Blaqbonez always wanted me to make a song that will go super viral. He’s like; “oh, you need to make a record that will cement your legacy, a song that many Nigerians will

know, will listen to”. So when I was making God's Engineering 2 (previous album), we made ‘Family’. It didn't go as viral as he wanted it to go. So when I was making God's

Engineering 3, he was paying special interest in the recording process. When I made the song called ‘Read the Signs’ with Terry Apala, Blaq was super excited. He even helped

me contact Terry to be on the record. He was like; “yo, this is the record. You finally did it your way. You just have to put a budget behind this record, and it's going to

go super viral”. I was like, cool. It's supposed to be the single anyway. But then I told him that I'm not going to make the album without him doing a verse. I wanted a rap

verse. So before I wrapped up the album, I called him and I was like, yo, I'm wrapping up the album and I need that verse. And he was like, say less. I think two days later,

I just got an email and he had recorded on a YouTube beat. I listened to the verse and the hook and I was like, Oh, is this how you're feeling? He was like, yeah, a lot had

happened before he recorded the verse. He put down how he felt about what was happening. I was like, okay, I jumped into the booth and dropped my own verse in like, maybe

like 15, 20 minutes. But I held it back because I was still not certain because it was on a YouTube beat. We sent it to a producer called Jxses. He was able to make a beat

that matched what we were already feeling - which is one of the hardest things to do. We didn't think of it as a single, right? We just wanted it to be on the project. After

I finished the album, I played it for my team and they were like, yo, it's hard - and this should be the single. They were like, the hook, the chemistry, everything is just a

safer bet. And I spoke to the guys on the distribution side, and they were like, yeah, they actually think that the song with Blaqbonez is the single. So we picked a date.

And we dropped it. The situation between Blaq and Modu (ODUMODUBLVCK), everything just escalated it. And yeah, that's how the song came about. We were not in the same studio

when we made the record. Blaq recorded his part, sent it to me. I recorded my part, sent it to him. And people have been saying that that's one of my best verses yet. That

thing that Blaqbonez wanted me to always have, “I want you to have this to cement your legacy”. I always wanted him to be the person that would give that to me. I guess he

finally did it on this record.

Writing “Stubborn” gave me a whole new identity. It gave me something I didn’t know I had with me. The producers, 1MIND also made “Unforgettable” by Swae Lee and French

Montana. They have quite a stacked catalogue, and they’re very good friends of mine outside of production. A session with them is good energy, and that evening, I was just

myself in the studio. I wasn’t overly prepared to make a record; I just wanted to have fun, so when the beat for “Stubborn” came on, I was feeling it, and I wasn’t thinking

of doing something perfect. Ironically, it came out as a moody song, but in that moment, it was a blend of me having fun and reminiscing on my life. It was an “I’m him”

moment. I was going through moments when it wasn’t too smooth, but I overcame, and I’m now in L.A., giving myself praises and stuff like that. Just because it was so many

emotions at once, I felt like, “Damn, this is an exceptional record.” The fact that I was able to blend the fun, moody, and autobiographical elements gave me a new feeling,

brand, and identity in my head. It was straight, almost like one takes, because with “Stubborn,” I recorded it like one long verse. The first and third verses of the song

were recorded together as one long verse. I was really in my bag. After I made the song, we just agreed that “Stubborn” would bang with a feature because it’s such a new

sound. We felt that it would be more incisive if we had somebody else to come explore something, and Asake came to mind. I reached out on Instagram, and he told me to send

it. When he came into Lagos, he came to my studio, and we just did it together.

I started writing “Can’t Breathe” while I was in Abuja in 2023, then I finished it when I came back to Lagos. I was in Abuja, and I really couldn’t enter certain roads

because of bandits (local terrorist attacks). One of the stories I’ve never told about “Can’t Breathe” is that on one of the days when I was writing in Lagos, one of our

(Nigerian) artists was having an O2 London arena performance, and there’s usually big acclaim when a Nigerian artist is performing at the O2. The media and everywhere are

flooded with videos of the performance. Around 2 a.m. that night, I was outside trying to craft the song, so I was practically performing the song as I was writing it.

