Stories from “Stubborn“

I just had a session with Shorae (singer & songwriter) at KTIZO’s studio in Lagos. Shorae and I usually have random sessions from time to time. He’s

someone I love to write with. He’s really big in the Afrobeats writing space, although we don’t acknowledge writers that much, but he’s at the top

of the game. I love writing with Shorae because when we write, it’s very collaborative. He does melodies, I put lyrics. “Oshaprapra” came from one

of those days where we’re just vibing and DJ Notorious [one half of KTIZO]–that’s the name of the producer who made the beat, and I was in love with

the chords. I was like, “I need to try something,” and we just started working on it. We decided on the theme of the song together. When we started

writing it, I had an idea of what I wanted it to be about, and we did the schemes together. I asked him what “Oshaprapra” meant, and he said it

means shiny skin. So, I just decided to follow that theme of being through hellfire and still having a shiny skin. It was a metaphor for the song.

Funny thing is that at the end of the session, I told the producer to scrap everything that we did because I liked the beat, and I didn’t think what

we had done was enough to complement the beat. He just said okay, but he didn’t scrap it. The next day, he sent it to me and told me it was crazy. I

told him I’d listen to it. I was supposed to travel to London at the time, so I listened to the song on the flight to London, and I was like, “Okay,

this is something.” When I got to London, I played it for the team, and everyone liked it because it tapped into the energy that everyone was

feeling. I started liking it as well, and I loved it at the end of the day. I recently saw a tweet I made in 2023 where I said, “Intro: Oshaprapra,”

and I didn’t even have the idea for Stubborn at the time.

We made “History” in KTIZO’s studio (Lagos). I just went to the studio with my guys that night. This was in 2023. I was just vibing with Hoodini

[one half of KTIZO]. He played the beat, but I didn’t like the chords on it. We restructured the whole thing, and I was trying line for line. I

wasn’t really in the mood to make a song, but the more I tried to make that record, the more my mood was elevating, and I just kept on making

progress writing the song. Eventually, I ended up with “History.” Honestly, it was the first time I was very detailed with experiences I valued so

much and experiences that gave me life lessons at the end of the day. As a writer, that was a very proud moment for me because, for the longest,

that was something I was looking forward to achieving as opposed to writing on a surface level. With a song like “Kolomental,” it’s a very heartfelt

song, but it’s not specific. For me, “History” opened up the door for stuff like that because from there I was able to do “Jaga Jaga” and the likes.

I was able to tap into that world of precise writing.

Sometime in 2023, I had sessions with P2J where we made “Ludo,” “Anita,” and some other records. Those were just fun times in London, where I would

just go into the studio and I’d be up all night with P2J. We’d make like five complete songs in one night. We were just on that high, and we were

just creating. So, “Ludo” is one of the songs that we birthed from those sessions. At the time, we didn’t have Shallipopi on it, I never even

thought that Shallipopi was going to be on that record, but we knew it was a very strong record. When we were putting the album together, it kept on

making whatever list we were putting together. So, we knew it was going to be on it. Hoodini (record producer) helps me with the creative process

for my songs, and he was like the song gives him a vibe where we can have a rapper on. If you think of it in a Western world, it’s a Kanye record.

That’s how he described it to me, and when he gave that reference, I could see the vision. We thought about Shallipopi because his voice is just

unique. I reached out to him, and we just made it happen.

“Anita” is one of the songs from P2J’s (the producer) sessions. It was just another fun night in London. We were just creating and had guys around

vibing. There’s nothing too crazy with the story because it was just a fun record.

“Everything” was made in 2022. I loved the “Sunflower’’ song (by Post Malone and Swae Lee) a lot. I wanted to do something similar to that. When I

make songs with Blaze (the producer), sometimes we start from scratch. That’s how we made “Kolomental.” I just play him certain chord progressions,

and I tell him what direction I want to go towards. We didn’t have an idea of what we were going to make that day, but we started playing the chords

and building from there. We made the song, but we didn’t have the sample on. When I got to London, I told Hoodini (additional producer) that we

could have the sample on because the song didn’t have a second verse. Hoodini and I just chopped it off. At the time, we were just doing it for fun

because we didn’t know that we could eventually clear the sample. At the time, “Sunflower” had just gone 11 times Platinum, so it was a big deal,

but at the end of the day, we did it, and I think it just had to do with believing.

