CHIKA described the EP as “a postcard” to fans after stepping away. She wanted the project to function as both update and catharsis. Working closely with producer Rahki—whom she had long admired—she embraced live instrumentation and a more expansive sound palette. Their collaboration, she says, clicked instantly.

The project is steeped in personal revelations, including CHIKA’s recent autism diagnosis. Her single “Stemming” wrestles with discovering she had been on the spectrum her entire life. “Everything started making sense,” she said. “I can stop looking at myself as a bad person and just adjust.”

The Turning Point

The EP also reflects her process of grieving the death of her father, a loss she threads through songs like “FLOAT.” She describes Wish You Were T(Here) as an exercise in nostalgia—an opportunity to revisit moments from the past decade when he was still present.

Tonally, the EP shifts midway through. Tracks like “Withdrawal” mark a turn toward deeper vulnerability, followed by the gentle transition into “Friend.” Songs on the project’s latter half are largely sung, not rapped—something CHIKA says signals emotional and artistic evolution. One track she’s particularly excited for fans to hear is “This Time,” which she calls a “beautiful” showcase of Rahki’s production.

Despite the heavy themes, CHIKA is in a healthier place. Understanding her neurodivergence, she says, has helped ease long-standing struggles with depression. “I’m doing a lot better,” she shared.

Wish You Were T(Here) stands as one of her most intimate works yet—an exploration of growth, grief, and the quiet recalibrations that shape adulthood. As for what’s next, CHIKA hints that another project is already in the works, along with visuals tied to the new EP. Whether or not she tours remains to be seen.

For now, Wish You Were T(Here) marks a confident re-entry for an artist reclaiming her voice—and discovering new dimensions of it along the way.