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In August, HelloBeautiful and Toyota presented Front Row featuring Jidenna. The “Classic Man” emcee performed at a pop-up concert at Terminal West in Atlanta.

While at the plush venue, everyone’s favorite electro-R&B singer discussed his debut album, Long Live the Chief.

The 31-year-old explained the concept behind his album set to release this fall.

“It’s a story that deals with the passing of a torch between a father and a son. In Nigeria, there’s a proverb that my father used to say and I didn’t believe him until it happened. He said, ‘You are not your own man until your father dies. You will never be your own man, a real man, until your father dies,’” explained Jidenna, impersonating his father in a Nigerian accent.

Following the passing of his father, a professor who helped design Africa’s first personal computer, Jidenna became a different kind of man. His debut album follows the “Classic Man” as he evolves into a “real man,” as the Nigerian proverb suggests.

The suave musician explained, “Long Live the Chief is the journey and trials and tribulations as I try to fulfill the duties of my father.”

The album also showcases Jidenna’s different dimensions — not only as a man, but also as an artist.

Jidenna debuted the first single from the upcoming album back in December. The single, “Long Live the Chief,” is his first track since “Classic Man.”

Toyota Jidenna
HB FrontRow presents Jidenna brought to you by Toyota
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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.