I made the first version in June (2026) in my friend’s studio in Lagos. The studio didn’t have air conditioning. It was

so hot in there that we had to take off our T-shirts while recording. Maybe that heat contributed to making it a hit

haha. I didn’t send the song to Asake until August. We were on the phone one day, talking about how crazy our collab

“Chanel” was going and we had a light bulb moment about how crazy it would be to do it again. We both felt we could

create another magic, but we wanted to make the next record bigger and take it in a different direction. “Ikebe 3000”

was going to be more of a party record, something more dancey. So I sent him the song, and he loved it. He was in LA at

the time, just after one of his shows. I woke up to him calling me and playing the verse he’d just recorded in the

studio. I was shocked. I’m thinking; he’s on tour right now! How did he finish a show yesterday and still managed to

record this verse today? The whole thing happened in less than 24 hours after I sent him the song. Just like we did with

“Chanel,” we kept “Ikebe 3000” under wraps until release. After making the song, we planned the music video and flew to

London to shoot it. Honestly, when I started making the earlier version, I’m not sure we knew just how crazy the song

would turn out to become. We were simply locked in the studio, trying to create something different when we stumbled on

the Gqom (South Africa) sound and we put our spin to it. One thing I find interesting is that “Ikebe 3000” is actually

Asake’s favourite collaboration out of all the songs we’ve made together.

Initially, “Consistency” was kind of like the intro. And when I made “Everlasting Taker,” it was crazy. The way it

sounded, it was an intro. As soon as you get into a project, it sounds like the right thing to hear first. It had the

first bar and all the affirmations, I felt like, what’s wrong with having two intros? So “Everlasting Taker” and

“Consistency” paired together is one introduction. Making “Everlasting Taker” was straightforward. As soon as the

producer played me the beat, I started writing it right there. We weren’t even in a studio; we were in a room, and he

was just playing me beats. It’s very interesting because Ragee specifically told me that he had something for me on that

album, because I thought I was almost done with it. He was like, “Bro, I have something for you on that album.” He was

the one always saying, “I dey on heat,” and I was like, “Make we hear.” He played that beat, and I immediately started

writing the verse. I recorded it later that evening.

Over the course of my albums, I have always put songs about hustling and money. I just added the Dollar sign, I don’t

know why I always do it. Till today, when I’m naming the songs, I just do it. This is music that gets you to go out

there and make money. I recorded this two months before the album in August (2025). When I made the song, I just felt

like I needed somebody to usher the album out. I wanted someone to do something at the end that’s just different from

Blaqbonez. After thinking about it, I knew that it was Barry Jhay because of his lyricism and vocals. It just felt like

it was the right choice. We made two records. One that’s more like a big record, and it had an amapiano feel, but

“Stacks $$$” was the one I wanted because I felt like it was deep, and it felt like a special record.