“Risk” is a crazy record. It has a similar story to “Oshaprapra,” to be honest, because when I made the song, I didn’t have the full idea for the

song. I just had the pre-hook. This was in Los Angeles during a session with P Priime (producer). It was one of those moments where I didn’t want to

be idle, I wanted to exercise my brain and do something creative. I just did a freestyle on the beat. It wasn’t complete. I have a friend named Boat

who does all of my graphics and creative direction. He did the 2D stuff you see on “Jaga Jaga” and the Outlaw EP. He reached out to me and told me

“Risk” had to make the project. I think that’s where we started having the issue of whether it was going to be an EP or an album. At first, it was

supposed to be an EP, but I just kept getting suggestions from people that certain songs had to be on there. I told Boat that I was going to try to

finish the record, but I couldn’t guarantee that it was going to make the project. I had the full idea about a full month after I had laid the

original idea. I went to the studio, finished it, and thought that it was a very strong one.

The idea for “Tiny Apartment” was completely SAINt JHN’s idea. He did a freestyle on the beat, but on his very first freestyle, he sang the lyrics,

“In my tiny apartment.” To be honest, SAINt JHN pretty much freestyle everything that he did on the song. 90% of everything he did was on the first

take. I feel like he’s the most talented person I’ve seen with my two eyes, which is very inspiring. After his freestyle, we started discussing the

concept of the song, and he was talking about how New York apartments are really small. I wanted to paint that same picture, but in a Naija setting.

I think SAINt JHN describing what he was feeling at the time allowed me to be inspired and tap into that experience as a Naija boy and come up with

very specific lyrics for that feeling.

I’ve wanted to work with Teezo [Touchdown] for a while after listening to his album. When the session happened, we were just going through beats.

When the beat for “Slow Down” came on, I did a freestyle to it. Just the toplines of melodies. After I was done, Teezo and I went through it

together, and he picked a specific part of the melody and started writing to that. We also did the hook, he wrote his verses, and that was it.

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 made “Kolo (Kolomental II)” right after I made “Stubborn,” and that was within minutes. Off that “Stubborn” high, they played another beat, and I

just told them to keep the mic on, and it just kept on going. If you listen to both songs, you’ll notice that there’s a similar energy. If you

listen to the verses on “Kolo,” it goes like, “Who thinks they’re crazy enough to challenge me?” It was coming off that “I Stubborn” energy, and I

knew that both songs are crazy and have to be on whatever I am putting out next.

After recording sessions in L.A., I went back to Lagos, and I was still on that “Stubborn” energy, and that’s why I decided to name my next project

Stubborn. I started making new types of songs and having a different approach to my songs. I had a session with 255 [a German production group],

they’re very good friends of mine, and I made the song. It was just coming off that “Stubborn” energy, to be honest. I feel like “Stubborn” gave me

a whole new vibe that I just kept on exploring at the time. That’s one of the first sessions I had once I came back from L.A. at the time.

I made “Pier 46” in L.A. before I came back to Nigeria. I think it was two days before the “Stubborn” session. Hoodini (producer) was in L.A. with

me, and we were preparing to go for another session, and we just decided to try something. He was in the apartment, and he played the beat. I had

played him one song in the past, and I was like, “This is such a coincidence,” because it was a Spanish song, and I was feeling the attitude in the

song, and I wanted to explore something like that. The beat Hoodini played for me was very similar, and it was such a crazy coincidence because it’s

a mood I’ve been wanting to tap into for a while. We just stayed back and worked on it before the session. It took quite a while because I wanted to

perfect the attitude, because it’s something I’ve been wanting to tap into.

“Sunday School” was with P2J (producer). It was made late in 2023, shortly before I travelled for Davido’s A.W.A.Y Fest in Atlanta. The night before

the trip, which was scheduled for 7 a.m., I was having a session with P2J till like 4 a.m. We were just vibing and recording, and “Sunday School”

was all we were working on. That’s a fan’s favourite on the album.

I made “Street Affair” in L.A. That was one of the first songs that I made in L.A. It was made shortly after I landed in L.A. When I made Street

Affair,” it was just me reminiscing on recent happenings in my life and personal stuff that I just put on there. Hoodini had sent me the beat, and I

had had it for a while. So, it was one of those sessions where I just get an engineer and just lock in to reflect on how I’m feeling and put it into

the music.