Especially with the “they want to hold me down” part, I was talking about how those people (other artists) were up there, and I was still where I was. With the way I was

writing and performing the song at the same time, anyone who saw me on the road would have thought I was mad because I had my band at my back (in my head) just like they had

at the O2 Arena. I had my crowd with me, and I was just visualizing it all.

The crazy thing about “Rapid Fire” is that Genio didn’t make the beat for me; it was for Tomi Thomas. I just came inside, heard the beat, and was like, “Guy!…” The thing

about these sorts of songs is that they’re really easy for me to make. I’ve probably made like nine of those types of songs, but this one was sweet to make… there was

something about it. I just did one verse and the hook and was just playing it. I didn’t necessarily have much plans for the song, I just knew the song was made. My friend,

Tomi Agape, was on the song, but we cut her part short and then Phi (manager at the time) was like, “Let’s put Shane, this rapper from South Africa and this girl from Ghana,

her name is Amaarae.” I was like, “Yeah, I know her, cool.” When it all came together, it was like, “Oh shit.” Shane’s verse was even cut short because he rapped on the whole

thing. Amaa killed the song, too. The thing with “Rapid Fire” is that it was made with a purity that was intentional. The way the songs were made, the way we shot the video,

the way we called all the guys, the way we all stayed there till the video was done–it was a pure era. People were just watching us live our lives, but we didn’t even know.

We’d just record music and go about. It was just me, Ashley (Okoli), Odunsi (The Engine), and everybody. That’s how “Rapid Fire” came about. With the video, I’m very inspired

by crime and Nollywood, so that’s where that came from.

In 2021, Dapper set up a session with me & Tempoe. It was a camp for an artist called Savage. We made a couple of records that included “Rosemary,” “Soweto,” and some other

songs that never saw the light. At the time, I loved “Rosemary” more and Tempoe used to tell me that “Soweto” is crazy, but I couldn’t see it. At the end of the day, we gave

Savage “Rosemary,” and Tempoe was going to take “Soweto.” It was supposed to be Tempoe featuring Victony, but people on my team just loved the record and they told me that

the song was crazy. I spoke to Tempoe at the time, and he was like, “Yo, that’s my song, I can’t give it to you.” This was post-“Holy Father,” and I wanted that to be my

follow-up single, and he told me he can’t give me the record. So, we fought, and we just stopped talking for a while. When I was putting the Outlaw EP together, I was telling

my friend, AV, about the plans, and AV goes, “What about that ‘Soweto’ record? That has to make your EP.” I was like, “Yeah, the song is dope, but I don’t think Tempoe and I

can ever agree.” We hadn’t spoken in months but AV was like, “Put your pride to the side and ask him for it again because you’re both sitting on money.” To be honest, at the

time, I didn’t really think of the advice as a big deal but I just did it because AV is someone I trust, he’s a very good friend of mine, and if he tells me something, I’ll

listen. That same night, I reached out to Tempoe and was like, “How are you doing?” Surprisingly, he responded in good spirits and we were able to make it come to life and I

even discussed my EP with him. That’s how the song eventually became released.

This story is very, very crazy. So, when Kai Cenat came to Nigeria, he was on a livestream in my car and Omah’s music was playing. I had a mix of songs queued up in my car

and then, it was Omah Lay’s song playing. Obviously, that night was a huge stream. So the next day, Omah tweeted, “I’ve always thought Davido hated me”. I was like, why will

I hate you, you haven't done anything to me. Or are you talking behind my back haha. I was just whining him in the DM. He said, no, no. So thinking about it, if I didn’t do

that stream with Kai, he probably wouldn't have tweeted that and we probably wouldn't have linked. Funny enough, you would think that Davido and Omah Lay wouldn't connect

like crazy. Because, obviously, he's very chill and I'm very out there. But the first time we spoke on the phone, we spoke for like 40 minutes. What was meant to be a quick

call. And when he came to Paris Fashion Week last year, we connected on a major level. So, yeah, as we were talking (after his tweet), I was like, yo, bro, I think we need to

do something. We kept speaking about it and he said he’s getting it and he wanted to send me the perfect song. So after like two weeks went by, I was like “Ah, Omah!”. He was

like “I will send it. I will send something tonight”. He sent it that night and when I first played it, it captivated immediately. I actually had another verse on it but my

guys were like you need to go crazy on it. We need to bring out the craze in people. So I called one of my Igbo writers haha. Some of the verses were done but I called Yung

Alpha (credited writer), amazing artist, amazing producer and then we finished the song in September last year (2024).

