Enigma, will Ataman Nikita be the new force in Ghana music?

On Wednesday, July 31, the man known as Richard Azunre, a lecturer at the Bolgatanga Technical University released a song. Titled, Enigma, the song is the first work of the Bolgatanga-based artist, known professionally as Ataman Nikita. The release of Enigma is the official launch of his professional music career.

As his first major single, one that proceeds a scheduled album release in the latter parts of 2024, Ataman Nikita announced the project in early July while work was ongoing with his brother Dr. Pushkin and Strongman Burner for Still Here. For many, that would have sounded surprising that Ataman Nikita announced that he would release his first single. Why because the man has always been around and can be heard in many songs.

While that is very true, he had only practiced music as a hobby and not something he committed to doing as a professional. Despite co-founding Isolirium Entertainment with Dr. Pushkin, with whom he has done many songs, Ataman Nikita had remained anonymous in the industry, only appearing in songs as a featured artist.

Enigma, the song that is the precursor to his upcoming album unravels the man behind the song while touching on general life circumstances and how society thinks of people. His distinct and foreign entertainment name often presents a complete disconnect between the man many know in the Upper East Region and the one who does music under the Isolirium label. Enigma thus, bridges that gap and unifies the one person behind the two personalities, erasing the mystery.

Known for his outstanding vocals, Ataman Nikita did show why Enigma is the breaking of the eggshell to unleash that power chick that would become the roaster of the community and neighbourhood. His voice is unmistakable and controlled and his ability to easily adapt to fit into any song would be some of his biggest assets to stand out in the crowded space.

Previously, Ataman Nikita’s appearances on songs by Dr Pushkin gave a glimpse of who he is and what he brings. His work on Call Me Back with Dr Pushkin as well as Fantasy which featured him alongside Soorebia and Dr Pushkin are two classic examples. However, in 2024, he demonstrated even more why his voice could potentially become the A-gamer in the Upper East and Ghana and pitch him among some of the best in the world. His features on No Go Go in the early part of the year and Still Here, the most recent work of his brother and Isolirium co-founder Dr Pushkin showed how he can turn his vocals into a piece that adds life to any song.

As this marks the beginning of his new journey in music, we can only expect the best from Ataman Nikita with our expectations that he will 10X the standards he set while doing underground work as a featured artist on songs by others. While we wait with bated breath for his album later this year, we can confidently lay claim to the fact that Ghana has a new gem that would stand out thanks to his uniqueness and versatility. And for the Upper East that has always slept on talent, this is the new awakening that their young men and women in the creative are more than hometown boys and should be pushed to take on the country and the world. That is where they belong and where they deserve to be.