Asake is a needle-pusher and musical disruptor in whatever capacity he’s in. Proudly inspired by Fuji music – the Nigerian genre that blends traditional Yoruba percussion with Islamic religious chants – his 2022 debut, ‘Mr. Money with the Vibes’, and its 2023 follow-up ‘Work Of Art’ modernised that sound. Both records helped create a woozy new tone that successfully forged feel-good timeless gems, like his breakout track ‘Organize’, and found the Naija boy reshaping Afro-pop with magnetism and swagger.
Despite making history time and time again (see his Grammy nomination for the inaugural Best African Music Performance Award this year, or him being only the fifth African artist to sell out London’s The O2), there are always big expectations for the Lagos star – and he typically fulfils them. Reupping the charm seen throughout Asake’s discography isn’t enough to get ‘Lungu Boy’ over the line, though.
His third studio album is one of two halves. The jazzier sound on ‘MMS’ – his long-awaited collaboration with Nigerian juggernaut WizKid – soundtracks an enjoyable and poignant tale about how blessed they are to overcome adversity. It’s summed up perfectly by the self-proclaimed Starbwoy: “Not a man no phase, vibe today / These kain thing say na life we dey.”
Afterwards, the record starts to lose direction and is a slog to trudge through. The soppy ‘My Heart’ is a half-baked ballad that tries to up the ante with the Afro-house bassline, and ‘Worldwide’ – although commendable for its avant-garde style – is an erratic free-for-all that contains everything but the kitchen sink.
That is until the Stormzy-assisted ‘Suru’, in which the wailing guitars add an angelic twinge to the South London legend’s recapping of his success story. It kickstarts a rewarding new run on the album, joined by a momentum-boosting ‘Wave’. Central Cee fits right in on the track over the hypnotising amapiano beat, but the same can’t be said for Travis Scott, whose abrasive auto-tuned sound on ‘Active’ – the high-octane track that puts the “house” in Afro-house – isn’t as successful.
‘I Swear’ is truly the hallmark of the album: a perfect blend of the ethereal joy of Fuji percussion with the zippy amapiano bassline. The song also continues the theme of confidence and resilience throughout ‘Lungu Boy’ as Asake affirms with vim: “Send all my competition / Coming through with my ammunition / My lifestyle is going, everything is going / No matter the damn conditions.”
More gems come with the hip-enthralling ‘Ligali’ and the other knockout track ‘Whine’, which features Brazilian star LUDMILLA and expertly flips Mary J. Blige’s ‘Real Love’ into a delightful party anthem. ‘Fiji Vibes’, meanwhile, serves up an infectious celebration of life. It all begs the question, though: why couldn’t we get to this elevated sound sooner? Although ‘Lungu Boy’ sees Asake still rewriting the rulebook on Afro-pop, you have to push through a lot of samey repeats of his past work before you get to the good stuff.
Details
- Record label: YBNL Nation/Empire
- Release date: August 9, 2024
The post Asake – ‘Lungu Boy’ review: an experiment with mega highs, but lots of filler too appeared first on NME.