One Sunday afternoon right after stepping out of church and heading to the car, Fizzy (the producer) came up to me and he was like, “bro, I'm a producer; I'd like to send you

some beats”. At this time, I was working with a different management, and I had an album already in the process of coming out. So, I wasn't really enthusiastic about getting

into the studio to start another album or make new songs. Fast forward say after a month, I was no longer enthusiastic about dropping the previous album, so I needed to start

working on a new one. I responded to Fizzy cos he had messaged me on IG. He sent a pack of beats to my engineer and there were some amazing beats on there. I started to drop

vibes on these beats and the one for Mukutu kind of stood out and I laid the idea I had. It was giving Timberland, the Hip Hop vibe. I liked it, I thought it was really dope.

Mukutu stood out to many listeners because while I was creating the new album, I got into the process of playing it to creatives and in particular Yhemolee (influencer) was

like “Yo brother… just finish this one. This one is the one that should come first”. I leaned towards his advice, and I got back into the studio, finished it. I was going to

feature Fido on it. He already started to lay a vibe, but somehow, he got carried away or busy with his own personal stuff and I had to just finish it on my own. I'm glad

that I did because, although he may have killed it as well, I was able to push it to the point where I killed it on my own and the results have been amazing.

Obimo was inspired by a conversation I had with my doctor. I went for a check-up, and my doctor said I needed to watch my sugar level. When he said it, it was a 'light bulb'

moment for me. I thought about starting the song with exactly that line. Ragee (the producer) and I just started working on some ideas. Then he sent me the beat for Obimo. I

had some top lines, some melodies, some words that were written by Banks. When I heard it, I knew it was the one. The beat reminded me of how I felt when I heard the guitar

on Orente, so I decided to write the song about my love. I got in the studio, and of course, the first thing I said was “Doctor say make I watch my sugar level, your body

turn me into rebel”. I wrote the song with all the joy in my heart because it's really true to me. When I finished, I called my guitarist to play on the song cos I wanted it

to be live. And that's how I made Obimo.

This song was a moment of reflection on a beautiful day. I just thought about every single thing that I've been grateful for over the years and my journey even in music,

especially my career, my family, my friends and everything. The privilege to be able to share the music I make to the world and then for it to also mean something to the

listeners and you know? Them being able to see themselves in what I do. So it was that type of day of reflection and those words just came to my heart, you know, the “look

will I fathom” line was just like a moment of genuine awe that just like shook my core at the moment. That was like the first line that I came up with actually, which ended

up being like the first line of the song. So genuinely, it was just that, a moment of reflection and I decided to write the words. Seeing it be one of my biggest songs is so

humbling because those words are so true to me and then I know that for everybody that listens or for everybody that achieves every milestone in their lives, this song would

mean something to them. So from reflection, to the studio and the beautiful record that we have now, gratitude.

Initially, when I made “Somebody Like You”, the intention was to create something different, compared to what was already out in the market for Afrobeats. I just was sifting

through different like beats with SARZ, just trying to find something that I felt was kind of unique in a sense. Then he played the beat for Somebody Like You, and I

instantly just gravitated towards it. It just felt very nostalgic. I think the lyrics kind of just followed in that same direction. Once I started singing to it, the first

thing that just came out of my mouth was; “summertime in Abuja… reliving the simpler days”. I just kind of built the idea from there. It actually took a while to finish

because after I created the first verse, I had other ideas for a chorus and everything. I revisited the song sometime after, and when I did, it just felt like everything I

needed to say in the song had just come. So I kind of scrapped everything and started with just the first verse and just entered into a new vibe with the song. The song kind

of made itself in a way, because over time, I think it was just a reflection of all the things I was feeling based on the nostalgia the instrumentals was giving me and

everything. I just felt like I knew what and who I wanted to talk about with that song. And that (person) was my first love. It all ended up being Somebody Like You.

