Chimini-Yoka | Important Ears Only |Las Vegas Music Artist
- SocialSecuritii
- Sep 8, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 8, 2025
Chimini-yoka: R&B, Gospel, and Neo-Soul Roots in Las Vegas
Las Vegas has always been a city of contrasts, but few artists embody that balance like Chimini-Yoka. Born and raised in the city, her voice is shaped by the richness of gospel, the intimacy of neo-soul, and the honesty of R&B. What sets her apart isn’t just her sound, it’s her vision.
Chimini-Yoka isn’t only a performer; she’s also a builder of culture. She founded Ess West Fest, a festival that blends theatre and live music into one immersive stage experience. Her background in projects like Broadway in the Hood shows that her artistry has always been tied to storytelling and community impact. Alongside her solo work, Chimini-Yoka sharpens her craft as a background vocalist for Candice Boyd at The Pinky Ring in Las Vegas.
That duality of supporting another artist while pushing her own artistry is what gives her performances a layered perspective. In 2025, she released her project “How’s Your Heart”, a body of work that asks intimate questions while blending soulful arrangements with vulnerability.
When she takes the stage at Important Ears Only on September 23, Chimini-Yoka brings that same spirit: not just singing to an audience, but inviting them into conversation. Her phrasing carries gospel reverence, her tone radiates soul, and her storytelling pulls you into the moment.
CHIMINI: LAS VEGAS GRIT MEETS THEATER SOUL
Showcase: Important Ears Only
Date / Time: Monday, September 23 | 7 PM–Midnight
Venue: The Usual Place, Downtown Las Vegas
Las Vegas musical stories are more compelling when they come from people rooted in its neighborhoods and cultural crosscurrents. That’s exactly Chimini-Yoka’s origin story; born and raised here, she embodies the city’s mosaic: gospel, neo-soul, and theatrical intent all fused into a presence that stops rooms cold.
Before she hit any stage, she absorbed its pulse from watching local choirs, attending community plays, feeling Vegas’s rhythm settle into her. That foundation steered her toward gospel and R&B, but she wanted more than genre. She wanted space for emotion and narrative both. So she built it. That led to founding Ess West Fest, a Las Vegas festival that blends theater and musical artistry into one immersive experience, storytelling and performance united in the desert.
Meanwhile, she’s been cultivating her craft behind the scenes and in the spotlight. On one hand, she’s a background vocalist to Candice Boyd at the Pinky Ring in Las Vegas matching harmony, timing, and tone at a professional level. On the other, she’s stepping forward with her own voice. In 2025 she released a debut solo project called "How’s Your Heart" a title and record grounded in questions that invite intimacy and honesty, neo-soul crafted with soul, not trend.
This duality of supporting someone else's vision while pulling forward her own is what makes her a potent presence for Important Ears Only. She arrives on September 23 not just as an opening act, but as a bridge: connecting tradition with innovation, ensemble work with personal narrative, and community foresight with individual artistry.
Chimini-Yoka’s style is immersive. Her melodies feel like conversations. Her phrasing, raised in gospel carries a reverence, but her lyrics are rooted in neo-soul & hit with modern clarity. There’s strength in softness and conviction in subtlety. Whether she’s singing her own story or weaving into someone else’s arrangement, the moment stretches, and attention follows.
That’s what makes her performance with Jerrytheblack and RoseParade this September so vital. It’s not just about lines, bass, and hooks. It’s about harmonies between artists who build scenes as much as they perform within them. Jerry brings that layered storytelling. Rosey brings grounding soul. Chimini-Yoka brings emotional architecture, a director’s eye for how melody and story hold space.
In the room with her, you’ll sense a narrative arc, a question sent out into the air. "How’s your heart?" becomes something bigger than a title. It becomes an offer: to listen and be heard. To be seen and to feel. That’s what Important Ears Only is trying to build, a city's sound memory anchored in real people, real presence, real lines delivered in a way that lingers.
Come September 23, at The Usual Place, Chimini-Yoka won’t just sing. She’ll share space. She’ll extend her artistry into ours. We’ll remember not just the notes but who stood behind them and why.
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