Kenyan starlet Nikita Kering glows on new single "Dilly Darling"

On the back of a much-muted year musically, multitalented Kenyan singer, producer and songwriter - Nikita Kering - has shared her first offering of the year, ‘Dilly Darling’.

Produced by fast-rising Kenyan producer, Cap, with assistance from Nase, the "On Yah" singer reflects on a high school love story, emoting about her unconditional love and availability to this individual.

“I grew up watching a lot of Disney, Camp Rock, High School Musical and so I just wanted to tell a story of my high school lover in a way that emulates that”, she shares.

Crooning over a stripped-down instrumental that includes a guitar strum, she allows her honeyed vocals to sit on top of the Cap-produced record in a bluesy fashion, which she has built a furnished career on.

“I thought that a pop ballad with a guitar behind it can allow some space for storytelling in a way that people can hear and understand what I'm saying”, she continues.

Following a year where she only had two official studio releases, “Kama Hauna” alongside Kenyan rap mavericks, Scar Mkadinali and Ndovu Kuu - as well as her Amapiano-tinged banger “Pendana Nawe”, Nikita has been selectively quiet while working on new music for her legion of fans. Her only other release came with her commissioned soundtrack for MTV’s hypnotic series, ‘Shuga Mashariki’, where her magnetic single “Haina Pressure” features as the series official sigtune opening soundtrack.

On “Dilly Darling”, she is buoyant and tackles themes of love, intimacy and warmth - pillars that have become adjacent to her music.

“‘Dilly Darling’ is about not wasting time and being available on call for the person that loves you, and so given that when I used to be in primary school, the teachers would say stop dilly dallying, you need to do this and you need to do that."

Nikita Kering has achieved extraordinary success by the age of 23, an accomplishment that eludes even many seasoned Kenyan musicians.

With more than a million followers across her social media platforms, she is on track to set global records.

Her musical journey began at just 3 years old, performing for audiences at family gatherings. Her first breakthrough came in 2011 when she performed at gospel singer Emmy Kosgei' s album launch, quickly ascending the Kenyan music charts.

Over the years, Nikita has continued to make waves, collaborating with prominent artists such as Fave, Msaki, and Bien.

She has also earned notable features, including being the only Kenyan artist highlighted in the BBC 1xtra Afrobeats concert, participating in Netflix's Queen Charlotte music campaign, and speaking at the Forbes Women Summit in Pretoria, South Africa.

Today, she stands as one of Kenya’s most-streamed female artists, renowned for her chart-topping hit 'Ex' and she looks forward to the rest of this year’s releases that she knows will launch her as East Africa’s rising star.