I was at Millennium Park, a well-known spot (in Abuja), filming a visualizer for a song I had just released. In the middle of the shoot, a group of local musicians playing

traditional Hausa music passed by and unintentionally interrupted us. My videographer was understandably frustrated and wanted to ask them to leave, but instead, I suggested

we do something spontaneous. I invited them to freestyle with me. I even mentioned, half-jokingly, that if the video we made together got a certain number of comments when I

posted it, we’d work on a full project (the video went viral on social media). That impromptu moment ended up sparking something special, and we created this incredible song

together. They took the hook of the song and added extra percussions on the project.

I wrote “Arike” in 2023. At this time, I was doing a lot of songwriting for other musicians, and it was while doing this that I met The Kazez (credited producers). After I

played some of my writings for them, they advised that I make my own music. They helped install FL Studio on my laptop and gave me a recording preset to try out at home

because there wasn’t any electricity at the time. I went to a friend’s studio and started the production with FL Keys and simple drums. I layered the intro and wrote the full

song on that. The recording and writing took about seven hours! Initially, I hated how the vocals sounded, and I was close to deleting the whole thing and just sticking to

songwriting. I said a little prayer and left the studio to get food. When I came back, it sounded like a new song! I woke the engineer in the house, and his eyes were teary

hearing the first demo. I sent it back to The Kazez, and they invited me over. While they were beefing up the drums and adding other elements, I had the inspiration for the

vocals you hear under the chorus. I shared it with them, and we recorded it. At that point, I knew we had done something really special.

The story of this song starts with the story of how I met Omah Lay in the first place. I found Omah Lay on YouTube... I stumbled on a song in 2019 and I started looking for

him all over the place. This was before we went into lockdown (COVID-19). It was before I left Nigeria for my tour in 2019. Anyway, finally I connected with somebody and they

introduced me to Omah Lay. When we met at the studio, he came late and I was one hour late to my flight. So I was like, damn I really like this guy, but this international

flight is not a joke. You know what, damn If I miss the flight, I miss it. I would wait for this guy. Long story short, Omah Lay walked in and said, “ah boss, you know, I’ve

been trying to reach you. I've been sending you DMs.” So we started talking, you know and I said to him, I have a question for you, who are you? Why are you so talented? Tell

me your story. He told me all of his plans, you know, we chopped it off. Great guy. Then we left. Thankfully I didn’t miss my flight, it was delayed. When I got to the USA, I

was on tour but we kept sending ideas. Then the lockdown happened. That was how we made a song, “Tonight”. That was one of the first songs he ever released, around when he

put out his first tape. After the lockdown, we tried to work on different records. There was a time me, Fireboy and Omah Lay made a record. For some reason that record never

came out. Then Omah Lay and I worked again and made “One Call”. After we made One Call, something just kept tickling me. I felt someone else needs to join us on this song. I

think what tickled me was the fact that the song with Omah Lay and Fireboy never dropped. That song is a hit! I don't even know how to explain it. We were going to get back

to the studio to finish it but it just didn’t happen. After we made One Call, I kept thinking, who would be right to join us on this song? Then I remembered Tyla. I tried to

feature Tyla in 2021 on a song with Lucky Daye but we never put it out. I’ve always seen Tyla as a special pop voice. I had already submitted the song for release, just the

version with Omah Lay. I called my team a week later as said let’s withdraw. Then we finally put Tyla on the song. She also liked the record, it's easy when an artist is also

a fan of the record. Omah Lay had a great reaction to it because they have a good vocal synergy. If you look at the vocal combinations of Omah and Tyla, their voices fit each

other. I'm grateful for the reception on the song. It’s one of those records that stands on it's own for the sake of music forever.

Legolas, is some real sh*t. Real life thing. You know when you're on the come up, you're inside the maze, you cannot really see it. Back then, all those babes used to do me

shege (dirty) because I didn't have money. I used to be angry at them. But coming to realization right now, on Legolas, I'm like, bro, why are you even in a relationship when

you don't have money, bro? I was in Atlanta when I made Legolas. I was with DND Section when I recorded it. We were in America, during my tour. It made me realize that you

are now the property of this period, down to your immediate circle, your family, everything. No matter what anybody is saying about carrying your guys along, like “if you

carry them, it will be slow”. All those things are fallacy and whatever I'm doing, everything has entered by God's grace. Legolas, fictional character, Lord of Rings, never

missed. He was an archer. Never ever missed. Never.

