Chika’s Official Day Falls on the ‘Fade in the Water’ Anniversary
The Alabama rapper joined ‘The Almanac of Rap’ to reflect on her hometown honor — and the unexpected connection it shares with one of the internet’s most unforgettable cultural moments.
Photo illustration by Kaushik Kalidindi for Okayplayer.
Three years ago, August 5 became permanently etched into Black internet lore. What started as the Montgomery Riverfront brawl — later dubbed the Montgomery Riverfront Uprising, “Fade in the Water” and, more recently, “Chairteenth” — quickly became one of the most memorable moments in Black social media history.
During the latest episode of The Almanac of Rap, Montgomery, Alabama-born rapper Chika revealed that the day her hometown recognized Chika Day also falls on Aug. 5 — the same date as the now-infamous Montgomery Riverfront brawl.
“It’s really just so serendipitous,” she joked.
Chika recalled waking up on August 5 last year with no idea she’d be honored by her city. She joked that she wanted to buy a lawn chair before heading to a city council meeting, assuming she’d simply be recognized from the audience. “I thought they were just going to have me stand up and wave and do a spin like Michael Scott,” Chika laughed.
Instead, city leaders officially proclaimed the date Chika Day, giving her her flowers. “I feel like ancestrally something there was done right,” she said of the unexpected overlap between Chika Day and “Fade in the Water.”
Chika added that the connection felt personal because, as she put it, “we had our senior crews on that boat.”
“It felt like I was really being embraced by my hometown — even if, accidentally, it was just serendipitous,” she added. “It’s beautiful.”
Watch Chika’s full conversation with Donwill on The Almanac of Rap below.
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