So for context, I don't usually make songs with already made beats. How I started making a lot of my records is via melody so I have a melody in my head and then I might

start a rudimentary production and send it to someone that is better at drums for instance because I'm not really good at drums. So in December, Yinka (Bernie) sent me a pack

of four instrumentals and coincidentally, we had been listening to some of the same things at that period of time. One of that similarity was Zamrock. You know, both of us

had been listening to a lot of it as I had recently become acquainted to Zamarock. I also listened to a lot of rock, psychedelic, African music specifically. So when I heard

the pack, one of the instrumentals really stood out to me, and it wasn't the one for Keep On Loving Me. It was another record that I made, which is a Hausa song. So time

passes, and we're in the new year, and I say, let's go back to this pack that Yinka sent to me. Also because I was kind of down, and I needed something to let go of how I was

feeling. So I went back to the pack and then I listened to all and then immediately I listened to Biko Biko I just started to sing. I got the first riff “so many fish in the

sea, but I still choose you…” My laptop was already in front of me so I connected it and I started singing. I didn't actually write, I just sang how I was feeling because I

was down. And so I went to the chorus and the way the chorus was designed was to slide in rhythm with the guitars. So I was like, oh, it'd be cool if the melody just like

sits with that. So when I started singing, “when you keep on loving me” I didn't necessarily think it would work, but then it sort of did. The reason I added the Biko Biko

was because I still wanted it to feel like home. You know, I still wanted people to think of it as a Nigerian song because it's influenced by African rock rhythms, but also

the guitar sounds very much Northern. It sounds like it could be influenced by the Sahel region, you know, I'm from the North. I finished the first verse and then I went back

to it another time and I just completed it. It is always important to me for people to feel like it's a Nigerian record, like it's from Nigeria. That's why it was created the

way it was.

Shake Body came at the moment when I had issues with my former label. They had a vision, they wanted me to just rap. For me, I was more than a rapper, I could do other

things. I remember me and Jay Pizzle (the producer) worked for two, three years. We were just looking for hits because I didn't know how to make songs that made people dance

and that was my target. So me and Jay Pizzle just focused on that. I remember one day, he called me and told me he made this exciting beat, saying he knows that's what I've

always told him about - because I’d always tell him that I wanted to make something that would make the world dance. So he sends me just the intro of it in a voice note - I

think it was 2013. I was like, wow. Remember that time, I'd left the label already and I was on my own, I was homeless and staying with some friends. So I told my friend that

I heard this beat and I really believe in the beat. I want to go meet Jay Pizzle because if I don't go, I think he might give it to somebody else. So I took a cab and I

remember the cab broke down on our way by a bridge around Surulere so we had to trek down to his studio. He played it for me, and I heard the beat. I was like, this beat is

too special. I don't want to rush it, let me take it home. So I remember taking it back home to where I was squatting with my friends, and I started recording. I still didn't

get the idea but I already laid the “oya shake body” line on it. I wasn't really feeling it but anyways, I left it like that. Some things happened and I had to like relocate…

So I moved into Timaya’s house. It was in his house I recorded most parts of the song. Fast forward to my birthday in 2014, in April, one of my friends hosted me in his

house, he had a pool, and he was like, “oh, it's your birthday, man, you need to be excited” because I was going through a lot at that time. He wanted me to feel better, so

he threw me a little house party. I invited my friends, like Victoria Kimani, Osagie my manager at that time was there too. I remember I was like the DJ, so I was playing

random songs from my laptop and blending my songs into them, because like I said, I wanted to just make music that makes people dance and feel good about themselves. So

accidentally, Shake Body just entered the rotation and everybody just said, “whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa… who’s that, what song is that?” So they made me play it again and

again. And yeah, everybody was like, man, this is a hit. This is such a smash. I remember Osagie looked at me and said, we're dropping this and it was just a SoundCloud link

that Osagie uploaded initially. The rest is history.